Elmer C. Lupton, Jr. ’69 Ph.D. wrote about the history of a double pan balance and the frightening experiments conducted on it in the ’60s. He writes: “I used this very large double pan balance in my doctoral thesis from 1965 to 1969, working with Ken Wiberg. It’s a spectacular device and, under the right conditions, could measure 10 kg good to 1 mg. 

I was conducting precision combustion calorimetry of strained organic compounds to measure strain energy.  I weighed 1 g of a compound on a double pan balance good to .01 mg (honest), burned the compound in a combustion bomb, captured the off-gas, and collected the CO2. The COs typically weighed 1-2 g, again to at least 0.1 mg and, ideally, to 0.01 mg.  

One hears that for precision work, one needs to make buoyancy corrections for weighing in air. I actually, under some circumstances, had to make corrections for changes in the buoyancy correction from one day to the next due to air pressure changes.

As I look back, it is truly scary stuff. But we did it.

The large double pan balance was used to weigh the water very accurately in the calorimeter can. There was, of course, some evaporation of water, but I tried to have a reasonably consistent time from the time the weighing was completed until the time the calorimeter can was sealed. Since there was standardization of the calorimeter with NBS standard benzoic acid and then measurement of the compounds of interest under, hopefully, identical conditions, it seemed to work. We used octane and succinic acid as secondary standards, and the heat of combustion the values for those compounds were within the 0.01% accuracy desired for precision calorimetry. The liquid materials were sealed in small bags of polyethylene terephthalate, and then the heat of combustion of the PET bag was subtracted out.

We put the calorimeter in a water bath made from an old ice cream cart with temperature controlled to 0.001 degree C. Temperature rise of the calorimeter was measured with a platinum resistance thermometer. We measured 3 degrees C temperature rise good to at least 0.0003 degrees.

I would like to have done more compounds, but the Air Force called.”

K.B. Wiberg, E. C. Lupton Jr., D.J. Wasserman, A. DeMeijere, S.R. Kass,“Enthalpies of formation of cis- and trans-1,2-diethylcyclopropane and cis- and trans-bicyclo (6.1.0)-nonane. Structural effects on energies of cyclopropane rings,J. Am. Chem. Soc., 106, 1740 (1984).

K.B. Wiberg, E. C. Lupton Jr. and G. J. Burgmaier, “Tricyylo(3.2.1.0)1,5-octane and 8-oxatricyclo (3.2.1.0)1,5-octane. Heat of formation, strain energy and reactivity,” J. Am. Chem. Soc, 91, 3372 (1968).” 

1970s

Andrew Freedman ’71 B.S. is a principal scientist at Aerodyne Research, Inc.

Kevin Peters ’75 Ph.D. is a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Katherine Alben ’76 Ph.D. had roles as a research scientist for the NYS Department of Health from 1977-2017 (2020) and assistant professor at the University of Albany School of Public Health from 1990-2023. Now she dedicates her time to outdoor activities and her family.

Katherine Flynn ’76 M.S. earned her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Northwestern. She has worked in agricultural products (Rohm & Haas), foods and beauty care (Procter & Gamble), and most recently, in pharma, where she is a senior director in Rare Diseases. Technical and competitive intelligence are her specialties now. AND most important, she’s been married for 32 years and has two fantastic, grown daughters.

When Nafsika E Georgopapadakou ’76 Ph.D. graduated Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ), the Greek acronym for ‘Love of Learning, Guide of Life’ (Φιλοσοφία Βίου Κυβερνήτης) from her undergrad, it was a huge honor for her. She embraced the idea wholeheartedly. 

Then came Graduate School (Yale), postdoctoral training (Harvard), and a nomadic career in the pharmaceutical industry (Squibb, Roche, Dupont, biotechs) with brief stints in academia (Visiting Scientist at Princeton, Adjunct Professor at Temple). Yet, through it all, ‘Love of Learning’ remained her guide.

There were publications, invited talks, patents, books, and an interdisciplinary journal (Drug Resistance Updates) – now in its 26th year. Her research shifted from bio-organic chemistry to biochemistry and biology, focusing on drug action, resistance, and new drugs. She was extremely fortunate that her career was in the golden era of drug discovery.

Now in retirement, Nafsika shares some of her time with Yale as an Alumni Fund Volunteer, helping to secure gifts to support Chemistry. 

Richard Jaffe ’72 Ph.D. writes: “I received my Ph.D. in Chemistry from Yale in ‘72. After my postdoc at the University of Rochester and NASA Ames Research Center (in Mountain View California), I became a staff research scientist there, where I remained as a research scientist until my retirement 44 years later in June of 2021. I was a founder of the computational chemistry research group there and worked primarily on predicting the heat loads spacecraft would encounter upon entering planetary atmospheres at hypersonic speeds.”

Peter M. Kroger ’78 Ph.D. has been a member of the technical staff of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 1983. Prior to that held postdoctoral positions at the University of Toronto and Brookhaven National Lab.

Bert Eshaghpour ’79 Ph.D. recently came back to Yale to judge the Three-Minute Thesis Competition. Bert is president of the Wego Chemical & Mineral Corporation. 

1980s

Martin P. Karnett ’81 Ph.D. was elected to the prestigious Member, Group Technical Staff Technical Ladder at Texas Instruments, Inc. in 2021 and then senior member in 2023, in recognition of excellence in technical contributions. Titleholders are peer-elected based on demonstration of leadership, innovation, and initiative to contribute to the organization’s goals. He received the Texas Instruments Founders Community Impact Award in November 2019 for outstanding service to the community. The award honors TI’s founders and their long history of philanthropy and volunteerism.

James O’Neill 1982 B.A. has spent 23 years in semiconductor development at IBM. Now he is the CTO at Entegris, a specialty materials company serving the semiconductor industry.

Philip Cole ’84, a professor at Harvard Medical School, interim chief of the Division of Genetics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and associate editor of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, speaks about his research in the post-translational modifications of proteins in this Q&A.

Joseph Pont ’84 B.S. went on to earn his Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton in 1988. He is currently the CEO of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry. 

Laura Kiessling ’89 Ph.D. was presented with the Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry by the American Chemical Society for developing innovative glycoprotein biomimetics that have shed light on bacterial and human signaling pathways, which have propelled therapeutic advances. 

Lynmarie K. Thompson ’89 Ph.D., professor of chemistry at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has been elected president of the Biophysical Society for 2025. 

1990s

Linda Hsieh-Wilson ’90 BS, Ph.D., now at Caltech, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Her work is on understanding the structure and function of carbohydrates in the nervous system. Her research has uncovered critical roles for carbohydrates and protein glycosylation in fundamental processes ranging from cellular metabolism to memory storage.

Robert Topper ’90 Ph.D. writes, “After graduation, I was lucky enough to land two excellent postdocs, first with Donald Truhlar at Minnesota, and then with David Freeman at Rhode Island. I was even luckier when I married my classmate, Gayle. I then took a position at the Cooper Union in New York, and then became chair of the Chemistry and Physics department at Monmouth University in New Jersey. After six years there, I returned to Cooper Union, and I’ve been here since. My research area is theoretical and computational physical chemistry.”

Melvin Chen ’91 is a Yale professor in the practice of piano at the Yale School of Music and director of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. He recently performed Beethoven’s “Diabelli” Variations and variations on Diabelli’s 1819 waltz by Czerny, Hummel, Liszt, and Schubert in the Horowitz Piano Series.

Robert ‘Bob’ J. Yokelson ’91 Ph.D., an accomplished University of Montana researcher whose work on global biomass burning has been widely featured in national and international media, was named a Highly Cited Researcher by Web of Science for 2019 and 2020. He was recognized for excellence in refereeing by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) journals in 2005 and 2020. AGU is the world’s largest Earth and space sciences association, with nearly 60,000 members in 137 countries. Yokelson was recently named a Fellow of the AGU.

Demetrius Michos ‘93 Ph.D. is a research scientist in the chemical sector.

Abhijit Patel ’95 B.S./M.S. is now an associate professor at Yale and a physician-scientist.

Ronnie Ghose ’98 Ph.D. is now a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the City College of New York and the Graduate Center of CUNY.

Wenbin Yao ’98 Ph.D. is working at the Asia Pacific R&D Center of Dow, based in Shanghai, China.

Jennifer Frederick ’99 Ph.D. After faculty positions at the University of Bridgeport and Western Connecticut State University, she came back to Yale in 2007 to help graduate students and postdocs learn to teach. That role expanded to working with STEM faculty on campus and nationally. In 2014, she became the founding executive director of Yale’s Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. In 2022, she was appointed associate provost for academic initiatives. Read this interview about her move to an institutional leadership role. She recently gave her perspective on how higher education institutions are now approaching AI in the classroom in an interview with MIT Technology Review.

Rosa (Melendez) Rahimpour ’01 Ph.D. Since graduating from Yale, Rosa has worked as a medicinal chemistry consultant on intellectual property and drug discovery strategies. She currently works at Goodmans LLP, one of Canada’s leading law firms, where she advises lawyers on scientific matters in the intellectual property practice. Prior to Goodmans, she led a medicinal chemistry team in developing potential therapeutics in the areas of pulmonary hypertension, cognitive impairment, and inflammation at a pharmaceutical company in Boston. Additionally, as an alumna, she served as an At-Large Delegate for the YAA from 2006-2009 and since 2009, has organized the annual Yale Day of Service project in Toronto.

Stefan Koenig ’02 Ph.D. was recognized as a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2022 for significant contributions to science and the profession. He has spent his career in the biopharma industry working to bring investigational medicines into the clinic. In addition, Stefan has been a passionate advocate for green chemistry and greater inclusion in the scientific enterprise. He was co-awarded the 2024 ACS Award for Affordable Green Chemistry(link is external) along with Genentech colleague Karthik Nagapudi and collaborator Prof. Tomislav Friscic of the University of Birmingham (UK). The award was presented for work utilizing Resonant Acoustic Mixing to facilitate no or low-solvent chemical reactions. This paves the way for more sustainable production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals since it reduces the biggest component of any synthesis, the volume of solvent waste.

Alfredo Bracamonte ’03 Ph.D. has been working in Logic Technology Development at the Intel Corp since graduation.

Christopher Krug ’04 Ph.D. focuses his work on scientific and regulatory rules in the pharmaceutical industry.

Ruben Savizky ’05 Ph.D. After graduating from Yale, Ruben started his independent career as an assistant professor at The Cooper Union in 2005, was promoted to full professor in 2017, and is currently the associate dean of academic affairs. Ruben also maintains appointments at Columbia University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. His current research interests include modeling RNA folding, organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry, pattern recognition in spectroscopy, and spectroscopic studies of biological molecules.

Kat Kayser-Bricker ’07 Ph.D., postdoc of Professor Scott Miller and chief scientific officer at New Haven-based Halda Therapeutics (founded by Craig Crews), was highlighted in C&EN News’s article “Halda Emerges from Stealth with Bifunctional Molecules to Treat Cancer(link is external).” She has been in biotech, mainly in oncology.

Abby M. Hodges ’08 Ph.D. has been appointed(link is external) interim vice president for academic affairs at Mid America Nazarene University. Dr. Damron has served the university for 13 years in several teaching and leadership positions. She has been a professor, department chair and dean at MNU since 2014.

Jonathan F. Hull ’09 Ph.D. was appointed the new CEO of Ros Vivo Therapeutics, Inc.

Ben Ofori-Okai ’09 was named one of C&EN’s Talented 12. By using terahertz spectroscopy to study materials in extreme conditions, he aims to discover how matter behaves at the center of planets. Learn more in the article Understanding Materials Extreme and Exotic Conditions(link is external).

2010s

Li Fu ’13 Ph.D. is a senior scientist at Takeda, a pharmaceutical company.

Lauren Martini ’13 Ph.D. is a chemistry and physics teacher at The Foote School.

Nicholas Arnet ’15 Ph.D., an alum of the Holland Group, won the Teaching Excellence Award at Nevada State College.

David Romney ’15 Ph.D., an alumnus of the Miller Group, was named one of Chemical & Engineering News’ Talented 12(link is external) for using chemistry to make the world a better place. He is engineering enzymes to make amino acid derivatives for drugs with less waste. Learn about the science and the company he co-founded – what set him apart from the over 400 Talented 12 nominees.

Stafford Sheehan ’16 Ph.D., an alum of the Schmuttenmaer Lab, and his company Air Company won a NASA contest. They invented a technology to recycle carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts in flight to grow yeast-based nutrients for protein shakes designed to nourish crews on long-duration deep-space missions.

Hilda Huang ’17 B.S., ’20 Mus.M.A. writes: “I have good piano news and want to share it with you. I’ve joined the roster of Steinway Artists and Astral Artists. It is an exciting time indeed. My training at Juilliard now involves some deal of musicology and music theory, which I believe have absolutely benefited from (or, according to my teachers, suffered on account of) my belief in the procedural nature of observation, empirical and historical. Science made me an idealistic skeptic!”

Benjamin Rudshteyn ’18 Ph.D. is a senior scientist at Schrodinger Inc.

2020s

Margo Feuer ’20 B.A. went on to receive her Ph.D. in chemistry at Columbia University.

Martin Tomanik ’21 Ph.D., an alum of the Herzon Lab, recently accepted a position as assistant professor of chemistry at NYU Chemistry.

Matthew Pecoraro ’22 B.S./M.S. is pursuing graduate studies at Princeton University with Professor Paul Chirik.

Ethan Perets ’22 Ph.D., an alum of the Yan Lab, has been named a Schmidt Science Fellow(link is external) and recently joined the lab of Professor Adam E. Cohen at Harvard University as a postdoctoral researcher. Ethan will study neuroscience to develop high-precision imaging technologies for understanding the dynamic interplay of electrical and genetic information on the brain. His findings could help cure neurodegenerative diseases. 

He recently won a 2022 Coblentz Student Award(link is external) and a 2022 Journal of Physical Chemistry & Experimental Subdivision of the Division of Physical Chemistry Award for Outstanding Graduate Research(link is external).

Zhen ‘Coraline’ Tao ’22 Ph.D., alumna from the Hammes-Schiffer Group, received a 2022 Journal of Physical Chemistry & Theory Subdivision of the Division of Physical Chemistry Award for Outstanding Graduate Research for her study of nuclear-electronic orbital density functional theory for quantizing protons.