At Gettysburg College, scholarly research in the sciences enables faculty members like Chemistry Prof. Kate Buettner to engage students in experiential learning.
Gettysburg College Chemistry Prof. Kate Buettner recently received a $6,500 Franklin Research Grant from the American Philosophical Society. The grant supports Buettner’s research this fall at UCLA in collaboration with Dr. Hannah Shafaat, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA’s College of Physical Sciences.
At UCLA, Buettner will use electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) technology to investigate the properties of hydrolysis-prone metals like vanadium in biological environments. Her research will explore ways to optimize these metals for use as catalysts in biological applications, such as therapeutics.
Buettner’s research at UCLA builds upon the work that several Gettysburg alumni started in her lab several years ago.
During the summer of 2020, Brittany Loh ’22 and Micaylah Bowers ’23 researched known structures of natural vanadium. Oliver Pickering ’22 designed new enzyme active sites that would permit better binding with vanadium. Last summer, Sarah Marcus ’26 of Flanders, New Jersey, and Rudy Rudatsikira ’27 of Kampala Central, Uganda, collaborated with Buettner to explore protein reactivity as part of the Cross-Disciplinary Science Institute (X-SIG) at Gettysburg.
Buettner reflects on the connections made at professional conferences that inspired the idea behind her collaboration with Shafaat at UCLA. Shafaat spoke with one of Buettner’s students, Oliver Pickering, at a poster session during the American Chemical Society national meeting in San Diego, California in the spring of 2022. “Oliver’s conversation with Hannah allowed her to see that our lab had expertise in vanadium chemistry, something she was interested in bringing into her lab. Without his interaction with her, we wouldn’t have started talking about this, and this work likely wouldn’t be happening,” Buettner said.
Pickering was able to attend that conference through support from the Provost’s Office and X-SIG. “Providing research opportunities through X-SIG and inviting students to attend professional conferences are invaluable experiences,” Buettner said. “They prepare students for conducting research in graduate school and help them build career-ready skills.”
Last spring, Rudatsikira and Marcus went back to San Diego for the Spring 2025 American Chemical Society meeting. “I got to meet some amazing scientists, one in particular, Dr. Toledo even got the chance to visit Gettysburg this fall to give a talk, which allowed me to learn more about the research in his lab and potential future directions for myself,” Rudatsikira of his experience.
“Doing research forces you to think critically and to learn problem solving skills,” Buettner explained. “It teaches you resilience. You are often getting results that are not where you want them to be. You’re going back to the drawing board and reworking your experimental procedures to be able to move forward and get the results to the questions that you’re asking.”
Additionally, attending conferences and securing grants, such as the Franklin Research Grant, support course development and new curriculum offerings at Gettysburg College.
Buettner’s research will also support future projects in her lab at Gettysburg College, which will involve student researchers. Her work at UCLA will lay the foundation for an iMethods course she will co-teach with Chemistry Prof. Timothy Funk ’00 in Spring 2026 called Enzymes, Porphyrins, and Vanadium (Oh My!). Students in this course will make vanadium porphyrin complexes, insert these cofactors into proteins, and test their ability to function as catalysts.
Buettner said she is looking forward to bringing new insights from her work at UCLA back to Gettysburg. The relationships that she builds through communication with fellow scientists—and her Gettysburg students—inspire her research.
“For me, the people are what make science most interesting,” she said.
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By Michael Vyskocil
Photos by Diptiman Das ’27
Posted: 10/14/25