Chemistry and Biochemistry
Staff at the SDSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
These are the people who actually keep the Department of Chemistry running.
Office Staff
Gayle August
Office Manager
GMCS-209;
619-594-4418
Gayle is responsible for overseeing office
matters regarding the Department.
- Refer an issue to the Chair
- Student Grievance Procedures
- Class scheduling
- TA assignments
- Lecturer and Student contracts
- Faculty/Grant contracts
- Academic Transaction Forms
- RTP process
- Faculty travel
- Commencement Coordinator
- Special Study Grades
- Faculty/Staff Attendance
- HR issues
- Evening Exam/Review Session Reservations
- Instructional Student Assistants (hiring process)
- Faculty Searches
- Chemistry Scholarships
Irene Occhiello
Administrative
Support Assistant II
GMCS-209;
594-5595
Please see for the following:
- All exam copying
- Graduate Admissions Assistant
- Key issue
- Distribution of special study add codes
- Holiday Party/Summer BBQ
- Fac/TA evaluations
- Room reservations (for CSL 508 and GMCS 217)
- Seminar Coordinator
- Adjunct appointments
- Distribution of parking permits
Ken Long
Business Manager
GMCS-213D; 594-1617
Ken is responsible for financial matters regarding the Department.
"I am a graduate from the University of
California at Santa Barbara (1977) with a bachelors degree in
chemistry and a bachelor's degree in pharmacology. I began working in
the SDSU chem dept in November of 1977 as a student assistant. At
the time, I was enrolled in the SDSU MBA program with a concentration
in Management. I began full-time employment in September of 1978 as
I was about to get married and thought that I should have a "real"
job. My intention was for this to be a temporary position until I
finished school. I fulfilled the second portion of that goal when
I completed the course work towards the MBA degree shortly thereafter.
The "temporary" aspect of my stay here has since taken on a more
geological sense."
(more)
Instructional and Technical Staff
John Fall
Freshman Labs Storeroom Supervisor
CSL-531; 594-4725
John runs the stockroom that furnishes materials to all of the lower division laboratory courses including Chem 100, 105, 200, and 201, serving some 800 students each semester.
LeRoy
Lafferty
NMR Facility Director
CSL-225A; 594-5989
LeRoy keeps the Department's three NMR spectrometers (200 MHz, 300 MHz, and 500 MHz) operating, and assists students and faculty with data acquisition and analysis.
Richard Lamoureux
Safety Officer and Organic Labs Storeroom Supervisor
594-6288
Richard keeps track of a wide variety of safety regulations (Fed OSHA, Cal OSHA,
EPA, Cal EPA, various Fire Codes, Regional Air Pollution Control, and others)
to keep the department informed of compliance issues, and also manages the
organics stockroom, serving the Chem 231 and 431 lab needs as well as distributing
routine supplies to the research labs.
Maria Penalosa
Solutions Storeroom Supervisor
CSL-504B; 594-6748
Maria, in the room across the hall from the organics stockroom, prepares solutions needed for the teaching labs and keeps a steady solvent supply available for the research labs.
Ratnasamy Somanathan
Analytical Instruments Supervisor and Organic Labs Coordinator
CSL-229A; 594-5264
Sam coordinates section assignments and supervises the teaching assistants for Chem 231 and 431, and is in charge of the following analytical instruments:
- LCQ-Finnigan LC-MS, CSL-229
- Saturn 2000 GC-MS, CSL-229
- Nicolet 1700 FT-IR, CSL-229
- HP 6890 GC, CSL-222
- Carey UV-vis, CSL-222
- HPLC, CSL-222
- Polarimeter, CSL-233
Benno Spingler
Equipment Support Technician and Machinist
IT-108; 594-6510
See Benno if you need
- design and/or fabrication of research/teaching equipment from metals, plastics, or wood;
- vacuum pump maintenance or repair;
- assistance with a mechanical problem in one of the labs or offices;
- access to the machining, sheet metal, and woodworking tools in the Chemistry Shop.
Benno's experience begins with work in his father's medical equipment company in Germany, encompasses owning and operating the California-based cabinetry shop Spingler Fine Woodworking until 1990, and more recently includes the design and manufacture of bicycle components and of railing systems for entertainment complexes.