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Assistant Professor of Chemistry Debra Dolliver observes senior Megan Lanier at work in one of the university’s chemistry labs.

 

Debra Dolliver, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Megan Lanier, Husser, Senior Chemistry Student

 

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Senior chemistry student Megan Lanier has set her sights on a career working in research at a pharmaceutical company or other industrial setting. And she’s getting valuable training that combines science with the world of business by participating in a special program at Southeastern that links students with industrial clients.

 

Megan Lanier, Husser, Senior Chemistry student

Megan is student manager for SEAL (Student Entrepreneurs as Active Leaders), a program that hires students to work under faculty supervision on research problems presented by Louisiana chemical firms and other industries. Typically, in an industrial setting, scientists or engineers working on a specific project or problem may come across an interesting question or opportunity. Through SEAL, an industrial firm can pose the question or problem to students who will further evaluate the issue and determine if it is something of value the company may want to pursue further.

As a student manager, Megan assists other students with their research, maintains project budgets and meets with clients. She also attends local and national scientific conferences to present the results of research to other scientists.

 

“Megan has supervised other students on projects ranging from the characterization of alternative fuels and polysaccharides to the synthesis of a new class of organic compounds,” says Dr. Debra Dolliver, assistant professor of chemistry and one of the faculty involved in the SEAL program. “This last project has resulted in her presenting this work at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, DC and being a co-author on a publication in The Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry.

 

“Working with SEAL has been a tremendous help to my professional career by allowing me to perform research for a client,” said Megan, who this year was one of only two students nationwide to be awarded a Gladys Anderson Emerson Scholarship from Iota Sigma Pi, the national honor society for women in chemistry. She was nominated for the award by Dolliver.

 

“Megan has an incredible work ethic,” Dolliver says. “You give her a task, and it’s done before you can turn around. I count on her to keep everyone focused in the laboratory. She really is performing research like a graduate student at this point. The experiences she has gained here at Southeastern make her a much-sought-after potential graduate student. She is a great representative of our program!”

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