Meet Dr. Jones

I earned a BA in chemistry with honors in the liberal arts and with distinction in chemistry from The Ohio State University in 1998. I worked as an industrial chemist before matriculating to the University of Cincinnati, where I earned a MS and PhD in inorganic chemistry in 2004.  My faculty career began at Austin Peay State University in 2004 where I created their Office of Undergraduate Research (2010) and earned promotion and tenure (2011). In 2012, I relocated to George Mason University to begin the Office of Student Scholarship Creative Activities and Research, Mason’s undergraduate research program. As Associate Director of OSCAR, I created the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program and the Undergraduate Student Travel Fund, and organized the Celebration of Student Scholarship from 2012-2015. In 2015, I returned to the faculty as an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the STEM Accelerator. In December 2020, I was offered a promotion to Full Professor (Term), effective June 2021. I regularly teach general and inorganic chemistry and work to improve outcomes for STEM students. 

I am a published scholar and editor. My research interests include photographic chemistry, improving STEM education, and faculty mentoring and student development related to undergraduate research experiences. I serve as one of the Issue Editors for Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research, the journal of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). During the pandemic, I edited and oversaw the publication of a two volume series, Advances in Teaching Inorganic Chemistry, published by ACS Books in December 2020. 

I am an engaged member of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, serving on multiple departmental committees, mentoring a term Assistant Professor, and advising faculty in chemistry pedagogy. I developed a workforce preparedness seminar course for chemistry majors and oversee the chemistry Learning Assistants. I have served the College of Science as Chair of the Faculty, (2020-2023), faculty senator (2016-2019), Secretary of the Faculty (2017-2020) and administrator of the COS Undergraduate Research Colloquium (annually since 2015).  As PI, I coordinate the Rural and Diverse Student Scholars Program, a College of Science scholarship and research opportunity funded by NSF S-STEM.  I am an active member in the American Chemical Society and the president of Mason’s chapter of Sigma Xi. I have been an elected chemistry councilor for CUR (2016-2022, 2 terms) and served on multiple NSF panels. Since 2019, I have partnered with other academic leaders from the state to develop a Virginia STEM network. In December 2022, in recognition of my efforts as Chair of the Faculty, I won the College of Science Dean's Impact Award .