Josiah Nisly
In one breath, Josiah Nisly ’19 can discuss his research of catalytic activity in fuel cells. In another, he can tell you about his favorite movies.
“I was here over the summer doing research,” said Nisly. “Sometimes, we would sit in the lab for a few hours and discuss politics or ‘Lord of the Rings’ or ‘Game of Thrones.’”
The “we” includes Nisly’s mentor, Messiah’s Professor of Chemistry Richard Schaeffer.
Satisfying the research element required for his chemistry ACS-certified degree and his college honors project, Nisly worked with Schaeffer on an alternative to using platinum as a catalyst in fuel cells.
“Hydrogen fuel cells need some sort of catalyst,” said Nisly, “but platinum is rare and expensive. So, we took graphite and doped it with nitrogen, which is more cost effective.”
They also found time to play the popular board game Settlers of Catan—a test of resource management and strategy.
“It’s been my mission to beat him,” said Nisly with a laugh.
After Commencement, Nisly headed to the University of Minnesota, where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry and working as a teaching assistant (TA). Teaching is nothing new to Nisly. His last couple years at Messiah, he tutored students in organic chemistry twice a week as a supplemental instruction (SI) leader.
“It was really valuable and helped me review the material,” he said. “It prepared me very well for grad school, where I’ll be a TA.”
What advice does he have for high school students considering Messiah? “Our chemistry department in particular is really strong. We have some great faculty. The department has a really good community—with the annual badminton tournament and chem club events. You really get to know your profs well if you want to. I have really good relationships with them, so if I have a question about a class, it’s not that daunting to talk to them. That’s been great.”