Current Activities
My activities include teaching general chemistry lab courses and organic chemistry. Specifically, I teach the General Chemistry for Engineering Students Laboratory (CHEM 117) and the lab for the Fundamentals of Chemistry I (CHEM 119) and Fundamentals of Chemistry II (CHEM 120). In addition, I currently teach the Organic Chemistry I (227) lecture and am committed to implementing active learning techniques in the classroom to improve student success. In the lab, I am interested in combining innovative and interdisciplinary practices that expand on the lab courses such that students can develop entrepreneurial mindsets in STEM fields.
My research interests are related to synthetic and computational materials chemistry with its application towards improving mechanical and electrical properties in carbon-based materials. In the past, I contributed to the novel development of low-cost nonwoven carbon fibers and nonwoven anti-bacterial dressing for wound healing. The scale-up process for new technologies and its transition from the product-to-market fit is often challenging. Having participated in the NSF’s I-CORP program, I am interested in teaching students the importance of interdisciplinary research and how innovative ideas can be translated from the lab to the marketplace.
Educational Background
- Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2012)
- Visiting Scholar, Stanford University (2009-2012)
- Dissertation: Insights for designing mechanochromic spiropyrans from first principles dynamics and minimum energy pathways.
- B.S. in Chemistry, Summa Cum Laude: University of Texas-Pan American (2006)
Professional Experience
- Chemistry Lecturer - Texas A&M University McAllen (2022-Present)
- Science Interventionist - IDEA College Prep (2020-2022)
- Chemistry Assessment Writer - Mometrix, LLC (2018-2022)
- Visiting Associate Professor- Valencia College, Orlando, FL (2017-2018)
- Post-doctoral researcher - University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (2013-2017)
Leadership, Community Outreach, & Departmental Service
- Open House at the Higher Educational Center at McAllen – Community outreach & lab demonstration (2022-Present)
- McAllen Independent School District Science Fair Judge – (2022-Present)
- Chemistry Outreach Committee Member at HECM – (2022-Present)
Selected Publications
- Mometrix Media, LLC: Study Guides: ACS Organic Chemistry, AP Chemistry, ACS General Chemistry, SAT Chemistry PQ, MCAT GAP (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics), APEX MCAT, OAT Chemistry, HESI Chemistry Pocket Guide, OAT Organic Chemistry, GRE Organic Chemistry, AP Biology Gap, HESI Anatomy and Physiology, HESI Biology, ACT Science, Associate Safety Professional Test, ASVAB Test (2018-2021).
- Lee D. Cremar, Jorge Gutierrez, Jennifer Martinez, Luis Materon, Robert Gilkerson, Fenghua Xu, and Karen Lozano. Development of antimicrobial chitosan-based nanofiber dressings for wound healing applications. Nanomedicine Journal (2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.22038/NMJ.2018.05.002
- Daniel N Riahi, Karen Lozano, Lee Cremar, and Arturo Fuentes. On nonlinear rotating polymeric jets during forcespinning process. Fluid Dynamics Research (2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1873-7005/aadfd0
- Mandana Akia, Lee Cremar, Manuel Seas, Jahaziel Villarreal, Alejandra Valdez, Mataz Alcoutlabi, and Karen Lozano. High-Throughput Production with Improved Functionality and Graphitization of Carbon Fine Fibers Developed from Sodium Chloride-Polyacrylonitrile Precursors (2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pen.24816
- Lee D. Cremar, Benjamin Jones, Nicole Martinez, Gustavo Mejia, Hilario Cortez, Edgar Munoz, Rocio Nava, and Karen Lozano. Nitrogen doped carbon nanofibers derived from water-soluble precursors. Journal of Advances in Nanomaterials (2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.22606/jan.2017.24002
- Karen Lozano, Lee D. Cremar, Maria del Rocio Nava Lara, and Mandana Akia. Method of preparing doped and/or composite carbon fibers, U.S. PATENT Publication No. US20170081786A1 (2017) https://www.google.com/patents/US20170081786
- Mandana Akia, Lee D. Cremar, Mircea Chipara, Edgar Munoz, Hilario Cortez, Hector de Santiago, Fernando J. Rodriguez-Macias, Yadira I. Vega-Cantu, Hamidreza Arandiyan, Hongyu Sun, Timothy P. Lodge, Yuanbing Mao, and Karen Lozano. In Situ Production of Graphene-Fiber Hybrid Structures, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (2017) http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b07509
- Rocio Nava Lara, Lee D. Cremar, Victor Agubra, Jennifer Sanchez, Mataz Alcoutlabi, and Karen Lozano. Centrifugal Spinning: An Alternative for Large Scale Production of Silicon-Carbon Composite Nanofibers for Lithium Ion Battery Anodes. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6b06051
- Lee D. Cremar, Javier Martinez-Acosta, Alexsandra Villarreal, Alfonso Salinas, and Karen Lozano. Mechanical and Electrical Characterization of Carbon Nanofibers produced from Water Soluble Precursors. Materials Today Communications 7, 1, 134–139 (2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mtcomm.2016.04.006
- Lee D. Cremar, Javier Martinez-Acosta, Alexsandra Villarreal, Alfonso Salinas, Lin Wei, Yuanbing Mao, and Karen Lozano. Multifunctional carbon nanofiber systems mass produced from water soluble polymers. Chemical Fibers International 66, 1, 40–42 (2016).
- Lee D. Cremar, Javier Martinez-Acosta, Alexsandra Villarreal, Alfonso Salinas, Lin Wei, Yuanbing Mao, and Karen Lozano. Multifunctional carbon nanofiber systems mass produced from water soluble polymers and low temperature processes. TextileTechnology: Chemical Fibers International Fiber prod. , 1, 1–17 (2016).
- Karen Lozano and Lee D. Cremar. Method of preparing carbon fibers, US PATENT Publication No. US2015/0184317 A1 (2015). https://www.google.com/patents/US20150184317
- Meredith N. Silberstein, Kyoungmin Min, Lee D. Cremar, Cassandra M. Degen, Todd J. Martínez, Narayana R. Aluru, Scott R. White, and R. Sottos Nancy. Modeling mechanophore activation within a crosslinked glassy matrix. Journal of Applied Physics 114, n2, 023504 (2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4812581
- Meredith N. Silberstein, Lee D. Cremar, Brett A. Beiermann, Sharlotte B. Kramer, Todd J. Martínez, Scott R. White, and Nancy R. Sottos. Modeling Mechanophore Activation within a Viscous Rubbery Network. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids (2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2013.09.014
- Douglas A. Davis, Andrew Hamilton, Jinglei Yang, Lee D. Cremar, Dara Van Gough, Stephanie L. Potisek, Mitchell T. Ong, Paul V. Braun, Todd J. Martínez, Scott R. White, Jeffrey S. Moore, and Nancy R. Sottos. Force-induced activation of covalent bonds in mechanoresponsive polymeric materials. Nature 459, n7243, p68 (2009). http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature07970
