bing pixel
  1. Home
  2. Tag: chemistry

Michael Wentzel Appointed Augsburg University’s Lindstrom Professor of Chemistry

Posted on

Michael Wentzel is wearing a white lab coat and green t-shirt and working on a chemistry experiment in a lab.Michael Wentzel has been named the inaugural Terry ’73 and Janet Lindstrom Endowed Professor of Chemistry at Augsburg University, effective June 1, 2024. 

“We are so fortunate to have Michael Wentzel on our faculty,” said Paula O’Loughlin, provost and senior vice president for academic and student affairs. “He is an extraordinary teacher and an outstanding scientist. Even more significant is his generosity as a colleague and mentor. By engaging undergraduate students as partners in his own impressive research program, he helps students unlock possibilities they never imagined before, both for themselves and for a more sustainable future.” 

Wentzel is an organic chemist whose research focuses on the growing field of green chemistry, a systems-based approach that incorporates sustainability considerations into the the design, development, and implementation of chemical products and processes. As one of the first green chemists to be named a fellow by the Science Communication Network in 2018–19, he also works to help students and other researchers communicate their methods and findings to the public more effectively. 

Wentzel received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2011. He joined Augsburg’s chemistry department in 2013, where he currently oversees STEM summer research and serves as department chair. He also serves as interim director of Augsburg’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity.   

“Michael Wentzel’s approach to teaching and scholarship is exactly the kind of leadership Terry and Janet Lindstrom desired to support with their transformative investment in our new School of Natural Sciences,” said Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow. “Whether in the lab, in the classroom, or on the chemistry club intramural basketball team, he is steadfast in his commitment to hands-on learning and in saying ‘yes’ to helping our students reach their goals.”

The Terry ’73 and Janet Lindstrom Endowed Professorship of Chemistry was established in 2024. Terry Lindstrom, a current member of Augsburg’s Board of Regents and a retired distinguished research fellow at Eli Lilly and Company, holds numerous patents supporting life-changing drugs, including Evista and Cymbalta. Together, the Lindstroms have provided generous philanthropic support to Augsburg students for more than 40 years.

Spotlight on Green Chemistry at Augsburg

Posted on

An organic chemist with a focus on systems-level thinking, Associate Professor Michael Wentzel is out to make science more sustainable.

“Chemistry doesn’t have to be the solution to the problems it created—it could just not create them,” he says in the June 2022 cover story in Private University Products and News Magazine.

Read the full profile to learn more about Wentzel’s path from his family’s Iowa hardware store to chairing Augsburg’s chemistry department, how green chemistry is “benign by design,” and why he’s on a mission to improve science communication.

Augsburg partners in Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology

Posted on

$20 million NSF grant goes to UW-Madison, Augsburg College
and collaborators

Z. Vivian Feng, associate professor of chemistry, will use her expertise as an analytical and material chemist in the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology.

Augsburg College is joining a research group tasked with exploring the benefits and potential risks of nanotechnology.

Augsburg has been added as a partner to the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, a multi-institutional research center based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Supported through a nearly $20 million award of National Science Foundation funding over the next five years, the CSN includes 15 innovative faculty members from research institutions across the United States.

Z. Vivian Feng, associate professor of chemistry, is leading Augsburg’s participation in the center.

Nanotechnology involves the use of materials at the smallest scale, including the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules.

Products that use nanoscale materials range from beer bottles and car wax to solar cells and electric and hybrid car batteries. If you read your books on a Kindle, a semiconducting material manufactured at the nanoscale underpins the high-resolution screen.

While there are already hundreds of products that use nanomaterials in various ways, much remains unknown about how these modern materials and the tiny particles they are composed of interact with the environment and living things.

Feng first became involved in the CSN during the final year of its first grant phase, which corresponded with her 2014-15 sabbatical. Her expertise in characterizations of nanomaterials and model membranes, as well as analytical method development will contribute to the understanding of various interactions at the highly complex nano-bio interfaces.

In particular, Feng will lead a team of undergraduate researchers in exploring the various toxicity mechanisms of nanomaterials to environmentally-beneficial bacteria to provide insight to redesign nanomaterials that are benign in the environment. Under Feng’s direction, Augsburg College students Hilena Frew ’17, Lyle Nyberg ’17, and Thu Nguyen ’16 contributed to the CSN’s initial research phase. Frew and Nguyen will continue working as undergraduate researchers with the support of a stipend from the new NSF grant in the coming year. Find additional information about Feng’s research interests and mentorship on her research site.

Along with UW-Madison and Augsburg, research partners on the grant include the University of Minnesota, the University of Illinois, Northwestern University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Tuskegee University, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Iowa, and Georgia Tech.

CSN funding is provided by the NSF Division of Chemistry through the Centers for Chemical Innovation Program (CHE-1240151).

MPR offers readers a glimpse into Augsburg College life

Posted on

Alex Friedrich, Minnesota Public Radio’s higher education reporter, visited Augsburg College’s campus to experience a day in the life of an Auggie. Friedrich spent Dec. 5 blogging about his experiences and found that Augsburg College has a wide variety of traditions and experiences to offer to its students, faculty, staff and alumni, and also to its neighboring communities, as well.

Read and watch his posts on the “On Campus” blog here:

  • The man leading a changing Augsburg – Meet President Paul C. Pribbenow and his passion for bow ties, commitment to Augsburg students, and vision for the College’s future
  • What an Augsburg apartment looks like – A peak inside Luther Hall

Michael Wentzel talks with KSTP TV about BBQ, beer, cancer

Posted on

Mike Wentzel talks to KSTPMichael Wentzel, assistant professor of chemistry at Augsburg College, spoke with KSTP TV about a new study that shows marinating meat in dark beer reduces the cancer-causing carcinogens that form when grilling. Wentzel said that a chemical in beer is shown to lessen the formation of harmful molecules during the grilling process and, therefore, can help lower the harm to people who eat grilled meats. Watch the KSTP story “Augsburg chemist: Marinating meat in beer reduces cancer-causing chemicals.”

Augsburg student talks to The Chronicle of Higher Education

Posted on

The Chronicle of Higher EducationYemissrach “Yemi” Melka ’15, a chemistry and international relations student, recently spoke with Beckie Supiano of The Chronicle of Higher Education about Melka’s participation in the Model United Nations. Melka, a Peace Scholar, is interested in exploring how scientists can use their expertise to promote international peacemaking. Listen to “A Science Student Talks Her Way onto the Model UN Team.”

$10 million gift to Augsburg College will launch new academic building

Posted on

Gift from 1965 Augsburg College alumnus is largest in College’s history

BOR 05_06_11.inddAugsburg College is honored to announce that it has received an unrestricted $10 million philanthropic gift from a 1965 alumnus.

The donor’s generous contribution will support a new academic building that will house a number of the College’s academic programs including biology, business, chemistry, computer science, math, physics, psychology, and religion.

“This tremendous gift will make possible our continued commitment to academic excellence, to the hands-on learning that is one of the hallmarks of the College, and to the continued best-use of our 23-acre campus,” said Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow. “Augsburg is a 143-year-old anchor institution in the heart of Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. This gift puts Augsburg on the path of being a college for the 21st century, and one that continues to deliver academic excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies.” Continue reading “$10 million gift to Augsburg College will launch new academic building” →

Katie Edelen: Triple majors, triple major awards

Posted on

edelenThe last six weeks have been an amazing ride for Katie Edelen. Not only is it unusual to graduate with three majors, but it’s extremely remarkable to receive both a Fulbright Grant and a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, as well as one of Augsburg’s major awards.

Edelen was awarded both BA and BS degrees on Saturday with majors in environmental studies, chemistry, and biology. She was also called to the podium to accept the Marina Christensen Justice Award, presented to the graduating senior who best exemplifies Augsburg’s motto, “Education for Service,” and has demonstrated a dedication to community involvement. The award honors 1965 graduate Marina Christensen Justice, who lived in Chicago and reached out to serve disadvantaged people and communities. Continue reading “Katie Edelen: Triple majors, triple major awards” →

Sverdrup Lecture features Barbara Baird of Cornell

Posted on

The 2010-11 convocation series continues on April 11 and 12 with the Sverdrup Visiting Scientist Lectures.

Barbara A. Baird is the Horace White Professor and chair of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University. She received her BA in chemistry from Knox College and her PhD in chemistry from Cornell University. Her postdoctoral studies were carried out as a Damon Runyon Fellow in the immunology branch of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health before she joined the Cornell faculty in 1980. Continue reading “Sverdrup Lecture features Barbara Baird of Cornell” →

Augsburg's first Rhodes Scholar: Brian Krohn

Posted on

rhodesCommunity Celebration

Celebrate and hear more about Brian’s accomplishments at a community-wide gathering on Thursday, Dec. 4 in the Oren Gateway Center Atrium. Refreshments will be served and a brief program will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Augsburg’s first Rhodes Scholar

Brian Krohn arrived at Augsburg with plans of being a film major. He eventually became a chemistry student. And when he graduates next month, Krohn will have a new title.

Augsburg’s first-ever Rhodes Scholar. Continue reading “Augsburg's first Rhodes Scholar: Brian Krohn” →