Amy E. Witter | Department of Chemistry

Amy Witter is an Associate Professor of Chemistry whose teaching and research interests lie in the areas of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry.  In addition to regularly teaching Modern Chemical Analysis (Chem 243) and Chemistry of the Environment (Chem 111, for non-majors), she also teaches Introductory General Chemistry (Chem 131/132), Accelerated General Chemistry (Chem 141), Bioanalytical Chemistry (Chem 490), and Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (Chem 490).  She served as Chair of the Chemistry Department from 2006 - 2008, and she is currently a member of the Faculty and Promotion Committee (FPC).

Professor Witter's research projects focus broadly on environmental analytical chemistry and bioanalytical chemistry. Her current research in environmental chemistry investigates how increasing urbanization in the Conodoguinet Creek watershed (Cumberland County, PA) affects chemical concentrations and assemblages of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in stream sediments.  The Conodoguinet Creek watershed is an ideal study site to investigate effects of scale on pollutant transport because the watershed passes through pristine forested areas, agricultural areas, urban areas, as well as a heavily-travelled trucking corridor that serves the entire Eastern Seaboard.  In collaboration with student researchers (Sunil Baidar, Dickinson '10) and faculty colleagues (Pete Sak, Geology), she is preparing a manuscript on this work.

A second area of research in Professor Witter's laboratory investigates the effect of nutrient limitation (nitrate limitation/Fe limitation) on biomolecule production by marine bacteria and phytoplankton.  Specifically, she is interested in how ambient nutrient concentrations influence structural changes in dissolved carbohydrates and glycoproteins produced in the marine environment. In collaboration with a former Dickinsonian (Denise Sharbaugh, '02) and outside collaborator (Dave Hutchins, USC) she is revising a manuscript on this work.