Sean Seymore ‘ 01

Experience

This fall, Sean Seymore will join the faculty of Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, VA, where he will teach courses in patent law as well as law and science. His Ph.D. in chemistry combined with his law degree from Notre Dame have prepared him well.

He will bring to his students the overriding message that he learned during his years at Notre Dame: to do high-quality, meticulous work. “Graham Lappin [chairman of the chemistry department] once told me that you want people to be able to trust what you publish,” he said. “This is true with the professors throughout the chemistry department,” Seymore added after ticking off a list of people who had a big impact on his professional development.

The professor he mentioned above all was Seth Brown, his thesis advisor. “In addition to being a brilliant chemist, Brown was an outstanding mentor and a fine teacher. He is very warm person who truly cares about his students. I really enjoyed working with Seth,” said Seymore, who is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Northwestern University School of Law.

Seymore’s experience with Brown certainly rubbed off. Seymore won the Emil T. Hofman Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award during graduate school. His dissertation was entitled “Polar Effects of Metal-Mediated Nitrogen and Oxygen Atom Transfer.”

When he returns to his home state of Virginia this fall, Seymore will carry with him many of the lessons he learned at Notre Dame. His own students will be the beneficiaries.