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Vaughn,Pamela_211

Dr. Pamela Benz

Biography

Dr. Pamela (Vaughan) Benz, Professor of Chemistry, 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. She teaches instrumental, analytical and general chemistry and works with undergraduate students on independent research projects. Benz's primary research focus is photo-chemistry examining environmental impacts of toxic contaminates. In 2016, her paper examining the effects of photo-chemical degradation of oil was featured in the “highlights” section on the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill (GoMRI) website. Benz was also a member of a team awarded an ADVANCE grant for ~ $600,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop ways to recruit, retain and promote female faculty in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Since joining UWF in 2006, Benz served in various leadership roles including college leadership councils and founded the Office of Undergraduate Research in 2010. She is currently serving as Program Director for the UWF STEM Success program funded by the Department of Education.