Rate My Professor Amanda Nienow

Amanda Nienow is a Professor of Chemistry at Gustavus Adolphus College, joining the faculty in 2007 as an Assistant Professor, advancing to Associate Professor in 2013 and Professor in 2018. She has served as Co-Chair of the Chemistry Department from 2015-2020 and 2023-2026, and currently holds the position of Director of Undergraduate Research. Nienow earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2005, with a focus on surface reactions of size-selected nanoparticles, and a B.A. in Chemistry from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in 2001. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Purdue University in 2006 on photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants.

Her research specializes in the photodegradation of herbicides in aqueous solutions and on plant surfaces, investigating factors such as wavelength, pH, natural organic matter, and sorption to epicuticular waxes of crops like corn and soybean. Key projects include the photochemistry of dicamba, imazethapyr, and imidazolinone herbicides, supported by multiple National Science Foundation grants, including a 2020 IUSE grant for $599,297 on deliberative training in chemistry education and a 2017 RUI grant for $217,675 on dicamba photodegradation. Nienow has co-authored over 15 peer-reviewed publications with undergraduate co-authors, such as “Photolysis of the herbicide dicamba in aqueous solutions and on corn (Zea mays) epicuticular waxes” (Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 2021), “Environmental Photochemistry on Plants: Recent Advances and New Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Research” (Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences, 2022), and “Implementing an Environmental Contaminants Deliberation Module in General Chemistry” (Journal of Chemical Education, 2024). She received the 2025 Janet Andersen Award from the Midstates Consortium for Mathematics and Science for excellence in teaching and mentoring undergraduate research. Nienow teaches physical chemistry courses and research seminars, contributing to student presentations at national conferences and their success in fellowships.