Chemistry Student Ambassador

Lyle is pursing a BS in Chemistry with a Biochemistry emphasis and a BA in Classics with a Latin emphasis, and minors in Mathematics and Biology. He is an Undergraduate Researcher with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and he has presented at the American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference. He is also a member of the Lafayette Country Fire Department, a licensed EMT-B, and a HAZMAT Operations Responder.

Why did you choose to attend UM?
One of the smallest schools in the SEC, the University of Mississippi has all the resources of a flagship state school without reducing the student to a statistic. With small class sizes, you have the opportunity to interact and build relationships with professors. Furthermore, as an R1 research university, you have fantastic access to opportunities in research labs and extracurricular experiences without having to fight other students for them.

When and how did you choose your major(s)/minor(s)?
I am interested in everything really, but time is valuable in college. Chemistry, if the hard sciences are viewed on a spectrum, offers the perfect mix of theory and application as compared to the abstraction of physics or hyperspecificity of biology. Similarly, the Classics, although constrained to a specific time and place, allow you to study language, history, philosophy, and literature.

Why is your department a special place?
Some of the best professors I’ve had at the University of Mississippi have been in the chemistry department. Teachers like Dr. Mattern and Dr. Ritchie aren’t just knowledgable — they care about how their students perform and enter class with great enthusiasm every day. On top of that, some of the most interesting and productive research at the university is conducted in the laboratories of the chemistry hall. There is a research group to suit any student’s interests, whether that be medicine, the environment, space, or subatomic particles.

Can you tell me about a professor or a class you’ve taken that has had the most impact on you?
In my freshman year, I started doing research—something I recommend to any first-year student—under Dr. Sharp. Working under him and Dr. Misra has been one of my most rewarding experiences at the University of Mississippi.

What do you hope to do after you graduate?
After graduating, I hope to earn a PhD and develop new cancer immunotherapies.

What is your go-to meal in Oxford?
The new Waffle House is hard to beat.

What are you binge watching or reading right now?
I am on a completionist binge of the works of William Faulkner, an Oxford native and Mississippi’s only Nobel Prize Laureate. I am currently reading his New Orleans Sketches.