Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Christo Sevov: Pushing the Limits of Catalysis

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Dr. Christo Sevov, Associate Professor in the The Ohio State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, shares his research interests. Dr. Sevov explains the significance of catalysis, particularly homogeneous catalysis, and how it accelerates chemical reactions by using abundant, affordable metals like nickel and copper. He describes his research in polyvinyl chloride (PVC), its inherent instability, and the strategies his lab uses to make it more robust. Dr. Sevov outlines his lab’s contributions to pharmaceuticals, such as developing new tools for drug synthesis that reduce waste.

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Robert Baker: From Laser Tag to Laser Lab

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Voices 200th episode!

Dr. Robert Baker, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has had a life-long fascination with light, culminating in his work co-creating the National Science Foundation-Ohio State University NeXUS Laboratory. Baker’s current research focuses on electron dynamics and catalytic energy conversion. The NeXUS Laboratory houses a groundbreaking laser system capable of taking attosecond (10-18) measurements. “Voices” host David Staley and Baker tour the NeXUS lab, exploring its three main beamlines and discussing the facility’s role in advancing fields such as quantum information processing and material science. Dr. Baker describes the collaborative nature of the facility, involving graduate students, postdocs, and researchers from around the world.

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Professor Shiyu Zhang: “I Love Making New Molecules”

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Shiyu Zhang, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, researches sustainability within chemistry, specifically the production of sustainable batteries made from organic material. He talks with host David Staley about his love for making new molecules, the applications of machine learning in his laboratory, and how chemistry is “kind of like cooking”.

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Kotaro Nakanishi: How Errors In Protein Formation Lead To Diseases

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Kotaro Nakanishi, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, studies Argonaute proteins and how they join with microRNA to form complexes in cells. Errors in this process can lead to many different types of diseases, including cancer and autism.

Heather Allen and Researching the Underpinnings of Science

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Heather Allen, Dow Professor and Ohio State Distinguished Scholar in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, researches molecular organization, ion pairing, and hydration at aqueous interfaces. She describes her work as taking the very basic units of life and asking, “How do they respond to an electric field or slight changes in pH and environment?”

When Proteins Go Wrong: Amanda Hummon’s Cancer Research

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Amanda Hummon, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, researches the intersection of analytical chemistry and chemical biology with a focus on cancer biology, especially its origins and how different drugs can impact tumor growth. Join Dr. Hummon for her discussion with David Staley on this week’s Voices of Excellence.

One Cool CATalyst: Robert Baker Works to Convert CO2 to a Fuel

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L. Robert Baker is an Assistant Professor in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences. He is a recipient of a US Department of Energy Early Career Award and researches ways to make a fuel from CO2.

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Hannah Shafaat Looks Deep into the Oceans and Gets Answers

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Professor of Chemistry Hannah Shafaat knows what lurks way below the ocean’s surface and she’ll talk about the research that garnered her a Department of Energy Early Career Award.

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Abraham Badu Looks for Affordable Diagnostic Tools

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Professor Abraham Badu-Tawiah is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Ohio State University where he studies photochemistry in droplets and disease diagnosis. He’s a recipient of an Early Career Award from the Department of Energy, an Eli Lilly Young Investigator Award in Analytical Chemistry, and most recently an American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Arthur F. Findeis Award for Achievements by a Young Analytical Scientist.

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