Speaker series focuses on chemistry careers

Grove City College’s Department of Chemistry will host a series of lectures focused on the lives and careers of professionals in the chemical sciences.

The speakers represent various perspectives from the industrial and academic setting, with some having just graduated from school, while some are close to retirement.

“Our seminar speakers share cutting edge science as well as their advice from their career experience,” said Professor of Chemistry Dr. Michael Falcetta. “One is a professor at a local university, and he will likely share a little about their graduate program. These experiences are also useful for our students considering graduate work.”

Alumna Dr. Judith Kerschner ’84 will give the series’ first lecture about her work in the fragrance industry at 7 p.m., Oct. 14 in room 051 of STEM Hall on campus.

Kerschner graduated from the College with a B.S. in Chemistry and completed her Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry at Purdue University. She began her career with Unilever, where she spent 15 years with the company on various consumer product projects, including a year in England.

She later moved to the supplier side of the industry and has spent the last 19 years with International Flavors and Fragrances. Kerschner also served as an adjunct professor at Ramapo College trying to convince her students that organic chemistry was "fun".

At 7 p.m. Oct. 23 in STEM 051, Dr. Paul Lummis, assistant professor of chemistry at Duquesne University, will be presenting a seminar focusing on inorganic chemistry. Lummis earned his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta, where he completed extensive research, including his doctoral thesis and co-authoring six publications, before joining Duquesne’s faculty.

Alumnus Ben Dumm ’18 will discuss careers in academia and the biotech industry at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 in STEM 051. Dumm graduated from the College with a degree in Biochemistry. Shortly after he continued his education at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine where he studied physiology and biophysics. He is currently a senior account manager and application scientist at Wyatt - Waters corporation, a leader in innovative light scattering instruments for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.

At 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 in room 112 of the Staley Hall of Arts and Letters, Dr. Sam Henson ’19 will discuss his research in pharmacological chemistry and his experiences in graduate school. Following Henson’s graduation from the College with a degree in Biochemistry, he earned his Ph.D. in pharmaceutics from Duquesne University, where he was the head teaching assistant for the School of Pharmacy. He now works as a regional sales representative for Optimal Industrial Technologies.

For more about the Department of Chemistry at Grove City College, visit gcc.edu/chem.

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