Alumni Profiles

The University of Dayton

Department of Chemistry

A dedicated chemist with the soul of an artist, Charles Pedersen enjoyed life--gardening, fishing, poker games with his friends, birdwatching, writing poetry. Pedersen was born in Korea in 1904. His father was a Norwegian mining engineer, his mother Japanese. After attending preparatory school in Japan he set out alone for the United States to attend college, never to see his parents again.

Dr. Cliffel received bachelor's degrees in chemistry and electrical engineering from the University of Dayton, Ohio, in 1992, then received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Texas, Austin, under the direction of Allen J. Bard, focusing on scanning electrochemical microscopy and fullerenes. He then joined the research group of Royce W. Murray at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, as a postdoctoral associate working on the electrochemistry of monolayer-protected clusters.

Charles Pederson (1904-89), Nobel Laureate in Chemistry

David Cliffel, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Vanderbilt University

Alumni Profiles

Dr. Eileen Dolan, one of the nation’s leading cancer researchers, is a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. She graduated from UD in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, then received a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from Purdue in 1983. Since then she has dedicated her research to making chemotherapy more effective and less toxic for patients by focusing on the ways that DNA repair proteins can be modulated to prevent killing cells. Her work has led to the development of a drug now in clinical trials that shows effectiveness for the treatment of brain tumors in adult and pediatric patients.

Eileen Dolan, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago

He studied chemical engineering at the University of Dayton and received a master's degree from M.I.T. His professors wanted him to continue on for his doctorate, but Pedersen, tired of sending bills home to his father, elected to join DuPont. He reported to Jackson Laboratory in Deepwater, New Jersey in 1927. In 1957, Pedersen moved to the Experimental Station. Encouraged to concentrate on the catalytic action of trace heavy metals and their control by use of organic ligands, he decided on a systematic study of complexes of vanadyl ion. In one of the reactions, he was left with a "brownish goo" and discovered some unknown crystals in it. Intrigued by their properties, he continued to investigate and discovered macrocyclic polyethers, or crown ethers. Exhilarating research followed. An extensive article published in 1967, two years before he retired, described the synthesis of the compounds and became a classic for other researchers to build upon. For this work, which capped his career, Pedersen, in 1987, became the first career DuPont scientist to win a Nobel Prize.

Fascination for everything around him, unspoiled curiosity and the knack for asking the right questions opened up a world that Charles Pedersen enthusiastically explored.

She holds 31 patents related to cancer research, her research is widely published, and she serves as teacher, adviser and mentor to students ranging from high schools to doctoral programs. The major focus of Dr. Dolan’s research has been in the area of DNA damage/repair of anticancer agents that has been extended to the pharmacogenetics of DNA damaging agents. Her laboratory has been involved with: 1) developing a DNA repair modulator that enhances alkylating agent chemotherapy that is currently in clinical trials; 2) determining the role of DNA repair in protecting against therapy related leukemia; 3) identifying heritable and nonheritable genes important in susceptibility to DNA damaging agents and 4) evaluating genetic variation in human metabolizing genes that may be important in determining variability in patient response/toxicity to these agents.

At Vanderbilt since 2000, Dr. Cliffel's research group concentrates on the electrochemical analysis of nanoparticles and of biological cells. The group has explored the catalytic properties and electron-transfer kinetics of monolayer-protected clusters using the scanning electrochemical microscope and has developed a multianalyte microphysiometer for metabolic measurements and toxicology. He received the Young Investigator Award, presented annually by the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry.

Kevin Miller, Ph.D., Senior Research Chemist, Rohm and Haas Co.

After graduating from UD in 1998 with a B.S. in chemistry, Dr. Miller attended Notre Dame University where he obtained a Ph.D. in organic chemistry 2003. While at Notre Dame, he studied under Professor Xavier Creary in the area of physical-organic chemistry. Dr. Miller’s research focused on the stabilities of reactive intermediates such as carbocations and free radicals. After graduation, he took a position at the Rohm and Haas Company where he is currently a senior research chemist.

Of his time at UD, Dr. Miller says: “My experiences at UD have had a great impact on my career and life choices. It was the family atmosphere that drew me to UD in the beginning and helped me to grow as a person. The chemistry department at UD did a great job of challenging me as an undergraduate and preparing me for graduate school. I found that the research experience and classes I took put me a step ahead of many other graduate students. It was then I realized how fortunate I was to attend a place such as UD where I could have interaction with the faculty one-on-one. I also believe that the summer research program that the chemistry and biochemistry majors take part in is a phenomenal opportunity that students shouldn't take lightly. It really is an opportunity to "get your feet wet" in real academic research.”