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Rate My Professor Samantha Bidwell

Elmira College

Ratings & reviews

5.01/5/2026

Always fair, constructive, and supportive.

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About Samantha

Dr. Samantha Bidwell serves as Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Elmira College, where she teaches in the Chemistry program and contributes to related fields such as biochemistry, forensic science, and environmental science. She also holds the position of Coordinator of Supplemental Instruction and Tutoring and advises the Omicron Delta Kappa National Honor Society chapter. Bidwell obtained her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from the University of California, Merced in 2021, advised by Prof. Hrant P. Hratchian. Her doctoral dissertation focused on theoretical studies of transition metal catalyzed reactions, encompassing a computational exploration of the copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (click chemistry) mechanism; theoretical and experimental evidence for nitrogen-fluorine halogen bonding in silver(I)-initiated radical C–H fluorinations in collaboration with Prof. Ryan Baxter; development of an intermolecular perturbational analysis model using third-order perturbation theory to quantify energy corrections from three-center bonding; benchmarking protocols with various density functionals, basis sets, and solvents to predict three-center bonding involving transition metals; and reaction pathways for anti-wear oil additives interacting with iron-oxide clusters in collaboration with Prof. Ashlie Martini. She previously earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (ACS certified) from Grand Valley State University in 2015, where she conducted undergraduate research on computational studies of redox-induced electron transfer for CO₂ reduction and dinitrogen activation by a zerovalent cobalt complex.