Student Research Paves the Way for Cleaner Reaction

����ɬs at ����ɬ develop an eco-friendly method for chemical oxidation reactions, with potential industrial impact.

When Dhani Slaughter ’26 stood before a room of peers and professionals at the 2025 Western New York ACS ����ɬ Research Symposium, she wasn’t just presenting a chemistry experiment—she was sharing a solution that could help reshape how the chemical industry approaches sustainability. Her work is a standout example of how ����ɬ empowers students to take ownership of meaningful research and step confidently into professional scientific conversations. As part of her chemistry major, Slaughter worked alongside fellow student Noelle Linenfelser ’26 and professor of Chemistry, Karen Torraca, Ph.D., to develop a greener approach to chemical oxidation reactions. This widespread chemical reaction is used in pharmaceuticals, fragrances, and flavors, and is used to build complex molecules in organic chemistry. Many traditional methods use large amounts of heavy-metal oxidants that are carcinogenic, corrosive, and hazardous to dispose of. Additionally, older reactions require high temperatures and strong acids or bases. Not only does this require an immense amount of energy, but there is also a higher risk of exposure to harmful chemicals during the reaction.

Slaughter and Linenfelser began their lab work under Torraca with a solvent that somewhat worked but created a film that was difficult to remove and produced only half of what the reaction was supposed to yield. Slaughter commented, “We really wanted to use water for our solvent because it is the most green and accessible.” However, continuously attempting to use water created roadblocks for the team. Slaughter explained that it became extremely frustrating to try again and again with a solvent that was not yielding better results. However, she expressed that their breakthrough came through a “happy accident” of using acetone as a cleaning solution. Once Slaughter discovered that acetone was an effective solvent, she and Linenfelser saw immediate results. Acetone was easier to remove, required less energy, used smaller amounts of the metal catalyst, and produced fewer harmful by-products.

The use of acetone as a solvent in chemical oxidation reactions, if adopted by companies, institutions, and labs, could have a major impact on making chemistry more environmentally friendly. Slaughter and Linenfelser went on to present their findings at the 2025 Western New York ACS ����ɬ Research Symposium on April 5 at Canisius University. The symposium poses a unique opportunity for students to engage with professionals and peers to build their network. “Dhani Slaughter did a wonderful job communicating her research with other students and faculty from universities in Western, NY,” said Torraca. “It was a wonderful opportunity for her to connect with the larger chemistry community outside of Houghton.”

This project and its presentation at the WNY ACS ����ɬ Research Symposium were influential for Slaughter. “Normally in a class lab you try your best to understand the experiment, but you don’t have all the information,” she stated, “with this project, I knew what I was doing and could explain it to people when they asked what I was working on.” Through this research at Houghton, Slaughter honed her skills, gained invaluable hands-on experience in a field she is passionate about, and made a significant impact in the fight against climate change.

����ɬ, New York’s leading evangelical Christian university, is thrilled to announce the launch of its new major in Forensic Science. This innovative program combines the natural sciences with criminal investigation, providing students with a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of science, faith and restorative justice.

“Our new Forensic Science program builds on Houghton’s historic strengths in both the natural and social sciences to offer an education that equips students for success in this exciting and growing field,” said David Davies, provost. “These courses, coupled with our innovative humanities and religion courses, will ensure that our graduates have the skills to combine scientific analysis with moral and ethical reasoning to develop critical and creative responses to the range of forensic science issues encountered in today’s world.”

Under the guidance of experienced professors, students will evaluate physical evidence, develop the ability to use quantitative and qualitative tools and delve into the physical and ethical challenges of the criminal justice system.

“Forensic Science program is a natural outgrowth of Houghton’s focused excellence in the natural sciences in combination with our firm Christian foundational pursuit of truth, righteousness, and justice,” explained Ransom Poythress, associate professor of biology.

By combining amazing lab experiences, deep Biblical discussions, and real-world internship opportunities, it’s a perfect major for our students to demonstrate their already nationally recognized critical analysis abilities, high integrity, excellent communication, and Christ-like love.

Ransom Poythress, Associate Professor of Biology

Located less than an hour away from one of New York State’s few crime labs in Olean, NY, Houghton offers students the chance to not only engage in hands-on labs and experiments but also apply for internships in research and crime labs. This proximity to real-world forensic science facilities enhances practical learning experience and prepares students for future careers in the field.

����ɬ’s Forensic Science program is now accepting applications for the upcoming academic year. Prospective students interested in pursuing a career at the intersection of science and justice are encouraged to visit the university’s website for more information.

Recently, 41 high school students from homeschool groups and Christian schools attended a Saturday Lab event hosted by Houghton’s Sigma Zeta club. Members of Sigma Zeta helped the students perform labs in the areas of chemistry, biology, and physics where they explored pH using a universal indicator and pH meters, identified bacteria through gram staining, and used Geiger counters to examine materials for radioactivity and exponential decay in M&Ms.

At the end of the day, the high schoolers voted on their favorite lab. Although chemistry came out on top, students said they enjoyed getting to eat the extra M&Ms at the end of the physics lab. Karen Torraca, professor of chemistry and faculty advisor for Sigma Zeta, oversaw the lab.

“The Sigma Zeta Lab Saturday was a great experience for students to learn about pH, bacteria, and radioactivity in fun and hands-on ways. It was exciting to see labs full of high school students on a Saturday afternoon, eager to learn about the beauty and wonder of God’s creation.”     -Karen Torraca

The Sigma Zeta club is a national honors society that promotes excellence in the natural sciences, computer science, and mathematics at Houghton. Sigma Zeta hosted its first lab event in 2014 as a way for high school students to experience what a college lab is like, and to give members the opportunity to teach some of the interesting labs they have learned during their time at Houghton. The Sigma Zeta students organize the event by setting the date, planning the labs that they want to do, and teaching the labs to the high school students.

����ɬ student club, Sigma Zeta, hosted a Saturday lab event for high school students on November 19th. Students from homeschool groups, Cuba-Rushford, Fillmore and Cornerstone Christian School completed three different labs in the areas of chemistry, biology, and physics. The labs for this semester’s event were examining the triple point of carbon dioxide using dry ice, dissecting a sheep eyeball, and learning about momentum with carts and tracks. The Sigma Zeta Houghton students guided the high school students through each exercise. 

One student said, “The teachers were wonderful! They were very helpful and friendly. We were kept engaged throughout the labs, and I would come again.”

“The Sigma Zeta Lab Saturday event enables high school students to get hands-on lab experience in a university setting,” said Karen Torraca, professor of chemistry and faculty advisor for Sigma Zeta. “With the help of ����ɬ students who are passionate about science and math, participants are able to connect with science in fun and meaningful ways,” 

The Sigma Zeta club is a national honors society to promote excellence in the natural sciences, computer science, and mathematics at Houghton. Sigma Zeta started putting on these lab events in 2014 as a way to allow high school students to experience what a college lab is like. The Sigma Zeta students organize the event by setting the date, planning the labs that they want to do, and teaching the labs to the high school students. These events give the Sigma Zeta members a great opportunity to teach some of the interesting labs that they have learned, and help high school students get a better understanding of some of the different areas of science.

Blake Eby ’23 and Dr. Paul A. Martino, professor of Biochemistry, represented ����ɬ at the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. They presented a poster entitled “Drug Repurpose Screening Identifies Regorafenib As Potential Amyloid-Beta Aggregation Inhibitor.” The poster and research presented included contributions  by Blake Eby and Dr. Paul A. Martino, as well as Skye Chapel ’23, Evan Kasper ’23, Gabriella Mancini ’21, Isaiah Miller ’23, Liam Fisher ’24, and Prof. Carmen McKell, associate professor of Data Science, who were not in attendance at the conference. 

Dr. Martino mentioned how proud he was of the group who worked on the presentation and being able to see the final results saying, “This was the summation of a large effort on our part and it was amazing to see how we fit into the massive effort to study Alzheimer’s Disease.”

This research began in the summer of 2021 as part of the Shannon Summer Research Institute. The project was a collaboration between Biochemistry and Data Science students. The students conducted their research over the course of 10 weeks with the mentorship of Dr. Martino and Professor Mckell, and major support from alumni, Robert Van Dyk.

This summer, the Van Dyk Scholars of the Shannon Summer Research Institute, including current ����ɬ students, Isaiah Miller ‘23, Blake Eby ‘23, Evan Kasper ‘23, Liam Fisher ‘23, Skye Chaapel ‘23, and recent graduate Bella Mancini ’21, conducted research on Alzheimer’s disease. This group of undergraduate researchers was overseen by ����ɬ professors Dr. Paul Martino, professor of Biochemistry, and Carmen McKell, associate professor of Data Science and director of Houghton’s Center for Data Science Analytics.

Collaboration Leads to Better Research

“Watching this group of students use their data science skills to solve a complex problem like the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease was one of the most rewarding aspects of this research project,” shares Professor Carmen McKell. “Data science is best learned by doing, and these students were deeply engaged and self-directed, using critical thinking skills to decide what to do next to draw insights from a vast amount the data. Through collaboration, the data science students were able to enhance their domain knowledge by learning as much as possible from the biochemistry students. This gave them the context needed to interpret and validate their results. Hands-on collaborative opportunities like this give Houghton students the ability to positively impact people’s lives thereby fulfilling our mission to equip students to lead and labor as scholar-servants in a changing world.”

Real-World Impact

With Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia currently impacting over , research into causes and treatments is vital. Alzheimer’s research has been a specialty of Dr. Martino since 1991, when he began exploring the topic as a graduate student. His expertise in the field made him the ideal candidate to recruit Houghton students to partner with him in this opportunity to have a real-world impact on the scientific body of research and the very real lives that research benefits. Thanks to the generous investment that led to the creation of the Van Dyk Scholars and the Shannon Summer Research Institute, Houghton students gained valuable experience that will benefit them in their future careers while exploring ways to help prevent the devastation diseases like Alzheimer’s can have on families and communities.

Hands-On Preparation for Graduate Studies and Careers

As a part of the Shannon Summer Research Institute and the Van Dyk Scholars program, Houghton students spent the summer on graduate-level research and were able to identify promising drug candidates that may help early treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Each student now has the experience of soon-to-be-published graduate-level research that will greatly impact this vital area of study. This experience also provides student researchers with a deeper understanding of what they may want to study in graduate school and prepares them to work in a professional collaborative setting.

“My favorite aspect of this summer was the dynamic that the group shared and the spontaneous conversation that developed from that,” shares Dr. Paul Martino. “Hands-on experience such as this helps Houghton students to accelerate their learning through a Christ-centered education. It promotes career-readiness and allows them to hit the ground running after graduation with a straight trajectory towards their professional and academic goals.”