Dr. McNelis joined the John B. Drahmann Academic Advising and Learning Resources Center in August 2013 as a University Advisor. He has been a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry since 1992. Dr. McNelis earned his Ph.D. at Duke University and was a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Berkeley. His field of expertise is synthetic organic chemistry and his research area is enantioselective synthesis and synthesis of small molecule targets for materials applications such as organic photovoltaics. Prior to working in Drahmann, Dr. McNelis served as an orientation and transfer student advisor for many years in addition to being a faculty advisor for the chemistry and biochemistry majors. He has also advised students interested in health care careers in his organic chemistry classes. Dr. McNelis views advising as a critical resource for students as they discern their skills and passions and translate that into academic and career success.