Rochester

William D. Jones was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1953, and was inspired to work in inorganic chemistry as an undergraduate researcher with Mark S. Wrighton at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, 1975). He obtained a Ph.D. degree in chemistry at California Institute of Technology (1979), working with Robert G. Bergman. He moved to the University of Wisconsin as an NSF postdoctoral fellow with Chuck Casey, and in 1980 accepted a position as Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1984 and Professor in 1987, and is now the Charles F. Houghton Professor of Chemistry. Professor Jones has received several awards, including an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (1984), a Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation Teacher-Scholar Award (1985), a Royal Society Guest Research Fellowship (1988), a Fulbright-Hays Scholar (1988), a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow (1988), the ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry (2003), an ACS Cope Scholar Award (2009), the Royal Society of Chemistry Organometallic Chemistry Award (2017), and an Alexander von Humboldt Senior Research Award (2018). He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009), and a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2010). Professor Jones was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021, and to the National Academy of Sciences in 2022. He also has served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Chemical Society from 2003-2020. Professor Jones’ research interests include organometallic research in strong C-X bond cleavage, catalysis, model studies, mechanisms, kinetics, thermodynamics, and synthetic applications.

Sonja Krane is Senior Associate Publisher at the American Chemical Society. Following undergraduate and graduate studies in chemistry, as well as work experience as a medicinal chemist, Sonja joined the ACS Publications Division as Managing Editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. She currently manages a portfolio of twelve journals, and, in this role, she supports the strategic development of these titles and the implementation of editorial initiatives that enable the journals to excel in their fields. She has managed efforts to launch new titles, contributed to the overhaul of the journal licensing options in support of ACS Publications’ Open Science program, and led the successful development and launch of several Artificial Intelligence-Assisted tools across the journal portfolio.

Saderrick is a student affairs practitioner with 18+ years of experience in student engagement & outreach, leadership development, and career development. In his current role at ACS, he is responsible for recruiting and engaging undergraduate and graduate students globally to become active members of the society. He leads the ACS Student Communities team in strategic development related to engaging student chapters and graduate student organizations, developing new outreach programs, and connecting students to resources and leaders throughout the society’s global community. Saderrick holds a B.A In Mass Communications and a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision from Nicholls State University. He sees education as a transformative experience and uses his talents to enhance and elevate the student experience beyond the traditional campus classroom. Through building purposeful connections and innovative programs, he uses his skillset to mentor students, enhance their academic careers,  and to help them launch successful professional careers.

Becky Monfort is the Program Manager for ACS on Campus, the American Chemical Society’s flagship outreach program. She oversees events and programs at institutions around the world, bringing leaders in chemistry, publishing, research, science communication, and career development to thousands of students and early career researchers. Prior to joining the ACS on Campus team, Becky managed the ACS international student chapter program, coordinated ACS outreach efforts to international students and faculty in the chemical sciences, and facilitated student programming at ACS and other scientific meetings. Becky joined ACS in July 2017 from Organic Letters, an ACS Publication, at the University of Pennsylvania, and she has worked in global program strategy and development. Becky holds a BA in French and Comparative Literature from Bryn Mawr College.

Arjay Romanowski is a STEM Librarian that works at Carlson Science & Engineering Library where he acts as the library liaison to the students and faculty of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Data Science, and Digital Media Studies. He received his MLIS from the University of South Florida and has worked the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Campus Library as well as Keiser University at Pembroke Pines.  He also has a BS in Biology from RIT and an MS in Marine Biology from NSU.  His professional interests include artificial intelligence, digital scholarship, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Kara Bren is the Richard S. Eisenberg Professor in Chemistry and Chemistry Department Chair at the University of Rochester, New York, USA. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Kavli Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. She earned her B.A. in Chemistry at Carleton College in Minnesota, and her Ph.D. in Chemistry at Caltech working with Harry Gray and as a Visiting Student in the lab of Ivano Bertini in Florence, Italy. After an NIH Postdoc with Gerd La Mar at the University of California Davis, she started her independent academic career at the University of Rochester in 1997. Her research has included investigations of metalloprotein dynamics and electronic structure. Currently, her group is focused on developing bioinorganic systems for energy conversion and storage.