Off-Campus Student Research Presentations
Introduction
It was a year of change and a year of planning for change. We look ahead with trepidation, but also great enthusiasm. As you may know, we are planning for a new integrated science facility and we are just wrapping up the “design development” stage. Simultaneously, we are designing temporary transition space for our teaching and research labs because Mudd Hall will have to come down before the new construction begins. Suffice it to say that we sat through many, many meetings this year. The prospect of a new and exciting facility accounts for our great enthusiasm, while the move into temporary space explains our trepidation.
That said, the change that induces most of our trepidation this year is the very recent (June 15) retirement of our longest serving department member, Wendy Zimmerman. After 46 years of impeccable and dedicated service to a grateful department, Wendy announced her retirement in early May. We are so indebted to Wendy for her ability to corral a highly distractible faculty and to keep the department running at top efficiency. The chemistry department has an excellent reputation at the college for always meeting its obligations and carrying out its business in a timely and proficient manner, and Wendy can take the credit for this success. While the news is melancholy, we are happy for Wendy and we wish her the very best.
Although not serving the college quite as long as Wendy, we also said goodbye to a new friend, Visiting Assistant Professor Ryan Steed. After completing his second year in the department, Ryan is moving on to a tenure track position at the University of North Carolina, Asheville. Ryan was a great addition to the department, teaching both at the introductory and advanced levels (Kinetics lab, Biological Chemistry, and Biophysical Chemistry). He also co-led a comps group with Trish Ferrett this year and was able to get a jump start on his research program, working with two students last summer and through the academic year. He is more than ready to begin his tenure track appointment and we wish him, his wife Dawn, and their three children, Sam, Bennett, and Emma, the best of luck as they begin their new life in North Carolina.
Not all the changes this year were losses! We were delighted to welcome Visiting Assistant Professor Buck Taylor, who taught CHEM 123 this year, as well as Organic Chemistry II. Buck earned his BA from Willamette University and moved on to UC Irvine for his graduate work, where he developed nickel-catalyzed cross coupling reactions. After exploring transition metal-catalyzed reactions in the lab, he decided to study them computationally as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA. This summer, Buck is working with three Carleton students to study palladium- and rhodium-catalyzed reaction mechanisms using computational methods. We are fortunate that Buck will be with us for another year.
Tami Little is another new addition. Tami just joined the department as our new administrative assistant on July 1. Actually, Tami will be serving as the administrative assistant for both Chemistry and Geology. We were very fortunate to be able to hire Tami. She is a well-respected veteran at the college and knows how the place operates. She previously served as Administrative Assistant in American Studies, Environmental Studies, Linguistics, and Women’s & Gender Studies. After wearing so many hats simultaneously, working with just geology and chemistry should not be a problem for Tami!
We are going to miss our now graduated senior class but we look forward to following their career trajectories in the years ahead. We also look forward to seeing them and you at future Carleton reunions, ACS meetings, and other events. Finally, keep in mind that Mudd Hall will soon be gone; hurry back to campus if you want to walk its halls one last time! Keep in touch.
August 2016
David Alberg, Chair
Wendy Zimmerman’s Retirement
(L to R sitting) Steve Drew, Bill Child, Wendy Zimmerman, Jerry Mohrig
(L to R standing) Will Hollingsworth, Marion Cass, Gretchen Hofmeister, Matt Whited,
Buck Taylor, Ryan Steed, Julie Karg, David Alberg, Deborah Gross
Student Honors and Awards
JAMES ADAMS MEMORIAL AWARD FOR POSITIVITY
Teddy Donnell (’17)
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Michael Trenerry (’17)
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
Jumaanah Flowers
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Teddy Donnell (’17)
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY UNDERGRADUATE AWARD IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Nathan Livingston
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTS AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHEMISTRY
Demi Liu
B.A. DEGREE CERTIFIED BY THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
None
B.A. DEGREE WITH LATIN HONORS
Summa Cum Laude – Natalie Kingston, Courtney Lunger
Magna Cum Laude – John Eckert, Demi Liu, Douglas Totten, Lindsey Weber
Cum Laude – Samantha Chao, John Fox, Hikaru Mizuno, Nathan Rockey, Rahul Uppal
BISCOTTI AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING SEMINAR ATTENDANCE
Jack Lee, Margaret Schaff
CARLETON SCIENCE FELLOWSHIP
Phuong Nguyen (’18)
CHARLES CARLIN PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
Nathan Rockey
CLASS OF 1963 FELLOWSHIP
Patricia Hare (’17)
CRC PRESS FRESHMAN CHEMISTRY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Jonah Kan (’19)
DANA AWARD FOR PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT
Douglas Totten
DIMSDALE PRIZE FOR UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL RESEARCH
Nathan Rockey
DISTINCTION IN THE MAJOR
John Eckert, Natalie Kingston, Courtney Lunger, Lindsey Weber
DISTINCTION ON THE SENIOR INTEGRATIVE EXERCISE
Samantha Chao, John Eckert, Natalie Kingston, Courtney Lunger, Margaret Schaff, Lindsey Weber
FRANZ EXNER AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN CHEMISTRY
Tawa Alabi, Courtney Lunger
JAMES FINHOLT PRIZE IN INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Hikaru Mizuno
ELE HANSEN AWARD
Samantha Chao
HYPERCUBE SCHOLAR FOR WORK ON COMPUTERS IN CHEMISTRY
Michael Trenerry (’17)
KOLENKOW REITZ FUND FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Amanda d’Almeida (’17)
BRIAN MARS AWARD FOR LABORATORY SERVICE
Elizabeth Grubb (’17)
JERRY MOHRIG PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
Natalie Kingston, Jack Lee
MORTAR BOARD
Class of 2016 – Samantha Chao, Demi Liu, Courtney Lunger, Margaret Schaff, Douglas Totten, Rahul Uppal
Class of 2017 – Patricia Hare, Clare Leahy, Margot Manning, Michael Trenerry
MORTAR BOARD PRIZE
Senjie Ma (’18), Paul Peterson (’18)
PHI BETA KAPPA
John Eckert, Natalie Kingston (elected in 2015 as a junior), Demi Liu, Courtney Lunger, Margot Manning (’17), Nathan Rockey, Douglas Totten, Lindsey Weber
PHI BETA KAPPA PRIZE
Paul Peterson (’18)
RICHARD RAMETTE TEACHING AWARDS
Jumaanah Flowers, Hikaru Mizuno
SIGMA XI
Tawa Alabi, Samantha Chao, Jumaanah Flowers, Natalie Kingston, Demi Liu, Nathan Livingston, Courtney Lunger, Lisa Qiu, Morgan Raffray, Margaret Schaff, Douglas Totten, Rahul Uppal, Lindsey Weber
FRANK E. STINCHFIELD PRIZE
Natalie Kingston
Off-Campus Student Research Presentations
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR AEROSOL RESEARCH NATIONAL CONFERENCE
- Lisa Au (’18)
- Jumaanah Flowers
- Elizabeth Grubb (’17)
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY NATIONAL MEETING
- Natalie Kingston
- Clare Leahy
- Margot Manning (’17)
- Lisa Qiu
- Nathan Rockey
- Margaret Schaff
AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY NATIONAL MEETING
Jack Lee
CALTECH SUMMER RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM
Demi Lui
CENTC ANNUAL MEETING
Lisa Qiu
Enrollments
Fall Term
| 122, Introduction to Chemistry | 12 | Steed |
| 123, Principles of Chemistry | 45 | Taylor |
| 230, Equilibrium and Analysis | 40 | Drew |
| 233-1, Organic Chemistry I | 44 | Alberg |
| 233-2, Organic Chemistry I | 40 | Hofmeister |
| 291, 391, Independent Study | 2 | Staff |
| 301, Chemical Kinetics Laboratory | 25 | Hollingsworth, Steed |
| 343, Chemical Thermodynamics | 28 | Hollingsworth |
| 358, Organometallic Chemistry | 13 | Whited |
| 392, Independent Research | 4 | Staff |
| 394, Student-Faculty Research | 12 | Staff |
| 400, Integrative Exercise | 2 | Staff |
Winter Term
| 123-1, Principles of Chemistry | 44 | Whited |
| 123-2, Principles of Chem. With Prob. Solving | 14 | Steed |
| 233, Organic Chemistry I | 46 | Hofmeister |
| 234, Organic Chemistry II | 53 | Alberg, Taylor |
| 302, Quantum Spectroscopy Laboratory | 30 | Cass, Hollingsworth |
| 330, Instrumental Chemical Analysis | 7 | Drew, Gross |
| 331, Instrumental Chemical Analysis Lab | 7 | Drew, Gross |
| 344, Quantum Chemistry | 34 | Ferrett |
| 359, Molecular Orbital Theory | 3 | Cass |
| 391, Independent Study | 4 | Staff |
| 392, Independent Research | 4 | Staff |
| 394, Student-Faculty Research | 11 | Staff |
| 400, Integrative Exercise | 24 | Staff |
Spring Term
| 113, Concepts of Chemistry | 16 | Cass |
| 128, Principles of Environmental Chemistry | 37 | Hollingsworth |
| 230, Equilibrium and Analysis | 56 | Drew, Gross |
| 234, Organic Chemistry II | 40 | Taylor |
| 292, 392, Independent Research | 2 | Staff |
| 306, Spectroscopic Char. Chem. Compounds | 15 | Hofmeister |
| 320, Biological Chemistry | 40 | Steed |
| 321, Biological Chemistry Laboratory | 20 | Steed |
| 350, Chemical and Biosynthesis | 12 | Alberg |
| 351, Inorganic Chemistry | 16 | Whited |
| 352, Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory | 11 | Cass, Whited |
| 362, Chemistry at the Nanoscale | 10 | Ferrett |
| 390, Independent Reading | 1 | Staff |
| 394, Student-Faculty Research | 24 | Staff |
| 400, Integrative Exercise | 24 | Staff |
Faculty Bibliography
Publications
Cass, M. E.; Stevenson, M. J.; Croteau, M. “Ligands that Favor/Force Tetrahedral Geometry, 5 Slides About” | VIPEr https://www.ionicviper.org/five-slides-about/ligands-favorforce-tetrahedral-geometry (accessed June 2016), published March 16, 2016.
Cass, M. E., Stevenson, M.J., Croteau, M.; “Electronic Spectroscopy of Copper Complexes: A Bio-Inorganic Application” | VIPEr https://www.ionicviper.org/problem-set/electronic-spectroscopy-copper-complexes-bioinorganic-application (accessed June 2016), published June 17, 2016).
Cass, M. E “A Demonstration to Segue Between d to d and CT Transitions, In Class Activity” | VIPEr https://www.ionicviper.org/class-activity/demonstration-segue-between-d-d-and-ct-transitions (accessed June 2016), published Spring, 2016.
Fernández-Milan, P.; Schelcher, C.; Chihade, J.; Masquida, B.; Giegé, P.; Sauter, C. “Transfer RNA: From pioneering crystallographic studies to contemporary tRNA biology,” Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 2016, in press. doi:10.1016/j.abb.2016.03.005.
Huo, J.; Lu, X.; Wang, X.; Chen, H.; Ye, X., Gao, S., Gross, D. S.; Chen, J.; Yang, X. “Online single particle analysis of chemical composition and mixing state of crop straw burning particles: from laboratory study to field measurement,” Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 2016, 10, 244–252. Doi: 10.1007/s11783-015-0768-z.
Ramette, R. W. “Stellar Mystery Solved,” Physics Education 51 (2016).
Ramette, R. W. “Molecular Science for Young Scouts,” submitted to Boy Scouts of America.
Whited, M. T.; Deetz, A. M.; Donnell, T. M.; Janzen, D. E. “Examining the Role of Rh/Si Cooperation in Alkene Hydrogenation by a Pincer-Type [P2Si]Rh Complex” Dalton Trans., in press (invited contribution for “New Talent: Americas” special issue).
Whited, M. T.; Deetz, A. M.; Donnell, T. M.; Janzen, D. E. “Examining the Role of Rh/Si Cooperation in Alkene Hydrogenation by a Pincer-Type [P2Si]Rh Complex” Dalton Trans. 2016, 45, 9758–9761 (invited contribution for “New Talent: Americas” special issue).
Conference Presentations
Leahy, Clare*; Alberg, David G.; Hofmeister, Gretchen E. “Synthesis of Transition State Analogues for Mechanistic Studies of Organocatalytic Desymmetrization Reactions,” Poster presented at the 251st ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 2016.
Rockey, Nathan*; Alberg, David G.; Hofmeister, Gretchen E.; Cvitkovic, Milan “NMR Study of Organocatalyst-Transition State Analogue Complexes for Enantioselective Anhydride Desymmetrization Reactions,” Poster presented at the 251st ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 2016.
Lee, Jack*; Hofmeister, Gretchen E.; Baylor, M-E. “Spotting the Gel Point of Photopolymers by Examining NMR Relaxation,” American Physical Society National Meeting, Baltimore, MD, March 2016.
Kingston, Natalie*; Calderone, Christopher T. “Functional Characterization of ORF7 in the ECO-0501 Biosynthetic Pathway.” “Functional Characterization of ORF7 in the ECO-0501 Biosynthetic Pathway.” Poster presented at the 251st ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 2016.
Manning, Margot (’17)*; Calderone, Christopher T. “Investigating the Role of the Enzyme TabB in the Biosynthesis of Tabtoxin.” Poster presented at the 251st ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 2016.
Calderone, Christopher “Amino Acid Tailoring in Natural Product Biosynthesis.” Talk given at Microbial Factories Symposium, University of Minnesota, April 7, 2016.
Calderone, Christopher, panelist, Molecules, Cells, and Organisms Retreat, Harvard University, April 28, 2016.
Drew, Steven M.* “Vapochromic Platinum(II) Extended Linear Chain Materials: Properties and Analytical Applications.” St. Catherine University, Department of Chemistry, October 30, 2015, Undergraduate co-authors: all research students since 2001.
King, Lauren A.*; Coauthors: Rowley, John G.; Grossett, Michael L.; Drew, Steven M.; Parkinson, Bruce A.; CCI Solar Fuels Annual Meeting, Newport Beach, CA, February 6, 2016, “Solar Hydrogen Activity research Kit (SHArK).”
King, Lauren A.*; Coauthors: Rowley, John G.; Grossett, Michael L.; Drew, Steven M.; Parkinson, Bruce A.; SUNCAT Summer Institute Poster Session, Stanford, CA, August 24, 2015, “Solar Hydrogen Activity research Kit (SHArK).”
Gilbert, L.*; Gross, D.*; Kreutz, K.* “Earth Systems Thinking: An InTeGrate Module That Can Be Used In Any Course” Poster presentation, July 2015 Earth Educator’s Rendezvous, Boulder, CO.
Gross, D. S.*; Iverson, E. R.; Willett, G.; Manduca, C. “Broadening Participation through a Community-Building Approach in STEM: Carleton College’s Cohort Program Components and Evaluation” Oral presentation, July 2015 Earth Educator’s Rendezvous, Boulder, CO.
Flowers, J.*; Grubb, E.*; Au, L.; He, S.; Li, L.; Duan, H.; Naqwi, A.; Hogan, C.; Gross, D.S. “Identification of Organic Components in Aerosols Sampled with Electrostatic Precipitation-Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (EP-ESI-MS)” Poster presented at the American Association for Aerosol Research national conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October, 2015.
Au, L.*; Janes, A.; Polania-Gonzalez, E.; Flowers; J.; Grubb, E.; Gross, D. S. “Particle Mass Concentration Determined from Single-Particle Mass Spectrometry Number Concentrations: Stability of Number Scaling Factors Over Multiple Seasons” Poster presented at the American Association for Aerosol Research national conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October, 2015.
Eblen-Zayas, M.*; Gross, D. S.*; Walser-Kuntz, D.* “Civic Engagement Models to Foster Integrative Science Education” Workshop presented, November 2015, American Association of Colleges and Universities Crossing Boundaries: Transforming STEM Education Conference, Seattle, WA.
He, S.*; Li, L.; Duan, H.; Naqwi, A.; Flowers, J.; Grubb, E.; Au, L.; Gross, D. S.; Jiang, L.; Hogan, C. J. “The Development of Electrostatic Precipitation-Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (EP-ESI-MS) for Atmospheric Aerosol Analysis” Oral presentation at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, December, 2015.
Gross, D. S. Climate Sustainability Lecture Series, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL (3/21/2016) “Particulate Air Pollution: Impacts and Remedies in Household and Urban Settings.”
Schaff, Margaret. A.*; Whited, Matthew T. “Synthesis and Reactivity of Nickel Silylamides.” Poster presented at the 251st ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 2016 (Selected for SciMix).
Qiu, Lisa*; Whited, Matthew T. “Reactivity of Rh(1) and Ni Silylamides.” Poster presented at the 251st ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 2016.
Donnell, T. M.*; Whited, Matthew T. “Cooperative Reactivity of (PSiP)Rh Pincer Complexes.” Poster presented at the 251st ACS National Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 2016.
Mohrig, J.*; “Teaching Inquiry-Driven Organic Chemistry Labs”, cCWCS Workshop on Teaching Guided-Inquiry Organic Chemistry Labs, University of Minnesota, June 6, 2016.
Mohrig, J.*; Presentation at a Reunion Panel on Carleton’s Distinctive Strength in the Sciences, June 17, 2016.
Gifts and Grants
Matt Whited received an Undergraduate Research Award from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund ($70k) for “Stoichiometric and Catalytic Nitrene-Group-Transfer Reactions from Late-Metal Silylamides,” to fund his research during 2015–2018.
Steve Drew received a Curriculum Development Grant of $1,200 for the proposal “Development of Principles of Chemistry II: a revision of the introductory chemistry curriculum.”
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 lectures were given by Robert Bergman (’63), University of California, Berkeley, and Christopher Miller, Brandeis University.
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 Janet Morrow, SUNY, Buffalo.
Matt Whited received a CAREER award for $400k from the National Science Foundation for the project, “CAREER: SusChEM: Cooperative Small-Molecule Activation by Ambiphilic Pincer-Type Complexes Feature Metal/Main-Group Bonds.” The CAREER is the NSF’s premier award program for junior faculty, and the grant will support research during 2016–2021.
Deborah Gross is the principal investigator of a National Science Foundation S-STEM award of $1,000,000. The award is for “Becoming a Scientist: Supporting Success of Low-Income, Academically Talented Students in the Carleton College “Broader FOCUS” Project” and covers the period 9/1/2016 – 9/31/2021.
In 2015, Elliott Uhlenhopp (’65) made a generous gift of $100,000 to the department to establish the Elliott Uhlenhopp Endowed Fund for Student & Faculty Research in Chemistry. In the summer of 2015, the fund supported the research of Clara Ledsky (’16), who worked with Visiting Assistant Professor Ryan Steed.
In 2015, Robert (’63) and Wendy (’65) Bergman made a generous gift of $25,000 to the department to support student-faculty research. This year, Bob and Wendy added another $5000 to their gift.
Gretchen Hofmeister received a grant of $65,000 from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (2014-17) for the proposal “Transition State Analogues as Mechanistic Probes for Asymmetric Desymmetrization by Cinchona Alkaloid-Based Catalysts.”
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 proposal “Acquisition of a 400 MHz NMR Spectrometer to Support Research and Undergraduate Research Training at Carleton College and St. Olaf College.
Trish Ferrett received $500 from the ENTS Endowment and $2,100 from the Dean of the College Office o support the ENTS 100 A&I 3-day seminar trip to Ely, MN in Fall 2015 for an experiential case study of the Twin Metals copper/nickel mining project.
Seminars
Ryan Steed, Carleton College: Ion-Powered Rotary Mechanism of ATP Synthase
Jillian Dempsey, University of North Carolina: Investigating Reaction Pathways for Solar Fuel Production
Stephan Hubig, Ecolab, Inc.: Innovation and Product Development in the Chemical Industry
Mary Wirth, Purdue University: Epigenetics in Bioanalytical Chemistry
Robert G. Bergman (’63), University of California, Berkeley: The Application of Physical Organic Methods to the Investigation of Organometallic Reaction Mechanisms; The Jerry and Jean Mohrig Lecture
Matthew Sheldon (’04), Texas A&M University: Plasmonic and Hybrid Nanomaterials for Solar Energy
Sarah Reisman, California Institute of Technology: Necessity is the Mother of Invention: Natural Products and the Chemistry they Inspire
Dennis Cao, Macalester College: Lock-Arm Supramolecular Ordering: Self-Assembled Organic Ferroelectrics
Wesley Sundquist (’81), University of Utah: Membrane Remodeling by the ESCRT Pathway
Will Pomerantz, University of Minnesota: Choosing the Right Halogen: Fluorinated Bromodomains for Small Molecule Discovery
Carleton Chemistry Faculty: Summer Research in the Carleton Chemistry Department
Matt Whited, Carleton College: Making Rare and Abundant Elements “Play Nice”: New Reactions Exploiting Rhodium/Silicon Cooperation
Deborah Gross, Carleton College: Atmospheric Aerosol Particles: Impacts on Climate and Human Health
Emily Weiss, Northwestern University: Quantum Dot Photocatalysis
David Milstein, The Weizmann Institute of Science: Design and Applications of Sustainable Catalysis Based on Cooperative Pincer Complexes
AND
Sustainability Through Catalysis; The Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lecture
Janet Morrow, SUNY, Buffalo: Iron, Cobalt and Nickel Complexes as Responsive MRI Contrast Agents; The James D. and Julia P. Morrison Lecture
Christopher Miller, Brandeis University: A Weird Ion Channel for a Weird Ion: Fluoride Resistance in Microbes; The Jerry and Jean Mohrig Lecture
Carleton Chemistry Faculty and Others: Planning your Future with a Chemistry Major: Fellowship, Career, and Grad School Opportunities
Senior Comps Talks
Clara Ledsky, Jack Lee, Nathan Rockey, Jumannah Flowers, Margaret Schaff, Richard Liu: It’s a team effort: Controlling hydrogen management through metal-ligand cooperation
John Eckert, Demi Liu, Hikaru Mizuno, Tawa Alabi, John Fox, Lisa Qiu, Natalie Kingston, Courtney Lunger, Lexi Papke: The BEST CEST in the midWEST. Development of transition metal complexes as paraCEST MRI contrast agents
Anthony Cava, Sam Chao, Eric Dahlquist, Aman Irfanullah, Rowan Matney, Morgan Raffray, Doug Totten, Rahul Uppal: Exploring the Mechanistic Line Between Channels and Transporters: A Study of CLC-ec1