Dr. Karen Wooley, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Karen L. Wooley is the W. T. Doherty-Welch Chair in Chemistry and a University Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University, where she holds appointments in the Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering. She also serves as Director of the Laboratory for Synthetic-Biologic Interactions. Research interests include the synthesis and characterization of degradable polymers derived from natural products, unique macromolecular architectures and complex polymer assemblies, and the design and development of well-defined nanostructured materials. The development of novel synthetic strategies, fundamental study of physicochemical and mechanical properties, and investigation of the functional performance of her materials in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, as non-toxic anti-biofouling or anti-icing coatings for the marine environment, as materials for microelectronics device applications, and as pollutant remediation systems are particular foci of her research activities. Her academic training included undergraduate study at Oregon State University (B.S., 1988) and graduate study under the direction of Professor Jean M. J. Fréchet at Cornell University (Ph.D., 1993). She began an academic career as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, was promoted in 1999 to Full Professor with tenure, was installed as a James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences in 2006, and in 2009, Karen relocated to Texas A&M University. Recent awards include the American Chemical Society Award in Polymer Chemistry (2014), Royal Society of Chemistry Centenary Prize (2014), Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2014), Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society (2014), Oesper Award (2015), and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2015). Karen currently serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Chemical Society, among many other advisory roles within the broader scientific community.

Dr. Sherry Yanello, Regents Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Cyclotron Institute

Sherry J. Yennello Ph.D., a Regents Professor in Chemistry at Texas A&M University, sits as the Director of the Cyclotron Institute overseeing research conducted by graduate students and post-doctoral candidates. From 2004- 2014, she served as the Associate Dean of Diversity for the College of Science. Prof. Yennello currently acts as the Cyclotron Institute Bright Chair of Nuclear Science. Prof. Yennello is the program director for the Center for Excellence in Nuclear Training and University-based Research (CENTAUR). This five-year, $10 million Stewardship Science Academic Alliances Center of Excellence Program grant from the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) will help pursue research in low-energy nuclear science through experimental programs.

Dr. Melissa Grunlan, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering (by courtesy), and Chemistry (by courtesy)

Melissa Grunlan is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU). She is also holds courtesy appointments in the Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering and the Dept. of Chemistry. Prof. Grunlan was elected into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows in 2018. Her awards for research and teaching include the TAMU Presidential Impact Fellow Award (2017), the TAMU Dean of Engineering Excellence Award (2016-17), the Royal Academy of Engineering Distinguished Visiting Fellowship (2015-16) and The Association of Former Students (AFS) Distinguished College Level (2009-10 & 2015-16) and University Level (2015-16) Award in Teaching.

Dr. Stephanie McCartney, General Chemistry Lecturer, Departmental Outreach Coordinator

As a First Year Program lecturer, she teaches CHEM 101 and CHEM 102.As the Chemistry department’s As the Departmental Outreach Coordinator, she organizes and supervises various outreach activities on behalf of the Chemistry Department. As the faculty advisor for the American Chemical Society Student Group,she provides support and guidance to officers and members of the organization and also is the Chemistry Olympiad Coordinator as well as the National Chemistry Week Coordinator for the Texas A&M local section.

Dr. Soon Mi Lim, Associate Graduate Advisor, Instructional Assistant Professor

Her research career started from studying ozone-depleting molecules at ultra-high vacuum conditions and tried to understand the mechanism in ozone depletion. Furthermore she applied physical chemistry to understand interfacial properties of lipids, proteins and adjacent water molecules using Vibrational Sum Frequency Spectroscopy. Studying cell components (lipids, proteins, and DNA) motivated her to look into medical research, in which she investigated cells from blood vessels and tried to understand cardiovascular diseases. More specifically she investigated redistribution of structural and adhesion proteins in live vascular cells with fluorescence microscopes (TIRF and confocal) and atomic force microscope (AFM), and observed vascular cells change their structure and adhesion properties to adapt to changes in mechanical environment. She is currently teaching Quantitative Analysis and coordinating lab classes. She enjoys serving community in outreach activities. She has participated in NSF-funded outreach program of "Saturday Morning Biophysics - Image life" with Dr. Andreea Trache at Texas A&M Health Science Center since 2008. She also enjoys helping Chemistry department by serving in the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and at our well-known Chemistry Open House.