Welcome Nawana Lawson and Mishad Ahmed

This year, Wayne State University Chemistry welcomed two new staff members, Nawana Lawson and Mishad Ahmed.

Nawana Lawson

On April 1, 2019, Nawana Lawson left the Office of Environmental Health and Safety to join the chemistry department as its solutions room manager. Many thought it was an April Fool's Day joke because she had been with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety her entire career at Wayne State University - more than 17 years!

Lawson is a Detroit native and is no stranger to the world of chemistry. She obtained her bachelor's in chemistry from Michigan Technological University and her master's in organic chemistry from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Her new duties, as solutions room manager for the undergraduate chemistry courses, are also familiar to her because she worked in the solutions room at Oakland Community College before joining Wayne State University. Her knowledge in chemistry and experience in lab safety and OSHA regulations are a welcome asset to the chemistry department, and she is excited for the challenge of keeping the undergraduate chemistry labs compliant and in tip-top shape.

Mishad Ahmed

Mishad Ahmed obtained his bachelor's in accounting in December 2018 from the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University. While pursuing his bachelor's, he interned at Northfield Medical as a financial support specialist and volunteered with Accounting Aid Society as a tax preparer. Shortly after his graduation, he became the accounting assistant senior in the Department of Chemistry at Wayne State University, where his duties include invoice payments, purchase order processing and travel reimbursement. While working as an accounting assistant at Wayne State University, he plans to pursue an M.B.A.