Alessandra Leri
Prof. Leri at the Musée Curie, Paris
Title
Professor of ChemistryDepartment
Natural SciencesPhone
212-517-0661About
Alessandra Leri teaches courses in organic chemistry, general chemistry, and environmental science. She originated a freshman seminar on the urban ecosystem and coordinates the program in Environmental Studies. Prof. Leri’s research interests include organic geochemistry, urban environmental science, and chemical education. Her work in organic geochemistry has helped to overturn the long-established paradigm of halogens as unreactive inorganic elements in terrestrial and marine environments.
Prof. Leri’s research group, composed entirely of MMC undergraduates, is actively working on a variety of projects, including bacterial analysis of NYC sidewalks and playground sandboxes, geochemistry of peat cores (which are important global reservoirs of carbon), and chemical composition of recyclable plastics. She has brought many students to the synchrotron facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island for experimental “beamtimes.” Her students have presented their results at various undergraduate research symposia and earned an impressive list of accolades.
Degree(s)
Ph.D., Chemistry, Princeton University (NSF Graduate Research Fellow)
M.A., Italian, University of Virginia
B.S., Chemistry, magna cum laude, College of William and Mary
Recent Work
- E. Kamen* and A. Leri (2019). Promoting STEM persistence through an innovative field trip-based first-year experience course. Journal of College Science Teaching 49, 24.
- A. Leri, M. Dunigan*, R. Wenrich*, and B. Ravel (2019). Particulate organohalogens in edible brown seaweeds. Food Chemistry 272, 126.
- A. Barber, J. Brandes, A. Leri, K. Lalonde, K. Balind, S. Wirick, J. Wang, Y. Gélinas (2017). Preservation of organic matter in marine sediments by inner-sphere interactions with reactive iron. Scientific Reports 7, 366.
- P. Northrup, A. Leri, and R. Tappero (2016). Applications of “tender” energy (1-5 keV) X-ray absorption spectroscopy in life sciences. Protein and Peptide Letters 23, 300.
- A. Leri and B. Ravel (2015). Abiotic bromination of soil organic matter. Environmental Science and Technology 49, 13350.
- A. Leri, L. Mayer, K. Thornton, P. Northrup, M. Dunigan*, K. Ness*, and A. Gellis* (2015). A marine sink for chlorine in natural organic matter. Nature Geoscience 8, 620.
- A. Leri, L. Mayer, K. Thornton, and B. Ravel (2014). Bromination of marine particulate organic matter through oxidative mechanisms. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 142, 53.
- A. Leri and B. Ravel (2014). Sample thickness and quantitative concentration measurements in Br K-edge XANES spectroscopy of organic materials. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation 21, 623.
- A. Leri and L. Anthony* (2013). Formation of organochlorine by-products in bleached laundry. Chemosphere 90, 2041.
* denotes MMC undergraduate co-author
Teaching
General Chemistry I-II and associated labs
Organic Chemistry I-II and associated labs
Chemistry and the Environment
Energy and Climate Change
Environmental Science (conventional and online)
Environmental Science with an Ethical Perspective
New York City: The Urban Ecosystem (freshman seminar)
Senior Seminar
Professional Experience
Peer Reviewing
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Journals: Biogeosciences, Chemosphere, Continental Shelf Research, Environmental Science and Technology, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Science of the Total Environment
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Funding Agencies: Czech Science Foundation, Department of Energy-Biological and Environmental Research, National Science Foundation
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Synchrotron Facilities: Canadian Light Source, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Light Source
Recent Service to MMC
- Coordinator, Urban and Environmental Sustainability Program, 2018-present
- Coordinator, Environmental Studies Program, 2014-present
- Departmental Website Coordinator, 2013-present
- Liaison to the Environmental Consortium of Colleges and Universities, 2015-present
- Member, Academic Standing Committee, 2010-present
- Member, Barry Commoner Lecture Series Committee, 2010-present
- Member, Committee on Promotion and Tenure, 2016-2018, 2019-2020
- Member, Honors Day Committee, 2016-2018
- Faculty Advisor, GoGreen Coalition, 2008-2009, 2014-2018
- Faculty Advisor, Science Society, 2008-2011, 2014-2015, 2020-present