Departmental Newsletter
Colloquium Schedule
Fall 2026 Chemistry and Biochemistry Colloquium Series
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Colloquia Series is presented Wednesday afternoons at 3:30 p.m. in McKinley 224 unless otherwise noted.
| Date | Seminar Speaker, Title |
|---|---|
| 08/26 |
Prof. Lejla Zubcevic (University of Kansas Medical Center), New Insights into an Old Problem: A Study of a Human Drug/Metabolite Transporter |
| 09/02 |
Prof. Shijiao Huang (Kansas State University), Neuronal and Metabolic Regulation of Stress Resistance and Longevity |
|
09/09 |
Prof. Igor Kaltashov (University of Massachusetts - Amherst), Pathogenic mAbs, Immune Complexes, and Platelets: Mass Spectrometry Reveals the Mechanism of a Deadly Vaccine Side Effect |
|
09/16 |
Prof. Ahmed Hamid (Auburn University), Developing Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry and Machine Learning for Clinical Applications |
|
09/23 |
Prof. Juan Martinez (Louisiana State University), Pathogenic Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia: Examination of Host Cell Pathways Involved in Intracellular Growth and Disease Progression |
|
09/30 |
Dr. Steven DeFiglia (NHFML), Ion Mobility Coupled with FT-ICR at the National High-Field Ion Cyclotron User Facility for Characterization of Isobars and Isomers |
| 10/14 |
Prof. Vladislav Klepov (University of Georgia - Athens), Hypervalent Structural Units in Lanthanide and Uranium Intermetallics |
| 10/21 |
Prof. Xin Gui (University of Pittsburgh), Geometrical Frustration in Quantum Materials: To Order or not to Order? |
| 10/28 |
Prof. Junha Jeon (University of Texas - Arlington), Silicon-Mediated Organic Synthesis: Activating Bonds Through Atom and Electron Transfer |
| 11/04 |
Prof. David Muddiman (North Carolina State University), IR-MALDESI: An Innovative Mass Spectrometry Imaging Platform with Diverse Applications in Human Health and Disease |
| 11/11 |
Prof. Francis D'Souza (University of North Texas), Symmetry Breaking Electron Transfer for Maximum Conversion of Solar Energy |
| 11/18 |
Prof. David Miller (Oklahoma State University), Biocatalytic Oxa-Pictet-Spengler Reactions |
| 12/02 |
Graduate Student Awards |
Watkins Visiting Lecturers
The Watkins Visiting Professorship was created in 1974 by a grant from the Watkins Foundation. E. A. Watkins was vice president of Union National Bank, Wichita, in 1936 when he acquired a small iron foundry and wholesale hardware firm that he built into Watkins, Inc., a major steel fabrication and industrial supply company.
Watkins’ son, E. Leon Watkins, a 1936 WSU alumnus, succeeded his father as president of the firm. After Leon Watkins’ death in 1971, his widow, Roberta, also a WSU alumna, announced that the Watkins’ Foundation Board of Trustees had determined that “the sole project of the foundation shall be the support of the Watkins Visiting Professorship at Wichita State University.” The departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Geology and Physics share the professorship.