Dr. Shizuka Hsieh

Associate Professor of Chemistry

Interests

• Environmental justice
• Community-based participatory research
• Atmospheric chemistry
• Environmental chemistry

Awards

• Henry Dreyfus Teacher Scholar
• Sherrerd Teaching Award (Smith College)
• British Marshall Scholarship
• NSF Graduate Fellowship

Select Works Published

• Paper Presentation: Partnership for Social Justice in a Neighborhood at a Nexus of Development in Washington, DC: Residents in the Midst of Cement Plants, Construction, an Electrical Power Substation, and a Major Roadway
  Shizuka Hsieh (Trinity ) Rhonda Hamilton (ANC Commissioner), Alisha Camacho (Near Buzzard Point Resilient Action Committee), Elgloria Harrison(UDC), American Geophysical Union, 2018
• Paper Presentation: Monitoring Concentrations of PM2.5 and Black Carbon in a Neighborhood in Washington, DC: When Using Citywide Averages for Environmental Assessment Underestimates Impacts in a Community
  Shizuka Hsieh (Trinity) Amanda Northcross (GWU), Ebony Roper (Howard), Parisa Norouzi (Empower DC), Russ Dickerson (UMD), Sacoby Wilson (UMD), Vernon Morris (Howard), American Geophysical Union, 2018
• “Intramolecular hydrogen-bonding effects on O-H stretch overtone excitation for fluorinated hydroperoxides”
  Hsieh, Z, Mostafavi, M., and Taylor, A., Chemical Physics, 2017
• "Trends in organic hydroperoxide photodissociation and absorption cross sections between 266 and 377nm"
  S. Hsieh, R. Vushe*, Y.T. Tun*, J. L. Vallejo*,, Chemical Physics Letters, 2014
• "Macondo crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disrupts specific developmental processes during zebrafish embryogenesis"
  T. Yvanka de Soysa, A. Ulrich, T. Friedrich, D. Pite*, S.L. Compton, D. Ok, R.L. Bernardos, G.B. Downes, S. Hsieh, R. Stein, M.C. Lagdameo, K. Halvorsen, M.J.F. Barresi,, BMC Biology, 2012
• "O-H stretch overtone excitation of ethyl hydroperoxide conformers"
  S. Hsieh, T. Thida*, M.K. Nyamumbo*, K.A. Smith*, N. Naamad*, R.G. Linck, Journal of Physical Chemistry, 2011
• "Vibrational-torsional excitation and direct overtone photodissociation of ethyl hydroperoxide at 5vOH"
  K.D. Closser*, K.M. Vogelhuber*, and S. Hsieh,, Journal of Physical Chemistry, 2008
• "Effects of torsion on O-H stretch overtone spectra and direct overtone photolysis of methyl hydroperoxide"
  L.M. Haynes*, K.M. Vogelhuber*, J.L. Pippen* and S. Hsieh,, Journal of Chemical Physics, 2005

Philosophy

Teaching is an opportunity to share my love of chemistry, in visualizing and thinking about the macroscopic world on a microscopic level. Chemistry courses give students a foundation in fundamental concepts, empower them with problem solving and communication skills, and illustrate connections to career tracks in research, industry, medicine, environment, and policy. With the belief that students learn best through doing, students often work together in my classes, solving problems or working with model kits. Laboratory courses give students further hands-on, practical experiences and writing practice. The successful student in chemistry embraces challenges, finds her skills, and builds confidence to take on future challenges.