Katsu Ogawa, PhD

I was born and raised in Osaka, Japan, and moved to Minnesota to attend Mankato State University to earn my BS in Chemistry. Then I completed my PhD in Materials Chemistry at NDSU and continued my research as a postdoc at the University of Florida. Since then, I moved around the United States – California, Dickinson (ND), New York, and now I’m finally back in North Dakota!

In addition to my passion for Materials Chemistry, I have a love for fermentation. In my spare time, I enjoy experimenting with kombucha, sauerkraut, yogurt, cheese, vinegar, natto, vermicomposting, and, of course, beer & wine.

My Favorite Course to Teach

Inorganic Chemistry

Fermentation Chemistry

Selected Scholarly and Creative Works

• Devin M. Mulvey, Katsu Ogawa, Alyssa V. B. Santos, Henri C. Santos, Patrick W. Schneider, and Scott Simpson, “Revisiting a Common Cobalt Chloride Equilibrium Experiment with Generative Artificial Intelligence” Journal of Chemical Education, 2026
• Thomas S. Corbitt, Jonathan R. Sommer, Sireesha Chemburu, Katsu Ogawa, Linnea K. Ista, Gabriel P. Lopez, David G. Whitten, and Kirk S. Schanze, “Conjugated Polyelectrolyte Capsules: Light-Activated Anti-microbial Micro ‘Roach Motels’” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2009, 1, 48.
• Katsu Ogawa, Komandoor E. Achyuthan, Sireesha Chemburu, Eunkyung Ji, Yan Liu, Gabriel P. Lopez, Kirk S. Schanze and David G. Whitten, “Polyelectrolyte Based Fluorescent Sensors” In Organic Semiconductors in Sensor Applications; Bernards, D. A.; Owens, R. M.; Malliaras, G. G.; Eds. Springer: New York, 2008; Chapter 2.

Professional Affiliations and Memberships

American Chemical Society