Student-Faculty Highlight

Dan Cordaro
Chemistry
Scranton, Pennsylvania

Mike Haaf
Assistant professor of chemistry
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison; B.S., Ithaca College

Ask Dan Cordaro to name his favorite chemistry professor and he'll list at least three. First, there's Heinz Koch, who found Dan a spot as a summer research assistant at Germany's University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Then there's Vincent DeTuri, with whom Dan recently coauthored a research paper. And there's Mike Haaf, whose lab he's working in right now, synthesizing compounds for antioxidant drug-delivery research.

The personal connection between chemistry students and their professors extends far beyond classroom and laboratory walls. "We go over to our professors' houses for dinner or board games or just to hang out," says Dan, who notes that having a supportive community is especially important in chemistry, where experimental failure is a normal part of the research process.

Dan is emerging as a top-rate chemist, in part because he's availed himself of the many opportunities Ithaca offers, says Professor Haaf. "The world of chemistry is changing in complex ways, with traditional boundaries between the disciplines shifting and blurring. Dan has not only excelled in traditional chemistry courses, he's also been sampling chemistry-related fields like microfluidics. Having this diversity of experience will help him adapt to any scenario."

There's little doubt that chemistry is Dan's first love, but, with a double minor in religion and German, he also revels in what he calls the "freedom of the liberal arts." Off-campus, too, his interests are eclectic: he enjoys playing in a local folk music group and hiking. "I can’t think of a better place to be than IC," he says.