While graduating for the National Engineering School of Physics and Chemistry in France with an “Ingenieur” degree, she obtained in parallel her Master’s (2006), and then her Ph.D. (2009), both from the University of Bordeaux, France. She combined her love of science, learning, researchand meeting people and took it around the world, by going to Harvard University, the University of Alberta, Canada, Tufts University, Massachusetts, the Universities of Venice and Padova, Italy, and Procter & Gamble in the UK – a true Energizer Bunny!  Notice: no college.  She has been in Indianapolis as an Assistant Professor at IUPUI since 2015.

To get a feel for her research interests it is best to look at her research mission statement: “to develop electrochemical tools for preventive care, diagnostic, and forensic applications using paper, microfluidic and spectroscopy.” That sweeping statement encompasses a lot: she aims toward preventive care applications, focuses on electrochemistry, seeks to detect bacteria in food and water, help forensic investigation and looks for low-cost diagnostic tools made from paper and tape. And her keen eyes always scan the horizon for other opportunities such as prevention of cavities, the rapid detection of bacteria, and growing heart cells from stem cells. She currently does all this work with a group of six students and substantial grants. (Did I mention Energizer Bunny?)

She teaches junior, senior, and graduate courses, and is the recipient of numerous awards such as the Canada Research Rockstar. In addition she is a referee for over dozen peer-reviewed journals, including the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Frederique hails from Strasbourg, France, speaks English, French, German, Alsatian, and some Italian, and likes IUPUI in part because it is an urban campus. She is just as passionate about her hobbies as she is about her research. Whether it is cooking, baking, gardening, knitting, embroidery, working out, they are all hands-on, creative activities. She learned to be very creative as her parents are both visually impaired and it was up to her to develop a talent of explaining her wants and needs in especially creative ways.

By: Erwin Boschmann

With these opening words, the inaugural Welcher Lecturer, Geraldine Richmond, sparked our imagination and captured our attention as she told us about the advances she and her research group have made in understanding the interfaces of water with air and oil.

With these opening words, the inaugural Welcher Lecturer, Geraldine Richmond, sparked our imagination and captured our attention as she told us about the advances she and her research group have made in understanding the interfaces of water with air and oil.

Using non-linear laser spectroscopy, surface tension measurements, and molecular dynamic simulations, the Richmond group has shown that the first layer of molecules in bulk water are oriented with a hydroxyl group orthogonal to the surface and that this is the site of environmentally-important atmospheric reactions.  They have also shown that there is an intimate interaction between water and surfactants, a discovery that will impact the development of new tools for oil spill remediation.

Dr. Richmond, who received her BS in Chemistry from Kansas State University and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, is the Presidential Chair of Science and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oregon.  A member of the National Academy of Science, Professor Richmond is the winner of the 2018 American Chemical Society Priestly Medal which recognizes distinguished services to chemistry.  She has also been awarded with both the Presidential National Medal of Science and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Engineering Mentoring among numerous other recognitions.

In addition to her scientific pursuits, Dr. Richmond is passionate about the mentorship of fellow scientists, especially women. She is the chair and founder of COACh for the Advancement of Women Scientists and Engineers, an organization that provides career development courses for emerging and career scientists and engineers in the US and developing countries.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in a workshop facilitated by Prof. Richmond on the Art of Negotiation and sponsored by the IUPUI STEM Education Innovation & Research Institute on the second day of her visit to campus.

By: Brenda Blacklock

He did not expect to ever move from Ohio.

She did not expect any more schooling beyond her bachelor’s degree.

Yet to our benefit, and with our utmost gratitude, Wil and Betsy Fife did the unexpected by moving in 1971 to come to the newly created Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis. With a PhD from Ohio State University and fellowships at Harvard and Columbia, Wil served as the long-term first chair of the newly merged Purdue and Indiana University extension center chemistry departments. These departments, geographically separated by some five miles, each had just three or so faculty members, each had its own vision, its own campus, and its own students. Very little, if any, research was done, and of course no research equipment was available, but most importantly there was no policy regarding faculty work at the newly created IUPUI. Wil saw great potential for the department not just in research, but in advances in teaching techniques as well; he dreamed of hiring more faculty, and he hoped to soon physically combining the separate departments into one.

Drs. Wil and Betsy Fife

Looking beyond the short-term, Wil took these two fledgling separate small departments, with motivated but leader-less faculty and put his mind, heart and soul into building a stellar department. He spoke with each faculty member individually, negotiated with the administration, ordered equipment, and, while not required at first, he did encourage faculty to do research. Wil and Betsy invited the faculty to their house for informal get-togethers. Soon faculty did not feel threatened, in fact collaborated, and began to publish research articles.

Meanwhile Betsy was busy with her three small children, but her keen mind was restless and she began looking for ways to expand her intellectual horizons.

She started taking seminar courses at IUPUI, obtained her Master’s degree, and soon was given the opportunity to work at Riley Hospital for Children where she became a consultant in mental health. With the mentorship of a research professor, she applied for and received a national grant. Motivated and encouraged by Wil and their children, she then became a doctoral student in sociology at Bloomington whereto for five years she travelled four times per week. For her PhD she studied families dealing with children with leukemia and the parents’ tendency to be overprotective.

What happened to her earlier decision not to go beyond her bachelor’s degree? She says what happened is Wil; he changed her, “Wil was the change.”  He talked about education being the way out of poverty. Through Wil she met a different caliber people who spoke of wide ranging ideas and ways of helping others. Her world view was expanded and forever changed.

And how was the decision made to come to Indiana? While still in Ohio Wil came home one evening with the news that Indiana was inviting him to an interview, but he had already told them that he was not interested. She insisted that he should at least go and see the place. So he did. She changed Wil, in fact, she disrupted Wil’s life, who in turn disrupted the lives of his extended family who were so well anchored in Ohio.

After a decade of administration, and now freed of administrative responsibilities, Wil did the hard thing of getting back into research eventually publishing 70 papers and obtaining patents for Indiana University. Wil and Betsy talked about leaving money for the chemistry department. Talking with their children, who were now self-sufficient, and consulting with their TIAA advisor, they made the decision to donate $1.5 million to endow a chair position in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.  Unfortunately, Wil will be unable to see the fruit of this major endowment as he prematurely lost his life to Parkinson’s disease.

Partha Basu, the current chair of the chemistry department, says: “We thank Betsy for her generosity and Wil for guiding the department in the early stage. This planned gift will make a tremendous impact in attracting top quality faculty in the department and that will have a long-term positive impact in the quality of research and education.”

Dr. Wilmer and Dr. Betsy Fife did the unexpected, thereby making the chemistry department the unexpected beneficiary.

By: Erwin Boschmann