Dr. Karl Jackson received a B.S. in Chemistry from Virginia State University in 2006 and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). While at VCU, he engaged in research on the design and synthesis of micro- and nanoporous polymers for clean air and hydrogen storage applications where he was able to publish his work in various peer-reviewed journals. After serving as chemistry lecturer at Appalachian State University, he returned to Richmond in 2013 to land his first tenure-track position at Virginia Union University, where he currently serves as Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Natural Sciences.

During his time at VUU, Dr. Jackson has taken on a wide variety of research interests, which include increasing minority participation in the sciences and building interventions that increase the success rate of VUU students. He was recently awarded over $300,000 from the National Science Foundation for his work on the synthesis of porous materials for applications in water purification. As chair, he has overseen the widest expansion of his Departments offerings in the University’s history including the new BS in Health Sciences, the MS in Biology, and the Master Public Health starting January 2021.