The University of Tulsa alumna Megan Papenfuss Myers (BS ’03, Biochemistry) found her experience in TU’s Chemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Program (CSURP) to be life-changing, and her enthusiasm about it was infectious. As a result, her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Papenfuss, generously established the Professor Gordon H. Purser Endowment Fund for the Chemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Program to support the program and honor its director.

In addition to funding the endowment, Stephen and Janet Papenfuss have supported the Golden Hurricane Club and are members of the Circle Society and the Chapman Legacy Society. Megan is married to Andrew Myers (BS ’03, Biology), and the couple lives in Tulsa.

Dr. Gordon Purser is Director of CSURP and Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He joined the TU faculty in 1983, and his research interests are related to computational chemistry, solvation models, and prediction of chemical properties in aqueous solution. Professor Purser previously taught at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California; the University of Colorado in Denver; and Glendale College in Glendale, California. Dr. Purser has received many honors for his teaching and mentorship, including the Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Technology; Outstanding TURC Mentor of the Year Award; Kermit Brown Teaching Award, and The University of Tulsa Outstanding Teaching Award.

CSURP is a ten-week summer program, which engages undergraduate students in state-of-the-art research, working under the direct supervision of a faculty mentor. Opportunities for research exist in all five fields of chemistry: inorganic, organic, physical, analytical/environmental, and biochemical.