Getman, Rachel

Biography

Hello! I am a Professor and the Bernice L. Claugus Endowed Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at The Ohio State University. I made several stops on my journey to this position, including earning dual BS degrees in Chemical Engineering and Business Administration from Michigan Technological University in 2004 and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 2009. I was also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Northwestern University from 2009-2011. I started my independent career in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Clemson University in August 2011. In 2017 I was the first woman to be tenured in that department in its then 100-year history. In 2020, I was named the inaugural Murdoch Family Endowed Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Clemson University. In 2022, I was the first woman to be promoted to full professor in that department in its then 105-year history. In 2023, my group and I moved to The Ohio State University, and we are very happy to be here!

Expertise

Building from PhD research on “Simulations of NO Oxidation Catalysis on Oxygen Covered Transition Metal Surfaces” alongside Professor William Schneider and postdoc research on simulations of gas storage in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with Professor Randall Snurr, I have built a research program centered around learning about molecular-level thermodynamics, kinetics, and mechanisms at fluid/solid interfaces in my independent career. My group is particularly interested in how solvent configurations and solvation energetics influence processes in heterogeneous catalysis and separations. We use quantum chemical calculations and Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations to learn about these things. Our simulations are performed by the Ohio Supercomputing Center.  

Throughout my career, I have won a variety of awards, including a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, a Clemson University Board of Trustees Award for Excellence, and a Professor of Affordable Learning Award from the South Carolina Affordable Learning Group. I have served/am serving on the executive boards of the Southeastern Catalysis Society, the Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Catalysis Science and Technology Division of the American Chemical Society.