Boise State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

So far this academic year, we've celebrated one successful thesis defense for the Masters in Chemistry program, and THREE Biomolecular Ph.D. defenses from students that our faculty mentor. Congratulations to all...we're very proud of all your hard work towards this accomplishment!

Chemists are Wizards! Here in Boise State's Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, we have a long-standing tradition of presenting a wizard hat to our graduates. But where do those hats come from?
Each and every one of them is made by hand! It started with a couple of talented seamstresses among our ranks and has become a department-wide effort to keep the tradition alive. Now faculty, staff, emeriti and even our department chair sit down together to create the hats our students have come to love.

https://www.boisestate.edu/chemistry/2026/01/29/a-legend-retires/

A Legend Retires This month we celebrated the retirement of our acting chair, Dr. JoAnn Lighty. JoAnn joined...

Congratulations to the recipients of the Spring 2026 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Scholarships! Students receive a $3000 stipend to conduct research or pursue a creative project over 12-weeks under the supervision of a faculty mentor. The student awardees that our faculty mentor are:

Josue Duran, Environmental Science. Faculty research mentor: Owen McDougal

Lauren Gold, Chemistry. Faculty research mentor: Jenée Cyran

Simone Gonzalez, Biology. Faculty research mentor: Don Warner

Briana Rojas, Health Science. Faculty research mentor: Ken Cornell

At the end of the Fall 2025 semester, we "swore in" 5 more chemistry wizards at our Wizard Hat Ceremony! Congrats to Matthew, Carter, Nicholas, Hailey and Greta on earning their Bachelors of Science in Chemistry!

Join us this Friday for some holiday science fun!

We currently have two openings, for a Lecturer and an Assistant Teaching Professor! These positions are an integral part of the department's and student success in chemistry! If you're interested in joining our team of dedicated faculty and staff, check out the links below:

Lecturer: https://jobs.boisestate.edu/en-us/job/499312/lecturer-chemistry

Assistant Teaching Professor: https://jobs.boisestate.edu/en-us/job/499309/assistant-teaching-professor-chemistry

An all-female team from the Meister Lab, led by graduate student Rosemary Eufemio, went on a field expedition to the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest in northern Idaho in search of lichen, liverwort, and other ice-active organisms. “The hunt is for novel antifreeze and ice-nucleating proteins that allow these organisms to survive freezing,” explains Hailey, a chemistry undergraduate who participated in the trip.
Besides learning more about Idaho’s natural environment, the trip strengthened team-building and collaboration within the group. The “Girls Expedition” will now become a regular part of the lab’s annual calendar. Interested students can contact Jayden Brandt ([email protected]) for information about future participation.

Two of our graduate students were able to travel to the Schmidt Sciences Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future (VIFF) community convening in Mountain View, CA. Morgan Fong and Kylie Johnson were able to tour agricultural sites, participate in research collaboration sessions, and present their research during a poster session. Their WAVES team, (Wet Agricultural Value Enhanced Separations), made up of members from Boise State, INL and Food Physics, is doing critical work towards sustainable food systems.

Spring 2026 graduate Beckett Sebolt is currently working at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) through the DOE’s Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program. The SULI program is a paid internship sponsored and managed by the DOE Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists. It is a unique opportunity for current undergraduate students and recent graduates to learn about science and technology careers, team science, and networking, and to gain the experience needed to transition from internship to employment. SULI interns work in one of 17 participating DOE laboratories/facilities, and are mentored by scientists and engineers on research or technology projects that support the DOE mission and address critical challenges of importance to the nation.

Beckett was encouraged to apply for the program by his undergraduate mentor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Assistant Professor Jenée Cyran. Dr. Cyran participated in an internship at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory through the SULI program as an undergrad herself, and spoke very highly of the experience. With that endorsement, Beckett felt that SULI would be “a great opportunity to get a sense for what careers in research look like outside of academia.”

When asked if his application was successful because of the research he conducted with Dr. Cyran, he replied, “A lot of the essay prompts were geared towards previous research experience so it ended up becoming a significant part of the application. That being said, I don’t think having little to no research experience should deter anyone from applying. It seems like one of the more important aspects of the application is starting a dialogue with potential mentors and doing it early.”

Beckett’s placement with Argonne National Laboratory is in the Applied Materials Division (AMD), where he is working in the Tribology Laboratory. The Tribology Lab conducts research on advanced tribological systems (surface engineered materials, lubricants, fuels, and fuel/lubricant additives) for use in aggressive environments. Beckett is “working on the group’s Ultrafast Boriding (UFB) project. I’m currently trying to optimize some of the parameters for industrial application. However, I’m also looking into applying UFB to non-ferrous metals/alloys.” Compared to existing thermal treatment processes, ultrafast boriding provides much higher energy efficiency, productivity and near-zero emissions.

Beckett’s internship with the ANL will continue through December of this year. Beyond that, his plans are to apply to graduate programs or potentially continue to work at Argonne. His internship could potentially lead to him being able to get into a lab group there and continue with full-time employment.

Applications are open for the Spring 2026 term for the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) Program, and are due on October 1, 2025.

The American Chemical Society's Society Committee on Education (SOCED) selects ACS Student Communities to receive special recognition on the basis of their programs and activities, as described in their annual reports. Our club, the City of Trees Chemistry Club at Boise State University, was awarded an OUTSTANDING recognition for the 2024-2025 academic year, the highest level of recognition possible. Congratulations to all of our club members and officers and a special thank you to the 24-25 advisors, Don Warner and Maddelyn Glassey, for their guidance and leadership.