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Bryan Nell

• Ph.D. from University of Oregon
• B.A. from Ripon College

I grew up in St. Germain, Wisconsin, and graduated from Ripon with a degree in chemistry in 2009. I earned my Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Oregon in Eugene in 2014. My dissertation research focused on the synthesis of tetraphosphine macrocycles and their corresponding coordination chemistry, mostly focused on iron. I taught general chemistry and organic chemistry at the university and classes at a community college and Oregon State University. In 2016, I started a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Rebecca Abergel at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, preparing sulfur-based analogs of the HOPO-type molecules that are well known to capture radionuclei. I then was an assistant professor in chemistry at the University of Minnesota Morris, before returning to teach at Ripon College. I enjoy golf, woodworking projects and being outside with my wife, daughter and pups.

Patrick Willoughby

• Ph.D., University of Minnesota
• B.S., University of Northern Iowa

Molecules determine how we interact with the universe, and I have spent my career devoted to the study of their preparation and properties. In the classroom, I teach Organic Chemistry where my students and I begin by exploring things as fundamental as protons, neutrons, and electrons, laying the foundation for advanced studies into transition metal-catalyzed transformations, polymeric materials science, and the cellular production of biomolecules. Outside of the classroom, I mentor students in research projects where we develop new approaches for the synthesis of molecular building blocks useful in the preparation of new medicines. These are highly rewarding pursuits, requiring that my students and I apply our mastery of fundamental organic chemistry to enhance processes for making modern pharmaceutical therapeutics.

Colleen Byron

• Ph.D., analytical chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• B.A., chemistry, College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota