Our People – Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics
Department Leadership
Brian Logue
Brian Logue serves as head of the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics at SDSU, where he oversees departmental administration, strategic planning and faculty coordination, while also teaching and mentoring students in the field of analytical chemistry.
Robert McTaggart
Robert McTaggart is the assistant department head and professor in the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, where he supports departmental leadership, assists with administrative coordination and contributes to teaching physics and student mentorship.
Cheng Zhang
As a graduate coordinator, Cheng Zhang oversees the graduate programs within the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, guiding admissions, student progress and curriculum development to support graduate student success. He teaches graduate and undergraduate organic chemistry courses.
Melody Jewell
Serving as an undergraduate coordinator, Melody Jewell manages advising, academic planning and curriculum for undergraduate students, helping ensure a strong foundation in coursework, research opportunities and career preparation. She also teaches general chemistry courses, helps coordinate the chemistry education M.S. program, and is the faculty adviser for the Chemistry Club.
Department Staff
Stephanie Jensen
Stephanie Jensen serves as an assistant to the department head and also helps coordinate the chemistry instructional program, supporting graduate education.
Sally Krueger
Sally Krueger works in conjunction with Human Resources to support staffing, onboarding and other personnel-related functions, while also contributing to the coordination of the physics instructional program.
Jaque Mann
Jaque Mann serves as the building and safety personnel for the department, ensuring compliance with safety regulations and maintaining a secure working environment for all staff and students.
Department Faculty
Adam Hoppe
As a director of National Institutes of Health-funded Center of Biomedical Research Excellence-SDSU chapter, Adam Hoppe, Ph.D., leads cutting-edge research on how immune cells like macrophages fight cancer and viral infections. His team combines live-cell imaging and CRISPR genome screening to uncover how therapeutic antibodies activate immune defenses.
Darci Fink
In her teaching of cell and molecular biology and biochemistry, Darci Fink, Ph.D., brings real-world relevance from her lab, where she investigates how lymphatic vessels grow, adapt and signal — work that not only uncovered primary cilia on lymphatic cells but also aims to inform treatments for cancer, inflammation and tissue repair.
Derek Brandis
Derek Brandis, Ph.D., is an expert in analytical chemistry, specifically studying ice core research, and is the SDSU Wokini mentor for Native American students and communities in STEM throughout South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã and the surrounding region.
Fathi Halaweish
Fathi Halaweish, Ph.D., combines his teaching in organic and biochemistry with cutting-edge research focused on natural products, developing and modeling drug-like compounds that show promise against various cancers and Type 2 diabetes.
Jay Shore
Jay Shore, Ph.D., teaches chemistry education and focuses his research on enhancing student learning through the integration of computational chemistry, nuclear magnetic resonance and materials science — developing innovative visualizations and assessment tools to improve chemistry instruction.
Jihong Cole-Dai
Jihong Cole-Dai, Ph.D., teaches analytical chemistry to undergraduate and graduate students and leads pioneering research on environmental change by analyzing chemical components in polar ice cores, improving methods to reveal the history of Earth’s atmosphere.
Judy Vondruska
Primarily focused on teaching physics, Judy Vondruska, Ph.D., explores how students learn — researching tools like classroom response systems, the development of engineering identity, and most recently, the role of artificial intelligence in education — while also guiding first-year physics majors in hands-on astronomy projects ranging from exoplanet studies to building a radio telescope.
Julie Leibold
Julie Leibold, Ph.D., plays a vital role in SDSU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as the lab coordinator for most of the general chemistry laboratories, ensuring smooth operation, safety and hands-on learning for hundreds of students each year. In addition to her coordination duties, she also teaches undergraduate inorganic chemistry and other courses vital to the department.
Matthew Miller
Matthew Miller, Ph.D., teaches chemistry education and explores how STEM outreach programs shape student learning and motivation, using these informal experiences to investigate their impact on future engagement in science while also guiding in-service teachers through a graduate program focused on chemical education.
M. Nurul Islam
M. Nurul Islam, Ph.D., teaches analytical and bioanalytical chemistry while leading multidisciplinary research that uses metabolomics and lipidomics to discover disease biomarkers and understand infectious and inflammatory disease processes through advanced mass spectrometry.
Parashu Kharel
Combining a passion for teaching physics with cutting-edge materials research, Parashu Kharel, Ph.D., explores the structure-property relationships of novel magnetic materials — ranging from bulk crystals to nanostructures — for applications in permanent magnets, magnetic refrigeration and spintronic devices.
Rachel Willand-Charnley
Blending teaching in glycobiology with research at the interface of chemistry and immunology, Rachel Willand-Charnley, Ph.D., develops novel glycan therapeutics and synthetic strategies to address critical challenges in cancer treatment.
Sara Madsen
Sara Madsen, Ph.D., serves as a senior lecturer in chemistry at SDSU, dedicated to undergraduate education and distinguished by her leadership in green chemistry pedagogy, including recognition with the Dow Green Chemistry Education à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã.
Suvobrata Chakravarty
Blending expertise in biochemistry and biophysical chemistry, Suvobrata Chakravarty, Ph.D., explores how proteins communicate with DNA, RNA and other proteins — using structural biology, bioinformatics and innovative tools to reveal how genetic mutations alter human protein function at both the molecular and genomewide scale.
Yung Huh
Yung Huh, Ph.D., teaches physics and materials science while leading research on advanced functional materials — from engineered thin films and magnetic systems for spintronics and data storage to next-generation solar cells and superconducting materials for quantum computing.
Graduate Assistants
Research Staff
