KENNESAW, Ga. | Jul 10, 2025

Acknowledging his impact in chemistry education and research, Kennesaw State University alumnus and assistant professor Carl Saint-Louis ‘08 recently earned two prestigious honors, including recognition from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and an award from the American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Funds (PRF).

Saint-Louis has been appointed to the NSF’s Center for Computer-Assisted Synthesis (C-CAS), an effort that supports computational science and data-driven chemistry, one of just two appointees nationally. In addition, he received an Undergraduate New Investigator Award from the ACS-PRF Office of Research Grants.

“These awards will elevate KSU’s chemistry department to a national level,” said Saint-Louis, a faculty member in KSU’s College of Science and Mathematics. “Undergraduates will have opportunities to engage with world-class chemists and conduct cutting-edge research through computational analysis.”

The NSF award will give KSU chemistry and biochemistry students in the Saint-Louis group the opportunity to collaborate with other C-CAS members on a multitude of research projects, many of whom have access to supercomputers. Saint-Louis explained that scientists often rely on modeling experiments in a virtual environment to get better insights on novel properties, a task that requires a lot of computing power. The Data Chemist Network enables access to collaborations and supercomputers that can make these predictions, and that access makes Kennesaw State unique among R2 institutions.

The award from the ACS-PRF will further enhance the experiences in Saint-Louis’ introductory SCM 2000 course for first-year students. He founded this course with two components – a lecture component where, Saint-Louis explained, students learn about the academic and cultural expectations in college, and a laboratory component where they learn about research with the goal of placing students in active research labs by the end of their first year.

“These honors bring funds to my lab to support students and the materials involved in research,” said Saint-Louis, who will serve as co-principal investigator on a $20 million grant.

The honors speak to Saint-Louis’ dedication to undergraduate education. Having earned his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Kennesaw State, Saint-Louis has always remembered his experience as an undergraduate involved in research. Now, he has dedicated his career to paying it forward.

“This is just something I love to do,” he said. “I’m a first-generation college graduate, and I want to make sure the undergraduates I work with know about all these opportunities. That mentoring aspect – that’s why I get out of bed in the morning. It’s very rewarding.”

Sophomore biochemistry major Skylor Seetaram joined Saint-Louis’ laboratory from the First-Year Scholars program through the Office of Research. Her ongoing project, which continues through the Sophomore Scholars program, involves designing stimuli-responsive fluorescent materials, aiming at applications in luminescent devices and cancer-targeting bioimaging, among other areas. She enjoys Saint-Louis’ infectious energy and commitment to student success.

“Working with Dr. Saint-Louis has been incredibly rewarding,” she said. “He's always pushing me to ask questions and he's always helping me learn from mistakes and think critically behind each procedure. With all the other students in the lab, he does a great job at bringing us side by side or separately to help mentor each other, and it makes research feel approachable and exciting.”

– Story by Dave Shelles

Photos from file

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.