Ms. Zapiter has been teaching chemistry for more than a decade and has interests in inorganic chemistry, molecular spectroscopy, photophysics, and nanotechnology. Her graduate work at Virginia Tech involved synthesis and characterization of ruthenium, rhodium, and iridium polypyridyl complexes attached on luminescent europium oxide nanoparticles. Other previous projects involved ruthenium dithiocarbamates as potential anti-cancer compounds, as well as dye-sensitized solar cells that use carbon nanotubes and anthocyanins from native Pennsylvania berries. She is also passionate about supporting international students and women in the academic setting, and has worked closely with several student and community organizations that advocate these causes. She recently organized chemistry activities for a summer camp at Ball State University created for encouraging young girls into pursuing interest in science.