Elise G. Megehee

Elise G. Megehee is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, St. John's University. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a B.S. from the University of Rochester, and completed postdoctoral training at Boston University and the University of Rochester.

Her research focuses on inorganic chemistry and materials science, with emphasis on:

• Developing osmium/ruthenium complexes for solar energy conversion and light harvesting
• Designing luminescent sensors for DNA and anions (e.g., heparin)
• Investigating electron/energy transfer mechanisms in transition metal complexes
• Synthesizing novel coordination compounds for catalytic and biomedical applications

She leads six active research projects involving diimine-carbonyl metal complexes, porphyrin conjugates, carbene ligands, and isomer-dependent photochemistry. Her publications (1988–2017) predominantly explore electrochemistry, photophysics, and synthesis of transition metal complexes—particularly rhodium, osmium, and ruthenium—with applications in catalysis, sensing, and renewable energy. Recent work emphasizes biomedical sensing and advanced synthetic methods.

Dr. Megehee mentors graduate and undergraduate researchers in her laboratory and collaborates with faculty including Dr. Alison Hyslop (porphyrin chemistry) and Dr. Richard Rosso (carbene complexes).