Faculty

Dan Sykes

Email: dgs12@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-0796
Office Address: 330 Whitmore Laboratory
Title: Teaching Professor
Unit: Department of Chemistry
Webpage: https://science.psu.edu/chem/people/dgs12

Research Interests:

• Characterizing microbial communities via MPS of the 16s rRNA gene; correlating VOC emission profiles with specific microbes or microbial communities. 
• Synthesis and characterization of novel HPLC/UPLC stationary phases. 
• LC-MS method development and validation for the detection and quantification of chemicals of environmental concern. 
• Development of new instrumentation and the modification of existing instrumentation to characterize chemical systems in novel ways.   

About:

Dr. Sykes received his B.S. in Geoscience from the University of Oregon, Ph.D. in Geochemistry from the University of Alberta, and held a postdoctoral research appointment in Experimental and Theoretical Igneous Petrology at Caltech. Currently, he serves as the associate head for the chemistry undergraduate program and is the lab director for analytical chemistry. He serves as a consultant for both academic programs and industry on issues such as developing curricula which provide students with the skills and competencies for careers in industry and the application of spectroscopy, LC-MS-MS and other chromatographic techniques to issues of environmental and forensic concern. Recent work includes: developing simple diagnostic tests for automobile coating defects, conducting performance tests on novel coatings for LC-based applications; LC method development and validation for sensitive nucleic acid moieties; testing and troubleshooting LC stationary phases; and the detection and quantification of target compounds for arson and suspicious animal death investigations, suspected drug cases, and environmental monitoring.