Dr. Jackels teaches introductory chemistry and advanced inorganic chemistry. Besides devoting her time to teaching, facilitating undergraduate research students and serving the department, she is active about campus on issues such as assessment, service learning and combining her scientific research in support of the University Mission. For over twenty years, her research interests have been transition metal complexes, macrocyclic ligands and metallobiochemistry.  In 2000, she began a new research initiative that combines her expertise in chemistry with the needs of poor small-scale coffee farmers in Nicaragua.  In partnership with Catholic Relief Services/Nicaragua (CRS/NI), a Nicaraguan agricultural NGO called ADDAC (Association for the Development and Diversification of Agricultural Communities), and the University of Central America Managua, she is now working on projects designed to help Nicaraguan coffee farmers improve the quality and consistency of their green coffee product.  The goal is to work with CRS/NI to help the organic certified coffee farmers in improving their coffee so they can market their excellent coffee on the specialty coffee market through the Equal Exchange web site.  In 2003 - 2004 she was on sabbatical and spent three months conducting field research on coffee farms in the Matagalpa region of Nicaragua.