Month: March 2022

Chemistry Majors Elected to Phi Beta Kappa

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Spring 2022 elections to Wesleyan’s Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa have been announced, and it is with great pleasure that we recognize

Dylan Robert Judd and Mia Sunae Kim.

To be elected, a student must first have been nominated by the department of their major. The student also must have demonstrated curricular breadth by having met the General Education Expectations and must have achieved a GPA of 93 or above.

The emblem contains the three Greek letters “Phi,” “Beta,” and “Kappa,” which are the initials of the Greek motto, Philosophia Biou Kybernetes, or “the love of wisdom is the guide of life.”


Dylan Robert Judd, 2022
Chemistry, Environmental Sciences


Mia Sunae Kim, 2022
Chemistry

Induction will take place on May 21, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. in the Memorial Chapel.

PhD Celebration – Dr. Sean McDarby & Dr. Jozafina Milicaj

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The Chemistry Department gathered at the beginning of the month to celebrate two of our graduate students who completed their PhD defenses this semester – Dr. Sean McDarby and Dr. Jozafina Milicaj.


Boston Cream Cake for Sean McDarby


Dr. Michelle Personick delivers a few remarks


Dr. Jozafina Milicaj pops a bottle of champagne 


Dr. Jozafina Milicaj & Dr. Sean McDarby


Dr. Erika Taylor & Dr. Jozafina Milicaj 


Tiramisu Cake for Jozafina Milicaj


Dr. Erika Taylor & Dr. Jozafina Milicaj 

Sean McDarby Receives PhD

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Dr. Sean McDarby

Dr. Sean McDarby recently defended his Ph.D and thesis entitled, “Synthesis and Measurement of Noble Metal Nanoparticles with Well Defined Shapes by Electrochemical and Electroless Approaches.” Sean started at Wesleyan University in 2015 after completing his BS in Chemistry at Southern Connecticut State University where he conducted research under Dr. Gerald Lesley. His undergraduate research focused on the synthesis of novel MOF precursors involving the manipulation of air-free inorganic pathways. Upon starting at Wesleyan University, Sean joined the research lab of Dr. Michelle Personick and began a project to develop a new method to electrochemically synthesize shaped noble metal nanoparticles. The project was quickly successful, and the method was transitioned into a cyclical tool to create shaped nanoparticles by collecting electrochemical data about any particle growth reaction and translate that to either an electrochemical or colloidal approach. Further work involved the creation of novel shaped nanoparticles, mostly with palladium in both systems. Having completed his degree at Wesleyan, Sean will be starting his career as a federal contractor for Universities Space Research Association at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio where he is joining the Microgravity Sciences division and is focusing on the production and applications of boron nitride for space and aeronautics.