Graduate Alumni

During the Fall semester of each year the department employs an outside specialist in recruiting to discuss career options with the students, perform mock interviews, help in preparing CVs and also to utilize the department's long-standing relationships with several of companies to schedule on-campus interviews. This program has been highly successful and our graduates go on to secure excellent positions in both the private and public sectors. Recent scientific companies recruiting our graduates include Eli-Lilly, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Abbot Laboratories, Texaco, Shell, 3M, Pharmacia and UpJohn, IBM, Mobil, Exxon, GE, DuPont, Genentech, and Rohm and Haas.

Our graduates also go on to take up positions as teaching and research faculty at Ph.D. granting universities across the country, including: Yale University, Loyola University of Chicago, Concordia University, University of Alabama, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, McGill University, University of Kansas, University of New Hampshire, University of Delaware and Virginia Tech. We also have graduates that are faculty at Liberal Arts Colleges, including: John Carroll University, Andrews University, Manhattan College, Ohio-Dominican College, California State University - Long Beach, University of Dayton, Fordham University, Kenyon College, Canisius College, Bucknell University, and Xavier University.

Alumni

SvilenBobev

Svilen Bobev ‘02

Assistant Professor, University of Delaware - Inorganic and solid-state chemistry

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is a great place to conduct graduate research and the numerous stories of success (just like mine) are a testament to that. Without any exaggeration, the point and place in life where I am today I owe to the great faculty at the Department - my advisor Prof. Slavi Sevov, my committee members Profs. Marya Lieberman, Bob Scheidt, and Tom Fehlner, Prof. Graham Lappin (chair) - among others. They provided me with the unique opportunity to grow intellectually and learn so many new things about the chemical sciences, for which I am sincerely indebted. > read more
MartinDeetz

Martin Deetz ‘01

Rohm and Haas Company, Senior Scientist, Synthesis Group Leader, Process Chemicals and Biocides - Healthcare Division

My experience at Notre Dame was one of personal and professional growth. Looking back, I think that the most useful aspect of my training was developing strong problem solving skills. Solving scientific problems in a well thought-out, systematic manner is crucial for industrial chemists that have to work on problems that aren't necessarily related to their graduate work. The culture of the department was very enabling in the development of these skills. The willingness of the faculty and other students to aid in my development was something I have not seen in other departments. I can honestly say that, through the support of the other students and faculty, I came into the department as a student and left as a chemist. > read more
J. PatrickLoria

J. Patrick Loria ‘97

Associate Professor of Chemistry & Biophysics, Yale University

Now an associate professor of chemistry and biophysics at Yale University, J. Patrick Loria credits his time at Notre Dame as a time of transformation.

It began with his first trip to campus. “Notre Dame was not my first choice for graduate school. When I came to the campus on a visit, I met Tom Nowak and Tony Serianni. I talked about science with Tom and the projects in his lab. I saw the type of environment there. That changed my mind on the spot to come to Notre Dame,” he said.

He began working on his doctoral thesis in conformational changes in yeast pyruvate kinase, which involved a considerable amount of protein chemistry and late night NMR experiments.

But in the process of starting his work, Loria learned something else that was to have a profound effect on him: a sense of independence. “I was in my early 20s, and I admit I was pretty naïve,” he explained. “Tom was very insightful and guided me and the other graduate students without us knowing it at the time. He fostered independence, so when I joined another lab that operated at a faster pace, it paid a lot of dividends. I felt I did not need a lot of supervision. I was not uncomfortable trying to tackle projects on my own. Tom should get a lot of credit for that.”

Loria felt he matured greatly during the years he spent at Notre Dame, as a student and as a teacher. “Serianni, Nowak, and (Paul) Huber were excellent and their teaching styles got me excited in areas of science distinct from my thesis,” he said. The campus still holds a lot of fond memories for Loria in one other aspect: “I met my wife at Notre Dame.”
> read more
SeanSeymore

Sean Seymore ‘01

Assistant Professor, Washington and Lee University School of Law

This fall, Sean Seymore will join the faculty of Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, VA, where he will teach courses in patent law as well as law and science. His Ph.D. in chemistry combined with his law degree from Notre Dame have prepared him well.

He will bring to his students the overriding message that he learned during his years at Notre Dame: to do high-quality, meticulous work. “Graham Lappin [chairman of the chemistry department] once told me that you want people to be able to trust what you publish,” he said. “This is true with the professors throughout the chemistry department,” Seymore added after ticking off a list of people who had a big impact on his professional development.

The professor he mentioned above all was Seth Brown, his thesis advisor. “In addition to being a brilliant chemist, Brown was an outstanding mentor and a fine teacher. He is very warm person who truly cares about his students. I really enjoyed working with Seth,” said Seymore, who is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Northwestern University School of Law.

Seymore’s experience with Brown certainly rubbed off. Seymore won the Emil T. Hofman Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award during graduate school. His dissertation was entitled “Polar Effects of Metal-Mediated Nitrogen and Oxygen Atom Transfer.”

When he returns to his home state of Virginia this fall, Seymore will carry with him many of the lessons he learned at Notre Dame. His own students will be the beneficiaries.
> read more