THE JAMES ADAMS MEMORIAL AWARD FOR POSITIVITY (JAMAP)
OFF-CAMPUS STUDENT RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
Introduction
This past year has had its share of highs and lows, but we continue to be unified by a clear, shared philosophy and common goals. Most especially, these are evidenced in our commitment to our students, who respond to meet our expectations by frequently surpassing them. This is a department where work is fun, and our time spent together is joyful.
In October, we welcomed Lanhao Yang to the department; she is our new Laboratory Manager and Instrument Technician. Lanhao replaced Brian Mars, who unexpectedly passed away in April 2013. Lanhao is an analytical chemist and an expert in mass spectrometry, who has focused on the study of tuberculosis. She came from China to the United States to obtain her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, and she also has been a postdoctoral researcher at Ohio State and Colorado State University. Lanhao spent her first few months in the department learning where everything is and how we operate. She also has been busy trouble-shooting instruments, writing instrument operation guides, managing student workers, and overseeing safety operations and training in the department. She has already made constructive changes in the department and we anticipate many more, over the course of what we hope is a fruitful career for her at Carleton.
We experienced a great tragedy on February 28, when three CUT ultimate frisbee students, one of whom was junior chemistry major James Adams, were killed in a car accident on Highway 3. James was a charismatic and engaging person with a sparkle in his eye. His presence in the department helped to build camaraderie and commitment among his fellow students. In the wake of this loss, the students initiated a new departmental award, The James Adams Memorial Award for Positivity, which honors the enthusiasm, passion, and positive attitude that James brought to his work. The award, which includes a frisbee with a silhouette of James stretching out to catch a benzene ring, was given this year to James and it will be presented to his parents. In future years, the current senior class will choose a member of the junior class who best embodies James’ dynamic spirit. Thus, James will continue to be remembered for his positive contributions in our department.
It is hard to say goodbye to this year’s seniors, but we eagerly anticipate hearing from them in the future, just as we are pleased to learn of the activities of the class of 2004, reported in this edition of the Annual Report of the Chemistry Department. Happy reading!
Gretchen Hofmeister, Chair
The James Adams Memorial Award for Positivity (JAMAP)
February 28, 2014, will always be remembered as a solemn day for the Carleton Community. As a department, we lost a great friend and a passionate student. James Adams always brought the best attitude with him. In the Chemistry Department James was always a beam of positivity, whether in lab, in lecture, or studying with other students. He was a constant presence in the department because of his enthusiasm, passion, and desire to have a great time. The department will miss James and never forget his contributions.
The James Adams Memorial Award for Positivity will be voted on by the senior chemistry majors and given to the junior chemistry major who brings the most positivity, enthusiasm and passion to the department. The current Ring president will present the award at the annual Chemistry Department picnic.
Off-Campus Student Research Presentations
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY NATIONAL MEETING
Alexander Deetz (’15)
Alex Kosanovich
Demi Liu (’16)
Lucas Morrill
Aurapat Ngamnithiporn (’15)
Ahna Weeks (’15)
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF IMMUNOLOGISTS ANNUAL MEETING
Jang Cho
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY ANNUAL MEETING
Scott Erickson
Kiera Wilhelm (’15)
Student Honors and Awards
JAMES ADAMS MEMORIAL AWARD FOR POSITIVITY
James Adams
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Nora Munger (’15)
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Connor Hodges (’15)
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Emma Southgate
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTS AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHEMISTRY
Emma Southgate
B.A. DEGREE CERTIFIED BY THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
Elijah Mae Christensen, Dou Dou, Alex Kosanovich, Lucas Morrill, Brandon Taitt
B.A. DEGREE WITH LATIN HONORS
Summa Cum Laude – Emma Southgate, Reid Whitaker
Magna Cum Laude – Julia Bakker-Arkema, Jang Cho, Dou Dou, Jenny Forster, Emily Greene, Julia Greenwald, Soon Kai Poh, Kate Richards
Cum Laude – Molly Bostrom, Aaron Buckley, Scott Erickson, Emily Fairfax, Kevin Johnson, Lucas Morrill, Alissa Severson, Brandon Taitt, Benjamin Truax, Raymond Yong
BISCOTTI AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SEMINAR ATTENDANCE
Alex Kosanovich
CHARLES CARLIN PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
Alex Kosanovich
CRC PRESS FRESHMAN CHEMISTRY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Caroline Sheffield (’17)
DISTINCTION IN THE MAJOR
Julia Bakker-Arkema, Lucas Morrill, Emma Southgate
DISTINCTION ON THE SENIOR INTEGRATIVE EXERCISE
Julia Bakker-Arkema, Sophie Greene, Julia Greenwald, Lucas Morrill, Emma Southgate
FRANZ EXNER AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN CHEMISTRY
Julia Bakker-Arkema, Kate Richards
JAMES FINHOLT PRIZE IN INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Lucas Morrill
FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIP
Julia Greenwald
TALIA GOLDENBERG ’12 AWARD IN STUDIO ART
Soon Kai Poh
LAURENCE McKINLEY GOULD PRIZE IN NATURAL SCIENCE
Soon Kai Poh
HONORS IN INDEPENDENT STUDY
Alexander Deetz (’15)
KOLENKOW REITZ FUND FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Yun Liu (’16), Nathan Livingston (’16)
BRIAN MARS AWARD FOR LABORATORY SERVICE
Brandon Taitt
JERRY MOHRIG PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
Sophie Greene, Lucas Morrill
MORTAR BOARD
Class of 2014 – Soon Kai Poh, Emma Southgate, Reid Whitaker
Class of 2015 – Peter Downie
MORTAR BOARD PRIZE
Natalie Kingston (’16), Douglas Totten (’16)
MULTICULTURAL ALUMNI NETWORK SCHOLAR
Billy Moua (’15)
PHI BETA KAPPA
Nathan Bamberger (’15), Jang Cho, Emma Southgate, Reid Whitaker
PHI BETA KAPPA PRIZE
Natalie Kingston (’16), Douglas Totten (’16)
PROJECT ’60 INTERNSHIP
Mary Wootten (’15)
SERVICE INTERNSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Nathan Rockey (’16)
SIGMA XI
Julia Bakker-Arkema, Molly Bostrom, Aaron Buckley, Jang Cho, Elijah Mae Christensen, Tyler Cragg, Scott Erickson, Sophie Greene, Julia Greenwald, Alex Kosanovich, Sookin Lee, Soon Kai Poh, Alissa Severson, Emma Southgate, Brandon Taitt, Reid Whitaker
WRITING PORTFOLIO RECOGNITION
Nathan Bamberger (’15), Eliza Green (’15), Samuel Keyes (’15)
Enrollments
FALL TERM
| 122, Introduction to Chemistry | 22 | Kohen |
| 123, Principles of Chemistry | 40 | Whited |
| 230, Equilibrium and Analysis | 42 | Drew |
| 233-1, Organic Chemistry I | 41 | Hofmeister |
| 233-2, Organic Chemistry I | 30 | Alberg |
| 292, Independent Research | 2 | Staff |
| 301, Chemical Kinetics Laboratory | 32 | Ferrett, Gross |
| 343, Chemical Thermodynamics | 32 | Kohen |
| 362, Chemistry at the Nanoscale | 10 | Ferrett |
| 391, Independent Study | 2 | Staff |
| 394, Student-Faculty Research | 11 | Staff |
| 400, Integrative Exercise | 2 | Staff |
WINTER TERM
| 123-1, Principles of Chemistry | 36 | Calderone |
| 123-2, Principles of Chem. With Prob. Solving | 16 | Kohen |
| 233, Organic Chemistry I | 48 | Alberg |
| 234, Organic Chemistry II | 34 | Chihade |
| 291, Independent Study | 1 | Staff |
| 292, 392, Independent Research | 5 | Staff |
| 302, Quantum Spectroscopy Laboratory | 30 | Ferrett, Hollingsworth |
| 338, Computers & Elects. in Chem. Instrumen. | 7 | Drew |
| 344, Quantum Chemistry | 35 | Hollingsworth |
| 358, Organometallic Chemistry | 18 | Whited |
| 394, Student-Faculty Research | 14 | Staff |
| 400, Integrative Exercise | 27 | Staff |
SPRING TERM
| 113, Concepts of Chemistry | 16 | Drew |
| 128, Principles of Environmental Chemistry | 38 | Hollingsworth |
| 230, Equilibrium and Analysis | 69 | Drew, Gross |
| 234, Organic Chemistry II | 43 | Chihade |
| 290, 390, Independent Reading | 2 | Staff |
| 306, Spectroscopic Char. Chem. Compounds | 12 | Hofmeister |
| 320, Biological Chemistry | 31 | Calderone |
| 321, Biological Chemistry Laboratory | 15 | Calderone |
| 348, Introduction to Computational Chemistry | 10 | Kohen |
| 349, Computational Chemistry Laboratory | 10 | Kohen |
| 350, Chemical and Biosynthesis | 11 | Alberg |
| 351, Inorganic Chemistry | 18 | Whited |
| 352, Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory | 11 | Hofmeister, Whited |
| 392, Independent Research | 2 | Staff |
| 394, Student-Faculty Research | 23 | Staff |
| 400, Integrative Exercise | 24 | Staff |
Faculty Bibliography
Publications:
Christensen, Elijah Mae; Oh, SaeRam; Oliver, Devin; Janzen, Daron E.; Drew, Steven M. “Solution and Solid-State Structure of cis-Dichloro-(N,N’-dimethylethylenediamine) platinum(II),” J. Chem. Crystallogr. 2014, 44, 236-242.
Dall’Osto, M.; Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Minguillon, M. C.; Alier, M.; Amato, F.; Brines, M.; Cusack, M.; Grimalt, J. O.; Karanasiou, A.; Moreno, T.; Pandolfi, M.; Pey, J.; Reche, C.; Ripoll, A.; Tauler, R.; Van Drooge, B. L.; Viana, M.; Harrison, R. M.; Gietl, J.; Beddows, D.; Bloss, W.; O’Dowd, C.; Ceburnis, D.; Martucci, G.; Ng, N. L.; Worsnop, D.; Wenger, J.; Mc Gillicuddy, E.; Sodeau, J.; Healy, R.; Lucarelli, F.; Nava, S.; Jimenez, J. L.; Gomez Moreno, F.; Artinano, B.; Prévôt, A. S. H.; Pfaffenberger, L.; Frey, S.; Wilsenack, F.; Casabona, D.; Jiménez-Guerrero, P.; Gross, D.; Cots, N., “Presenting SAPUSS: Solving Aerosol Problem by Using Synergistic Strategies in Barcelona, Spain,” Atmos. Chem. Phys. 2013, 13, 8991-9019. doi:10.5194/acp-13-8991-2013
Wang, X.; Ye, X.; Chen, H.; Chen, J.; Yang, X.; Gross, D. S. “Online Hygroscopicity and Chemical Measurement of Urban Aerosol in Shanghai, China,” Atmospheric Environment 2014, DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.06.051.
Gross, D. S.; Van Ryswyk, H. “Examination and Manipulation of Protein Surface Charge in Solution with Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry,” J. Chem. Educ. 2014, accepted for publication.
Gross, D. S.; Manduca, C. A.; Iverson, E. A. R.; Willett, G. A. “Broadening Access to Science with Support for the Whole Student in a Residential Liberal Arts College Environment,” J. Coll. Science Teaching 2014, accepted for publication.
Mohrig, J. R.; Alberg, D. G.; Hofmeister, G. E.; Hammond, C. N.; Schatz, P. F.; Laboratory Techniques in Organic Chemistry, 4th ed.; W. H. Freeman, 2014, 528 pages.
Krylova, V. A.; Djurovich, P. I.; Conley, B. L.; Haiges, R. M.; Whited, M. T.; Williams, T. J.; Thompson, M. E. “Control of Emission Color with N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) Ligands in Phosphorescent Three-Coordinate Cu(I) Complexes,” Chem. Commun. 2014, 7176–7179.
Whited, M. T.; Hofmeister, G. E. “Synthesis and Migratory-Insertion Reactivity of CpMo(CO)3(CH3): Small-Scale Organometallic Preparations Utilizing Modern Glove-Box Techniques,” J. Chem. Educ., DOI: 10.1021/ed500114a.
Whited, M. T.; Kosanovich, A. J.; Janzen, D. E. “Synthesis and Reactivity of Three-Coordinate (dtbpe)Rh Silylamides: CO2 Bond Cleavage by a Rh(I) Disilylamide,” Organometallics 2014, 33, 1416–1422.
Bossi, A.; Rausch, A. F.; Leitl, M. J.; Czerwieniec, R.; Whited, M. T.; Djurovich, P. I.; Yersin, H.; Thompson, M. E. “Photophysical Properties of Cyclometalated Pt(II) Complexes: Counterintuitive Blue Shift in Emission with an Expanded Ligand π-System,” Inorg. Chem. 2013, 52, 12403–12415.
Whited, M. T.; Bakker-Arkema, J. G.; Greenwald, J. E.; Morrill, L. A.; Janzen, D. E. “trans-Acetyldicarbonyl(η5-cyclopentadienyl)[tris(furan-2-yl)phosphane-κP]molybdenum(II),” Acta Crystallogr., Sect. E: Struct. Rep. Online 2013, 69, m475–m476.
Conference Presentations:
Liu, Demi*; Calderone, Christopher T. “Expression and Preliminary Characterization of Proteins Involved in Biosynthesis of ECO-0501,” Poster presented at Spring American Chemical Society National Meeting, Dallas, Texas, March 16-20, 2014.
Wilhelm, Kiera; Erickson, Scott; Chihade, Joseph “Characterization of helminth aaRS sequences,” Poster presented at the 9th International Symposium on Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases, Hakone, Japan, October 6-11, 2013.
Wilhelm, Kiera; Erickson, Scott; Chihade, Joseph “Searching for Filarial Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases: A bioinformatics project for high school students,” Talk and poster presented at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology annual meeting, San Diego, CA, April 26-30, 2014.
Gross, D. S.* “Air Quality in the Northfield Community: A Class Project for First-Year Students,” Oral presentation at the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, June 2013.
Gross, D. S.*; Chihade, J. C.; Iverson, E.; Manduca, C. “Building Community in STEM at Carleton College: Cohort Program Components and Evaluation,” Poster presentations, October 2013, American Association of Colleges and Universities Transforming STEM Education: Inquiry, Innovation, Inclusion, and Evidence Network for Academic Renewal Conference, San Diego, CA.
Ngamnithiporn, Aurapat (Fa)*; Hofmeister, Gretchen E.; Alberg, David G. “Syntheses of transition state analogues (TSAa) as mechanistic probes of organocatalytic desymmetrization reactions,” 247th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Dallas, TX, United States, March 16-20, 2014.
Morrill, Lucas A.*; Alberg, David G.; Hofmeister, Gretchen E. “Synthesis of a transition state analog for studying the asymmetric desymmetrization of cyclic anhydrides,” 247th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Dallas, TX, United States, March 16-20, 2014.
Mohrig, Jerry R.* “Teaching Inquiry-Driven Organic Chemistry Labs,” cCWCS Workshop on Teaching Guided-Inquiry Organic Chemistry Labs, University of Minnesota, June 8-13, 2014.
Deetz, A. M.*; Whited, M. T. “Cooperative Small-Molecule Activation by Ambiphilic Late-Metal Complexes,” Poster presented at 247th ACS National Meeting, March 2014 (Selected for SciMix; ACS-DIC Travel Award).
Kosanovich, A. J.*; Whited, M. T. “Synthesis and Reactivity of Three-Coordinate Rh(I) Silylamides,” Poster presented at 247th ACS National Meeting, March 2014.
Whited, M. T.*; Boerma, J. W.; Deetz, A. M.; DeRosha, D. E.; Olivares, C. E. “Cooperative Reactivity Involving Organosilicon Ligands and Late Transition Metals: Making and Breaking Silicon–Element Bonds via Metal Silyl and Silylene Intermediates,” Oral presentation at 247th ACS National Meeting, March 2014.
Gifts and Grants
Matt Whited received an Undergraduate New Investigator Award from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund ($50k) for “Ambiphilic Scaffolds for Cooperative Metal–Ligand Activation of Small Molecules,” to fund his research during 2012–2014.
Gretchen Hofmeister received a grant of $65,000 from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund for the period 2014-2017.
Trish Ferrett received an Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) SAIL Faculty Seminar Grant to attend a 10-day Contested Spaces Seminar in Colorado in June 2014 with a Carleton faculty team that includes Trish, Nancy Braker (Arboretum Director/Biology), and Ross Elfline (Art Studio/Art History). The grant includes all seminar travel costs plus a stipend to each Carleton team member of $2,500.
Trish Ferrett received a HHMI Curriculum Development Award of $3,000 for the summer of 2014 to develop new projects and learning expeditions for ENTS 288 (Abrupt Climate Change) for spring 2015.
In 2006 Jerry Mohrig made a donation to the college to establish the Jerry and Jean Mohrig Lectures in Chemistry. This endowed fund is intended to bring to campus renowned chemists as part of our comps program. This year’s lecture was given by John Gerlt, University of Illinois.
A few years ago the estate of James D. Morrison gave $10,000 to support the annual Dr. James D. (’30) and Julia P. Morrison Lectureship. The lectureship was held this year by Scott Mabury, University of Toronto.
Gretchen Hofmeister (PI), David Alberg, and Matthew Whited (co-PIs) received a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Grant (2014-2017) of $335,465 for the acquisition of a Bruker Avance 400 MHz NMR spectrometer.
Steven Drew received a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Grant (2011-2014) of $201,787 for the proposal “MRI Consortium: Acquisition of a Single-Crystal X-ray Diffractometer for a Regional PUI Molecular Structure Facility.” PI: Daron Janzen (St. Catherine University), co-PI’s: Ted Pappenfus (University of Minnesota, Morris), James Wollack (St. Catherine University), Alicia Peterson (College of St. Benedict).
Deborah Gross (PI), Dave Alberg, Joe Chihade, Steven Drew, and Gretchen Hofmeister (co-PIs) received a National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Grant (2012-2015) of $351,622 for “MRI: Acquisition of an LTQ-Velos-Pro for Research and Research Training in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Carleton College.”
Matt Whited received a Cottrell College Science Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement ($52k, including partial matching funds from Carleton) for “Silylamides as Nitrene Delivery Agents for Late Transition Metals,” to fund his research during 2011–2014.
Seminars
Chemistry Faculty, Academic Civic Engagement and Career Center Staff, Carleton College: You Decided to Major in Chemistry – Now What? Volunteer Opportunities and Career/Grad School Information
Champak Chatterjee, University of Washington, Seattle: Chemical Strategies to Study Post-translational Modifications of Human Histones
Carolyn Ocampo (’02), Keven Tell (’09), Andy Wild (’04), Panelists; Eric McDonald, Moderator: K-12 Science Teachers Panel
Elon Ison, North Carolina State University: Synthesis of Well-Defined Copper N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes and Their Use as Catalysts for a “Click Reaction”: A Multistep Experiment That Emphasizes the Role of Catalysis in Green Chemistry
Dwight Stoll, Gustavus Adolphus College: Making Two-Dimensional Liquid Chromatography Real – Theoretical Inspiration, Fundamental Studies, and Solutions to Practical Problems
Jennifer Schomaker, University of Wisconsin, Madison: Silver-Catalyzed Chemoselective Amination and Applications to the Synthesis of Bioactive Amines through Allene Aziridination
Renee Frontiera (’04), University of Minnesota, Twin Cities: Following Chemical Reactions at the Ultimate Limits of Space and Time
Louisa Bradtmiller, Macalester College: Not Your Grandmother’s Earrings: What Opal Tells Us About the Carbon Cycle and Climate Change
Joel Collier, University of Chicago: Self-Assembled Peptide and Protein Immunomodulators
Carleton Chemistry Faculty: Summer Research Recruiting
Pat Holland, Yale University: The Global Nitrogen Cycle and Nitrogen Fixation by Iron Complexes
Felix K. Amankona-Diawuo (’08), Northwestern University: Design of Laser-driven Molecular Rotors for Molecular Electronics
Matt Bush (’03), University of Washington, Seattle: Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry of Protein Complexes
P. Ryan Steed, Vanderbilt University: Toward the Mechanism of an Ion-coupled Multidrug Efflux Pump
Neil Garg, University of California, Los Angeles: Complex Molecule Synthesis as a Fuel for Discovery
Debra Rolison, U. S. Naval Research Laboratory: Rewiring Electrochemical Energy Storage on the Macroscale via Architecture on the Nanoscale
Scott Mabury, University of Toronto: Origin and Fate of Polyfluorinated Chemicals in the Environment; The James D. and Julia P. Morrison Lecture
John Gerlt, University of Illinois: E Unum Pluribus: From One Enzyme to 50M Proteins; The Jerry and Jean Mohrig Lecture
Carol Hall, North Carolina State University: A Computational Study of the Thermodynamic and Kinetic Origins of Alzheimer’s and Related Diseases
Senior Comps Talks:
Elijah Christensen, Tyler Cragg, Jenny Forster, Sophie Greene, and Alex Kosanovich: The Power of Aerogels: Bridging the Battery-Capacitor Divide for the Next Generation of Energy Storage Materials
Julia Bakker-Arkema, Molly Bostrom, Julia Greenwald, Kevin Johnson, Conor Lynch, Lucas Morrill, Brandon Taitt, and Ray Yong: We’re so F’d: Poly- and Per-Fluorinated Alkyl Substances in the Environment
Aaron Buckley, John Cho, Scott Erickson, Kate Richards, Alissa Severson, Emma Southgate, Ben Truax, and Reid Whitaker: From FucD to Function: Development of Methodology for Enzyme Function Determination