Petersheim Travel Award Recipients in Chemistry Present Their Research

During the annual Petersheim Academic Exposition, which shares and promotes student and faculty research, Seton Hall honors several
students with Student Travel Awards. These Awards fund travel to national conferences
where students present their research findings to experts and future colleagues in
their fields. Such conferences are fundamental to the dissemination of research and
to advancing collaborations and careers. They are opportunities to network, learn,
and be inspired. Chemistry Professors Sergiu M. Gorun, Ph.D., and Joseph Badillo, Ph.D., mentored several winners of the award, students Amanda Kelleher, Sean Scally, and
Sahil D’Souza. Sean Scally, joined Seton Hall University in August 2019, majoring
in Chemistry with a minor in mathematics. In 2021, he joined Professor Gorun’s research
group and continued his studies as an M.S. student. Soon after, Sean presented his
work on photocatalysis at the American Chemical Society Fall 2022 meeting and at the
Petersheim Academic Exposition. More recently, Sean has been engaging in the study
of asymmetric phthalocyanine catalysts in concert with Marius Pelmus, Ph.D. He is
next scheduled to present his work at the International Conference of Porphyrins and
Phthalocyanines (2024 ICPP-13) and the American Chemical Society meeting in Spring
2025. Following these presentations, Sean anticipates graduating with an M.S. in Chemistry
and Biochemistry in May 2025. He plans to continue his education by pursuing a Master’s
in Business Administration. His goal is to become an industrial scientist and manager.
Gorun describes Sean as “a very solid junior scientist with the accomplishments of
a Ph.D. candidate.” Gorun adds, “It is a pleasure to have him in the lab, and I predict
he will have a brilliant industrial career.”

Sahil D’Souza, a sophomore with a double major in Biochemistry and Religious Studies
in the joint Bachelor’s/M.D. Program, also earned a Student Travel Award.  For the
past year, Sahil has worked alongside Amanda Kelleher, a junior biology major, on
the project “Photoacid Generator Catalysis for Conjugate Addition Reactions” under
the mentorship of Joseph Badillo, Ph.D. Their research explored the 1,4-conjugate
addition of organic compounds called indoles with various alkyl vinyl ketones, a reaction
that produces molecules important for the discovery of new pharmaceuticals. This research
offered new methods to facilitate the reaction by using visible light and photoacid
generators as catalysts. Photoacids are fascinating substances that become acidic
with exposure to light. Badillo and Sahil explore the utilization of photoacid generators
(PAGs) as catalysts in organic synthesis, where they produce potent acids upon absorbing
light, therefore activating what is called a Michael addition process.

After reflecting upon his undergraduate career, Sahil says “choosing a Biochemistry
major at Seton Hall has been one of my best decisions— the faculty is very interested
in getting us students to participate early in research.” Since joining Badillo’s
lab he has felt “welcomed by everyone there, including Amanda. From seeing the team
dynamic of those in the lab as well as the type of research being done, he realized
he wanted to join the lab.” Sahil has been fortunate to experience many great opportunities,
such as becoming a New Jersey Space Grant Consortium (SHU-NJSGC) and a NASA fellow
in the summer of 2023. During his sophomore year, Sahil presented at the Independent
Colleges and University of New Jersey Undergraduate Symposium, the 2023-24 William
Patterson Undergraduate Research Symposium, and now at the 2024 Petersheim Exposition.
This impressive array of experiences well prepares him and his classmates to stand
out in the job market and on graduate school applications. Sahil shared that “winning
the Travel Award has been such a privilege— I am very grateful towards Badillo for
instilling confidence within me to pursue research and be independent. Navigating
the roadblocks with the guidance of Seton Hall’s faculty has been very rewarding,
and I have grown so much from this experience.”

Amanda likewise shares a deep appreciation for the mentorship of Seton Hall faculty
during this experience. “None of this would have been possible,” she says, “without
the help of our mentor Joseph Badillo and a previous graduate student that I originally
came onto this project with 2 years ago, Zena Salem, thank you!” Like Sahil, Amanda
also had the privilege of presenting her research as a sophomore at the 2023-2024
William Patterson Undergraduate Research Symposium and, more recently, at the 2024
Petersheim Exposition, where she and Sahil won the Travel Award. Amanda describes
her journey as “being a long yet rewarding one.” Without Seton Hall University and
their mentor Badillo, Amanda expressed that she “would not have the confidence today
to continue her growth in becoming an independent researcher to further her contributions
to organic chemistry and beyond.”

Students interested in research opportunities like these, in any majors, are encouraged
to reach out to their faculty members to inquire how they can get involved. Original,
genuine undergraduate research mentorship is one standout feature of the College of Arts and Sciences.

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Research, Science and Technology