Chemistry professor leads symposium at prestigious International Chemical Congress

 

MURRAY, Ky. — Murray State University chemistry professor Dr. Bommanna Loganathan played a leadership role at Pacifichem 2025, the premier International Chemical Congress of the Pacific Basin Societies, held in Hawaii from Dec. 15–20, 2025. Loganathan, together with Professor Sarit Kaserzon of The University of Queensland, Australia, and Dr. Seongjin Hong of Chungnam National University, South Korea, jointly organized and presided over a scientific symposium at the conference.

The trio spent more than a year preparing the symposium, titled “In Situ Contaminants Monitoring Approaches Using Passive Sampling Methods to Investigate Trends of Organic Contaminants in the Environment.” The session was held on Dec. 18, 2025, at the Sheraton Waikiki and the poster presentations occurred at the Hawaii Convention Center on the same day. The opportunity to lead the symposium session at Pacifichem represented a significant professional honor for the organizers.

The symposium brought together leading scientists from the United States, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and several other countries. Presentations and discussions focused on innovative passive sampling methods for monitoring organic contaminants in aquatic environments. The session also examined global concentrations and temporal trends of organic contaminants, contributing to improved environmental risk assessment in both freshwater and marine systems.

Pacifichem is the largest international chemical congress in the world, convened once every five years and jointly organized by seven major chemical societies: the American Chemical Society, the Canadian Society for Chemistry, the Chemical Society of Japan, the Chinese Chemical Society, the Korean Chemical Society, the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. The 2025 congress attracted more than 10,000 participants and featured over 300 scientific symposia, emphasizing the theme of building global scientific communities.

“This conference participation would not be possible without the support from the Department of Chemistry, Watershed Studies Institute and the Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering and Technology,” said Loganathan.

Loganathan has held a joint appointment with the Department of Chemistry and the Watershed Studies Institute at Murray State University since 1997. He joined the University as a postdoctoral research associate, transitioned to a tenure-track faculty position in 2000, and was promoted to full professor in 2011. Throughout his career,  Loganathan and his students have regularly presented their research at major international conferences. He has also organized and chaired scientific sessions at national and international meetings, including the American Chemical Society meetings, the Dioxin Conference series, and Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry conferences.

Loganathan and his family are proud members of the Murray community. His wife, Selvi, is a registered nurse, and together with their son Sudan and daughter Dheepa, they are proud to call Murray home.