Austin Scharf
He/Him
I am gay and and I am an inorganic/organometallic chemist, professor, and science educator.//
I’m a chemistry professor at Oxford College of Emory University, where I teach first- and second-year courses, and (try to!) synthesize novel paramagnetic, luminescent compounds.
My chemistry career started as an undergraduate researcher synthesizing marine natural products at the University of Richmond. Then I worked as a synthetic chemist at Pfizer, making potential HIV and cancer therapeutics. I returned to academia to get a PhD in inorganic chemistry at Harvard, and have since been on the faculty both at Harvard and Emory Universities.
Throughout my career, I’ve had very few LGBTQIA+ role models in chemistry, and have therefore tried hard to be out and proud in my professional settings. Representation — and visible representation! — matters.
I live in Atlanta with my husband (an epidemiologist who ought to be on here too!) and our dog and son.
https://app.oxford.emory.edu/WebApps/Directory/index.cfm/view/9487