Dr. Todd Pagano
Rochester Institute of Technology / National Technical Institute for the Deaf
September 13, 2018 (Thurs.)
3:30 – 4:30 pm
C 121
Using Spectroscopy and Chemometrics to Address the Global Challenge of Access to Clean Water
Abstract:
The United Nations, World Health Organization, American Chemical Society, and National Academy of Engineering are among the organizations that have called attention to the global grand challenge of providing access to clean water for all people. Undergraduate research students in the Pagano Laboratory at Rochester Institute of Technology are using multidimensional fluorescence spectroscopy with chemometrics to analyze natural water environments and evaluate new technologies for cleaning water. The developed analytical methods have been used to characterize the composition of phenol-rich dissolved organic carbon (DOC) -which may be shifting under a changing climate. Further, the methods have recently been employed to assess the ability of carbon nanomaterials to remove DOC and herbicide pollutants from water (and to monitor the competition for adsorption sites between different molecules). The results of this work will inform researchers and practitioners about the changing quality of water sources and potentially arm them with new remediation techniques.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Todd Pagano, Professor of Chemistry, is the Associate Dean for Teaching & Scholarship Excellence at RIT/NTID and was the founding Director of NTID’s Laboratory Science Technology (LST) program; a one-of-kind program in the world (i.e., a postsecondary chemical technology program for deaf and hard-of-hearing students). He is an extended faculty member in RIT’s Golisano Institute of Sustainability and also the Gosnell School of Life Sciences. During his career at RIT/NTID, he has led the design and implementation of the LST program, set-up a state-of-the-art instrumentation laboratory, architected the new degree program, and helped to place a large number of underrepresented individuals into careers and continued education in chemistry. As Associate Dean, he leads student success initiatives, has established several funding programs to support student involvement in research, and organizes professional development programs for faculty in the areas of teaching and scholarship.
Dr. Pagano has been honored as a recipient of several recognitions, including being named United States Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education/Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He has also received RIT’s Richard & Virginia Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching (RIT’s Distinguished Teaching Award), Dawan Albritton Faculty Humanitarian Award, RIT’s Faculty Research Scholar Award, the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Stanley C. Israel Medal for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences, and the Dreyfus Foundation/ACS National Award: Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into the Chemical Sciences. In 2012, he was named to the Rochester Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list. In 2013, he received RIT’s Faculty Mentoring Award and the Distinguished Alumni award from Tufts University. In 2016, he was awarded the Science Teachers Association of New York State’s Excellence in Teaching award and the Society for College Science Teachers’ Outstanding Undergraduate Science Teacher Award. In 2017, he was a visiting scholar for the Excellence in Analytical Chemistry program in Sweden and as a Fulbright specialist in Estonia. He has been named a Fellow of both the American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry (U.K.).
A teacher-scholar, Dr. Pagano has worked on several analytical chemistry and pedagogical research projects and has authored over 300 papers at local, national, and international symposia. Most presentations and article publications include undergraduate co-authors. He conducts research in fluorescence spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, climate change’s impact on access to safe drinking water (and the ability of carbon nanotubes to remediate), fruit/wine biochemistry, natural products, and analytical techniques in archaeology. He also leads initiatives in pedagogical approaches to teaching chemistry, writing in the sciences, and promoting diversity in STEM fields.
He has met with U.S. Congressional leaders to discuss topics in STEM education and the educational needs of underrepresented students. For his science education efforts, award citations have commended his “tireless dedication, immeasurable impact, and valued leadership in breaking down barriers and encouraging underrepresented students into careers in the chemical sciences”. He has consulted for the National Academy of Science, serves on the ACS’s International Activities Committee, and is Editor of the Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities. He received his B.A. from the State University of New York, Oswego and M.S. and Ph.D. from Tufts University (all degrees in Chemistry).