Faculty Focus

Dr. Joanne Smieja has been the Dr. Scholl Distinguished Chair of Chemistry at Gonzaga University since June 2008. Her term ends May 31, 2011, when Dr. David Cleary will become the Scholl Chair. With the help of the Scholl endowment Dr. Smieja has been able to successfully complete several projects and initiate several new programs.

Dr. Joanne Smieja

In 2008-2009, Dr. Smieja completed her sixth year as chair of the Chemistry Department. While chair, she successfully orchestrated the development of a new biochemistry degree which was launched in the fall of 2009. With the new degree, the department changed its name to the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. Prior to 2009, the department typically graduated approximately 10 majors each year. Since the new degree was launched, the number of majors has more than doubled. Also while chair, Dr. Smieja participated in the development of a new Environmental Studies major, an interdisciplinary program. 

In 2009-2010, Dr. Smieja was granted a one-year sabbatical. She used this time to complete a project which she started in 2006 and to develop several other projects. In 2006, she developed a new “Art and Chemistry” course for the Gonzaga-in-Florence program. The course was designed for non-science majors and began with an introduction to some basic principles of light, color, and chemistry. These principles were used to investigate artists’ materials including pigments, dyes, lakes, binders, solvents, varnishes, and native metals used during the Italian Renaissance. Following this introduction, the causes of deterioration were explored. Scientific methods to analyze works of art including microscopic analysis and techniques using x-rays, ultraviolet, and infrared light were introduced. Finally, conservation and restoration topics were addressed with particular focus on paintings in Florence. Field trips to art galleries, museums and restoration laboratories formed an important part of this course.   

The course was well received by the students and the Gonzaga administration. Dr. Robert Richman, a professor from Mount Saint Mary’s University, heard of the course and used Smieja’s material to develop a similar course for Mount Saint Mary’s Florence program in the summer of 2007. Then, in the summer of 2009, Gemma D’Ambruoso, a colleague at Gonzaga, used Smieja’ material to teach the course a second time through the Gonzaga-in-Florence program. Since Smieja, Richman, and D’Ambrouso began receiving requests from other professors around the nation for their course material, they published a manuscript in the Journal of Chemical Education, the only peer-reviewed journal in the United States dedicated to chemical education. Dr. Smieja was the lead author. 

“Art and Chemistry:  Designing a Study-Abroad Course” Joanne A. Smieja, Gemma D. D’Ambruoso, and Robert M. Richman, J. Chem. Ed., 2010, 87, 1085-1088. 

Also while on sabbatical, Dr. Smieja advanced her research on sustainable technologies for water purification in developing countries. With the earnings from the Scholl endowment, she travelled to Benin, on the African continent to help with a Gonzaga-based water purification project; to the Universidad de Católica in Córdoba, Argentina; and the Universidad de Javeriana in Cali, Colombia. After collaborating with chemists from all three countries, she presented one paper and one public seminar pertaining to household water purification methods and published a review article in the Journal of Chemical Education. 

“Water treatment using ceramic filters amended with activated carbon.” Joanne A. Smieja, Amanda Vernon, and Brad Striebig at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, San Francisco, California, March 21-25, 2010.

“Water for the Developing World.” Invited seminar for the Gonzaga University Core Lecture series. San Diego, California, January 13, 2010.

 “Household Water Treatments in Developing Countries”, Joanne A. Smieja, J. Chem. Ed., 2011, April, in press.

Currently, Dr. Smieja has one student doing research in her lab pertaining to household water purification methods. Equipment necessary for this research was purchased with earnings from the Scholl endowment. Dr. Smieja will be submitting a research request to the Lindberg foundation this summer requesting support for her future research efforts.

Building on her Gonzaga-in-Florence success and her expertise in water purification methods, Dr. Smieja will teach a new course this summer entitled “CHEM 190: Global Water Issues with an Emphasis on the Western Hemisphere.” This course will explore a variety of global water issues with case studies from the Western hemisphere. After an introduction to the hydrological cycle, types of freshwater resources, and global water supplies, common biological and non-biological freshwater contaminants will be introduced. Large and small scale drinking water and wastewater treatments will be discussed. Field trips to treatment facilities in Valle de Cauca will illustrate the practical realities of water technologies. Case studies will be used to explore a variety of contentious global issues including the privatization of water, water rights of indigenous peoples, the impact of tourism development on water resources, and social justice issues related to water management. 

This course is an offshoot of the Twinning Agreement between the Oregon and Colombia provinces of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). As part of this agreement, Gonzaga University and Javeriana University have signed a faculty and student exchange agreement. This undergraduate-level, team-taught course will be offered jointly by the two universities. The course will be taught by Dr. Smieja and Professor Diego Perez, who is a civil engineering professor at the University of Javeriana in Cali, Colombia. Both Gonzaga and Javeriana students will be enrolled. The Gonzaga cohort will spend three weeks in Cali. 

To prepare for this new international course, Dr. Smieja organized a symposium entitled “International Experiences for Undergraduate Students” for the 21st Biennial Conference on Chemical Education held at the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas last August. Eleven speakers from around the country presented at the symposium and over 100 people were in attendance.

In addition to preparing for the new summer course, Dr. Smieja is developing and delivering CHEM 123/EVNS 104 Environmental Chemistry. This lecture and lab is a required course for students in the newly implemented Environmental Studies major. Twenty-six students are enrolled this semester. 

As Dr. Smieja reaches the end of her three year term as the Dr. Scholl Distinguished Chair of Chemistry she wants to express her deep gratitude to the Dr. Scholl Foundation for its support. Many of the activities described in this report would not have been possible without the Scholl endowment.

Article by: Carol Bonino, Gonzaga University