Top of page

Chemistry

Druckenmiller Hall Directory

Dharni Vasudevan

Affiliation: Chemistry, Office of Inclusion and Diversity, Environmental Studies
Stanley F. Druckenmiller Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Studies and Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Inclusion

Vasudevan’s research concerns the environmental fate of chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals and pesticides, and her work focuses on the mechanisms by which these compounds and related model substructures interact with surfaces in soil and aquatic environments. A professor at Bowdoin since 2004, Vasudevan was the chair of the Department of Chemistry from 2014–2018, and she currently serves as associate dean for faculty development and inclusion. In 2013–2014, she was a visiting scientist in the Exposure, Epidemiology, and Risk Program at the Harvard School of Public Health. Widely published (with Bowdoin student coauthors) in peer-reviewed publications and a frequent speaker at conferences and colleges and universities, Vasudevan has been awarded research grants from the National Science Foundation, the Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Program, the US Department of Agriculture, and many others. As an undergraduate student she really got hooked on environmental chemistry when I discovered that chemical structure dictates chemical properties and their ‘personalities,’ which in turn determines how they behave in the natural environment, which in turn impacts human and wildlife exposure to them. Vasudevan, who is jointly appointed to chemistry and environmental studies, routinely team-teaches with other Bowdoin professors, and leads students in her research lab, a group those students fondly refer to as “Team Dirt.” Her research work focuses on the mechanisms by which organic and inorganic compounds interact with mineral surfaces in soil and aquatic environments.

 Curriculum Vitae


To contact Dharni:

Please email dvasudev@bowdoin.edu or call 207-725-3548

To meet with Dharni at HL 310 or via Zoom:

On M 3-4:10 PM; T 4:20-4:50 PM; W 10:40-11:50 AM; R 3-4:10 PM; F 1:00-2:10 PM, you may schedule a time via the Bookings Portal.  To meet at other times, please contact Claire Jaques Bogan (cjaquesb@bowdoin.edu) to schedule a mutually convenient time

Dharni Vasudevan

Education

  • PhD, Environmental Chemistry, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, John Hopkins University, 1996
  • MSE, Environmental Engineering, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, John Hopkins University, 1992
  • BS, Environmental Engineering Science, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990
255 Maine Street
Brunswick, Maine 04011
 (207) 725-3000