Faculty & Staff
Jennifer K. Bachman 
Laboratory Coordinator and Inventory Specialist
ON SABBATICAL LEAVE 2011-2012
Jennifer Bachman holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Rice University and a ZDaF from the International Certification Conference. Since 2001, she has been setting up for introductory labs and making sure chemicals get where they need to go. She also plans departmental social events, supervises the department's work-study students, and co-advises the Student Affiliates of ACS (the Chemistry Club). She loves to do hands-on science activities with schoolchildren of all ages. She received her Certified Scientific Materials Manager designation in 2009 from the National Association of Scientific Materials Managers (NAOSMM).
Robert E. Bachman
Professor of Chemistry and Director of Undergraduate Research
ON SABBATICAL LEAVE 2011-2012
Rob Bachman earned his B.A. and Ph.D. in Chemistry at Rice University with a focus in inorganic, organometallic and organic chemistry. Prior to beginning his faculty career, Professor Bachman worked at the Technical University of Munich as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow investigating the unique chemistry of gold. Professor Bachman's current research focuses on the construction of new metal-containing liquid crystalline materials with interesting, and potentially useful physical properties. He has also been active in a collaborative effort to study the water chemistry of local reservoirs. Professor Bachman teaches a variety of upper level courses in inorganic chemistry, including Inorganic Chemistry, Bioinorganic Chemistry, Structural Methods, Materials Chemistry and Advanced Environmental Geochemistry. At the introductory level, he teaches Advanced General Chemistry and participates in the department's General Chemistry program. Professor Bachman is also currently serving as the Director of Undergraduate Research, a position dedicated to helping students and faculty across campus to work collaboratively on scholarly projects.
John L. Bordley
F. B. Williams Professor of Chemistry Emeritus
John is a physical chemist who retired at the end of academic year 2010-2011. He has taught general chemistry and physical chemistry in addition to developing and teaching a course in chemistry and art that has been enjoyed by many non-majors. He is continuing as a carilloneur and his office is in Van Ness 109.
Douglas T. Durig
Professor of Chemistry and Physics and Director of The Cordell-Lorenz Observatory
Doug has taught environmental chemistry in past years, but he is now teaching Astronomy, General Physics, and Advanced Physics. Doug and his students have discovered asteroids, comets and other celestial phenomena during their ongoing research at the Observatory.
Stuart E. Leonard
Lab Supply Coordinator
Stuart received his B.S. from Middle Tennessee State University, and he has been with the biology and chemistry departments since 2006. He purchases supplies and equipment for Biology and Chemistry and maintains the department budgets. He assists instructors in general chemistry and organic chemistry laboratories and helps Jennifer supervise the chemistry work-study students.
April D. Looper
Laboratory Coordinator
April Looper received a B.S. in Biochemistry from Sewanee: The University of the South (C'10). She currently sets up and prepares the general chemistry, advanced general chemistry, and organic chemistry laboratories. She also supervises the chemistry department's work-study students.
Deon T. Miles
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Deon Miles earned an A.B. in Chemistry from Wabash College and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research projects include the synthesis and characterization of water-soluble, monolayer-protected quantum dots and the modification of these nanoparticles with interesting moieties. He teaches courses in analytical chemistry, general chemistry, and food chemistry.
Rongson Pongdee
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Ron Pongdee received a B.S. in Chemistry from Vanderbilt University and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Texas A&M University working with Dr. Gary A. Sulikowski. He then elected to pursue postdoctoral studies in mechanistic enzymology at The University of Texas at Austin under the guidance of Professor Hung-wen Liu. His research interests lie within two main areas: (1) the design and development of natural products as new antibacterial and/or anticancer agents for drug discovery purposes and (2) the mechanistic elucidation of novel enzyme catalyzed reactions involved in the biosynthesis of various secondary metabolites containing interesting biological profiles. Students in his research group receive an interdisciplinary training spanning the areas of Biochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Molecular Biology, and Organic Chemistry. At Sewanee, Ron teaches both the lecture and laboratory components of the Organic Chemistry sequence (CH 201/202).
Bethel Sharma
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Bethel Sharma teaches Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry (laboratory only), and General Chemistry. Her research interests center around the development of protein-based biosensors and cell-signaling studies. Currently, students in her laboratory are studying the factors that impact the progression of fibrotic lung disease using a cell culture system.
John H. Shibata
Associate Professor of Chemistry
John received his B.S. and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington. He teaches courses in Physical Chemistry, General Chemistry, Polymers, and Quantum Mechanics. He is department chair and co-advises the Sewanee Chapter of the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society. John received the prestigious Sewanee Scholars' Teacher of the Year Award in 2008.
Richard G. Summers
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Associate Dean of the College
Rich Summers received his B.S. from Swarthmore College and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He has taught courses in Mechanistic Biochemistry, Advanced Biochemistry, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry. He is currently serving as chair of the Anthropology department and manages Sewanee's accreditation from SACS.
Emily M. White
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Emily White received a B.S. in Chemistry and Environmental Studies from Tufts University, a M.S. in Environmental Science from The Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Prior to beginning her academic career, Dr. White worked as a post-doctoral scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Laboratory in Athens, Georgia. Her research area is aquatic chemistry with a focus on the photobiogeochemical cycling of carbon in natural surface waters. She joins Sewanee this semester as the department’s first environmental chemist. In addition to teaching general chemistry and environmental chemistry, Professor White will be involved in Sewanee’s Watershed Science Certificate and Environmental Studies Programs.
