Darren Johnson received his B.S. from the University of Texas, Austin and went on to complete a Ph. D. program at the University of California, Berkley. He has been at the University of Oregon since 2003 and is currently an Associate Professor of Inorganic, Organic, Supermolecular, and Materials Chemistry. His research projects include developing specific metal chelators for a variety of toxic and environmentally hazardous metals; investigating the synthesis and applications of inorganic cluster compounds; and using multiple weak interactions within small molecule receptors to target environmentally and biologically relevant substrates.

Hi folks, I am Chris, and together with Darren we are your FIG instructors for Chemistry of Sustainability. It is my first time partaking in a FIG, but I am really excited about the opportunity to work with you. The FIG is going to cover a range of compelling topics, including water chemistry, lifecycle analysis, and even coffee!  A bit about me; I'm a computational chemist with interests in energy materials and coffee extraction. Despite my accent, I am actually Australian. I received my BSc. Adv. HONS from Monash University (Australia, 2011) and PhD from the University of Bath (United Kingdom, 2015). After a two year postdoc at Massachusetts Institute of Technology I joined the University of Oregon as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of chemistry where my research group focuses the chemistry of highly porous materials. My interest in coffee began sometime during my PhD, and since then has published several peer-reviewed articles on the topic, and a book, Water For Coffee. 

Email: chendon@uoregon.edu

Hi! My name is Erika, and I’m the FIG Assistant for Chemistry of Sustainability. 

I was inspired to apply for the FIG program after I took a FIG my first-year, which was Chemistry of Sustainability. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to apply for a FIG Assistant position! I learned so much about sustainability issues, like whether or not using hand dryers or paper towels to dry hands is better for the environment. Did you know that when you use a hand dryer, your hands get 1300 times the bacteria than when you use paper towels? I learned crazy things like this in the FIG that changed the way I thought about what was “green” and good for the planet. This coming year we will go over stuff like this, and hopefully, you’ll be just as surprised as I was! 

I was born in Campbell, California, but I moved to Eugene when I was six. I went to Sheldon High School, which is about five minutes from the UO. I love to read, play with my dog, eat apple pie, and binge watch TV shows like Friends, the Office, and Parks and Rec. I have a super cheesy sense of humor. I am also majoring in human physiology and am thinking about going to medical school. If any of you are interested in majoring in human physiology or going to medical school, feel free to ask me questions! 

In addition to learning about sustainability issues, I will also be showing everyone around the Eug. I am planning on taking the FIG to Spencer's Butte (a common hiking spot), Café Yumm (an awesome restaurant), and having Jeopardy styled study sessions for your chemistry exams! 

Chemistry of Sustainability is a super interesting class that I know all of you will love, and I’m super excited to meet all of you this fall. 

There are no summer assignments, so enjoy what freedom you have left! 

See you soon, 

Erika

Email: emoe@uoregon.edu