CEI Roster

Chair

• Elise Fox

Committee Bios

Members | Liaisons | Staff

Dr. Elise Fox, Member (2025) and Chair

Elise Fox is Senior Manger of Sustainability Solutions at World Kinect Energy Services. In this role, she supports the aviation industry on their sustainability journey, including sustainable aviation fuels and carbon footprinting. Recent projects include the reduction of soft costs of photovoltaics in the Southeastern US and expanding access to renewable energy for low to middle income communities. She served on the Subcommittee on Energy Use and Resources and the Subcommittee on Renewable Energy for the development of the South Carolina (SC) State Energy Plan in 2016 and the  2019 update. She was a member of the South Carolina Electric Vehicle Initiative in 2021. She received her B.S in Chemistry from the College of Charleston in 2001 and has graduate degrees from The Pennsylvania State University, M.S (2004) and Ph.D. (2006) in Materials with a minor in Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering.  Her graduate work, under Professor Chunshan Song, involved catalytic hydrogen purification and production by the oxygen-assisted water-gas shift reaction and the absorptive desulfurization of fuels.

She is a Councilor for the ACS Division on Energy and Fuels (2015-2023) and previous Chair (2014).  She served as an Alternate Councilor (2014-2016) for Savannah River Local Section, served in the three-year chair succession (Chair in 2009).  Dr. Fox served on the Younger Chemist Committee [Member (2013-2014), Associate (2011-2012)] and has been a member of ACS since 1997.  She joined CEI in 2015 as an Associate and currently serves as Chair.  Dr. Fox was recognized as an ACS Fellow in 2017 and is an Advisory Board Member for the ACS Green Chemistry Institute.

Dr. Katherine Aubrecht, Member (2024)

Katherine Aubrecht is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, where she also serves as the Division Head for Sustainability Studies. Her scholarship focuses on the development and assessment of learning materials connecting chemistry to issues of sustainability. She is serving as a module developer for the ACS GCI Green and Sustainable Chemistry Module Development Project. She was one of the 2016 recipients of the ACS-CEI Award for Incorporation of Sustainability into Chemical Education. She received a B.A. in Chemistry from Reed College, a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Cornell University, and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Minnesota.

Ms. Jenelle Ball, Member (2024)

Jenelle Ball is a high school chemistry teacher in Chico, California. As a 30+ year teacher of chemistry, she still has a true enthusiasm for her profession. She currently teaches college prep chemistry and Advanced Placement Chemistry, and serves as the science department chair.

Ms. Ball received her BS in chemistry from California State University, Chico. Her MS in chemistry is from UC Santa Cruz and her MA in education is from UC Santa Barbara.

In 1982, Ms. Ball became a full member the ACS after having been a member and president of the Student Affiliates at CSU Chico. She is a long-time member of the California Section. In 2010, the California Section recognized her teaching efforts and selected her as the Lloyd Ryland Outstanding High School Chemistry Teacher. Many opportunities came from that recognition. In 2015, she received the James Bryant Conant Award from the ACS. In 2016, she served as a member of the Recommendations Task Force for the American Chemical Society Guidelines for Teaching High School and Middle School Chemistry. In 2017, Ms. Ball served as President of the American Association of Chemistry Teachers, and was recognized as the Outstanding Alumni from the College of Natural Sciences at CSU Chico. She has been the program organizer and co-organizer for many Teacher Day programs during the ACS Spring National Meeting. She is very excited to now be a councilor for the California Section and member of CEI.

Dr. Marie Bourgeois, Member (2023)

Dr. Marie Bourgeois is a Research Professor and Toxicologist at the University Of South Florida College Of Public Health. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Chemistry from USF and an MPH and Ph.D. in Toxicology and Risk Assessment from the Environmental and Occupational Health Department at USF COPH in 2010.  Her research includes lactational transfer of pesticides, toxicity assessments of investigational compounds, and the effects of PARP inhibition on pharmacologically mediated hepatotoxicity.

Dr. Bourgeois was a Councilor (2014 – 2018) for the Tampa Bay ACS Chapter. She is currently serving as interim Secretary and has been an active member of ACS since 2006. She holds leadership positions in SOT at a regional and national level. She also is a member of the SETAC Human Health Risk Assessment Advisory Group and is an active promoter of K12 science education outreach.

Dr. Edward Brush, Member (2024)

Ed Brush is professor of chemistry at Bridgewater State University (BSU) in Massachusetts.  Ed received his Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry from Penn State University, and B.Sc. in Chemistry from King's College of Pennsylvania.  Ed is faculty coordinator of Project GreenLab, an outreach initiative engaging students and educators in projects that apply the Principles of Green Chemistry to solve real world problems related to the use of chemicals in society.  Ed teaches organic chemistry and introduction to green chemistry at BSU, where he engages students through research, flipped classroom pedagogy, and the integration of Project-Based Learning into his lecture and lab courses focused on carbon capture. He has served as co-PI on a variety of departmental and institutional projects at BSU: to integrate and scaffold research through the chemistry curriculum; and integrate interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning (PBL) across the curriculum via connections to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Ed serves on the advisory board for the Green Chemistry Commitment and is a member of the ACS Committee on Environmental Improvement. He has contributed to the ACS CPT Green Chemistry Supplement and was a guest editor for the Journal of Chemical Education special issue on “Systems Thinking, and Green and Sustainable Chemistry”. Ed has co-organized numerous symposia and workshops on green & sustainable chemistry at ACS national meetings, and represents the CEI on the thematic programming team for the ACS 2022 fall meeting in Chicago.

Dr. Peter F. DeCarlo, Associate (2023)

Dr. Peter DeCarlo is an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering in the Whiting School of Engineering.  Dr. DeCarlo has a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 2001, and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Colorado in 2007 where he was an EPA Graduate Research STAR recipient and awarded the AAAR Sheldon K. Friedlander Award for his doctoral thesis in 2009. From 2008-2010 he was an NSF International Postdoctoral Fellowship recipient from 2008-2010 at the Laboratory for Atmospheric Chemistry at the Paul Scherrer Insititut in Switzerland. He also is interested in the intersection of science and policy and was an AAAS Science Policy Fellow hosted at the US EPA in 2010-2011. Dr. DeCarlo’s research is focused on the measurement and quantification of trace gases and particulate chemical composition in air and how these chemical species impact human health and the environment. 

Alejandra Carreon Torres, Associate (2023)

Alejandra Carreon Torres is a biochemistry and pharmaceutical sciences student at the University of Arizona, graduating in 2024. She conducts research in multiple departments, including Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Nutrition, and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Alejandra participated as an intern at the Bio/Diversity Project to advocate science education to young students, an ambassador and a peer mentor for the Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, and an Associate Committee member focused on sustainability in the CEI. 

Dr. Dionysios D. Dionysiou, Associate (2023)

Professor Dionysiou was born on the Island of Cyprus. He is currently a Herman Schneider Professor of Environmental Engineering and has served as a UNESCO co-Chair Professor on “Water Access and Sustainability” at the University of Cincinnati (UC). His teaching and research interests include (i) physical chemical processes for treatment of surface water, groundwater, and industrial wastewater, (ii) AOPs, (iii) development of advanced functional materials, (iv) treatment of contaminants of emerging concern (i.e., pharmaceuticals and personal care products, biotoxins, heavy metals), (v) remediation of Harmful Algal Blooms/cyanotoxins, (vi) environmental nanotechnology and nanosensing, and (vii) water sustainability. Dr. Dionysiou is the author or co-author of over 600 refereed journal publications and 160 conference proceedings, book chapters, and editorials. He has also edited seven books. He has provided service as editor, associate editor, or member of the editorial board of more than 15 scientific journals. He served as committee chair or member for various functions in many professional societies. Dr. Dionysiou is fellow of the European Academy of Sciences, fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS), fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), fellow of the International Water Association (IWA), fellow of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP), elected Board Certified Environmental Engineering Member (BCEEM) of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES), and recipient of several professional awards. Dr. Dionysiou has been featured in several international symposia, professional meetings, news media, and scientific publications. He has trained over 160 graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral associates, and visiting scholars in his laboratories. He is a Highly Cited Researcher (in Engineering and Environment/Ecology based on Clarivate Analytics, Web of Science, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 as well as in Environmental Science and Engineering and Chemical Engineering based of Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects by Elsevier, 2016).

Dr. Robert Giraud, Member (2023)

Robert Giraud is an Engineering Technology Senior Principal Consultant at the Chemours Company.  Following six years of manufacturing technical support and process research in Louisiana, he joined the environmental section of DuPont’s company-wide engineering consulting organization in Delaware in 1987.  Since co-authoring the corporate Waste Minimization Guidance Manual later that year, he has collaborated with business R&D and plant technical staff across the company to craft integrated solutions for meeting evolving environmental requirements largely using what has come to be known as Green Chemistry and Engineering.  Robert has led or served on interdisciplinary teams recognized with an R&D 100 award, two USEPA National Partnership for Environmental Priorities Achievement Awards, and three DuPont Engineering Excellence awards.  In 2015, he was part of a small group honored by the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3) as a GC3 champion in recognition of leadership in advancing safer chemistry and a healthier planet.  He co-leads the AltSep sustainable separations initiative on behalf of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute Chemical Manufacturers Roundtable and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.  Robert serves on the ACS Committee on Environmental Improvement, the Industrial Advisory Board to the ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry, the Scientific Advisory Board of the Nanoporous Materials Genome Center, and the Wilmington University Environmental Science and Policy Program Advisory Board.  As adjunct faculty at the University of Delaware, he teaches the Green Engineering course and advises chemical engineering student groups through the conduct of their senior design projects.  He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Tulane University and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Delaware.

Dr. Jillian Goldfarb, Member (2025)

Dr. Jillian Goldfarb received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University and Ph.D. from Brown University. She is an Associate Professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University. Dr. Goldfarb’s research tackles challenges surrounding energy generation and its impact on the environment. She has developed new concepts for solid waste to green material conversion and proposed new biorefinery concepts for low-carbon fuels. Her work is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, USDA, U.S.-Israel Binational Research Development Fund, the Eppley Foundation and the Towards Sustainability Foundation. Prof. Goldfarb is co-Principal Editor of Fuel. She is recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, an ACS Green Chemistry Institute GreenX: Rising Star Award, and was a 2017 Fulbright Scholar to Italy. In 2022 she was a delegate to the 1^st National Academies of Science U.S.-Africa Frontiers symposium and a recipient of the Cornell University College of Engineering James and Mary Tien Excellence in Teaching Award.

Dr. Carol J. Henry, Consultant (2023)

Carol J. Henry is an adviser and consultant to public and private organizations, focusing on issues in toxicology, public and environmental health, risk assessment and risk management, research-management strategies, green chemistry and engineering technology and sustainable practices. She serves as the Environmental Health Advisor to Cummins, Inc., where she monitors developments in environmental health sciences and toxicology that relate to air pollution, focusing on topics which may have an impact on heavy-duty engine emission regulations.

Dr. Henry holds an appointment as professorial lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) of the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is a diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology, certified in general toxicology, a past President of the American College of Toxicology and the Chemical Society of Washington. She was elected an ACS Fellow in 2019.

Dr. Henry received a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota and a PhD in microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute, Tübingen, Germany; Princeton University, Princeton, NJ; and Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York City, NY.

Dr. Heriberto Hernandez, Associate (2023)

Dr. Brett E. Howard, Member (2024)

Dr. Howard is a Senior Director at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in the Science and Regulatory Affairs division, where he focuses on improving access to cell and gene-based therapies.  Before PhRMA, Brett spent seven years at the American Chemistry Council working on issues concerning microplastics, exposure assessments, and sustainability. He previously obtained a JD from the University of Maryland and spent several years as a pharmaceutical patent litigator at a DC-based IP boutique.  Brett’s scientific background stems from graduate work in organic chemistry at the University of California, Irvine, where he received his Ph.D. for work on small molecule synthesis and chemical method development.  

Dr. Keisuke Ikehata, Member (2022)

Dr. Keisuke Ikehata is an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering in the Ingram School of Engineering, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.  He joined Texas State as one of four founding members of the new Civil Engineering Program in July 2019.  Dr. Ikehata received his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 2003.  Prior to joining Texas State, Dr. Ikehata worked as a technical consultant/R&D manager at a water resources engineering firm in Orange County, California for more than eight years.  Dr. Ikehata is a registered professional environmental engineer in Alberta and Arizona.  His research interests and expertise include aquatic chemistry and biology, xenobiotics toxicology and risk assessment, water and wastewater treatment, disinfection and disinfection by-products, water reuse, desalination, and environmental microbiology and biotechnology.  Dr. Ikehata has published more than 160 technical publications, including peer-reviewed research articles, review papers, and invited book chapters.  Dr. Ikehata has been an active member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) since 1999. Dr. Ikehata was the Chair (2019) and an Alternate Councilor (2016-2019) for the Orange County Section of the ACS (OC ACS).  He was also an active member of the Environmental Committee of the OC ACS and severed as a program co-chair for the ACS Western Regional Meeting in San Marcos, California in 2015. 

Dr. Anastasia Ilgen, Associate (2024)

Dr. Anastasia G. Ilgen is a Principal Member of Technical Staff in the Geochemistry Department at Sandia National Laboratories. Dr. Ilgen is an experimental geochemist, specializing in molecular mechanisms of chemical reactions at solid-water interfaces. Her notable discoveries include identifying chemical complexation reactions which control fracturing in crystalline phases, with implications for geological carbon and nuclear waste storage. She developed new insights into the nanoconfinement-driven chemical changes to the structure and thermodynamics of surface complexation reactions for copper and lanthanide ions.

Anastasia has been a member of ACS since 2008, joining as a graduate student.  She Anastasia has been a member of the ACS and the Geochemistry Division since 2008. She served a four-year rotation as Program Chair-Elect (2015), Program Chair (2016), Division Chair (2017), and Past Division Chair (2018) of the Geochemistry Division as well as elected twice to serve as Councilor (2019-2021, 2022-2024). Anastasia received an M.S. equivalent degree in water quality and engineering from Kamchatka State Technical University, Russia in 2001.  She worked at the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Kamchatka, Russia (2001-2004). She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry from University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK, in 2010. 

Dr. Csaba Janaky, Associate (2023)

Dr. Michael Matthews, Member (2023)

Mike Matthews is Professor of Chemical Engineering and Senior Associate Dean for research and graduate programs, and Vice Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing at the University of South Carolina. He also serves the university as Associate Vice President for Research. He attended Texas A&M University, receiving his PhD in 1986. Professor Matthews began his service to ACS in 1994 as the founding chair of the Green Chemistry & Engineering Subdivision of the Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (1999-2004). He served as IEC Division Chair in 2007.  He was named an ACS Fellow in 2011, and became an AIChE Fellow in 2014. Matthews has published over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and mentored 11 PhD and 14 MS students, along with approximately 70 undergraduate students. His research has been sponsored by NSF, NIH, EPA, DoD, and several companies. He won the 2008 William H Corcoran Award for Best Paper in Chemical Engineering Education, sponsored by Eastman Chemical and the Chemical Engineering Division of the American Society of Engineering Education. He won his university’s Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award in 2020, and his department’s Joe Gibbons Distinguished Teaching Award in 2019. Professor Matthews’ research is focused on fundamentals and applications of thermodynamics and diffusional mass transfer, with applications in biomedical engineering, green chemistry, and hydrogen energy. He holds six U.S. patents.

Dr. V. Faye McNeill, Member (2023)

V. Faye McNeill is a Professor in the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Earth and Environmental Science at Columbia University. She joined Columbia in 2007 and received tenure in 2014.  She received her B.S. in Ch.E. from Caltech in 1999 and in 2005 she received her PhD in Ch.E. from MIT, where she was a NASA Earth System Science Fellow. From 2005-2007 she was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Washington Department of Atmospheric Sciences. She received the NSF CAREER and the ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator awards in 2009.  She was the recipient of the Kenneth T. Whitby Award of AAAR in 2015. She was a Co-Editor for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics from 2007-2017, and she is a founding Associate Editor for ACS Earth and Space Chemistry.  She has served in elected officer positions at AAAR, AIChE Environmental Division, and AGU. She is currently the Vice President Elect of AAAR (President in 2023). She is a Member of the ACS Committee on Environmental Improvement.

Dr. Steven Moss, Member (2025) 

DDr. Steven Moss is a Senior Program Officer for the Board on Life Sciences at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). Dr. Moss joined NASEM in 2019, where his work focusses on convening groups of experts to discuss, and make recommendations related to, science policy issues in the life sciences and other related fields. His current portfolio of projects includes understanding the convergence of scientific disciplines, as well as projects on environmental sustainability in the chemical economy, synthetic biology, and the future of biotechnology. Prior to joining NASEM, Dr. Moss received his Ph.D. in chemistry and chemical biology from the University of California, San Francisco. Before starting his PhD, he received a B.S. in biochemistry from American University, and then worked as a laboratory technician for 2 years at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Moss also serves as a member of the Public Affairs Committee for the Biophysical Society and serves as a judge for the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition.

Dr. Clifford Murphy, Member (2025)

Clifford Murphy received his B.S. in Chemistry from Saint Michael’s College, and his Ph.D. in Physical Inorganic Chemistry with Prof. Wayne E. Jones Jr. at Binghamton University.   Currently, Cliff is a Professor of Physical Chemistry at Roger Williams University where he mentors undergraduates in chemical research.   His recent projects have included development of a electrochemical chemosensor device for detection of nitrate, nitrite, and thiocyanate ions in seawater and investigating the photophysics of oxygen pulsimetry measurements in model solution systems containing hemoglobin and melanin. Cliff has been a member of the American Chemical Society since 1998 and is an active member with the Rhode Island Local Section of the American Chemical Society.

Dr. Sherine O. Obare, Consultant (2023)

Dr. Sherine Obare is the Dean of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She is also a Full Professor of Nanoscience at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She received a B.S. in Chemistry from West Virginia State University, obtained a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of South Carolina, and was a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins University. As a member of the Committee on Environmental Improvement (CEI), Obare chairs the ACS-CEI Award for Incorporation of Sustainability into the Curriculum, and also chairs the CEI Environmental Film Competition. She serves as Program Chair for the ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry’s Spring National Meeting. She is also Chair for the ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry (2022-2023).

Obare is an Environmental Chemist whose research focuses on the detection and remediation of environmental contaminants as well as understanding the fate, transport and toxicity of anthropogenic nanomaterials. Her research program has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Education, among others. She also serves as a task group chair for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) project titled ‘Chemical speciation of anthropogenic nanoparticles’. She is the co-editor of two new books titled “Green Technologies for the Environment” and the “Power and promise of Early Research”. She has trained over 100 students in her laboratory and is the recipient of the 2009 IUPAC Young Observer Award, the NSF CAREER award, and the NSF Division of Materials Research American Competitiveness and Innovation (ACI) Fellowship. In 2013, Obare was named as one of the top 25 Women Professors in Michigan, and was named ACS Fellow in 2019.

Dr. Abby R. O'Connor, Associate (2023)

Abby O’Connor is a Professor of Chemistry at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). Abby received a B.S in Chemistry from Lafayette College and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Following graduate school, Abby conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Washington-Seattle, where she was a member of The Center for Enabling New Technologies Through Catalysis (CENTC). Her teaching interests are in inclusive teaching pedagogies for organic, inorganic and general chemistry. Abby also created a course on green and sustainable chemistry. Abby’s research focuses on developing base metal catalysts for CO₂ functionalization and developing greener methodologies to synthesize safer ligands for organometallic catalysis. Abby was recognized by the Women’s Chemist Committee as a Rising Star for 2021 and was the 2022 recipient of the E. Emmet Reid Teaching Award. Abby continues to be involved with several TCNJ groups including serving as vice president of the Faculty Senate.

Abby is an active member of the American Chemical Society (ACS). She has chaired sessions for the inorganic division at National ACS meetings, organized symposia, and currently serves as councilor and the chemists celebrate earth week coordinator for the Trenton local ACS section. She co-organized and ran the highly successful Career Café Program put together by the Trenton local section and in the past coordinated efforts for the Chemagination competition held in conjunction with the Princeton Section. Abby also serves as a reviewer for manuscripts, grants, and student ACS chapter reports. She was the chair for student programming at the MARM in 2022.

Dr. Sara V. Orski, Member (2024) and Secretary

Dr. Sara Orski is a research chemist in the Materials Science and Engineering Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD.  Her research expertise is in synthesis and characterization of polymers and polymer thin films.  Current projects involve characterization of well-controlled branched polyolefins for next-generation standard reference materials as well as improving identification and measurement methods for plastics found in marine environments, with the goal of quantifying the degradation rates and mechanisms of different commercial polymers.

Sara Orski completed a postdoc in the NIST Sustainable Polymers Group as a National Research Council fellow in 2013.  She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Georgia in 2011 in Athens, GA, and her B.S. in Chemistry with honors in 2006 from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.  She is actively involved with her local ACS section, the Chemical Society of Washington, where she serves as chair of the Younger Chemists Committee and as a councilor.  She is also active in ACS POLY where she serves as the Student Chapter liaison.

Dr. Melissa Pasquinelli, Member (2022)

Dr. Pasquinelli is Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University, where she also works as a Professor in Forest Biomaterials and the Fiber and Polymer Science Programs. Her research expertise is in the design and application of computational approaches that predict and modulate the properties of systems at the nanoscale, including polymers, proteins, fibers, and nanoparticles. Particular research emphasis areas are environmental sustainability and toxicology.  She has also been actively serving in sustainability-focused roles throughout NC State. She incorporates environmental topics into the courses that she teaches at the undergraduate and graduate levels, such as computer modeling, engineering thermodynamics, and the sustainability of soft materials.  Through the NC-ACS Project SEED and EnvironMentors programs, she has also mentored research projects for over 20 high school students who have won awards in a variety of science competitions. She is a Councilor of the North Carolina Section and a 2018 ACS Fellow.

PPrior to joining NC State, she completed two postdoctoral positions; she worked for two years as a Computational Chemist with the Office of Research and Development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the National Center for Computational Toxicology, and she also worked as a Sloan Postdoctoral Fellow at Duke University. She received her Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University in 2002, and her B.S. in Chemistry with honors in 1996 from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA.  

Dr. Paul R. Robinson, Associate (2023)

Paul R. Robinson began his career in the energy in 1978 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where his research focused on hydrogen energy systems. After Oak Ridge, he worked for major oil and gas companies, including Unocal, Chevron, and Shell, inventing clean-fuel catalysts, licensing clean-fuels technology, and providing technical service at scores of oil refineries in more than 40 different countries. He has obtained 12 patents and authored or co-authored more than 90 publications, including three books; chapters from the Springer Handbook of Petroleum Technology (Springer, 2017) have been downloaded more than 201,000 times.

Paul earned a PhD in Chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, where he also spent a year at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He served two years as a Visiting Assistant Professor under the guidance of Professor Gilbert Haight at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. His major technical contributions include an acid/base model for thermochemical water-splitting cycles; creating the reaction network and thermodynamics for Aspen Hydrocracker, which is used in numerous real-time optimization (RTO) applications; developing a rigorous catalyst deactivation model for hydroprocessing; and performing nine hydrogen network optimization studies, which led to projects that are keeping up to 200,000 tons/annum of CO₂ out of the atmosphere.

Dr. Michelle M. Rogers, Member (2025)

Michelle Rogers joined Cargill, Inc. in April 2020 and currently is the Manager of Industrial and Regulatory and Scientific Affairs – North America. In this role she is responsible for developing the industrial regulatory strategy to ensure compliance while enabling business success along with managing a team of regulatory and hazard communication specialist. Prior to joining Cargill, Michelle spent 13 years working for The Lubrizol Corporation. Michelle joined Lubrizol as a research scientist where she developed novel detergents for engine oils. She then transitioned to the Product Safety and Compliance Department (PSCD). Michelle’s time in PSCD was focused on the EU and Korean REACH regulations along with the associated systems and process development.

Michelle is very involved with the American Chemical Society (ACS) on a national level, previously serving on the Women Chemists Committee (WCC) and as chair of Nomenclature, Terminology and Structure Representation (NTS) committee. She is also involved at the international level with International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Michelle has been involved with the Committee on Chemistry and Industry (COCI) and Division VIII – Nomenclature  and Structure Representative, where she currently serves as President. Michelle received her BA in Chemistry from Washington University in Saint Louis and her PhD in Organic Chemistry from University of Wisconsin – Madison. Her PhD work involved the development of new oxidative Palladium catalyzed C-C and C-N bond forming reactions. Michelle’s hobbies include: Needlepoint, bicycling, traveling, cooking and spending time with husband and 7 year old daughter.

Dr. Joseph E. Sabol, Member (2025)

Joe Sabol is a consultant to the chemical, semiconductor, metal/oxide, polymer, and related industries, specializing in technical and business development services for start-ups, small, and growing chemical businesses. Sabol grew up on an apple farm in Racine County, Wisconsin, and received a B.S. in chemistry from Carroll College (now Carroll University, Wisconsin) and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Oklahoma State University (Stillwater). After a postdoc in chemical engineering at University of Minnesota, Sabol taught analytical, physical, and environmental chemistry and studied the transport, magnetic, and crystallographic properties of transition metal substituted magnetite, variants of Fe3O4. Sabol joined ACS in 1976, was named ACS Fellow in 2018, and has served in many volunteer roles, including Division of Small Chemical Businesses Program Chair (2008-2022) and Councilor (2016-2024), Upper Peninsula Local Section Treasurer (2008-2023), and Great Lakes Region Director (2011-2023) and Treasurer (2019-2025). Sabol served on Committee for Chemistry and Public Affairs (2015-2021) before joining CEI in 2022. In 2003, Sabol was appointed to Marquette County [Michigan] Local Emergency Planning Committee and has been Chair since 2017. In 2022, Sabol was elected Director, Friends of Peter White Public Library [Marquette, Michigan].

Dr. Peter Smith, Member (2023)

Pete Smith is a Professor of Chemistry at Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA where he has worked since 2002. He earned his B.S. (1997) and Ph.D. (2000) in chemistry from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Before beginning his career at Westminster College, Pete was a Franklin Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at the University of Georgia. Pete began his service to the ACS and its members in his local section where he has served as chair (2006), secretary (2007 – 2009), member-at-large (2003, 2018 – 2020), and alternate councilor (2005 – 2012). In 2007, he began his national service as an Associate on the Younger Chemists Committee (2007 – 2009). From there, Pete has served the Division of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry as chair of the Green Chemistry & Engineering subdivision (2009), program chair (2014 – 2015), and councilor (2018 – 2020). He has also served as treasurer (2008 – 2014) and chair (2017) of the Division of Professional Relations. Additionally, Pete has served on the Committee for Chemical Abstracts Service (2012 – 2017) and as a member of three General Chemistry Exam Committees for the ACS Examinations Institute (2005, 2010, 2014).

Pete’s research focuses on creating new methods for the recovery of valuable materials from scrap and end-of-life high tech products. He and his students are currently developing more sustainable and benign methods for separating the rare earth components from the transition metals in scrap permanent magnets. As a complement to his research, Pete created and has been the primary professor for the green chemistry course offered at Westminster College.

Dr. Jane Wissinger, Member (2023)

Jane Wissinger is a Teaching Professor of Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory Director at the University of Minnesota. She received her B.A. from Susquehanna University (PA), M.S. from Georgia Institute of Technology, and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Northwestern University (IL). She was employed as a research scientist at Rohm & Haas Co. for five years before beginning her academic career at the University of Minnesota. Wissinger’s teaching and research interests focus on the development of curriculum materials for the college and high school levels that exemplify modern green chemistry methodology, advances in sustainable polymers, and guided-inquiry pedagogy. She is a Senior Principle Investigator in the Center for Sustainable Polymers and active in promoting green chemistry education locally and on a national level through funded projects, publications, and conferences. Her contributions to education were recognized with a U of MN Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor award (2014), ACS-CEI Award for Incorporation of Sustainability in Chemistry Education (2018), and 2021 Brasted Award for Excellence in College Teaching. Jane has served on a Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) committee for developing a Green Chemistry Education Roadmap and is a symposia organizer at national ACS meetings and the Green Chemistry & Engineering conferences. Jane is a member of the IUPAC Interdivisional Committee on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development (ICGCSD) and task group members on several projects.

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Liaisons

Ms. Michelle Brann, Younger Chemists Committee

Michelle Brann is a PhD Candidate in Physical Chemistry at the University of Chicago. Her research currently investigates the accretion, release, and aggregation of gases within cometary ices at the molecular level by employing ultra-high vacuum and Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy.

She received her B.A in Chemistry with honors from Wellesley College in 2015. Her senior honors thesis characterized how the alga C. reinhardtii responded to stress as a continuation of her two summers spent at NASA Ames Research Center. Aside from research, Michelle was a varsity golfer earning All-Academic Conference Awards.

After graduating, she spent one year as a research associate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the National Security Directorate. She balanced tasks relating to five distinct projects ranging from biofouling to explosive detection, biofilm growth, trace metal collection, and nuclear safeguards. During that year, she coauthored several patents and publications.

Michelle is a member of the ACS Younger Chemist Committee (YCC) and is excited to be a liaison to CEI. Within YCC she is part of the Communications Subcommittee and is responsible for maintaining the YCC website. She is also a YCC facilitator and organizer for the Younger Chemist Leadership Development Workshop at LDI.

Dr. Susan Olesik, Committee on Committees

Susan Olesik currently serves as the Dean of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and Distinguished University Professor at Ohio State University.  She has served as an ACS Councilor since 2018 representing the Analytical Division. She has served on the Divisional Activities Committee (DAC), is a former chair of the ACS Analytical Division (ANYL) and now serves on the Committee on Committees (ConC).  Her research is in three areas of analytical chemistry — Enhanced-fluidity Liquid Chromatography (EFLC), development of carbon stationary phases (one of these columns was a component of the Cassini-Huygen’s probe of Titan), and design of nanoscale materials for chromatography-mass spectrometry.  

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Staff

Mr. Ray Garant, CEI Staff Liaison; ACS Government Affairs, Public Policy | Email Mr. Garant

Ray Garant is assistant director for public policy at the American Chemical Society Office of Public Affairs.  His responsibilities include oversight of the ACS Science & the Congress Project, a program of congressional staff briefings to improve decision maker’s understanding of the relationship between science and public policy, and development of the Society’s public policy positions and messages. Ray was a congressional science fellow in 1993 and a senior legislative assistant in 1994 to former Representative Phil Sharp (D-IN).  He followed environmental, judicial, and health-care issues. 

Ray began his Washington career as a Science Policy Fellow at ACS headquarters in 1990.  Prior to that, he worked as a materials researcher at the Ames Laboratory of the Department of Energy, a student assistant for acoustics and oceanographic sciences at the U.S. Naval Underwater Systems Center, and manager of an Iowa State University project to communicate science to the public.

He has a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and an M.S. in Inorganic Chemistry from Iowa State University under the direction of John Verkade.