Department of Chemistry & Physics
Unrivaled access to outstanding lab facilities and a warm, close-knit community of students and faculty are hallmarks of chemistry at DeSales.
The majors in Chemistry and Biochemistry-Molecular Biology offer a uniquely DeSales experience. Our small class sizes, modern laboratories, and supportive community create an atmosphere for learning enriched by our Salesian values. Your teachers, advisors
and research mentors know you and are dedicated to your success.
Our faculty represent a broad range of individual specialties and are well-respected for their research and professional activities. You will have the opportunity to take part in research, publish and present your work, and participate in a dynamic community
of scientific inquiry.
You’ll have hands-on access to facilities unrivaled at many other liberal arts universities. Throughout their education, students gain extensive experience with instrumentation. Thanks to our generous endowments, grants, and benefactors, our instrument suite includes a recently purchased Fluorimeter, HPLC, and Bomb Calorimeter, and UV-VIS and IR spectrometers in addition to an AA, NMR, ICP-AES, GC, and GC-MS. Our freshman chemistry lab and physics labs are equipped with Pasco sensors and software that enable digital data collection and analysis.
Four DeSales Students Receive Coveted Pennsylvania Academy of Science Research Grants
For the second year in a row, students performing research in the Department of Natural Science are receiving recognition and revenue from the Pennsylvania Academy of Science.
Veronika Tews (above, left), Claudio Velardo (above, center), Emily Jacobson (above, right), and Sapanna Chantarawong (not pictured) are among the 29 students from 14 different Pennsylvania colleges and universities to receive the coveted research grants. Each DeSales student’s grant is worth $700—the highest amount offered by the academy this year.
“It’s very exciting,” says Jacobson, a medical studies major. “We were nervous because we were told there were a lot of grants that were submitted this year.”
Jacobson and Chantarawong’s research focuses on biomaterial rejection and whether curcumin and piperine can prevent the body from negatively responding to implantable devices, such as pacemaker leads and vascular stents.
Velardo is looking into the role of the anterior open gene and its effect on the eye development of insects, while Tews’ research centers on an epidermal growth factor signaling pathway and how it affects the formation of eggs in an insect.
“There are lots of things that we want to do and getting this money will help us purchase a lot of the expensive materials that we need to do this research.”
The students had to write the grants, which were then reviewed by Pennsylvania Academy of Science faculty members. Dr. Austen Barnett serves as a mentor to Tews and Velardo, while Dr. Joshua Slee advises Chantarawong and Jacobson.
“In many ways, it validates their hard work and dedication to their research projects,” says Slee, assistant professor of biology. “It shows that here at DeSales, we are doing top-quality research that is fundable to exterior agencies.”
Four DeSales Students Receive Coveted Pennsylvania Academy of Science Research Grants
For the second year in a row, students performing research in the Department of Natural Science are receiving recognition and revenue from the Pennsylvania Academy of Science.
Veronika Tews (above, left), Claudio Velardo (above, center), Emily Jacobson (above, right), and Sapanna Chantarawong (not pictured) are among the 29 students from 14 different Pennsylvania colleges and universities to receive the coveted research grants. Each DeSales student’s grant is worth $700—the highest amount offered by the academy this year.
“It’s very exciting,” says Jacobson, a medical studies major. “We were nervous because we were told there were a lot of grants that were submitted this year.”
Jacobson and Chantarawong’s research focuses on biomaterial rejection and whether curcumin and piperine can prevent the body from negatively responding to implantable devices, such as pacemaker leads and vascular stents.
Velardo is looking into the role of the anterior open gene and its effect on the eye development of insects, while Tews’ research centers on an epidermal growth factor signaling pathway and how it affects the formation of eggs in an insect.
“There are lots of things that we want to do and getting this money will help us purchase a lot of the expensive materials that we need to do this research.”
The students had to write the grants, which were then reviewed by Pennsylvania Academy of Science faculty members. Dr. Austen Barnett serves as a mentor to Tews and Velardo, while Dr. Joshua Slee advises Chantarawong and Jacobson.
“In many ways, it validates their hard work and dedication to their research projects,” says Slee, assistant professor of biology. “It shows that here at DeSales, we are doing top-quality research that is fundable to exterior agencies.”
