Chemistry

Hello! My name is Ellie Potts, I’m a rising senior from Arlington, VA. I am a chemistry and mathematics double major currently conducting research on iron-based complexes for use in redox flow batteries. As a 2026 summer fellow, I have been working in Dr. Oldacre’s Lab working on synthesizing and analyzing electrochemical reversibility of iron-based complexes. Beginning in the fall I will continue this research looking at stability and applicability of these compounds and similar ones.

Odessa Files, Class of 2027, is a Chemistry major from Windham, Maine. During the school year, she works as a General Chemistry Lab TA and is active in the Chemistry Club. She is also interested in aspects of Public Health and hopes to take more classes in this field of study. In the future she plans to further her lab experience and research skills. While not at school, she works in the lab for a local Maine skincare company, helping with experimentation and development. 

Hello! My name is Istvan. I'm a UWC international scholar here at St.Lawrence, majoring in chemistry. My extracurriculars include: running the SLU boxing club, taking amateur film photos and playing club basketball.

Kathryn 'Kate' Pogue is in the class of 2026 at St. Lawrence University. She is double majoring in chemistry and English with a focus in creative writing. During her 2024 summer internship with Dr. Tartakoff, Kate discovered an passion in organic synthesis, especially surrounding pharmaceutical research and development. She hopes to continue her chemotherapeutic research into her junior and senior years at St. Lawrence, making it part of her Senior Year Experience. Following her graduation from St. Lawrence, Kate plans on completing a PhD in Organic Chemistry. 

Annika Waskiewicz, graduating May 2025, is a Chemistry and English Creative Writing double major. Annika is interested in environmental and conservational chemistry and in her free time enjoys participating in musical groups on campus. 

Julia Hahne is a class of 2026 student at St. Lawrence University majoring in chemistry and minoring in biology. She is passionate about environmentalism and aims to use her skills in the hard sciences to help fight environmental degradation. Outside of academics, Julia is also involved with the Seed to Table farming/gardening literacy club, President (2024-2025) of the Singing Sinners a capella group, and on the executive board (2024-2025) of the Upbeats a capella group.

I am a chemistry major at St. Lawrence University. I am from Pomfret, Vermont and grew up playing soccer and tennis. I enjoy spending as much time in the lab as I can doing research experiments. In the future I plan to attend graduate school for chemistry.

My name is Hadley Reinke and I am a junior at St. Lawrence University. I am a chemistry major on the pre-medical track. Along with STEM, I am interested in the arts (playing the oboe, musical theater, painting, and recently crocheting) and I love to cook/bake in my free time. In the future, after medical school, as of right now I would like to become a cardiac surgeon. Till then I am enjoying getting my chemistry degree while being the president of the medical journal club as St. Lawrence and going North Star Cafe to get a nice cup of coffee with my friends. 

A native of New York, New York, Melinda Barath '24 intends to use a degree in chemistry to pursue a career in pharmacy. When not enjoying the cool weather and snow in Canton, New York, she finds spending time with family in Hungary is also a wonderful pastime. 

Mirabel Pond (she/her/hers) belongs to the Class of 2023 at St. Lawrence University. She is double majoring in Philosophy and Chemistry and plans to pursue philosophy in graduate school. She will continue this project as the subject of her senior honors thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Laura Rediehs.

Emma Rothe '24 is majoring in chemistry and minoring in sports studies/exercise science. She chose this project for the opportunity to address real-world issues through laboratory research and to strengthen her research skills. She plans to follow along with the project throughout her undergraduate years at St. Lawrence University and is excited to see where the project goes in the future. Emma is also involved in the ACS chapter at St. Lawrence and is a member of the women's cross country and track & field teams. 

Leah (Leh-ah), '24, is an international student at St. Lawrence University. Her major is Chemistry and she is also interested in sociology with the aim of pursuing medicine and research in future. During her freshman year, she did toxicology research and moved to organic synthesis research during Summer 2022. With the lab skills she gained in her freshman year, she was fully equiped for her summer research; synthesis of proflavine derivatives.

I am Lydia Oikonomou, and I come from beautiful Thessaloniki, Greece. If there is one thing about me that people agree on is my outgoing character and passion for everything that I like – actually, my passion for life itself. I guess this is only another reason why my favourite hero of all times is Odysseus. With all his yearn for adventure and discovering of new things, he subconsciously became the role model I have always wanted to follow.

Shiqi Xie,'21, is majoring in chemistry. She is interested in environmental chemistry and public health. She wishes to work on the azo-dye degradation of wastewater treatment with electrochemical methods due to the inspiration of water pollution issues in her hometown. She will continue with azo-dye degradation during her senior year studies, and design catalysts to increase the degradation efficiency. She plans to apply for a graduate school of environmental chemistry and work on urgent environmental issues as her career goals.

During the summer of 2020, Chyanne worked remotely with her faculty advisor Dr. Amanda Oldacre to write a research grant for submission to the Petroleum Research Fund. Over the course of eight weeks, she and her advisor researched functionalization and activation methods of petroleum coke. Over the duration of the summer, she also became accustomed to the writing form of a grant; she discusses her research and writing processes in her recorded presentation. Chyanne is continuing her work with Dr. Oldacre and hopes to continue pursuing chemistry research after graduation.

Rachel Siegel, '21, is double majoring in Chemistry and English-Writing. During her fellowship, Rachel researched different types of TNT detectors to discover what chemical principles allow for them to function, research that she is continuing. She also wrote a physical chemistry lab experiment that is currently being reviewed for publication in the Journal of Chemical Education. She plans to continue her chemistry education and earn a phD with the goal of eventually becoming a chemistry professor.

Leo Romanetz is a chemistry major from the class of '21. He is particularly interested in the field of physical chemistry where he plans to use his research experience at SLU as a starting point for future graduate study in the field. He plans to continue his project of the physical chemistry of intercalating chemotherapy drugs while at SLU during his senior year experience. Ultimately, he hopes that by the end of the project he may acquire the kinetic characteristics of the drug proflavin, in particular.

During the summer of 2020, Sky Ratcliffe, '21, was a rising senior working on a project titled "Mathematical Art and Artistic Mathematics: M.C. Escher and the 17 Wallpaper Groups" through the Clare Boothe Luce Program, which involved designing a wallpaper pattern corresponding to each of the groups followed by the painting of a few of them and investigating the proof of there being exactly 17 of these groups.