Meschwitz to chair R.I. section of American Chemical Society

Dr. Susan Meschwitz, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, has been elected chairwoman of the Rhode Island section of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. She will serve a two-year term beginning this month.

Established in 1891, the Rhode Island section includes approximately 550 members, ranging from faculty and students at the state’s colleges and universities to scientists from local companies such as Amgen, Alexion, Rhodes Pharmaceuticals and Teknor Apex. Members work on a wide array of projects throughout the community to help foster interest in the chemical sciences and to maintain lifelong learning in a such a broad field.

Meschwitz joined the Salve Regina community in 2012. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Stonehill College and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Brown University.

Her research focuses on organic molecules that have the potential to impact modern medicine. The long-term objective is to discover molecules capable of inhibiting quorum sensing, a communication system upon which many pathogenic bacteria rely. Meschwitz’s ongoing research is exploring two areas for the discovery of these compounds: design and synthesis in the laboratory and isolation from natural products.