Dr. Pamela (Vaughan) Benz

• Position: Professor and Associate Chair
• Department: Chemistry
• Office Location: Building 58C, Room 204B
• pvaughan@uwf.edu
• Campus: 850.474.3152

Biography

Dr. Pamela (Vaughan) Benz, Professor and Associate Chair, holds a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Maryland, teaches instrumental and general chemistry, and works with undergraduate students on independent research projects. Benz's primary research focus is photo-chemistry, examining the environmental impacts of toxic contaminants. Publications featuring her work include Marine Pollution Bulletin, Limnology and Oceanography, Photochemistry and Photobiology, and the Journal of Physical Chemistry. Since joining UWF in 2005, Benz has served in various leadership roles, including college leadership councils. In 2010, she founded the Office of Undergraduate Research and, with funding from the Department of Education, created the UWF STEM Success program. She now serves as the UWF STEM Living Learning Community Director in President’s Hall.

Benz earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Florida in 1993 and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1999. She was a National Research Council Fellow at the EPA from 1999-2000.

Awards include the UWF Faculty Excellence in Teaching or Advising Award, 2021, Friend of Diversity, OEDIA Award UWF ADVANCE team: Outstanding collaboration toward achieving excellence in diversity, 2015, and the UWF Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and Advising Award in 2008

Degrees & Institutions

National Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellow (U.S. EPA)
Ph.D. Analytical Chemistry, University of Maryland
B.S. Chemistry, University of Florida

Research

Research focuses on the photochemical reactivity of natural water components, including CDOM (colored dissolved organic matter) and petroleum products. Analytical techniques such as radical-trapping are used to quantify photochemically produced reactive oxygen species (e.g., hydroxyl radical and superoxide). Current research looks at the relationship between these compounds' photochemical degradation and bacterial toxicity.

Publications

Pamela P. Benz, Phoebe Zito, Ed Osburn, Aleksander I. Goranov, Patrick Hatcher, *Matthew D. Seivert, Wade H. Jeffrey, Effects of Burning and Photochemical Degradation of Macondo Surrogate Oil on its Composition and Toxicity, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EM00023D

Laura Swann, Jonathan Hall, Katie Vaccaro-Garska, Samantha Seals, Pamela Benz, Development and Implementation of an Undergraduate STEM Peer Coaching Program, Journal of College Science Teaching, 2023, 52 (7), 43.

Building a Community of Practice: A Case Study of Introductory College Chemistry Students, Jonathan L. Hall, Katherine R. Whitaker, Samantha R. Seals, Pamela P. Benz, Journal for STEM Education Research, 2022, 5(3):1-21.

Laura Swann, Jonathan Hall, Katie Vaccaro-Garska, Samantha Seals, Pamela Benz, "Development and Implementation of an Undergraduate STEM Peer Coaching Program”, Journal of College Science Teaching, accepted 2022.

Saint-Louis, C. J.; Magill, L. L.; Wilson, J. A.; Schroeder, A. R.; Harrell, S. E.; Jackson, N. S.; Trindell, J. A.; Kim, S.; Fisch, A. R.; Munro, L.; Catalano, V. J.; Webster, C. E.; Vaughan, P. P.; Molek, K. S.; Schrock, A. K.; Huggins, M. T. The Synthesis and Characterization of Highly Fluorescent Polycyclic Azaborine Chromophores. The Journal of Organic Chemistry 2016, 81 (22), 10955–10963. 

Vaughan, P. P.; Wilson, T.; Kamerman, R.; Hagy, M. E.; Mckenna, A.; Chen, H.; Jeffrey, W. H. Photochemical Changes in Water Accommodated Fractions of MC252 and Surrogate Oil Created during Solar Exposure as Determined by FT-ICR MS. Marine Pollution Bulletin 2016, 104 (1-2), 262–268.

Keywords: toxic organic compounds, heavy metals, solar radiation during bacterioplankton production measurements, lycopene stability, photoactive quinones, photochemical oxidation of water