KU Chemistry Alumni Profiles
Nancy Eilerts, '94
Houston, TX
Dr. Nancy Eilerts graduated with a Ph.D. in organometallic chemistry under the direction of Prof. Joseph A. Heppert in 1994, focusing on transition metal catalysis. After completing postdoctoral research with Prof. Malcolm H. Chisholm at Indiana University, Dr. Eilerts joined Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, OK as a catalyst research chemist. Dr. Eilerts moved to Houston, TX in 2000 when Phillips Petroleum Company merged its chemical operations with those of Chevron to form Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP. While with Chevron Phillips Chemical, Dr. Eilerts held several positions including technical services director, new product and technology manager, and technical chemical and fuel sales. In November 2005, Dr. Eilerts joined Chevron as Alliance Manager. Her responsibilities include managing technical alliances with industry partners to deliver results through application of sound business practices, project management planning and execution, commercial and contracting strategies and negotiations, and sourcing techniques. She is an active contributor during technical reviews and idea-generation sessions for a number of key technology areas at Chevron. Dr. Eilerts holds eight US patents and three PCT patents.
Aaron Blake Cowley, '04
Alachua, FL
After receiving his B.S. in Biochemistry from Benedictine College (Atchison, KS), Dr. Aaron Blake Cowley came to the University of Kansas to pursue his doctoral degree in Inorganic Chemistry. Working under the supervision of Prof. David R. Benson, Dr. Cowley began his research in peptide synthesis via Fmoc chemistry, small molecules and heme-protein model compounds. He followed the completion of his Ph.D. in 2004 by turning his research focus to molecular biosciences. Working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Georgia under Prof. Jeffrey L. Urbauer, he investigated the structure of AlgH with NMR and DPS with X-ray crystallography. Moving from academia to industry in 2006, Dr. Cowley took up employment at Oxthera, Inc. as a Scientist I, where his current work entails optimizing an assay for oxalate-degrading enzymes.
Anne McCasland-Keller, '99
Indianapolis, IN
Since leaving KU in 1999, Dr. Anne McCasland-Keller has joined Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis. As a senior scientist at Lilly where she manages a technical group, she has provided technical leadership and analytical stewardship for Humulin® and Humalog® diabetes care product lines, across global Lilly and third party manufacturing and testing sites. She played an integral role establishing non-routine analytical support for biosynthetic API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) manufacturing investigations and plant capacity increases. Dr. McCasland-Keller has lead successful outsourcing initiatives and node-to-node analytical method transfers between Lilly sites for product launches and line extensions. She is a recognized resource for method development and validation and has driven critical analytical changes for biotech product methods which have been registered and implemented globally. In 2003, she received Lilly's Changing the World Award for significant contributions to the Product and Process Development division and was promoted to a senior research scientist in 2005. During her tenure at Lilly, she has authored over 150 internal peer-reviewed publications and global regulatory submissions and given over 30 internal and external presentations.
Jeremey T. Mitchell-Koch, '03
Emporia, KS
Prof. Jeremy T. Mitchell-Koch began his Chemistry edification as an undergrad at Furman University (Greenville, SC). Upon receiving his B.S. in Chemistry in 1998, Prof. Mitchell-Koch was accepted into the KU Chemistry graduate program under the direction of Prof. Andrew S. Borovik. With research centered on the advancement of chemical sensors for molecules of both environmental and biological importance, Prof. Mitchell-Koch earned his Ph.D. in 2003. Proceeding to the University of Michigan, he worked under Prof. Mark E. Meyerhoff as a Postdoctoral Associate. In 2005, he joined the faculty at Emporia State University as Assistant Professor with an emphasis on analytical and environmental chemistry. Research is a leading focus for Prof. Mitchell-Koch, including the development of discriminating chemical sensors for a variety of biologically and environmentally important analytes. He recently received the Faculty Research and Creativity Grant for 2007-2008 at Emporia State University.
Steven A. Soper, '89
Baton Rouge, LA
Prof. Steven A. Soper graduated with a Ph.D. in bioanalytical chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Ted Kuwana in 1989. Following graduation, he accepted a position as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory and received an R&D 100 award in 1991 for his work. Under the direction of Dr. Richard A. Keller, Prof. Soper's research was focused on single molecule recognition methods for the rapid sequencing of the human genome. He joined the faculty at Louisiana State University (LSU, Department of Chemistry) in the fall of 1991 and was named the William L. & Patricia Senn, Jr. Professorship in 2002. Prof. Soper is currently Director of an NSF funded Center for BioModular Multi-Scale Systems at LSU. Prof. Soper has received various awards, such as the Charles E. Coates Award for Outstanding Contributions to Chemical/Engineering Research in Louisiana (2001), Distinguished Faculty Award at Louisiana State University (2004) and the A.A. Benedetti-Pinchler Microchemical Award (2006).
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