Rate My Professor Amanda Nienow

Amanda Nienow is a Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at Gustavus Adolphus College, where she began her career in 2007 as an Assistant Professor, advancing to Associate Professor in 2013 and full Professor in 2018. She earned her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2005, with a thesis titled “Surface Reactions of Size-Selected Nanoparticles” under advisors Drs. Jeffrey T. Roberts and Michael R. Zachariah, and her B.A. in Chemistry from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in 2001. Following her doctorate, Nienow completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Purdue University in 2006, investigating photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants under Drs. Chad Jafvert and Inez Hua. She has held leadership roles including co-chair of the Chemistry Department from 2015 to 2020 and 2023 to 2026 alongside Dr. Dwight Stoll, and currently serves as Director of Undergraduate Research. Nienow regularly teaches physical chemistry courses and SIG-370 Signature Experience - Research.

Her research specializes in the abiotic fate of agrochemicals in aquatic environments, focusing on the photochemical degradation of herbicides such as imazethapyr (an imidazolinone), nicosulfuron (sulfonylurea), flumetsulam, and others, examining influences of pH, natural organic matter concentration, light wavelength, and sorption to corn or soybean plant waxes. Supported by National Science Foundation grants, including one in 2018 for dicamba studies, her work collaborates with undergraduates who have presented at national meetings and co-authored peer-reviewed papers. Key publications include “Photodegradation of the Herbicide Imazethapyr in Aqueous Solution: Effects of Wavelength, pH, and Natural Organic Matter (NOM) and Analysis of Photoproducts” (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2011), “Hydrolysis and Hydrogen Peroxide-Assisted UV Photodegradation of 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol” (Chemosphere, 2009), “Multifactor Statistical Analysis of the H₂O₂-Enhanced Photodegradation of Nicotine and Phosphamidon” (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2009), “Hydrogen Peroxide-Assisted UV Photodegradation of Lindane” (Chemosphere, 2008), and “Chemical Vapor Deposition of Zirconium Oxide on Aerosolized Silicon Nanoparticles” (Chemistry of Materials, 2006). Nienow received the 2025 Janet Andersen Lecture Award from the Midstates Consortium for Math and Sciences for mentoring undergraduate researchers, along with earlier honors such as the University of Minnesota Dissertation Fellowship (2005-2006), NSF IGERT Traineeship (2002-2004), and Beaker and Bunsen Award (2004). She has delivered invited seminars on agrochemical degradation and contributed to NSF-funded projects on deliberation in STEM classrooms.