Dr. Challen joined the faculty in 1990, and has served as Department Chair since 2001. He taught high school chemistry in Europe for several years before coming to the United States to study for the Ph.D. At JCU he regularly teaches Inorganic Chemistry, General Chemistry, Non-majors Chemistry and First Year Seminar. Dr. Challen's research is in the area of synthesis of new compounds with potential applications in catalysis or as materials with novel electronic or magnetic properties. He has published papers in, among others, Inorganic Chemistry, and Polyhedron and his research at JCU has been funded by Research Corporation and the Petroleum Research Fund. In recent years he and his students have been involved in a collaborative project with a faculty member from the University of Michigan on C/N materials. From 1990-2001 and Fall 2005 Dr. Challen served as the University Chemical Hygiene Officer.  Also, from 2001-2005 he served as the Chair of the JCU Chemistry Department.