A laboratory discovery has resulted in a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER grant for Sarah Tasker, assistant professor of chemistry at Franklin & Marshall College. 

The $514,388, five-year grant – now active – supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program offers the NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty.

The grant will fund 20 student research positions over the next five summers, in the form of 10-week fully paid positions at 40 hours a week.

“Getting involved with undergraduate research is incredibly formative and one of the great things that F&M does really well,” Tasker said.

“That experience is really how science is done. Science is not done in the classroom. It's done in the lab,” she added.

The grant funds ongoing development of new gas-releasing molecules to improve safety and access to reactive gasses in the lab. In fall 2021, Tasker and two students made a scientific discovery in this field that is now a commercial product.

Tasker, along with 2023 graduates Katie DeSimone and Lyla Naqvi, discovered and developed new molecules that release carbon monoxide (CO) gas in a controlled way at room temperature, which makes laboratories safer places to work.

Sigma-Aldrich, one of the top fine-chemical suppliers in the United States, has since commercialized the F&M team's reagents.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sarah Tasker

Tasker is the fourth current F&M chemistry faculty member to receive a CAREER grant. Just 10 professors have received CAREER awards in chemistry over the past six years at institutions that only offer bachelor's degrees, highlighting the strength of F&M's chemistry department, Tasker said.

The CAREER grant also provides funding for Tasker to bring students to academic conferences. She plans to bring students to future National Organic Symposium conferences, which highlight recent advances in organic chemistry.

“Giving students the chance to present their work in front of a national professional audience can be really life-changing. I attended similar conferences as an undergrad and that was incredibly formative,” Tasker said. 

Tasker received her bachelor’s of science in chemistry with a double major in Spanish from Calvin College (now called Calvin University) in 2010. She completed her doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working to develop new nickel–catalyzed reactions. In 2015, Tasker moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation postdoctoral scholar.

Tasker has taught organic and general chemistry at F&M since 2018, documenting student research online at Tasker Lab. 

“​​Getting involved with undergraduate research is incredibly formative and one of the great things that F&M does really well. That experience is really how science is done. Science is not done in the classroom. It’s done in the lab.”

— F&M Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sarah Tasker

F&M Team's Chemistry Discovery Goes Commercial

In a rare event for any liberal arts college, F&M Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sarah Tasker and her two students made a scientific discovery that is now a commercial product. Tasker and her students, Katie DeSimone '23 and Lyla Naqvi '23, discovered and developed new molecules that release carbon monoxide (CO) gas in a controlled way at room temperature, which makes laboratories safer places to work.

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