Chemistry Faculty

Dr. Brooke Otten

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Troy University
312H McCall Hall (MSCX)
botten@troy.edu
Telephone: +1-334-670-3576

Dr. Otten has received her Bachelor and PhD in Chemistry from the University of North Texas. After graduation she worked as visiting assistant professor at Vassar College in New York. Dr. Otten joined Troy University in August 2021. Her research interest include catalytic and structural studies of Au(I) compounds through both computational and experimental means.

Dr. James Cho

Lecturer of Chemistry
Troy University
215 McCall Hal (MSCX)
Troy, AL 36082
jcho@troy.edu
Telephone: 1-334-808-6585

Dr. James Cho has received his Bachelor’s in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Kansas (Lawrence, main campus) and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma (Norman, main campus). After graduation, he worked as a post-doctoral affiliate researcher and an adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma before he joined Troy University in August 2019. His research interests include synthesis of biomedical hydrogels for various types of cancer treatments, desired stem cell differentiations and also constructions of biological templates for inorganic/organic nanomaterial synthesis.

 Dr. Erfan Dashtimoghadam

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Troy University
312-I McCall Hall (MSCX)
Troy, AL 36082
edashtimoghadam@troy.edu
Telephone: +1-334-808-6688

Dr. Erfan Dashtimoghadam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Troy University. He has received his master’s and Ph.D. in polymer engineering from the Amirkabir University of Technology. His educational background, graduate and postgraduate training and research represents interdisciplinary efforts to bridge soft matter and advanced technologies. In 2017, Dr. Dashtimoghadam joined University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) as a postdoctoral research associate. His research at UNC was focused on design, synthesis, and development of bottlebrush polymers and networks for biomedical applications. Currently, Dr. Dashtimoghadam’s research in the Center for Materials and Manufacturing Sciences (CMMS) at Troy University seeks to develop new methods for recycling/upcycling of plastic materials and useful solutions to challenges in sustainability.

Dr. Mojtaba Enayati

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Troy University
312E McCall Hall (MSCX)
Troy, AL 36082
menayati@troy.edu
Telephone: 1-334-670-3577

Dr. Enayati received his Master's and Ph.D. in polymer chemistry from the University of Tehran. After graduation, he worked for 5 years as an assistant professor. He then joined the University of Pennsylvania as a postdoctoral research associate (2015-2017), followed by another postdoc and a senior research associate position at Cornell University (2017-2020). His research was focused on controlled (living) radical polymerizations, surface-initiated Cu(0)-mediated reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (Cu(0)-RDRP), synthesis and characterization of polymer beads as ion-exchange resins, microencapsulation of active ingredients, and waste to value-added products. By joining Troy University in 2021, his research will be focused on “polymer recycling”.

Dr. Arun Ghosh

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Troy University
336 McCall Hal (MSCX)
Troy, AL 36082
aghosh@troy.edu
Telephone: 1-334-808-6758

Webpage: http://spectrum.troy.edu/aghosh/

Dr Ghosh has received his Bachelor and Master in Chemistry from the University of North Bengal (India) and PhD in Polymer science from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. After graduation he worked as post-doctoral researcher and scientist in various universities and R&D labs in North America and New Zealand. Dr Ghosh joined the Troy University in August 2019. His research interests include processing, characterization and application of different synthetic and natural polymers and their composites.

Dr. Shaoyang Liu

Associate Professor of Chemistry
Troy University
312 C McCall Hal (MSCX)
Troy, AL 36082
lius@troy.edu
Telephone: 1-334-808-6556

Dr. Liu received his B.S. in Applied Chemistry and Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). After graduation, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher and Research Fellow at Auburn University. Then, he joined Troy University in 2012. His current research interest is to apply advanced analytical instruments in recycled plastic, renewable energy and food science areas.

Dr. Suzanne Farver Lukjan

Lecturer, Chemistry
Troy University
215 McCall Hal (MSCX)
Troy, AL 36082
rsfarver@troy.edu
Telephone: 1-334-808-6276

Suzanne Farver Lukjan received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Florida in 2011. Dr. Suzanne Farver Lukjan joined the faculty at Troy University in 2013. Her research interests include membrane protein structure, lipid dynamics, and applying biophysical techniques, such as NMR, to study complex lipid membrane systems. She currently teaches general chemistry I (lecture\ lab) and Biochemistry (lecture\ lab).

Dr. Habib ur Rehman

Lecturer, Chemistry
Troy University
215 McCall Hal (MSCX)
Troy, AL 36082
hrehman@troy.edu
Telephone: 1-334-670-5796

Dr. Rehman received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Mississippi State University in 2014. He is a computational chemist and uses theoretical and computational approaches to explore structure, function, and dynamics of large biomolecules. He currently teaches physical chemistry I and II (CHM-3381 and CHM-3382) alongside introductory chemistry courses and their associated labs.

Dr. Zhiyong Wang 

Associate Professor of Chemistry
Troy University
312F McCall Hall (MSCX)
Troy, AL 36082
wangz@troy.edu
Telephone: 1-334-670-3573

His current research interest is in using Organic Chemistry as a tool to explore two areas: 1) The rational construction of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for clean energy-related applications including methane storage, hydrogen storage, and carbon dioxide capture; 2) The genetic incorporation of unnatural amino acids into proteins and labeling of proteins with small molecule probes.

Dr. David Arrington 

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Troy University
113 Everett Hall
Dothan, Alabama 36303
darrington49259@troy.edu
Telephone: 1-334-983-6556-1-376

I am a physical chemist with a background in surface science and electrochemistry. I am also interested in chemical education.

Dr. Rodney Beaver

Professor of Chemistry
Troy University
208D Malone Hall 
Dothan, Alabama 36303
rbeaver@troy.edu
Telephone: 1-334-983-6556-1-262

I am an organic chemist with a particular interest in analytical chromatography and spectroscopy.