麻豆传媒

The lure of exploring endless possibilities and the challenge of solving puzzles is what drew Bonnie Buss to the field of chemistry. That combination is something she hopes will also inspire and excite her students, both in the classroom and the lab, as she steps into her new role as assistant professor in 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Chemistry and Biochemistry department this fall.    

鈥淲e have the periodic table that鈥檚 relatively limited in the number of elements, but you can combine them and do things with them in an infinite number of ways,鈥� Buss said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually pretty easy to get into a lab and make something that nobody else has ever made, to be an inventor. Then there鈥檚 the puzzle side of it. You have all of these pieces of information, and you have to figure out how to solve a problem or determine what questions you can ask. Chemistry is not just about being smart, it鈥檚 about solving puzzles.鈥� 

Buss, who earned her bachelor鈥檚 in Chemistry from the University of Arkansas and a Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry from Colorado State University, has spent much of her career in the lab, most recently engaged in post-doctoral research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Her research is focused on sustainability, applying her skills and knowledge to solving the very real-world puzzle of how to reduce plastic waste and pollution.  

鈥淭he idea of sustainability is a pretty big focus in the academic chemistry community,鈥� Buss said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of government funding in this area and policy and motivation to solve these kinds of problems from all sorts of angles. My special take on this issue is being able to use light to either make plastics in a very sustainable way or to break down the plastics we already have into useful materials.鈥� 

According to Buss, while not completely unique, the research she鈥檚 doing does have the potential to stand out in the field. 

鈥淩elative to some academic groups, there鈥檚 definitely some economic motivation behind the research I鈥檓 doing,鈥� Buss said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to develop things that make high value products. So, if we do come across a really solid approach, it鈥檚 something that people will have an economic incentive to adopt. There are a lot of ways to do everything out there, but if it鈥檚 really expensive, nobody鈥檚 going to do it.鈥� 

Buss is hoping to share her research with students and is actively recruiting both undergraduate and graduate students into her lab for hands-on research in photochemistry, plastics and sustainability. It鈥檚 something she thinks will appeal to all experience levels and disciplines, and she encourages interested students to contact her. 

鈥淭he research we鈥檒l do here is really fun since we鈥檙e using light to do all of the chemistry, everything is very colorful,鈥� Buss continued.  

鈥淚t鈥檚 a kind of research where we still use very fundamental ideas in chemistry, like talking about catalysts, things that can drive chemical reactions. But we鈥檒l use these in a very real world and applied approach,鈥� adds Buss. 鈥淭his research is something that鈥檚 perfect for this environment, especially within the context of getting students excited and driving them to pursue careers in science, hopefully.鈥� 

Michael Mosher, interim department chair, professor of Chemistry and manager of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Brewing Laboratory Science Program, is excited to welcome Buss to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and speaks highly of her research efforts to advance the science of polymer and plastic sustainability. 

鈥淭he results of her studies will be of paramount importance to the students in our program as they explore potential careers in chemistry,鈥� Mosher said. 

While Buss is excited about her work in the lab, she鈥檚 equally excited about the classroom and looks forward to working with students closely as an instructor and a research advisor. 

鈥淗aving people to teach and mentor - that鈥檚 what drew me back to academia, the idea that I can work with students, help guide them, and set them up for success whatever their future may be. I chose 麻豆传媒 in particular because of the emphasis on doing right by the student. It鈥檚 the combination of the teaching culture and the relatively smaller class sizes, while still getting the big university feel. I think it鈥檚 a pretty special place in that regard.鈥�  

Buss will be teaching general chemistry and organic chemistry this year  She is one of seven new faculty members in 麻豆传媒鈥檚 College of Natural and Health Sciences this fall. She is joined by Charles Lenell, Audiology and Speech Language Sciences; Lindsay Green, Nursing-Family/Emergency Nurse Practitioner; Teresa Buckner, Nutrition and Dietetics; Dannon Cox, Public Health-Community Health Education; Aryn Taylor, Rehabilitation Counseling and Sciences and Human Services; and Koo Yul Kim, Kinesiology-Sport Administration. 

鈥� written by Deanna Herbert