Ian HillFaculty

Ian Hill is a native of Savage, MN and a graduate from Burnsville Senior High School. He went on to study chemistry at Carleton College where he received his B.A. in 2007. While there, he worked with professor Steven Drew studying linear chain Pt(II) complexes with chiral ligands and their vapochromic fluorescent response to chiral 2-butanol vapors. Having enjoyed his work on solid materials, he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science (CEMS) at the University of Minnesota working with professor Chris Leighton on patterning nano-scale magnetic pillars into thin-film permalloy on silicon wafers using block copolymer templates for use in ultra-high density magnetic storage devices.

He formally joined the CEMS department in fall 2007 as a graduate student under professor Aditya Bhan studying the acid-catalyzed methylation of olefins and aromatics with dimethyl ether over nanoporous zeolite materials. This work has contributed to describing the kinetics and mechanism of methanol-to-hydrocarbons chemistry, which is capable of generating liquid fuels and polymer precursors from non-petroleum sources. While at Minnesota, he also helped establish the Joint Safety Team in an effort between the Chemistry/CEMS departments and The Dow Chemical Company to increase safe practices and good housekeeping in research labs.

After receiving his Ph.D. in 2013, Ian left for the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Virginia to work as a postdoctoral researcher with Professor Robert J. Davis. Ian's work focused on describing the surface properties of basic and acid-base bifunctional materials, observed using diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy of interacting probe molecules. The materials studied in this work have applications as catalysts in upgrading ethanol to less corrosive and higher energy-density fuels.

After completing his postdoctoral work in Virginia, Ian has moved back to Minnesota to teach chemistry and pursue research at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Courses Taught