Chemistry students excel in research, competition

Students in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry recently scored a variety of impressive accomplishments in research and competition.

Senior Alexander Smiarowski earned the 2024 Undergraduate Student Award from the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) for his work with Dr. Isaac Agyekum, associate professor of chemistry. Smiarowski presented their research, which is a novel, faster and more streamlined analytical method of fatty acid analysis, and received his award at the ASMS Annual Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics in June in Anaheim, California.

Smiarowski, who is pursuing a degree in chemistry, said he appreciates the way Agyekum gives him input in the research process. The senior plans to attend graduate school and work in the analytical chemistry industry.

"I feel pride in my mentor. I'm being led by somebody who knows what he's doing so well," Smiarowski said. "I feel pride in our school. There are so many things to be thankful for."

Ryan Coyle, a spring graduate with a degree in chemistry with a biochemistry concentration, received the Outstanding Undergraduate Student of the Year Award from the Northeast Georgia Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS). In April, he accepted the award at the combined ACS/University of Georgia chemistry awards banquet in Athens, Georgia.

Coyle conducted undergraduate research at UNG with Dr. John Leyba, dean of the College of Science & Mathematics, and additional work for two consecutive summers at Emory University. He was also the recipient of UNG's Chemistry Graduate Award for 2024. He is working for the 2024-25 academic year at Emory on ALS and Parkinson's disease research. His career goal after graduate school is to conduct biochemistry or analytical chemistry research.

"All the professors at UNG helped me to prepare for what it would be like outside of college," Coyle said. "They helped guide me as mentors."

Additionally, UNG's Dahlonega Campus ACS student chapter took first place in the third annual Trivia Night event hosted by Georgia Gwinnett College and Augusta University. They outperformed teams from Georgia, North Carolina and Florida. The group's faculty advisers are Dr. Greta Giles and Dr. Ryan Meier.

Logan Hikes, a senior from Cumming, Georgia, pursuing a degree in chemistry, was proud of the trivia win. He said the ACS group at UNG hopes to reach other students.

"We want to show students there is a community they can have while studying chemistry," Hikes said.

Dr. Royce Dansby-Sparks, associate department head of Chemistry & Biochemistry, said the success of students comes as no surprise.

"The faculty and staff of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry are fully committed to providing students with developmental experiences in and outside of the classroom. Alexander and Ryan’s successes in research and the awards they have received further validate the high impact that one-on-one mentoring in research can have on student career progression," Dansby-Sparks said. "In addition, our faculty and our professional organization, the American Chemical Society, are committed to helping students develop a sense of community and belonging in careers in the sciences through engaging and educational programs like the student trivia events and laboratory-based research experiences."