Caelan Frazier ’23 (left) and Shay Brown ’23 (right) took Bippy to the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) Conference in Orlando, Florida. They posed here with Merck Senior Scientist Dr. Devin J. Swiner.
Brown ’23 receives some help from Bippy in making her poster presentation.
Frazier, Brown and University of California Irvine Graduate Research Assistant Alissa Matus pose with Bippy at the NOBCChE Conference in Orlando, Florida.
His name is Bippy and he’s the Squishmallow that’s making Kalamazoo College famous.
Squishmallows are soft, squishy, cuddly stuffed animals that come in a variety of colors and sizes, and their popularity has grown exponentially over the past year or so. The K Hornet versions of the plushies—available at the College’s bookstore—are round and orange with thin, black arms; antennae; beady eyes; a friendly smile and a K on their belly.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo, known affectionately to her students as Dr. DAR with her lab students called DARlings, uses a K version named Bippy as her lab’s mascot. He’s helping K gain recognition and students gain opportunities in their field.
“I bought it right away last summer when the Bookstore restocked them because I thought it was the cutest thing,” Arias-Rotondo said. “I thought it would be fun to take him places and he made his debut at the fall ACS (American Chemical Society) conference in Chicago last year. I tweeted beforehand that I was going to have this little guy with me, and I asked, ‘Who else is going to be at the conference?’ It was really fun because a lot of people were excited about it.”
Arias-Rotondo’s lab develops molecules that absorb energy from light while transforming that energy into electricity. Bippy gets his name from 2,2’-bipyridine, which is a key part of [Ru(bpy)3]2+, a ruthenium compound nicknamed “Rubpy.” Ruthenium is a rare and expensive metal.
Rubpy “is a molecule that has been key in the development of photophysics and photocatalysis because it works so well,” Arias-Rotondo said. “One of the problems with it is that it’s very expensive, so we keep trying to find alternatives that are cheaper, greener and more Earth friendly. Yet we use it for now, so Bippy’s name is a nod to a molecule that has had a huge impact on my career and on the field.”
In the meantime, Arias-Rotondo’s reach on Twitter has allowed chemists from all over the world to see Bippy’s pictures and learn about Arias-Rotondo’s and her students’ accomplishments.
“It’s a way for me to say on Twitter, ‘You know me and these are my students,’” Arias-Rotondo said. “I can invite others to go talk to them even if they’re at a conference when I’m not. It’s definitely generating visibility, and if it generates visibility for me and the College, it benefits my students, too, because at the end of the day, they are the ones who need the most opportunities.”
Last winter, Arias-Rotondo wanted Caelan Frazier ’23 and Shay Brown ’23 to take Bippy to the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) Conference in Orlando, Florida. Frazier, a Kalamazoo native, plans to attend graduate school at the University of Michigan and he credits K for preparing him for that with benefits such as small class sizes in a supportive environment and a study abroad experience in Northern Ireland.
Shay Brown ’23 (from left), Crystal Mendoza ’23, Lindsey Baker ’24, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo, Maxwell Rhames ’25 and Caelan Frazier ’23 pose with Bippy at the American Chemical Society Conference in Indianapolis.
Bippy, however, Frazier was unsure of—at least at first.
“At the time I thought, ‘I don’t really know why you want me to take him, but I’m going to trust you on this one,’” he said.
Any remaining skepticism melted away when reputable scientists approached Frazier’s and Brown’s poster presentations to learn about their work, and of course, meet Bippy.
“He ended up being very helpful,” Frazier said. “We sat at a table with a few of the people that Dr. DAR told us to talk to, and immediately three of them said, ‘Oh, my gosh, it’s Bippy from Twitter! I know who you guys are.’ It was an incredible conversation starter.”
Since then, Frazier, Brown, Lindsey Baker ’24, Crystal Mendoza ’23 and Maxwell Rhames ’25 have attended the spring ACS conference in Indianapolis with Bippy to similar fanfare for the cuddly plushy, not to mention their work.
Frazier poses with Bippy at his poster presentation.
Abby Barnum ’23 poses with Bippy during a recent conference.
“Obviously, Bippy doesn’t directly influence the work that we do, but he very much helps us look forward to presenting it,” Frazier said. “He has shown me that when you go to these conferences and you’re meeting some of the biggest names in science from around the world, they’re still people. And when they see this stuffed animal you’re carrying around, 90% of them are going, ‘Oh, that’s cute. I wonder what that’s about’ and ‘I want to learn more about that.’ I think it’s really important to have that comfort.”
And as beneficial as Bippy is now for her students, Arias-Rotondo hopes his influence will continue in the years ahead.
“We could just have a unicorn or a random stuffed animal, but institutional visibility is important, so the addition of the brand right on Bippy helps a lot,” she said. “I want other students to also get those opportunities and I want people to say, ‘Oh, Kalamazoo College. They put out good chemistry students.’”
Crystal Mendoza ’23 stands in front of Hoben Hall during her first Michigan snowfall in fall 2019.
Crystal Mendoza ’23 took a solo trip to Vienna, Austria, during her summer 2022 research internship at Karslruhe Institute for Technology in Germany.
Crystal Mendoza ’23 (left) builds polypeptide bonds to see the bond structure with Julia Ghazal ’22 in a biochemistry class during fall term 2021.
For the second year in a row, a Kalamazoo College chemistry student has been awarded the prestigious Priscilla Carney Jones Scholarship.
Crystal Mendoza ’23 is the 2022 recipient of the scholarship through the American Chemical Society. The scholarship provides a minimum of $1,500 funding toward tuition, books and lab fees for a female undergraduate student majoring in chemistry or a related discipline and beginning her junior or senior year.
Mendoza and the 2021 recipient of the scholarship, Ola Bartolik ’22, have both worked in the lab of Blakely Tresca, the Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
When Mendoza received the scholarship announcement, her reaction was, “Wow, oh my goodness, I actually got it,” she said, “because I really didn’t think I would get it. It was a little bit later than when they announced it the previous year, and in the back of my mind, I didn’t think they would give it back-to-back to someone from the same college.”
Once the news sank in, she called her mom to celebrate and sent Tresca a message.
“I was really surprised two students from the same school got the scholarship back-to-back, especially since they only award one each year,” Tresca said. “I’m not surprised, though, that Crystal earned it. She has worked really hard in research and at school, while at the same time doing so much for the department and the community at K helping mentor the next generation of chemists.”
The scholarship has both practical and intangible benefits for Mendoza. Not only does it cover Mendoza’s out-of-pocket costs for tuition, books and fees for her last year at K, it also provides a feeling of belonging.
“It was rewarding that the Women Chemists Committee posted the announcement on Twitter, Facebook, all their socials,” Mendoza said. “Seeing my face and the significance of the scholarship and what it means to the community of women chemists made me feel like I’m actually a part of this community. I feel like I can continue in the field of chemistry with support and inclusion.”
Crystal Mendoza ’23 (right) and Isabel Morillo ’23 attending a K softball game to support their roommate Lucy Hart ’23.
Crystal Mendoza ’23, pictured on a trip to Cologne, Germany, is currently working on a research internship at Karlsruhe Institute for Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Finding her community and niche has been a journey for Mendoza. Arriving on campus in fall 2019, she intended to declare a biology major and follow the pre-med track. Her first term, however, she found herself not taking any biology courses and struggling through Chemistry 110. Her STEM journey could have ended there had it not been for Jeff Bartz, professor of chemistry and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Bartz invited Mendoza to come to his office hours and introduced her to Alex Cruz ’21, a chemistry major and fellow Los Angeles native. Cruz agreed to tutor Mendoza—the start of a mentoring relationship that continues to this day.
Chemistry student Crystal Mendoza ’23 snaps a selfie in the elevator at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology in Germany, where she is completing a summer research internship. Mendoza was on her way to buy propionic acid from the stockroom.
Chemistry student Crystal Mendoza ’23 has been awarded the prestigious Priscilla Carney Jones Scholarship.
“She wanted to succeed,” Bartz said. “She was willing to ask for help and that’s sometimes the hardest thing for all of us to do, especially as a beginning college student among your peers where you want to look like you have it all together. I had enough of a relationship with her, because of the kind of place K is, to have a sense of what help she needed and who in our program could provide that help to her.”
Cruz introduced Mendoza to Sukuma Dow, a peer-led organization for underrepresented students in STEM, her first year at K. She has been an active participant ever since, serving last year and this coming year as a group leader.
“I did feel discouraged at some points my first year,” Mendoza said. “After taking some biology courses, I didn’t think STEM was for me. I doubted myself and it wasn’t until I got into the support group and talked more with Alex, Dr. Bartz and Dr. Tresca that I got myself out there and found what I truly enjoy. It has been a journey. I found what I like, I like being in a lab, and it took a lot of conversations, tough love and discipline to see that.”
Bartz, Cruz and Tresca all encouraged Mendoza to apply to Research Experiences for Undergraduates summer programs through the National Science Foundation. She ended up performing research on electrocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction at the University of Southern California, where she scrapped any lingering thoughts of med school and committed wholeheartedly to a chemistry major and future goal of a doctorate in chemistry.
“I came back from that summer and immediately started looking for opportunities for this summer,” Mendoza said. She prioritized research abroad, as the COVID-19 shutdown had pushed her to delay courses she wanted to take in person until her junior year, taking study abroad off the table for her.
As a result, in mid-June, Mendoza arrived in Karlsruhe, Germany, to take part in a Research Internship in Science and Engineering (RISE) through the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), or German Academic Exchange Service. RISE offers undergraduate students the opportunity to complete a summer internship at a top German research institution. Students are matched with a host university or institute according to their area of interest—Karlsruhe Institute for Technology for Mendoza—and DAAD provides students a monthly stipend to help cover living expenses.
German professor Kathryn Sederberg helped Mendoza arrange housing, and the DAAD funding is supplemented by the Nahrain Kamber and Ralph Griffith Endowed Student Research Fellowship benefiting female science students at K. Together, the two funding sources fully cover Mendoza’s living expenses and provide her with a small stipend as well.
Mendoza will remain in Karlsruhe until early September, conducting 12 weeks of research into photocatalysts for carbon dioxide reduction for her Senior Integrated Project.
“I’m learning even more than I thought, because I thought there would be some repetition from last summer, but it’s totally different,” Mendoza said. “I’m doing more synthesis, learning to read scientific literature for myself, and it’s more hands on.”
Catalysts are substances that increase the rate of a chemical reaction without undergoing any permanent chemical change. Electrocatalysts speed up electrochemical reactions, while photocatalysts absorb light to create energy that accelerates chemical reactions. Mendoza’s research involves attempts to artificially re-create photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbohydrates.
“We take what’s happening in nature and try to find the optimal way to do it in solution in the lab,” Mendoza said. Currently, she is building three major components of the process—a photosensitizer, an electron donor and a catalyst—in different ways. Once she has built the library of different catalyst and photosensitizers, Mendoza will test the different components to see which perform the best for carbon dioxide reduction and turnover numbers.
At Karlsruhe, Mendoza has two Ph.D. student mentors, whom she describes as “helpful” and “very sweet” and who have given her independence to conduct her own project in the lab.
“At first, it was a little intimidating, but once I got the hang of it, it’s the best lab experience,” Mendoza said. “I’m just in awe at every reaction that I do, whether it’s successful or not, because I did it myself.”
Research into catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide could eventually have implications for reducing environmental pollution in the world, a topic of interest for Mendoza. Regardless, her time in Germany is proving enlightening.
“I had a really different perspective on what I thought the lab would be,” she said. “I thought it was going to be down to business, only doing experiments, let’s only talk about chemistry. My mentors have shown me otherwise. You can have fun, you can sing, you can dance, or you can enjoy a bottle of soda outside the lab.”
In addition to research and classes, Mendoza has worked as a chemistry teaching assistant.
“I really enjoy that,” she said. “It gives me more time in the lab and a chance to connect with people who want to do STEM and say, ‘Hey, you’re good at this, have you considered this major?’”
In 2021, K started a PRIME (Promoting Research, Inclusivity, Mentoring and Experience) Scholars program, funded by a National Science Foundation grant, and Bartz asked Mendoza to be a peer mentor for the 10 incoming first-year PRIME students.
“It’s been amazing seeing their progress from when they first came to campus and I met them during orientation,” Mendoza said. “It’s always rewarding after every meeting, one-on-one or in a group, to think that I was once in their place, not knowing what I wanted to do, and now being so accomplished in my discipline and helping them get there, too. I’m grateful that Dr. Bartz thought I was the right person for that.”
From mentee to mentor, doubt to confidence, Mendoza is thriving at K with guidance from strong mentors, support from peers, and opportunities for exploration and growth. With one year left at K, she’s looking ahead to her own future while extending a hand back to those coming behind her.
“We talk about certain students as having figured it out,” Bartz said. “What got them here is not what will get them through here. Early on, Crystal recognized that she didn’t have it figured out and was willing to ask for help. Now she’s one who figured it out and is willing to share that with others.”
Regina Stevens-Truss will receive the 2023 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education.
Regina Stevens-Truss, Kalamazoo College’s Dorothy H. Heyl Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is the recipient of the 2023 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education.
The ASBMB is a professional organization of science, one of the largest of its kind in the world. The award, instituted in 2005, credits an individual who encourages an effective teaching and learning of biochemistry and molecular biology while demonstrating a commitment to pedagogical engagement and teaching innovation. As one of 14 professionals from around the world being honored by the ASBMB, Stevens-Truss will give a presentation about her teaching and learning trajectory at the society’s 2023 annual meeting, Discover BMB, in March in Seattle.
“Being selected for this honor surfaces all of my humble bones,” Stevens-Truss said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I foresee being nominated and even less being selected for this award. My imposter syndrome persona is in full bloom right now, and I can hear all of the voices that tell me regularly ‘accept a compliment, Regina.’ This award means the world to me, I am honored and humbled, and can’t believe the list of pioneers that my name will be listed with.”
Stevens-Truss served on the Minority Affairs Committee (MAC), now known as the Maximizing Access Committee, as well as on the Education and Professional Development (EPD) Committee of the ASBMB, where she was part of the steering committee that created the concept-driven teaching strategies that laid the foundation for the organization’s certification exam. She also was the principal investigator in 2012 of a National Science Foundation grant that supported a STEM K-12 outreach initiative by the society called Hands-on Outreach to Promote Engagement in Science (HOPES – see pages 37-38 at this link).
Since joining the faculty at K in January 2000, Stevens-Truss has been teaching Chemical Reactivity, Biochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry and Infection: Global Health and Social Justice. Current research in her lab focuses on testing a variety of compounds (peptides and small molecules) for antimicrobial activity. She is also the College’s director of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inclusive Excellence grant, which was awarded to K’s science division in 2018. In 2016, she received K’s highest teaching honor, the Florence J. Lucasse Lectureship for Excellence in Teaching.
Stevens-Truss earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the University of Toledo. She held two fellowships at the University of Michigan between 1993 and 1999, one of which was a lectureship in medicinal chemistry.
“I joined the faculty at K in a department with the BEST team of educators and students that I could have asked for,” she said. “From day one, my chemistry and biochemistry department colleagues have supported every hair-brained idea I have come up with. They make me think hard about teaching by always keeping our students front-and-center in our conversations on this topic. My students have pushed me to be better, to care more, to guide them through their journey of learning and growth. And, without all of these folks, this award would not have happened. This award is not just for me, but for all who have been in my life in the last 20-plus years. You know who you are!”
Bright careers await the seniors graduating soon from Kalamazoo College, including those in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Six of them were spotlighted recently during a Signing Day, featuring some of the scholars who are moving on to graduate programs this fall.
Much like student-athletes would gather to sign letters of intent when selecting their collegiate destinations, the chemistry students met to officially declare their educational next steps. The event was first envisioned by Subi Thakali ’21, Alex Cruz ’21 and Angela Ruiz ’21, who desired an academic answer to the accolades a student-athlete might receive during a Signing Day. Professor of Chemistry Jeff Bartz organized it that first year and even borrowed a photography backdrop from the athletics department.
Now, grad-school bound chemistry students from K receive some brief fame through social media as their pictures and destinations are featured in the department’s Twitter and Instagram accounts. Suja Thakali ’23, a leader in the Higher-Level Education in Dow student organization, planned much of this year’s event with Bartz again borrowing a backdrop. The students among the honorees on the Signing Day were:
Lia Schroeder ’22
Grace McKnight ’22
Annie Tyler, who is heading to Yale University for a Ph.D. in organic chemistry
Amanda Morrison, who will join the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis for a master’s degree in medicinal chemistry
Grace McKnight, who will attend the Grainger School of Engineering at the University of Illinois for a Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics
Lia Schroeder, matriculating at Rutgers University for a Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry
Faith Flinkingshelt, moving on to the University of California-Irvine for a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry
Ola Bartolik, who is seeking a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Michigan.
The chemistry department expects the tradition to continue next year alongside students from the biology department. But for this year, Tyler’s destination is especially noteworthy as she will be the first Heyl scholar from K to be awarded a Heyl Fellowship in more than 15 years. Heyl scholars are high-achieving high school graduates from Kalamazoo County, who receive full-tuition scholarships to attend K in a STEM program or Western Michigan University’s Bronson School of Nursing. K grads who successfully matriculate to Yale are eligible to apply for the Fellowship.
Ola Bartolik ’22
Faith Flinkingshelt ’22
Tyler—a chemistry and religion double major, Kalamazoo Central High School graduate and Kalamazoo Promise scholar—said Yale wasn’t a graduate school on her radar until she realized the possibility of attending on a Heyl Fellowship.
“When I visited the campus and chemistry building, Yale was the only place I visited where I didn’t have an ‘I like this, but here’s this issue I have with it’ feeling,” Tyler said. “I liked everything about it. I liked that it was in a new place, and that they seemed really excited about recruiting students. I could very easily picture myself at Yale for the next five years.”
The Heyl Fund will cover up to four years of Tyler’s tuition and fees along with a stipend in the Fellowship. For the upcoming academic year, those costs add up to more than $80,000.
“I’m really honored that I was chosen for the Heyl Scholarship and the Heyl Fellowship,” Tyler said. “The scholarship allowed me to attend Kalamazoo College in the first place. To see that my last four years of work at K have allowed me to become a Heyl Fellow makes me really proud and excited to continue the work.”
Ola Bartolik ’22 has been selected by the National Science Foundation as a Graduate Research Fellow to support her graduate career at the University of Michigan.
Ola Bartolik ’22 has been selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a Graduate Research Fellow to support her graduate career at the University of Michigan.
Bartolik will graduate from Kalamazoo College in June with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a biochemistry concentration and a psychology minor. In August, she will begin a Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan, where she previously participated in research in the lab of Paul Jenkins for her Senior Integrated Project.
The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 to the institution. The fellowship also provides access to opportunities for professional development.
Approximately 2,000 applicants are offered a fellowship from among more than 12,000 applicants per competition.
“I think it’s really important that students at K be aware of the fellowship,” Bartolik said. Bartolik said the application process offered experience in writing a research proposal and bolstered her grad school applications by showing she was already thinking about funding and research. While Bartolik had considered taking a gap year before entering graduate school, the combination of the fellowship offer with the community she has already found at the University of Michigan while working on her SIP proved irresistible.
“I was having a lot of doubt as to whether I could really put myself through a Ph.D. or whether I had the skills and the knowledge to do it,” Bartolik said. “If the National Science Foundation saw enough potential to invest in me, that makes me think I’m ready for grad school.
“When I posted the announcement on my academic Twitter, Paul Jenkins retweeted it, and the University of Michigan neuroscience program retweeted it, too. The head of the program emailed me that I should be really proud. I hadn’t even committed to graduate school yet and they were already celebrating with me.”
Bartolik was also quick to share the news with the chemistry department at K.
“We are very proud of Ola,” said Blakely Tresca, Roger F. and Harriet G. Varney Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “This is an amazing accomplishment for an undergraduate student before starting a Ph.D. program. Ola is the first chemistry major in 25 years to earn this honor while still a student at K.”
Bartolik will earn her Ph.D. as part of the Program in Biomedical Sciences (PIBS) at the University of Michigan, an umbrella program that comprises a variety of research fields including neuroscience, pharmacology, biochemistry and more.
“I’m really interested in trying to combine either neuroscience and pharmacology, or neuroscience and chemistry, for designing new drugs or new molecules that could be used for research or for therapeutic purposes,” Bartolik said. “My goal has always been to combine chemistry with neuroscience because I like chemistry; I don’t want to let go of it. Neuroscience can be very bio-heavy and I feel like having a chemist’s perspective on biological systems like the brain is really valuable.”
While her graduate work in PIBS is funded, Bartolik said, research opportunities can be limited based on each lab’s available funding.
“The fellowship opens me up to more lab opportunities and makes it easier to secure a spot in a lab,” Bartolik said.
At this point, Bartolik is interested in possible careers with a pharmaceutical or biomedical company as well as the field of science communication.
“Something that’s been interesting to me more and more is science communication, and how to effectively communicate science to people who don’t have the background,” Bartolik said. “The SIP was good practice; even though it was to a chemistry major audience, I still had to explain how neurons work and why this research is important. I found that I like presenting; I don’t get as nervous as I used to. And I like to geek out about my work around neuroscience, so I think that’s something I want to explore more, opportunities in journalism or some sort of science communication.”
In addition to the professional affirmation and practical benefits, the award is personally meaningful to Bartolik.
“My father passed away in 2017 from a heart attack,” Bartolik said. “He always supported me in high school, in everything I did. And I feel like he would have been so proud of me. I felt him with me, celebrating. My parents left everything behind in Poland so my sisters and I could have a better life and more opportunities. I feel like I’m fulfilling that and trying to make the most out of the life I’ve been given.
“I feel like this is what I was meant to do.”
NSF has funded Graduate Research Fellowships since 1952. More than 70 percent of fellows complete their doctorates within 11 years, 42 fellows have gone on to become Nobel laureates, and more than 450 have become members of the National Academy of Sciences. Applications are generally due in October. For more information, visit the National Science Foundation website.
Columbia University Associate Professor of Chemistry Luis M. Campos
An associate professor of chemistry at Columbia University will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 5, at Kalamazoo College’s Dalton Theatre about his research involving the creation of new materials that could reduce our carbon footprint and build sustainable energy systems.
Luis M. Campos’ talk, sponsored by the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, is titled “Organic Materials Design for Next-Generation Energy Systems” and serves as the 2022 Tourtellotte Lecture. The lecture is open to the public. K visitors must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccinations including boosters, if eligible, at the door and in the form at hr.kzoo.edu/visitor. A dessert reception will follow at 8 p.m.
Campos grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico, until age 11 when he moved to Los Angeles. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2001, and a Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2006. At UCLA, he was awarded the National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship, and the Saul and Silvia Winstein Award for his graduate research in solid-state photochemistry.
Later working in materials chemistry, Campos went to the University of California, Santa Barbara as a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow. At Columbia, his group researches physical macromolecular chemistry. To date, he has co-authored more than 100 articles, has 13 patents and has been honored with several awards.
For more information about Campos and his research, visit the Campos Research Group website.
Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez presented the Lux Esto Award of Excellence to Instrument Technician Tom Massura at the Founders Day celebration Friday at Stetson Chapel.
Tom Massura, an instrument technician in both the physics department and chemistry and biochemistry department at Kalamazoo College, is this year’s recipient of the Lux Esto Award of Excellence. The award, announced Friday to celebrate Founders Day, marking the College’s 189th year, recognizes an employee who has served the institution for at least 26 years and has a record of stewardship and innovation.
The recipient—chosen by a committee with student, faculty and staff representatives—is an employee who exemplifies the spirit of K through excellent leadership, selfless dedication and goodwill. Massura started at the College in 1987. Today, he maintains more than 50 machines used exclusively in the College’s Science Division while managing general science instrumentation and setting up physics labs.
Massura’s “kindness, patience, quick wit and positive attitude brighten the days of everyone he interacts with,” Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez said in presenting the award. “Nominators noted how helpful, dedicated and easy to work with he is with a sense of humor that helps days move along even when they’re challenging. His considerable technical expertise has helped generations of science students.”
In accordance with Founders Day traditions, two other employees received individual awards. Assistant Professor of Music Chris Ludwa was given the Outstanding Advisor Award and Associate Professor of Chemistry Jennifer Furchak received the First-Year Advocate Award.
State Rep. Julie Rogers presents a certificate honoring the Center for Civic Engagement for its 20th anniversary.
Assistant Professor of Music Chris Ludwa was presented with the Outstanding Advisor Award at Founders Day on Friday.
Ludwa is the director of K’s College Singers, the Lux Esto Chamber Choir and the Kalamazoo Bach Festival. Before arriving at K, he served as the director of music at the Federated Church Cleveland, where he led four ensembles, presented an annual concert series and maintained a voice studio for exceptional singers enrolled in performing arts academies and high schools.
Student soloist Julia Ghazal ’22
Student soloist Sophia Merchant ’25
Certificate presented by State Rep. Julie Rogers to the Center for Civic Engagement.
Nominators for the award said Ludwa is always a thoughtful and kind source of advice and encouragement, and Gonzalez added Ludwa is being honored for his “caring commitment and dedication to the growth and well-being of our students.”
Furchak teaches courses in chemical composition and structure, analytical chemistry and instrumental analysis. Her research interests are in analytical separations and spectroscopy.
Furchak has, through her first-year seminar, “not only illustrated how scientific work needed to evolve into a more equitable and inclusive form, but how our own work will contribute to this institutional shift and real, tangible benefits,” Gonzalez said. “Her instruction illustrates the importance of being one’s authentic self while pursuing one’s aspirations, scientific or not.”
Student soloists Julia Ghazal and Sophia Merchant also performed and, in a special appearance, State Rep. Julie Rogers attended Founders Day to present an honorary certificate to the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement to recognize its 20th anniversary. The certificate was signed by all the state representatives and state senators from Kalamazoo County, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist.
“In looking back over 20 years of the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement’s history, it’s clear that the hard work of the faculty and students has impacted many,” the certificate says. “Through thoughtful and ethical engagement, students gain skills, knowledge and critical perspectives that prepare them for meaningful careers and a lifelong commitment to the public good.”
Annie Tyler ’22 (from left), Faith Flinkingshelt ’22, Lindsey Baker ’24, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo and Barney Walsh ’22 represented Kalamazoo College at the American Chemical Society (ACS) chemistry conference in San Diego. Jacob Callaghan ’22 attended virtually.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Daniela Arias-Rotondo traveled with several students to attend the American Chemical Society Conference in San Diego over spring break, where they presented posters of their research and connected with chemistry professionals in a distinct experience that built their confidence and their communication skills.
“I’m not sure they realized in advance how overwhelming the conference could be because it’s thousands of chemists, all in the same place,” Arias-Rotondo said. “They were nervous, but also excited when they were presenting. Just to see them in their element, no pun intended, is really cool because it’s a great opportunity and they seemed to enjoy it.”
Five chemistry students attended including four in person. Three of them told us about their research, their experiences and why attending the conference was so valuable. Barney Walsh ’22 also attended in person and Jacob Callaghan ’22 attended virtually.
Annie Tyler ’22
Annie Tyler, a Heyl scholar at K, introduced her work—performed in the lab of Associate Professor of Chemistry Dwight Williams—synthesizing molecular hybrids or, in simpler terms, combining two molecules into one that hopefully has antibacterial properties.
“I really enjoyed being able to meet other Black chemists,” Tyler said. “There is a nonprofit group named BlackInChem that organized a meet up one evening. I was able to meet so many people and make connections I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet otherwise. I received lots of tweaks and ideas for my experiments in the future. Going to a conference was meaningful as I got to immerse myself in the chemistry community and go to talks about topics I’m interested in. As I’m headed to graduate school in the fall, it felt like a nice introduction into what the world after undergraduate life has in store.”
Faith Flinkingshelt ’22
Faith Flinkingshelt’s research has focused on making molecules that could attach to transition metals that can capture light and transform it into chemical energy. In other words, her work—in Arias-Rotondo’s own lab at K—examined how light-capturing molecules could lower the costs of and increase the efficiency of solar panels.
“I asked to join Professor Arias-Rotondo’s lab after loving one of her inorganic chemistry classes in the winter of my junior year, and I started working in the lab in the spring,” Flinkingshelt said. “I enjoyed working with everyone in the lab, so I decided to continue my research over the summer and into my senior year. It’s been an amazing experience and introduction to research.”
Flinkingshelt admitted she was nervous, not only to present her research, but to travel to California. Yet she was happy to embrace the opportunity.
“I had many questions about attending a conference out of state, especially in a big city like San Diego,” she said. “Ultimately, I’m grateful I had financial support from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation so it didn’t cost me anything in terms of travel and hotel costs, which helped me feel more confident. The nice part about conferences is that everyone has a different background than you, so they bring different perspectives and can ask questions that will help guide you in the future. It introduced me to conferences in a low-stress way, especially since we are still in a pandemic. By experiencing this now, I was able to go to the conference with my friends and have a great support system behind me while I navigated networking and attended conference events.”
Lindsey Baker ’24
Lindsey Baker’s poster reflected her work in producing polyolefins, which are common polymers used in household items such as textile fibers, phones, computers, food packaging, car parts and toys.
“Our work may provide an avenue for a more diverse family of polymers with new or improved properties,” Baker said. “I worked this past summer in my hometown of Memphis under Dr. Brewster, a professor at the University of Memphis. I was also mentored by a second-year graduate student, Natalie Taylor. Dr. Brewster asked me to present at a conference, and provided a few good options, with ACS being among them. I was a bit intimidated by the idea of going to such a large meeting, but also was excited for the opportunity to explore the many different areas of chemistry that are represented at the conference.”
The conference gave Baker opportunities to explore presentations other than her own, opening her eyes to other subject matter within chemistry.
“This just made me appreciate, all over again, the diversity of pursuits within the chemistry field,” she said. “I have a list of things written down that I have curiosity about now, and I look forward to expanding that list as I keep seeing more.”
‘I felt very proud of them’
In the future, Arias-Rotondo hopes to encourage students to offer talks in addition to their posters, offering students even more professional challenges and opportunities. But for now, she’s happy to enjoy this experience.
“I don’t know if I would describe it as emotional, but it was significant for me because it was my first conference as a professor,” she said. “I organized a couple of symposia within the conference, but I didn’t present my own research, so I could step back and see how I helped the students get that far. I just felt very proud of them. More than anything it was the joy of seeing their science move forward and seeing them grow into awesome scientists.”
Marco Savone ’22 completed his Senior Integrated Project (SIP) as part of a research study on exercising fruit flies at Wayne State Medical School.
While many student-athletes at Kalamazoo College are interested in health and wellness, there might only be one who has applied that interest not only to sports, classes, externships and travel, but also to fruit flies.
Marco Savone ’22 is a chemistry major and Spanish minor on the pre-med track who played football at K for four years. His first year at K, he completed an externship refining nutrition plans for a local health company. COVID-19 scrapped his study abroad plans, but he was able to make a medical volunteering trip to Costa Rica.
In summer 2021, Savone completed his Senior Integrated Project (SIP) by participating in a three-month research study at Wayne State Medical School with exercising fruit flies.
“It sounds bizarre at first,” Savone said. “They’re one of the very few labs in the country that does this. They want to apply the fruit fly model to human models because fruit flies have about 60 percent of their genome similar to humans and share many genes that are related to those in the human exercise response. Their goal is to be able to apply what they find with fruit flies to mice and rodents, and eventually human studies with exercise physiology.”
Fruit flies also make good test subjects because they are cheap and have short lifespans. Within 60 days, researchers can see the effects of exercise over a full lifespan.
“Humans live a long time so it’s hard to look at a human model in regards to how exercise affects the health span,” Savone said. “Ideally you would need a longitudinal study.”
Walker Chung ’22 (left) and Marco Savone ’22 were part of a medical volunteer trip to Costa Rica.
Savone took part in a study exploring the relationship between exercise and two gene-encoded proteins, myostatin and follistatin, that are involved in muscle mass development. Through a process called RNAi, or gene silencing, one group of fruit flies had myostatin basically eliminated in their systems, while a second group underwent the same process with follistatin.
Within each group, Savone exercised one sub-group and did not exercise another.
“We had lots of vials and they were all labeled with stickers,” Savone said. “We had this machine that would move the vials up and then they would drop down, and when the flies would feel the impact, they would fall to the bottom of their vial and then they would start climbing up to the top. This process would be repeated to act like a treadmill for the flies.”
The team would measure the speed and endurance of the fruit flies over time.
“One overarching thing that I did find was that we did see exercise responses with the two groups of flies,” Savone said. “We tested them for how long they would basically run, how fast they would fatigue. Then we also looked at their climbing speed to see how fast they would climb up their vial and we did see that exercise improved climbing speed and endurance.”
While Savone experienced some success, he also learned from setbacks in the research. The RT-PCR test to verify how much of each gene was expressed in the fruit flies did not work, and Savone had to pivot to another type of testing.
Marco Savone ’22 (right) values his experience as a student-athlete for the lessons he learned in teamwork, leadership and time management.
“I was really bummed that it didn’t work out,” he said. “But I was told by my mentor that it’s a hard thing to get used to and you need a lot of practice. I didn’t feel as bad when he told me that.
“Research is so unpredictable. You have to learn how to troubleshoot when something goes wrong, and there are so many outcomes that can happen. There may be one singular thing you want to find, but you may find different things you didn’t even expect to see. That was really eye opening for me.”
Savone sees immense benefit in gaining hands-on research experience outside of K to bring back and apply to classwork. He also benefitted from mentorship and collaboration with the lab staff, mainly Ph.D. students, and from a presentation he gave at Wayne State that boosted his confidence when presenting his SIP at the chemistry symposium.
His experiences at Wayne State also came into play in January, when Savone started a short-term contracted position with Kalamazoo lab Genemarkers, LLC, which had pivoted during the pandemic from skincare-product testing to COVID-19 testing.
His job involved separating test tube vials and preparing them for RT-PCR testing, the same type of testing he had attempted on the fruit flies at Wayne State. Savone also helped chart data for the tests.
“They were just starting to train me on other things, but unfortunately, since I was a contract employee, they had to let me go when the COVID numbers went down significantly,” Savone said. “It was interesting to see how that whole process works behind the scenes of the COVID testing and it was a rewarding experience.”
After graduating this June, Savone plans to study for the MCAT in the summer and take at least two gap years to work in clinical research before attending medical school, perhaps back at Wayne State.
Looking back on the past four years, Savone sees how far he’s come. He credits his growth to the academics at K, his hands-on experiences at Wayne State and Genemarkers, and the lessons in teamwork and time management he learned as a student-athlete.
“My experiences wouldn’t have been possible without going to K,” Savone said. “If I had to redo the whole thing again, I would do it the same.”
Research conducted by Ola Bartolik ’22 at K has possible implications for a new approach to antibiotics.
Ola Bartolik ’22 has an intrinsic curiosity about the importance chemistry plays in biology, specifically its role in neurodevelopment and neurological disease. Her high school interests in chemistry led her to apply for Kalamazoo College’s strong chemistry program, where she has been exploring the relationship between chemical structure and antimicrobial activity.
Her research in the lab of Blakely Tresca, assistant professor of chemistry, has possible implications for the development of new antibiotics, which is an urgent need in today’s medical field.
“There is an antibiotic crisis because we’re not finding new antibiotics and there is so much antibiotic resistance,” Bartolik said. “It’s becoming more and more of a problem as time goes by.”
Bartolik works with peptoids, which are man-made compounds similar to peptides, the building blocks of proteins. She is experimenting with adding different halogens to the peptoids to see how that changes the structure and if that plays a role in making the peptoid more anti-microbial.
Two years ago, Tresca saw in Bartolik the first two things he looks for in students—a spark of interest in organic chemistry and an excitement to make molecules in the lab—and invited her to join his lab. There, she discovered that she loves thinking about how research can lead to new questions, solve problems and apply to daily life.
“She has the drive to take ownership of a project and lead it in new directions,” Tresca said. “The project she’s working on right now is one she designed herself and has been leading, which is amazing even for a senior student.”
Bartolik is always prepared, able to work independently and thoughtful about science in both the lab and the classroom, Tresca said.
Ola Bartolik ’22 has worked in the research lab of Blakely Tresca, assistant professor of chemistry, for two years.
“She is almost always the first person to jump up with an answer, which shows how much she’s thinking about what we’re talking about in class,” Tresca said. “I appreciate that she’s always willing to take a guess even if she’s not sure she’s right. They’re not easy questions and they’re things we don’t necessarily know the answer to, so it’s important to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and thinking through the science, which I really see with Ola.”
Tresca has been incredibly supportive in and out of the lab, Bartolik said, helping her apply to scholarships that have made her K experience possible.
“Ola has taught me as much as I’ve taught her, in terms of supporting students, helping them find opportunities and pursue those opportunities even if it’s something they feel like is a stretch,” Tresca said. “Ola is a fantastic person and a fantastic student. It’s been amazing working with her and I’m very excited to see what she does next.”
The support of both faculty and other students at K has been pivotal to Bartolik’s success. Her experiences at an all-girls high school were empowering as well.
Bartolik values the open curriculum at K that has allowed her to choose only courses that interested her, which have ranged from chemistry and biology to literature and philosophy. Even in a sophomore seminar named Poetry as Survival, Bartolik found connections to her science interests as she considered the relationship between coping with difficult life experiences and stress-induced triggers of disease.
“I always had this interest in neuroscience and how the brain works,” she said. “I was interested in the connection between chemistry and neuroscience and how it all works. I like looking at things on a smaller scale, a micro scale. If you change this one thing, what does it do to the whole system?”
For her Senior Integrated Project, Bartolik worked in the lab of Paul Jenkins at the University of Michigan. She investigated an epilepsy associated mutation and how it may impact critical protein-protein interactions necessary for neuronal signaling.
Bartolik will graduate this year with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a biochemistry concentration and a psychology minor. She plans to attend graduate school to study neuroscience.
She is interested in studying the effects of environment and mutations on brain development and pathways, and the relationship between problems in those pathways and neurodegenerative diseases.
“Neuroscience programs are really hard to get into, especially when you don’t come from a neuroscience-heavy background with a lot of neuroscience research,” Bartolik said. “The fact that I even have options, I think that tells you how incredible the chemistry department is here and how we’re able to pursue things that don’t have to necessarily relate directly to what we did at K.”
