Student spotlight: Steven Boyer

Steven Boyer was inspired to become an educator after having instructors who made chemistry engaging.

“I think it’s important for students to be able to relate to [chemistry],” Boyer said. “If you’re told you need to know this because you need to know it – human instinct is going to push back. If it’s ‘here’s a reason why you need to know it,’ people invest more in it and when you’re invested in it, you’re going to learn it.”

Now a fifth-year doctoral candidate in inorganic chemistry, Boyer found his love for the field during his junior year of high school in his hometown of Pottsville, Pa. Boyer also had the opportunity to learn how chemistry is used outside of the classroom through a relative who worked as a chemical engineer at Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

“The summer after my junior year, he took me on a tour of the Allentown [Pa.] facility. So I got to see a whole bunch of different applications of what they work on,” Boyer said. “How many different things chemistry could be applied to was just amazing.”

Boyer continued his journey with chemistry close to home, as an undergraduate student at Elizabethtown College. During his time there, Wayne Jones, professor of inorganic and materials chemistry at Binghamton University, gave a presentation during one of Boyer’s seminar classes. The presentation focused on Boyer’s work with dye-sensitized solar cells, which are a class of solar cells that use a cheaper material than the ones that are commercially available.

Jones said he remembers his first encounter with Boyer, and he knew then that Boyer would be a good fit for Binghamton University.

“During that seminar, Steve was one of those front-row students who was paying attention,” Jones said. “The fact that he stepped up to me afterward to start the conversation on
his own without being prompted by his advisor, that was a good sign because when it comes to science you have to be inquisitive naturally.”

Four years later, the Harpur College student is working on his thesis, with Jones as his advisor. Boyer said that the two have a great relationship.

“I look at him as a very important mentor in my life – he’s helped me get to where I am and he’s given me all kinds of opportunities because he knows that I want to teach,” Boyer said. “He’s been instrumental in my development.”

Jones said he is delighted to have played a role in Boyer’s development.

“When I think about Steve, I see him as a young, blossoming scientist and faculty member,” Jones said. “I think that the relationship with Steve has been a particularly special one because I’ve watched him go from that relatively inexperienced senior in college all the way through to the PhD. So for me, I have to admit there’s a little bit of fatherly pride.”

During his time at Binghamton, Boyer has served as a teaching assistant and later became the head TA for General Chemistry, a grader for Intermediate Inorganic Chemistry
and instructor for Intro to Chemistry. He is also the 2016 winner of the Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching.

“[Winning] was humbling,” Boyer said. “I got in contact with some students I hadn’t talked to in a little bit, asking for letters of support. Hearing how they were doing and
how excited they were for me was great.”

Boyer also mentors undergraduate students in a research lab. He works with chemistry majors Franklin Schreffler, a senior; John Kinsley, a junior; and Matthew Ehrlich, a senior who is also a double major in mathematics.

“They’re great. They’re self-sufficient at this point,” Boyer said. “They ask the right questions – they’re ready to graduate.”

Outside of the lab, Boyer is an active member of the community. He served as a coordinator for the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program in Smart Energy. He has also worked with younger students through programs such as Go Green, a two-week camp for local middle school students run by Jones.

“He cares about the youth, he puts a lot of time into doing outreach,” Jones said. “He doesn’t have to do that to get his a PhD. He doesn’t have to spend his time there; he’s not
getting paid to go do that. He does it because he loves it, he does it because he’s giving back and I think that generosity of spirit is something that Steve can be very proud of and is going to serve him very well in his future.”

Although Boyer’s philanthropic work involves working with students of all ages, Boyer would like to teach at a collegiate level. He sees himself working at a small institution,
similar to his alma mater, Elizabethtown. Although he loves research, he would like his main focus to be on teaching.

“I’d much rather work with developing undergraduates to get them prepared for the next step,” Boyer said. “I want to be known as a great mentor.”