People

Professor Bowers standing outdoors in front of a modern building with large windows and brick walls. They are smiling, wearing a fitted black t-shirt, and have shoulder-length brown hair. The setting includes green grass and a leafy tree.

Bailey B. Bowers, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Professor Bowers joined Oberlin College in Fall 2024. Previously she worked as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. She completed her Ph.D. in Chemistry under the tutelage of Ryan Sullivan at Carnegie Mellon University. Her interest in research (and drive to become a professor at a primarily undergraduate institution) began as an undergraduate student at the College of Wooster, where she engaged in research with Karl Feierabend.

In her free time, Professor Bowers enjoys spending time with her husband and cat, crocheting, sewing, birding, and playing video games.

Current Students

Mina Batterjee '29

Summer 2026

Engineering Synthetic Skin to Address Racial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Sensors

Aminah (Mina) is a pre-med student majoring in Biochemistry and Neuroscience. She is deeply invested in improving healthcare accessibility and hopes to focus her efforts in diagnostic pathology and neuropsychiatry. Her previous two years of research experience focused on statistical data analysis and literature review to investigate consciousness theory from a biological and neuroscientific perspective. A smaller project of hers looked at the impact of exogenous factors on neuroplasticity (i.e. how our environment changes our memory and cognitive abilities) and how we might harness our brain’s elastic structure to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

Outside of academics, Mina enjoys hiking, cooking, and reading, and is mediocre at card tricks.

Cyrus Fisher '29

Summer 2026

Sunlight-Driven Photolysis of Fluorinated Pharmaceuticals

bio to come!

River Nguyen '29

Summer 2026

Sunlight-Driven Photolysis of Fluorinated Pharmaceuticals

River is passionate about Chemistry and Math, and is curious about improving manufacturing processes of everyday products to be more sustainable. This fresh connection to environmental chemistry, along with a desire for profound and thorough understanding of rigorous research work, brought River to the Bowers lab.

Outside of the lab, River likes to wander on a long stroll in the evergreen summer sun. River is most likely seen with a collage book dangling in one hand, capturing chubby squirrels in photographs along the way.

Julia Cohen '28

Winter Term 2026 - present

Sunlight-Driven Photolysis of Fluorinated Pharmaceuticals

Julia is a third-year Environmental Science major and Chemistry minor. She is interested in environmental and agricultural chemistry, specifically how to make farming more sustainable. Julia is a chemistry TA and tutor, and works at the Oberlin Living Machine, a system that recycles its own wastewater.

Outside of academics, Julia is a part of the Oberlin Women and Non-Binary Ultimate Frisbee Team and the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association. In her free time, she enjoys collaging, writing letters, and going to the movies with friends.

Taylor standing outside in front of a building with brick and cream-colored walls. She is smiling, wearing round glasses and a white blouse with an abstract floral pattern. Her hair is styled in medium-length twists, and the background features green grass and leafy trees on a sunny day.

Taylor Satterfield '28

Summer 2025 - present

UV-C Photolysis of Fluorinated Pharmaceuticals during Water Disinfection

Taylor is a third-year student majoring in Chemistry. She was drawn to the Bowers lab because of the connections to human health and the environment. Taylor is especially interested in the synthesis of non-addictive pain medications that are effective for patients. Now that she has research experience in the Bowers lab, she has gained an understanding of the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals which she will implement in her future work in drug development.

Outside of academics, Taylor is an RA for Afrikan Heritage House, the treasurer for Sisters Of the Yam (SOY), plays the violin, and enjoys dancing and hiking.

Past Students

Miguel Romero '29

Winter Term 2026

Assessing the Sorption of Fluorinated Pharmaceuticals to Activated Carbon

Miguel is an intended Biochemistry major on a pre-med track. He joined the Bowers lab as a STRONG (Science and Technology Research Opportunities for a New Generation) Scholar with the goal of further expanding his research experience and develop a deeper understanding of the broader impact of pharmaceuticals.

Outside of the lab, Miguel is a board member for La Alianza Latinx (LAL), secretary for Oberlin’s QuestBridge chapter, and member of the kickboxing club.

Sam smiling outdoors in front of a modern building with large windows and brick walls. They have short brown hair, wear glasses, and are dressed in a light purple-blue t-shirt with a colorful graphic on the front. The background includes green grass and a leafy tree.

Samantha Taylor '27

Summer 2025 - Winter Term 2026

Sunlight-Driven Photolysis of Fluorinated Pharmaceuticals

Samantha is a double degree student majoring in Biology and Oboe Performance. The natural world has always been an important part of her life, which led her to biology at Oberlin. Initially averse to chemistry, after taking a couple courses she developed an appreciation for the chemical sciences and even was a TA for the introductory lab course. Samantha aspires to continue to do work that will make a positive impact on the environment, whether it is through biology or chemistry or something else.

Outside of school, Samantha works as a PRSM trainer at Oberlin, is in a co-op, and loves to run and garden.

Group Alumni

Ingrid standing outside in front of a building with brick and light-colored walls. She has long, straight blonde hair and is wearing a brown button-up sweater over a white top. She is smiling slightly and the background includes grass, trees, and large glass windows, indicating a sunny day.

Ingrid Vigsnes '26

Summer 2025 - Spring 2026

Advanced Oxidative Processes and Sorption Behavior of Fluorinated Compounds

Ingrid was a 3-2 Engineering student at Oberlin; she is currently a student in Chemical Engineering at Columbia University.

Group photos

Winter 2026

Miguel Romero, Samantha Taylor, Professor Bowers,
Ingrid Vigsnes, Taylor Satterfield, Julia Cohen

Group of four people standing closely together and smiling outside in front of a building with large windows and brick walls. From left to right: the first person has short hair, glasses, and is wearing a purple graphic t-shirt (Sam); the second has medium-length twists, glasses, and a sleeveless patterned blouse (Taylor); the third has long blonde hair and is wearing a brown cardigan and patterned skirt (Ingrid); the fourth has shoulder-length brown hair and is wearing a black t-shirt and olive pants (Professor Bowers). The scene is well-lit with green grass and trees, suggesting a sunny day.

Summer 2025

Samantha Taylor, Taylor Satterfield, Ingrid Vigsnes, Professor Bowers

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