ChemNews - Department of Chemistry - University of Minnesota

ChemNewswww.chem.umn.edu An Institute of Technology Department Fall 2008GREETINGS FROM THE CHAIRDear Friends,Greetings from the Twin Cities campus! It is hard to believe that another academicyear has begun. The leaves are changing, the U’s parking ramps are full,and the corridors of Smith and Kolthoff Halls are packed with newly arrivedchemistry majors and graduate students.Jeff RobertsFaculty News . . . . . . . .Alumni/IT . . . . . . . .Student News andAwards. . . . . . . . . 6Donors . . . . . . . . . . 8Faculty Awards . . .KolthoffRenovation. . .Staff News. . . . . . .Degrees . . . . . . . . .Outreach . . . . . . . .Research. . . . . . . . .2468111216182122This fall’s newsletter is full of news. By the time you read this, the renovationof Kolthoff Hall will be complete. The department hired two new professors.Connie Lu, an inorganic chemist, will arrive on campus as a new assistantprofessor next September; and Laura Gagliardi, a computational chemist, willmove to Minnesota from the University of Geneva in January. Lee Penn wastenured and promoted to associate professor, and Andreas Stein was appointeda Distinguished McKnight University Professor. As usual, the awards flowedin, including the ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry to Pete Carr, an NIH NewInnovator Award to Christy Haynes, and an Astronaut Scholarship Foundationscholarship to chemistry major Andrew Jones. The past year was, by and large,a good one!As you read this issue of the Chemistry newsletter, I hope you take the timeto reflect on your days at the U: on the friendships you made, the faculty andstaff members who assisted you, and the education you received. While the departmentcontinues to provide our students with the excellent opportunities andexperiences that they deserve, your financial support will make it possible forus to do an even better job. If you are one of the many alumni and friends whohave already contributed to the department, please accept my heartfelt thanks.If you’d like to discuss how you can help shape an even brighter future for thechemistry department, please give me a call. I’d love to hear from you.Sincerely yours,Kolthoff Hall is remodeled! The decibels are down. See page 12Don't forget the University of Minnesota Chemistry Alumni & Friends Breakfast at the237th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, March 22-26, 2009, in Salt Lake City, UT. Thebreakfast will be held on Tuesday 24 at 7:30 A.M., location still to be determined.Page 1

FACULTYChristy Haynes receivesprestigiousNIH Director’sNew InnovatorAwardUniversity of Minnesota chemistryassistant professor ChristyHaynes is a recipient of the prestigious2008 New Innovator Award.She is the first U of M facultymember to win this award, whichwill provide $1.5 million overfive years to build a cell-by-cellhuman immune system to identify potential therapeuticapproaches for treating allergic reactions and asthma.Haynes and her team of researchers plan to use the Universityof Minnesota’s state-of-the-art NanofabricationCenter to build a model of a human immune systemfrom the bottom up, one cell at a time, in the lab andthen carefully measure how the cells communicate witheach other when exposed to allergens or other factors.The NIH Director’s New Innovator Awardwas created in 2007 to support a small number ofnew investigators of exceptional creativity who proposebold and highly innovative new research approachesthat have the potential to producea major impact on broad, important problemsin biomedical and behavioral research.The New Innovator Awards complement ongoingefforts by NIH and its institutes and centersto fund new investigators. Thirty New InnovatorAwards were made in 2007. This is the secondyear of the NIH Innovator Award and it is anticipatedthat up to 24 awards will be made in 2008.Tim Lodge deliversDartmouth lecturesDistinguished McKnight University Professor and Lloyd H.Reerson Professor of Chemistry Tim Lodge delivered the 38thAnnual Camille and Henry Dreyfus Lecturesat Dartmouth in2008, on April 16 and 17 last spring. The titles of his lectureswere•Block Copolymer Self-assembly:The Flexible Route to Nanostructure Control•Block Copolymers in Ionic Liquids:A New Class of Functional NanocompositesPage 2University of MinnesotaMaterials Research Scienceand Engineering Centerawarded NSF grantThe Materials Research Science and Engineering Center(MRSEC) at the University of Minnesota (UMN)has been renewed, the National Science Foundationannounced in September. The MRSEC, directed byProfessor Tim Lodge, unites established senior andpromising junior faculty from six departments andtwo other universities in a multidisciplinary programto address fundamental issues spanning a broad spectrumof materials research. The research mission ofthe Center is founded upon four InterdisciplinaryResearch Groups (IRGs): IRG-1: Engineered MultiblockPolymers; IRG-2: Organic OptoelectronicInterfaces; IRG-3: Magnetic Heterostructures; andIRG-4: Nanoparticle-based Materials.The UMN MRSEC manages an extensive programin education and career development that targetsTribal Colleges, provides research programs that attracta significant population of female and underrepresentedminority undergraduates, and participates in numerousK-12 outreach activities that include a program ofsummer campsfor high schoolstudents andworking with theScience MuseumLarry Que accepts Alfred E. Bader AwardAlfred Bader Award inBioinorganic or BioorganicChemistry 2008recipient Lawrence Que,Jr. (center) is presentedhis award by sponsorrepresentative Joe Porwoll(left) and ACS PresidentBruce E. Bursten(right) in New Orleans atthe spring 2008 ACS meeting.of Minnesota.Tim Lodge hangsout with Goldy Gopherat a recentsymposium.

Dr. Laura Gagliardi joins U of MChemistry Department facultyFACULTYLaura Gagliardi will be joining the Chemistry Department facultyin January 2009 as a full professor. Laura is an Italian citizen,spending her childhood in Bologna, where she completedher undergraduate studies in 1992 with a major in IndustrialChemistry and later her doctoral degree in Theoretical Chemistry in 1996.She then spent two years at Cambridge University as apost-doctoral associate in the group of Professor Nicholas Handy.There she worked on the development of a new Density Functional Theory program, called MAG-IC, designed for the study of systems containing heavy elements. It was at that time that she developeda real interest in uranium, plutonium, and other relativistic elements that she still maintains today.After her post-doctoral work, she returned to Italy as a researcher at the University of Bologna, collaboratingclosely with groups at the University of Lund from 1999 to 2001. Beginning in 2002 shewent to the University of Palermo as an assistant professor of Chemistry, and in 2005 she moved to Switzerlandto take an associate professor position at the UniversityChemistry PromotionsLee Penn: to Professorof Geneva, where she rapidly built a very active research group.In 2004 Laura received the annual award of the InternationalAcademy of Quantum Molecular Science carrying the citation,‘‘for her innovative contributions to prediction and understandingof new inorganic molecules using quantum chemical methods.’’ She is the author of some 90publications in international journals. Her scientific interests include the development and application of quantumchemical methods for the study of molecular systems containing heavy elements and the prediction ofnovel inorganic species and chemical bonds. Laura can be reached at Laura.Gagliardi@chiphy.unige.ch.Pete Carrreceives2009 ACSAward inAnalyticalChemistryPete Carr is to receivethe 2009ACS Award in AnalyticalChemistry,a major national award recognizing leadershipin the field, at the spring 2009 national meetingof the American Chemical Society next March in SaltLake City.This award has been sponsored by Battelle Memorial Institutesince 2004 to recognize and encourage outstanding contributions tothe science of analytical chemistry, pure or applied, carried out in theUnited States or Canada. Special consideration is given to independenceof thought and originality, or to the importance of the workwhen applied to public welfare, economics, or the needs and desiresof humanity.Campus Club Kitchen Chemistry Buffeta huge successOn February 29 Campus Club members were treated to a tastydinner where the Chemistry Department's Joe Franek demonstratedmany common chemical reactions that take place in ourkitchens. The effort met with great success andis being replicated in Boston this October. Atthe University of Minnesota, next year's KitchenChemistry Buffet has alreadybeen schedule for Thursday,February 19, 2009. Bring yourfamily!family!Page 3

ALUMNIWhere are they now?Karen Schulz: Ph.D. 2006In the nearly two years since I graduated, I've been working in the Convergence Productsgroup at TransForm Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson company located outside Boston,where I have been involved in the development of multiple types of products ranging fromtransdermal patches and controlled release oral tablets to new materials for contact lenses andantimicrobial coatings. The common denominator for this diverse set of projects is polymerchemistry, and although I have barely synthesized a polymer since I left grad school, my experiencein the Hillmyer and Bates groups has proven very valuable, not only in terms of thescience, but also with respect to building the relationships needed for such multidisciplinaryand collaborative programs. I still miss Minnesota, but I really enjoy my work here and amsettling into east coast life. My husband Todd and I recently bought a house, where we live with our two fostercats, and appreciate the opportunities the city offers. And the relatively warm winters aren't bad either!Dwight Stoll: Ph.D. 2007will start a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Gustavus AdolphusCollege in September. Dwight obtained Bachelor of Science degrees in Plant Science andBiochemistry from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and majored in Analytical Chemistry atthe University of Minnesota studying with Peter Carr. He took a short leave from his Ph.D. workduring the 2005-2006 academic year to teach at Saint Olaf College and also completed a short NIHpost-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Medicine at the University of Minnesota studyingwith Dr. Christine Wendt, M.D., and Professor Gary Nelsestuen.Larry Potts: Ph.D. 1972retired in June as Professor of Chemistry at Gustavus AdolphusCollege where he taught since 1972. Larry received his B.A. at Oberlin College and at theU of M he majored in analytical and inorganic chemistry, studying electrochemistry withPeter Lingane and Hal Swofford. Over the years Larry has sent dozens of Gustavus graduateson to the graduate chemistry program at Minnesota. To kick off his retirement, Larryis joining Pete Carr's lab this coming year as a “post-retirement postdoc,”and will study2-D chromatography. When asked about this back-to-school project at the back end of acareer, Larry thought that it may be fairly unique; an innovative way to continue to learnand contribute after formal retirement.The place: The place: Highland Highland Park ParkThe event: The event: Fall Departmental Fall Departmental Picnic PicnicThe year:mid- to late-1970sAlumni: please send allyour news to Debbie atschoe030@umn.eduThe dog:JethroCan you helpidentifythe people?And who is thisand when???Page 4

Alumni support is moreimportant than everby Kathy Peters-MartellNow, more than ever: it’s a phrase used to encourage charitablegiving during challenging times. And challengingtimes are upon us: the stock market is down; gas prices areup; and the economy is rocky. Even more troubling, cutsin state allocations and increasing costs of providing an excellenteducation mean that our students face tremendousfinancial pressures to obtain their degrees at a time wheneducating the next generation of engineers and scientists iscrucial.Charitable gifts are vital to the department. Your giftto the Department of Chemistry will benefit our students,faculty, and community now and into the future.Institute of Technology NewsWayne Gladfelter namedInstitute of TechnologyAssociate Dean forAcademic AffairsWhy should you make a gift?•To ensure the future of the department: outrightgifts support the programs and daily activities of theChemistry department, while endowment gifts ensure astrong and stable financial base in perpetuity.•To support your passions and your priorities: gifts tothe Special Project Fund support the department andprovide funding for scholarships. Gifts can also bedesignated to support particular projects and programswithin the department.•To transform lives: private gifts help the departmentinvest in people beyond the limits of state funding andhelp the college achieve extraordinary result.•To give back: donors give to Chemistry and IT torepay what they have gained - as alumni, citizens, andtaxpayers and to inspire others to follow their example.•To advocate for the U: contributions send a strongmessage to the legislature of how much our graduatesand friends value the University.Please consider supporting the Department ofChemistry with gift to the Special Projects Fund or to a specificprogram. Your contribution will make a difference.Wayne Gladfelter now, above in his office,and then! Can you guess what year?Institute of Technology Dean Steven L. Crouch has appointedlong-time University of Minnesota chemistry professorWayne Gladfelter as the college’s Associate Dean for AcademicAffairs effective July 1, 2008. Gladfelter has servedas interim associate dean for the past year.Gladfelter has been a chemistry faculty member atthe University of Minnesota since 1979 and served as theDepartment of Chemistry chair from 1999 to 2005.Kathy Peters-Martell takes position with ITas Senior Development OfficerKathy Peters-Martell recently joined the Institute of Technology as a Senior Development Officer,specifically assigned to the departments of Chemistry and Aerospace Engineering andMechanics. She is very excited to be a part of these interesting departments and looks forwardto working with the faculty, staff, and alumni of these renowned programs.Kathy has more than 20 years of experience in educational fundraising, most recentlyas the Director of Development for Mounds Park Academy, where she completed a $13 milliondollar capital campaign.Prior to her position at Mounds Park Academy, Kathy served as a Major Gifts Officerfor William Mitchell College of Law from 1995-2004. She was also the Director of Developmentfor the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota from 1990-1995.Page 5

STUDENTSAngela Holmberg wins 2008Barry M. Goldwater ScholarshipPage 6UNDERGRADUATE AWARDSThe Goldwater Scholarship is awarded to outstanding Sophomoresand Juniors who intend to pursue research-orientedcareers in mathematics, science, or engineering. This programbegan in 1986, and at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, nominations are made by a faculty committee.To date, 38 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities studentshave won Goldwater Scholarships.Goldwater Scholar Angela Holmberg is a SophomoreHonors student in the Institute of Technology majoringin Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Her long-termgoals include earning a Ph.D. and pursuing a career in polymerchemistry research and college teaching. Angela hasbeen pursuing undergraduate research under the direction ofElmore H. Northey Professor of Chemistry Marc Hillmyer.Angela, a Minnesota resident, is the second person from herfamily to win a Goldwater Scholarship while pursuing anundergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota TwinCities; her brother Vincent Holmberg was a 2004 GoldwaterScholar.Judges for the event this year included alumni Drs.Joe Dooley and Dupont Durst and Profs. Angela Wilsonand Sheila David.Right to left: Chemistry Chair JeffRoberts awards winners ErickLeggans, Anne Mohns, and AlexiYoung.U student Andrew Jonespresented scholarship byApollo 15 astronautAndrew Jones, a senior Honors student,has been awarded a $10,000 scholarshipfrom the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). OnSeptember 8, 2008, he received a ceremonial check fromCol. Al Worden, who served as command module pilot onthe Apollo 15 mission, during which he orbited the moonwith crewmates Dave Scott and Jim Irwin.The Astronaut Scholarship is the largest monetaryaward given in the United States to science and engineeringundergraduate students based solely on merit. Only 19of the awards are disbursed each year to college studentsmajoring in a science or engineering field.Jones is pursuing a dual major in chemical engineeringand chemistry and focuses his research on biofuelsand renewable sources of energy. He also leads the U's ActiveEnergy Club, which educates the campus and communityabout renewable energy. He plans to go to graduateschool to study catalytic reaction engineering.7th Annual Graduate StudentResearch Symposium held in MayThe seventh annual Chemistry Graduate Student Symposium was heldMay 20th, 2008 in the Electrical Engineering and Computer ScienceBuilding (EE/CSci) on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus.The symposium consists of research presentations by (mostly)third-year graduate students in the Chemistry Ph.D. program. Threeconcurrent sessions of presentations25 minutes in lengthfilled the entire day.All presentations wereformally assessed by acommittee of facultymembers and distinguishedUMN alumniguests, and travelawards of $750 werepresented to those individualsjudged to have given the bestseminar in each of the three sessions.This year’s winners were Erick Leggans,Anne Mohns, and Alexi Young.This year's Research Symposium was facilitatedby Chemistry Department AdministrativeAssistants Sheryl Frankl (left) andSusan Wrayge (right)

GRADUATEAWARDS2007-2008 Graduate School DoctoralDissertation FellowshipsPaul Boswell (Buhlmann) ("Receptor-Based Sensor Design with FluorousMatrixes for Enhanced Robustness andSelectivity.")Neeraj Rai (Siepmann) ("MolecularSimulations for Organic Solids: ForceField Development, Stability andScreening of Polymorphs and Hydrates")Zhiyong Wang (Stein) ("Porous Materialsfor Energy Storage and Catalysis”)2008-2009 Graduate School DoctoralDissertation FellowshipsKelly Anderson (Siepmann)Robert Jilek (Ellis)Alicia Peterson (McNeill)Jake Rafferty (Siepmann)Yu Zhang (Carr)Wayland E. Noland OutstandingGraduate Teaching AwardSusan Brown (Hoye)Honorable Mention: Erik GoebelHonorable Mention: Erick LeggansNIH Training Grant Symposiumheld on St. Paul campus in MaySTUDENTSThe University of Minnesota NIH Training Grant Symposium is a day-longevent designed to highlight new advances at the interface of chemistry and biology.Under the direction of Larry Que, this is the sixth year that the symposiumhas been organized by students with the primary goal to facilitate interactionsbetween graduate students and distinguished faculty. The 2008 Symposiumwas held May 28 on the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus. The keynoteSpeaker was Michael Marletta, University of California, Berkeley, whoselecture was titled “Gas Sensing in Biology: Fine Tuning the Chemistry.” Inaddition, papers were presented by Jim Maher (Mayo Clinic); Edgar Arriaga(UMN); Lynn Pottenger (Dow Chemical–Toxicology); David Kingston (VirgiaTech); Kathlynn Brown (University of Texas, Southwestern); and UMN studentRachel Loeber. Posters were presentedby UMN students from a varietyof departments.Above, Que student Erik Farquharpresented his poster.Robert L. Ferm Outstanding GraduateTeaching AwardYu-Shen Lin (Haynes)Honorable Mention: Lucas FiedlerHonorable Mention: Nicholas FrostHonorable Mention: Bo Wang2008-2009 Frieda Martha KunzeFellowshipMelissa Fierke (Stein)2008-2009 Merck ResearchLaboratories Fellowship in Analytical/Physical ChemistryYaohua Wang (Arriaga)2007-2008 Gleysteen AwardTruong Giang Hoang (Douglas)Eric Olson (Buhlmann)Bo Wang (Truhlar)2008-2009 Graduate SchoolFellowshipsEmily PeltonNicholas PetkovichPatrick Willoughby2008-2009 3M Science and TechnologyFellowshipAudrey Guerard2008-2009 Dr. VenkateswarluPothapragada and Family GraduateFellowshipKaustubh MoteNaveen Rondla2008-2009 Wayland E. NolandFellowship in Organic ChemistryCarly AndresenEvgeny BeletskiyKyle KalstabakkenPatrick Lang2008-2009 Lester C. and Joan M. KroghEndowed FellowshipLindsay RymesJoshua SperosBess Vlaisavljevich2008-2009 Kenneth E. and Marion S.Owens Endowed Fellowship in ChemistryDarren Ceckanowicz2008-2009 John Wertz Fellowship inChemistryKathleen BeutelBrynna Jones2008-2009 Graham N. GleysteenFellowship in ChemistryDeanna MillerBrian RadakNSF Graduate Research FellowshipMelissa Maurer-Jones (Haynes )Pfizer Graduate Travel AwardKyle Bantz (Haynes)Mary Haga Travel GrantSara Love (Haynes)ACS Travel Grant, Spring andSummer 2008Aaron May (Hoye)Qing Li (Wagner)Brooke Carlson (Zhu)Nicole Settergren (Buhlmann)Page 7

Many Thanks to our Donors in 2007-2008Individual support from alumni and friends is crucial to our department. Thanks to your generosity, we can offerfellowships and scholarships to our outstanding students, retain our best faculty, and implement projects to improveour facilities. The Chemistry Special Projects Fund is the department’s main discretionary fund, which supports studentfellowships and awards as well as the bulk of the other activities mentioned in this newsletter. With gratitude, weacknowledge our 2007-2008 donors.Mr David D AbelsonDr Timothy W AbrahamDr Irving M AbramsKarin J & Gary AhlgrenDr Thomas C AllisonMr Gregory R AlmenMr Carl J AlmerDr Kenneth K AndersenMariquita A Accibal AndersonMr Mark L AndersonDr John A AnthesDrs Jan E & Fred S AppleMr Mark W ArriolaMs Laura M Babcock & James A JensenDr Jerold O & Donna M BahlsDr John J BaldwinDrs William & Joan BarberDr Jonathan L BassDr Robert L BatdorfDr Wadim BatorewiczMr Harold R BeckalaJohn T BergmanDrs Penny Beuning & Mark WilliamsDr William & Sandra BlackleyDr Kay Youngdahl BlohowiakDr Frank D BlumDr George B & Mary Ann BodemJohn BotschellerDr Kyle J BottorffMr Hubert E BoydMr Brian M BreczinskiMrs Dona L BrockDr Nicolas BrodowayDr Dow E BrophyDr Christopher W BrownMr Gary W & Colleen M BrudvigAndrew D BruskiewiczDr Virginia BryanDr James E BurcsuMr Paul W BusseDr Paul J CahillDr Daniel Y M ChangClayton G & M Jean ChristensenMr Paul C & Kathleen A CierniaMr Henry B & Evelyn A Clark IIIDrs Andrew M Clausen & ValerieA WellerPage 8Prof Robert E CoffmanDr Robert L CollinProf Michael J CollinsMr Matthew C ComstockMr Jerry C & G Lynn CoombesDr Guy A & Nancy G CordonierDr Kathryn & Lawrence CraigheadDr Frank A Cutler JrDr Darwin D & Dorothy D DavisDr Charles A DawsDrs Saliya A De Silva & Marie SPathiranaDr Jonathan & Sharon De VriesMr Scott E DeitzDr Jonathan P DickDr Richard J DirlamDr Mark L & Diane R DittenhaferDr Karen D DonnellyDr Daniel H DoughtyDr Charles H Douglass JrMr Gregg M DowningMr Jonathan W DraxtenDr Peter G DuaneDr Douglas S & Linda L DunnDr Alison A Eckhoff & Mark SannesDr David W EdelsteinDrs John A & Barbara L EdgarDr David C EgbergMr Gilbert L EianDr David I EikensMr Bentley W ElliottMr James M ElvecrogMr William & Jean EngelmannDr Thomas J EvensenDr Jurgen H & Mary M ExnerDr Roxy N FanMr James & Helen FederlineDr Christopher C FelixDr Paul J FischerDrs Douglas E & Kristi A FjareMr Gary J FollettDr John E FranzDr Robert W FreerksenDr John B FriesenMs Irong FuDrs Frederic R & Ellen M FuruyaDr Daniel & Kathleen GetmanAnita & James GibsonMr Anthony C GilbyDr Gary E & Fayth C GlassDr David J W GoonDr Robert W GradyDr Robert and Marie GrahamMr Gregory S & Carol J GrossMr Leland S GrotteMr Mark D HadlerMr Kenneth E & Eileen HafftenSheri L Haines PetersonDr Joyce B & Timothy J HallMr David A HalsrudDr Philip D HammenDr Charles & Lois HammerMr Mark H HartmannDrs Henry A Havel & Mary PStickelmeyerDr Todd R & Jennifer L HayesMr Randall J HeddenMr Jerome R HeimanMr Robert J HeinenDr Walden L HeinoMr Henry E HennisMr Jerry A & Deborah J HerbyDr Robert O HildebrandtDr Robert E HilemanDr Charles W HobbsDerk J HogenkampRev Richard E HoldenDr Theodore R HolmanDr Howard E HolmquistMr Paul A HolteMrs Mary K & Nicholas HorvathDr Peter A & Gladys L HowellMr Craig A HoymeDr Min HuDr He HuangMr Allan M HuffmanDr John W Hull JrDr Paul E HumpalMs Michelle J HuntDr Steven E HusebyeDr Jonathan E HutchinsMr David HyunMr Gary G Irish

Mr Robert J IversonMr James A JensenProf Melody E JewellMr Eugene C & Marjorie JohnsenMr Curtis E JohnsonDr Brian J JohnsonMrs Susan A JohnsonDr Kenneth E Johnson & Sally J StarzDr Russell D JohnsonMrs Harriett H JohnsonDr Thomas H R JozefiakDr Michael A KahlowMs Julie A Kaiser-BradenDr Venkatarama KameswaranDr Theresa M & Dennis H Kelly IIIThomas A KestnerBill B KnopkeJames K & Charlene A KnudsenDr John G KolandDr Charles F & Barbara EKolpinMr Kenneth E KoselMr Jason B Krogman &Shannon M McGoffinJason B KrogmanDr Kenneth KustinDr Richard J & Mary KvitekDr Kyonghae Kwon &Choong-Y RheeDr R W Kwong & J Hargreaves-KwongDr Gary W Y & Christine A KwongMr Clayton L LanceMr Daniel D Le ClouxCharles R LeaDr Melinda J C & Steven H C LeeDr Richard J LegareProfs Kenneth R & Doreen G LeopoldMr John L LewinDr Yuan LiDr Wu-Shyong LiBin Liaon & Dr Yan ZhaoDr Arnold A LiebmanDr Steven E LindbergMr Kyle J LindstromMr Robert B LissDr Yu-Ying LiuDr Donald H & Karen D LucastDr Gerold LussDr Andrew S MageeGary & Sheila MagilDr Khurram J MalikJoel G & Jean M MalmbergDr Curtis & Susan MarcottDr James J MarkhamMs Deanna Carlson MartinMontgomery Mason & ReneeLassondeDr Albert S MatlackDr James H MaysillesDr Terri L Mc LernonProf Emeritus Donald S McClureMr James E MentingDr Joseph F MerklinDr Grant N MerrillGregory E & Colleen G MeyerJohn & Carol MeyerGold-Standard Giving:25K or More in 2008Dr John W GiljeAgilent Technologies FdnDr Newman M BortnickAgilent Technologies FdnMonsanto CoAbbott LaboratoriesMr Wayne P MillerDr Vaughn & Rosemary MillerNancy K MizunoDr Robert F & Siv C ModlerDr Erich J & Jacqueline MolitorDr Glenn R & Lyn C MoodieDr Edwin F MorelloMrs Mary H MuraiDr Mark D NachborMr Brian E NelsonCarol A NewellMr John G NewmanSpecial Thanks toAldrich ChemicalsDr Lawrence A NielsenMr Karl C Ochs IIPeter C & Jean A OlsonDr Dean A OstlieRichard L & Linda G PartonDr David R PeckSheri L PetersonWayne A & Susan L PetersonDr James A & Kathryn M PhillipsDrs Richard & Patricia PieperMr Ronald L PlanteDr Lawrence & Jill PottsJames H & Elberta L PrestegardDr Richard J PuhlPeter & Sylvia RadfordDr Douglas R & Patricia A RadtkeDr Stanton F RakS Prabhakara & Saila S RaoDr Gretchen RehbergDr Lucinda Reichley-YingerDr Edgar E RenfrewMichael J & Shelly RiceDr Daniel H RichThomas S & Debra J M RobisonMr Daniel S RocqueMrs June Marie RogierDavid A Roise & Lisa DSaundersMr Kevin J RosenquistMr Anthony R RossiniDr Wayne J RothschildDr Paul S RussoMr Mark A RustadDr Catherine E RyanMr Lowell E SalyardsGary L & Marilyn J SanteeRahul & Rebecca SaxenaMr Mark S SchabergDr Jason E SchaffDr John G SchaffhausenDr David J SchreckDr Joseph D SchroederDr George F SchuetteDr John L SchultzDr Richard M ScribnerDr Scott Searles JrMr Krys E SeiboldDr Lynne Taus SergiMaria Or Richard SinnMs Maria R Sis-KussDr Heather M and David WSklenickaMr Steven R SkorichMr Ryan C SmithJeffrey & Mary Smithcontinued on page 10Page 9

Donors continuedDr Richard Smith & Anne BendelDr Quentin F SoperDr Richard F SprecherDr Jay SrinivasanMr Robert A StavengerDr Thomas G StavrosDr Joe C SteelhammerMark & Kathleen SteineDr Alfred F SteinhauerDr Robert E & Debra R StevensDr Joseph F StieberDr Roger W StrassburgDr Melvin P & Dorothy B StulbergDr Elise A SudbeckDr Joseph C SuhadolnikDr Richard J SundbergVictor J SussmanMr Dale G SwanDr Laychoo TanDr Khalid A M & Qurratulain KThakurAndrew C TheisenMr Donald R TheissenMs Tracy R ThompsonMr Brian R ThoreenDr James R ThrockmortonMr Steven J TinkerDr Christine Todd & Jon ToddDr Wade J TornquistMr Charles A TriplettErik & Adria TyndallSusanne M UrbanDr Rebecca A UrbanekMr Loc X VanDr Gregg A VandesteegDr James R VyvyanDr James J & Elizabeth R WadeDr Terence C WagenknechtDr Edward A WaltersBo WangDr Hsin-Fu Wang & Shu-KuangChenDr Joseph & Carolyn WardenDr Mark W WatsonDr A Fran WatsonGerald E WeineckMr Edward O WelkeDr Edward L WheelerMs Dawn M WitherillDr Nancy E WitowskiMr Wayne C & Mary L MorrisWolseyDr Xinmin XuMr Thomas K YueDr Lee R ZehnerDr Hongyu ZhaoDr Yan Zhao & Bin LiaonMrs Madolyn Youse BabcockAnn C BreyMr Paul D BreyDr Jonathan N ChasmanJohn H DygosDr Charles M HallDr Yutaka OkinakaDr Thomas B ReddyAbbott LaboratoriesAgilent Technologies FdnMr Bruce N BastianPage 10Chemistry Restricted FundsMs Rebecca S BeilkeMr Robert D BergDr Newman M BortnickDr Murray W BrockmanDr Colleen M ByronCameron Health IncMr Philip A CartierDr Miran K Chantooni JrPhilip J ChenierDr Johannes F CoetzeeDr Kathleen A DavisChemNewsFall 2008Newsletter Committee: Jeff Roberts, Marc Hillmyer,Deborah SchoenholzProduction: Deborah SchoenholzThis publication is available in alternative formatsupon request. Please call Debbie at612-626-9405 or e-mail schoe030@umn.eduThe University of Minnesota is anequal opportunity educator and employer.Printed on recycled paper.Rodney D DekruifMrs Gerda Ann GassmanMr Lloyd W GoerkeDr Thomas G GoplenHach Scientific FdnDr Francis J HaddyDr Joseph B HansonDr George E HartwellDr Henry A HavelDr Roberta M HumphreysInstrumentation Laboratory IncDr Roy A JohnsonDr Bruce D JohnsonDr Lester C KroghProf Timothy P LodgeLian LuoMs Patty L McNallyDr George J MeistersMonsanto CoDr George W ParshallWillis B PersonDr Joseph P PorwollSteven C RiemerDr David J SchreckDr Karen A SchultzMr William J ShugardMr Avery W StephensMr John A WertzMrs Florence C Wertz

Faculty Awards 2008by Chris LundbyEdgar ArriagaFesler-LampertChair in AgingStudies (U of M)2007-08In 1999, the Chairwas created by the Centeron Aging with supportfrom the Universityof Minnesota Graduate School and the generosityof David and Elizabeth Fesler. This endowed chairfunds researchers and scholars who wish to obtain upto a year’s release time or other support to pursue anaging related project. Arriaga credits the Scientists inAging Research group with inspiring his present interests,applying his training in Analytical Chemistryand Electrophysiology with the realization that hisresearch is developing the analytical tools to overcomeseveral difficulties in investigating the role ofmitochondria in aging. Arriaga is the first chemistryfaculty to hold this chair.Dave BlankCharles E. BowersFaculty TeachingAward (2008)The Charles E. BowersFaculty Teaching Awardwas established in 2000by alumnus John Bowers(Physics '76) in honor ofhis father, Professor Emeritus Charles E. Bowers,this award recognizes an outstanding IT professorwho has demonstrated exceptional interest and commitmentto teaching.A former student of Professor Blank’s wrotein her supporting nomination letter, “Professor Blanktaught me that although concepts may be tough, justlike life, through hard work and a conscious focusedeffort any obstacle may be overcome. I believe thatthis is what makes him such a motivational professor,and even more significant, an inspirational humanbeing. He encouraged his students to be passionateabout their academic work, and challenged us to applyacademic concepts to our surroundings, research,and academia. For all of the preceding accretions andmany more that are not divulged in this letter, I believethat Professor David Blank rightly deserves this awardfor his excellence in teaching and outstanding reputationwith his peers and students.” Blank joins WaylandNoland (2006) in receiving the Bowers Award.Christy HaynesNSF Faculty EarlyCareer DevelopmentAward (2007)The Faculty Early Career Development(CAREER) Programis a Foundation-wideactivity that offers the NationalScience Foundation's most prestigious awardsin support of junior faculty who exemplify the role ofteacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellenteducation and the integration of education andresearch within the context of the mission of their organizations.Other faculty receiving this award includeMark Distefano (1994), Andreas Stein (1997), MarcHillmyer (2001), Kris McNeill (2003), and Lee Penn(2004).Ken LeopoldInstitute of TechnologyTaylor DistinguishedProfessorshipThese Taylor Professorships,awarded by the Institute of Technology,were created to encourageand recognize the college'sbest and most dedicated undergraduateeducators. Anyone who has worked with Kenknows that he is richly deserving of this recognition.Ken joins Gary Gray (2000) as a Chemistry recipientcontinued on page 14Page 11

By Stan BonnemaFacilities AdministratorSerendipity. It isn’t a word one would normally find in thesame sentence as “laboratory renovation,” but, when describingthe Kolthoff renovation project, these words go togetherwell. It’s 1999 and several buildings located on the Mall, includingKolthoff Hall, have been evaluated for general buildingcondition, code issues, and accessibility. A voluminous reportwas written and, like many of these studies, was destined tocollect dust on University shelves. We know how these thingswork–it takes years for a project to move from desire to legislativedollars, the Smith Hall renovation of the mid-80s being agood example. Imagine our collective departmental surprise,then, when we received the following email from Orlyn Miller,University Planning, on June 23, 2003:“The preliminary capital request for 2004 includes theremodeling of…Kolthoff Hall.. as part of the HEAPRrequest. The project would address deficiencies in theHVAC system and other critical building systems, andremodeling of the space recently vacated by biology.”I remember thinking, “Good grief–Kolthoff Hall isn’t in thatbad of shape. I helped move into the building when I startedworking here in 1970"! When I mentioned this to my wife, shereplied, “Go look at yourself in a mirror and seeif you are in the same shape as you were 35 yearsago.” Ouch. She was right, of course; a laboratorybuilding, especially one used for chemical research,ages much more quickly than, say, an officeor classroom building. Ventilation systemswear out by running 24/7, chemical spills overPage 12Many thanks to the many who served, top to bottomand left to right:1 - Barry Morgan, M.A. Mortenson2 - Lane Schoening, M.A. Mortenson3 - Doug Lucht, Sebesta Blomberg & Associates4 - Roger Wegner, UofM Project Manager5 - Blair McNeil, M.A. Mortenson6 - Jim Magrew, Harris Companies7 - Tom Young, Hunt Electric Corporation8 - Greg Berger, UofM Facilities Management9 - Dustin Bennis, RSP Architects10 - Bob Kilgore, Sebesta Blomberg & Associates11 - Bryan Gatzlaff, RSP Architects12 - Tim Towberman, M.A. Mortensonthe years destroy casework and flooring materials, and, mostimportantly, building codes and other safety guidelines changesignificantly over a 35- year period.Prior to the actual start of a renovation project, much groundworkmust be laid, including the bidding method and the selectionof an architect and general contractor. The University’sCapital Planning and Project Management (CPPM) is the departmentresponsible for either making these decisions or initiatingthe process. For the Kolthoff renovation, CPPM decidedon a bidding method known as “design-build,” a contractingprocess that brings designers and contractors together early inthe detail design portion of a project. The owner clearly definesthe standards and general specifications expected from aproject, and the designer-builder team works together to satisfythose requirements. Because the team works together, they areable to develop innovative and efficient solutions to meet theowner’s expectations. The design-build process differs fromthe traditional method by overlapping design and construction,allowing construction to begin after a portion of the design hasbeen completed. Because both design and construction areperformed under the same contract, claims for design errorsor construction delays owing to design errors are often greatlyreduced. These disputes are resolved within the designbuildteam rather than among the owner, designer, andcontractor.Interestingly, for a project of this scope the Universitydoes not select an architectural firm on its own. OrlynMiller, Director of Planning and Architecture, workswith the Minnesota State Designer Selection Board toselect architectural firms for large University projects.For the Kolthoff renovation, the architectural firm of RSPArchitects was chosen. RSP Architects and the Universitythen interviewed general contractors and selected MortensonConstruction who, in turn and with the University’s input,selected Hunt Electric and Harris Mechanical asthe electrical and mechanical subcontractors.Another difficult problem that needed to be solved priorto the start of renovation was temporarily relocatingKolthoff occupants displaced during the renovation oftheir labs and offices. Originally, three floors of researchand office space in 717 Delaware St. SE, a buildingrecently vacated by the Minnesota Department of Health,was designated as “swing space” for this purpose. However,the University decided to allot 717 Delaware to theAcademic Health Center and to give Chemistry a much-

Chemistry On The MallKolthoff Hall Renovation–Complete!–reduced amount of swing space in the Bioscience Tower on theSt. Paul campus. This decision increased the number of project“phases” from two to four and also added at least six months tothe project. The prospect of holding undergraduate labs on the St.Paul campus was so unappealing that stockroom personnel andfaculty put their heads together and devised a plan that allowedall undergraduate labs to remain in Kolthoff and Smith Halls.The Bioscience Tower was used to house Professor Ilja Siepmann’sresearch group from May of 2006 through June of 2007.All other Kolthoff research groups were moved either once ortwice to swing space in both Kolthoff and Smith Halls.So, in May of 2006 the renovation of Kolthoff Hall began and, asI write this in September of 2008, the project is nearly complete.Since there is neither time nor space to list everything that hasbeen done over the past 2+ years, I will recap some of the majorimprovements that have been provided as a result of this renovation.This list, not in any particular order of importance, includesthe installation and/or construction of the following:- a sprinkling system in all labs and offices.- seamless epoxy flooring instead of vinyl tile in all researchand teaching labs.- three “vector” exhaust fans to replace dozens of individualfume hood exhaust fans resulting in lower maintenanceand energy costs.- six-foot, efficient, low-flow fume hoods replaced old, dilapidated,fume hoods.- a central computer network with many more etherjackconnections.- new casework in all research and teaching labs.- a modern fire protection system providing more accuratealarm locations.- a much larger emergency generator providing backuppower to fresh air fans, fume hood exhaust fans,and refrigerator outlets in each lab in addition toemergency lighting in all offices and labs.- refurbishing the fresh air supply fans, along withcleaning and patching distribution ductwork, significantlyincreased the efficiency of the fresh air distributionsystem.- use of ground fault interrupted (GFI) outlets in alllabs.- vacuum pump cabinets under fume hoods, providingeasy access for maintenance and operation.- dedicated ovens for drying glassware.- storage rooms connected to research labsproviding space for chemical storage,ventedsolvent cabinets, refrigerators, etc.- research office space separate from laboratoryspace- good quality furniture for all faculty, staff,and student offices.- a digital control system to monitor thecomplex HVAC components.- replacement of both east and west facadeswith new glass and entryway doorsThe first floor, southwest corner of Smith Hallwas also renovated as part of the Kolthoffproject. This area now contains a wellequipped,upper-division computer lab, a largeresearch area for computational faculty and theirstudents, and a large conference room.No project of this magnitude and complexitycould be completed satisfactorily withoutthe cooperation of everyone involved. Thearchitects, engineers, and contractors workedvery closely together throughout this projectto provide the best possible outcome for thebest possible price. A sincere thank-you toeveryone involved with this project:Building occupantsSome research groups were fortunate in beingable to move directly from existing labsinto renovated space while other groups wererequired to move into swing space for a timeprior to moving to their final location. In all cases, everyresearch group, every graduate student, postdoc, andfaculty member were very cooperative and understandingduring these difficult and disruptive moves. Ted Tolaasand his teaching stockroom crew were also very helpfuland resourceful in combining labs, rearranging schedules,boxing up desk equipment, etc., avoiding the necessityof moving teachinglabs to the St.Paul campus andsaving the projecttens of thousandsof dollars in theprocess. Also, aspecial thank-youto Bruce Moe andhis staff for doingcontinued on page 17Page 13

Faculty Awards 2008 continuedKris McNeillHorace T.Morse/Universityof MinnesotaAlumni Awardfor OutstandingContributions toUndergraduate EducationEach year since 1965, the University of Minnesota hasrecognized a select group of faculty members for theiroutstanding contributions to undergraduate education.This honor is awarded to exceptional candidates nominatedby colleges in their quest to identify excellencein undergraduate education. In addition to honoringindividual faculty members, the award contributes tothe improvement of undergraduate education at theUniversity by publicizing their work to serve as a resourcefor the whole faculty. The award, named fora former dean of General College, is made possiblethrough generous support of the University of MinnesotaAlumni Association and the Office of the SeniorVice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.A former student of Professor McNeill writes,“Kris was more than an amazing professor. He is rareto come by, especially in the science departments.Kris McNeill has massive knowledge about chemistryand yet somehow he was able to make it seem sosimple to the new freshmen in 1011 that bonds, elementsand reactions became second nature to me. Notonly did I enjoy going to his class, I looked forwardto it every week. The best way to learn is when youare having fun, and I was always smiling in his class;he made chemistry fun. Something that I will neverforget is when I raised my hand to ask him a questionin our 500 plus lecture and he called me out by firstname. I had never sat in the front row and I had neverintroduced myself to him. This, I thought, is a genius;he knows an obscene amount about chemistry, but healso has amazing social skills.” Seven other chemistryprofessors have received this award: Robert Brasted(1970) [deceased], Lou Pignolet (1990) [retired],Larry Miller (1993) [retired], Gary Gray (1996), KentMann (2003), Ken Leopold (2005), Mark Distefano(2006), and Tom Hoye (2007).R. Lee PennTaylor CareerDevelopmentAwardThis award recognizesexceptional contributionsto teaching by acandidate for tenure and is presented by the Universityof Minnesota’s Institute of Technology. Professor Pennjoins Bill Tolman (1994), Marc Hillmyer (2002), andKris McNeill (2006) in receiving this award.Jeff RobertsAmericanAssociation forthe Advancementof ScienceFellowElection as a Fellow of AAAS is an honor bestowedupon members by their peers. Fellows are recognizedfor meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications.Newly elected Fellows were recognized for theircontributions to science and technology at the FellowsForum held on 17 February 2007 during the AAASAnnual Meeting in San Francisco. The new Fellowsreceived a certificate and a blue and gold rosette as asymbol of their distinguished accomplishments. Otherfellows include Wayland Noland (1987, Don Truhlar(1994), Larry Que (2001), Wayne Gladfelter (2007),and Bill Tolman (2007).Make Your Donationto theChemistry Department'sSpecial Projects Fundby enclosing your gift in the envelope providedin this newsletter. Help support our facultyand students.Page 14

Andreas Stein(2007) andXiaoyang Zhu(2008)Merck Professorof ChemistryThis professorship isawarded for outstandingcontributions to teaching,Xiaoyang Zhuresearch and service. Thetwo Merck Professorshipsare funded through generousgift endowments to the Department and matchingfunds from permanent University fund resources. KentMann holds the other Merck Professorship. ProfessorStein was subsequently awarded the DistinguishedMcKnight Professorship in 2008 (see below)! Otherfaculty who hold Departmental Professorships includeMarc Hillmyer (Northey Chair), Tim Lodge (RyersonChair), Kent Mann (Merck Chair), Larry Que (3M Professorship),Bill Tolman (Smith Chair).Andreas SteinDistinguishedMcKnightUniversityProfessorshipThese ProfessorshipsAndreas Steinare made possible by anendowment gift fromthe McKnight Foundationto the University of Minnesota Graduate School forthe purposes of supporting faculty development. Thegoal of the Distinguished McKnight University Professorshipprogram is to honor and reward the Universityof Minnesota’s highest-achieving faculty who recentlyattained full professor status—especially those whosecareers have developed at the University, whose intellectualwork and reputation are identified with Minnesota,and whose work has brought great renown andprestige to the University of Minnesota.An excerpt from one of the supporting letterreads, “There is no question that Andreas is one of theleading figures in the field of templated porous materials.To have had nearly 4,000 citations at this stageof one’s career is exceptional. The number of invitedtalks that Andreas has given at national and internationalconferences, at universities, industrial laboratoriesand research institutes is very impressive andfurther indicates his high standing in the community.”Stein joins Professors Barany (1997), Tolman (2000),Lodge (2001), Cramer (2003), Roberts (2005), andSiepmann (2006) in receiving this high distinction.Don TruhlarDudley R.HerschbachAward forExcellencein Research inCollisionDynamicsfor 2009In 2007, Dynamics of Molecular Collisions inaugurateda pair of awards to commemorate outstandingcontributions, experimental and theoretical. Theaward recognizes work that is “bold and architectural… inspiring and empowering.” Don will be presentedwith the award at the 2009 Dynamics of MolecularCollisions Meeting next summer at Snowbird. Thiswill be the second presentation of the HerschbachAward.Attention AlumniSend us your update; let us knowwhat you think.We want this publication to reflectyour interests. Send comments toDebbie at:ChemNewsDepartment of Chemistry207 Pleasant Street S.E.Minneapolis, MN 55455schoe030@umn.eduPage 15

STAFFBill Johnson worked in the Chemistry Department’sResearch Stockroom from May 12, 1990until shortly before his death on June 23, 2008.When Bill was diagnosed with lung cancer, he researched asmuch as possible about the disease and was not afraid to tryevery possible avenue to beat it. Everyone who knew Billwas impressed by his courage and perseverance during thelast two years.He had a great love for his dog Shadow and many otherpets over the years. Bill kept a 75-gallon aquarium in thestockroom and housed several different types of creatures, including tropicalfish, horned toads, and desert iguanas (lizards). Food for the hornedtoads (fire ants and crickets) would occasionally get loose. The fire antswere often spotted near the stockroom and crickets could be found hoppingall over the subbasement of Smith Hall for a few months following theirescape.He was well read in the politics of our country and the world. Billenjoyed reading the New York Times as well as the Wall Street Journal andalways had something to say about our government.Bill’s work history included very diverse occupations, includingtraining as a chef at Saji Ya, a Japanese restaurant in St. Paul, and sharpeningsaw blades and repairing small engines at Twin City Saw. Bill also ranhis own business clearing brush and logs out of clear-cut areas in Wisconsin.He had a great knowledge of Swagelok fittings and would help stockroomcustomers put these together for use in their labs. Bill’s experienceand knowledge in these areas in the stockroom will be greatly missed byall.Memorials in memory of Bill and his dog Shadow are preferred tothe Dodge Nature Center, 365 Marie Avenue West, West Saint Paul MN55118.Dale Randall retiresDale Randall, longtime Senior Storesand Delivery Manager, retired this yearafter 42 years of service to the Universityof Minnesota. Thirty-eight of thoseyears were spent here in Chemistry,and Dale’s departure is sure to make avery big hole in our operations, whichhas been turned over to the familiarface of Vic Munsche to remedy. The Departmentthrew Dale a little going-away party onMarch 7 of 2008, and we all sincerely sendour best wishes as she moves on to pursue hermany passions, including shitzhus, photography,gardening, and travel.Staff ChangesPatti Combs has agreed to assume the responsibilitiesof Chief Financial Officer forthe Department of Chemistry effective Monday,April 28. Patti has been with our departmentas a Principal Accountant since Januaryof this year in the roll of grants management.She is a Certified Approver and has over 20years of experience in both accounting andhuman resource functions at the U of M. Sheis taking the place of Roxanne Horkey, wholeft the Department of Chemistry to accepta new position in the S.O.U.P AdministrativeCenter in the Medical School. SophiaHerrera has also accepted a new position andpromotion within the S.O.U.P AdministrativeCenter in the Medical School effectiveApril 28, 2008.Jason Radde began employment in theChemistry Department as a Senior Lab Attendantin our Research Stockroom. Jasonwas born in St. Louis Park, MN and graduatedfrom the Waconia High School. Jasonlives in Minneapolis and enjoys watchingmovies, camping, and hunting.David Lauer comes to the ChemistryDepartment as a Senior Lab Technician inour Departmental Stockroom, S17 SmithHall. David was born just across the river atFairview-Riverside and grew up in St. Paul.David and his wife, Elizabeth, were marriedon July 18 and currently residein Minneapolis. He enjoys fishing,hunting, biking, reading,and traveling.Page 16

STAFF2008Civil ServiceAward WinnersKolthoff Renovation continued from page 13a great job in moving and re-connecting computers and in the delicatetask of decommissioning hundreds of etherjack connections from our localarea network and moving them to the University’s network.University staffOwner’s Representatives are assigned by CPPM and are the liaisons betweenthe University and the architects, engineers, and contractors; responsiblefor all aspects of a project, from initial design to final closeout.The Kolthoff renovation project was very fortunate in having RogerWegner as its Owner’s Representative. Roger’s knowledge of every facetof the construction industry is amazing and the fact that this project wascompleted on time and on budget is owing, in large part, to his overallmanagement capability.Lynne JohnsrudNancy HagbergSue Young started working as aPrincipal Accountant in our AccountingOffice on June 23rd., primarily asgrants administrator. Sue was born inSt. Paul and graduated from KelloggHigh School. Sue lives in Woodburywith her son, Shayne, who just finisheda 4-year tour of duty with theArmy. In her spare time Sue likes toread, garden and is also active in BlueStar Moms, a support group of motherswho have children in the military.Steven Baldwin began employmentin our department on Tuesday,June 17, as a Senior Lab Technicianin our organic and analytical stockrooms.Steve grew up in SpringLake, Michigan where he graduatedfrom high school before attendingthe University of Michigan, where hereceived a BS in Industrial Engineering.Steve is an avid biker who livesin the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolisand is active in the WhittierAlliance Neighborhood Association.,the Soo Line Community Garden, andthe Lake Harriet Sailing Club.Jay Denny, Principal Engineer with the University’s Energy ManagementGroup, was instrumental in designing and trouble-shooting many complexenergy-saving systems installed as part of this renovation. Not onlythat, he successfully obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in additionalUniversity funding for these projects.Greg Berger, Assistant District Director for Facilities Management, wasvery helpful in providing FM assistance throughout this project and inassimilating the renovated areas into FM's maintenance and repair programsArchitects and engineersRSP Architects Brian Gatzlaff (lead), Dustin Bennis, John Merten and MelissaJancourt were great to work with throughout this very complicated project.Bob Kilgore and Doug Lucht with Sebesta Blomberg & Associates were theprimary engineers on this project and did a great job.ContractorsBlair McNeil and Barry Morgan with Mortenson Construction provided theover-all leadership to this project from the construction side and did a great job.A big thank-you to Tim Towberman and Lane Schoening who were the leadMortenson superintendents on this project. Their helpfulness and ability tosolve problems quickly on a daily basis were key to the success of this renovationproject.Jim Magrew from Harris Companies, the mechanical sub-contractor, and TomYoung from Hunt Electric Corporation, the electrical sub-contractor were alsogreat to work with and really did their part in making this a successful renovationproject.I had the privilege of working with the above individuals for the past 2+ years,meeting with them in “Progress Meetings” every Wednesday (a total of over100 meetings!). A sincere thank-you to everyone involved in helping to makethis renovation project a success!Stan Bonnema for the Chemistry Renovation Committee:Larry Que, Chair; John Ellis; and Bill TolmanPage 17

Chemistry Degrees GrantedJuly 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008Ph.D. Degrees Advisor Thesis TitleJessica Marie Allen Ellis Synthesis of Novel Low-Valent Transition Metal Isocyanides.Dmitry Andreyev Arriaga Development of Models and Analytical Approaches or IndividualMitochondria.Paul G Boswell Buhlmann Receptor-Based Sensor Design with Flurous Matrixes forEnhanced Robustness and Selectivity.Adam C Chamberlin Truhlar and Cramer The Calculation of Bulk Solvation Phenomena.Ying Chen Taton Photo-cross-linked Surfactant Shells Improve Stability andBioconjugate Chemistry of Nanoparticle Biolabels.Chin Chu Bates Synthesis, Characterization and Properties of Model PCHE/PEBlock Copolymers.Erin E Dahlke Truhlar Improved Methods for the Modeling of Water and Ice:I. Development and Assessment of Density Functional Methods.II. Development and Application of the ElectrostaticallyEmbedded Many-Body Expansion.Betsy Lin Edhlund McNeill Natural Water Photochemistry: Singlet Oxygen Production andthe Degradation of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen and OrganicPollutants.Bryan Ross Fonslow Bowser Optimization of the Fabrication and Operation of a Micro FreeFlow Electrophoresis Device.Andrew Healy Lipsky and Blank Photoionization of Isooctane and N-Octane in Intense LaserFields: The Effect of Irradiance on Ionization Rates and ElectronDynamics.Sara Lynn Isley Penn Controlling Phase Content and Particle Size in Sol-GelSynthesized Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles.Teresa L Jentzsch Penn Reactivity of Aluminum-Doped Iron Oxide Nanoparticles.Chanda Marie Ciriacks Klinker Bowser Instrument and Assay Development for In Vivo Amino AcidAnalysis.Eric J Klinker Que High-Valent Iron Compounds Supported by Pentadentate Ligands.Brandie Joy Kovaleski Musier-Forsyth Characterization of the Interaction between HIV-1 Gag andHuman Lysyl- tRNA Synthetase: Implications in the Priming ofHIV-1 Reverse Transcription.John Leonard Lewin Cramer Theoretical Characterization of C-H Bond Activation inOrganometallic and Biomimetic Systems.Nathaniel Alexander Lynd Hillmyer The Effects of Polydispersity on Block Copolymer Self-Assembly.Stephen R Miller Leopold Vibrationally Resolved Anion Photoelectron Spectroscopyof Metal Clusters.Mithun Mitra Musier-Forsyth Dissecting the Nucleic Acid Chaperone Properties of RetroviralNucleocapsid Proteins.Jessica A Nielson Forsyth Synthetic Studies Toward Nankakurine A.Paul David Oldenburg Que Design of Bio-Inspired Nonheme Iron Oxidation Catalysts.Bobby Gene Poe III Arriaga Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA in Individual MitochondrialParticles.Anthony Stephen Ratkovich Penn Controlling Zinc Oxide Particle Growth Using Various SolutionsConditions.Dwight Robert Stoll II Carr Fast, Comprehensive Two-Dimensional High Performance LiquidChromatography.Nathaniel Jonathan Traaseth Veglia Structural and Dynamic Basis of Phospholamban and SarcolipinInhibition of Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) by Nuclear MagneticResonance Spectroscopy.Nathan Pascale Wells Blank Time-Resolved Exciton Dynamics in Conjugated Materials forOrganic Photovoltaics.Keith William Wiitala Cramer Modeling Proton and Carbon Chemical Shifts Using DensityFunctional Theory: Relevance to Determining RelativeConfiguration.Page 18

Masters Degrees Advisor Thesis TitleErin Nicole Arndt Hillmyer and Tolman Plan BZhifeng Bai Lodge Plan BKyle Christine Bantz Haynes Plan BJonathan N Bohnsack Mann Plan BSteven Alexander Calder Siepmann Plan BJuhee Cho Taton Photo-Functionalization and Bioconjugation of BlockCopolymer-Encapsulated Au Nanoparticles.Jin-Hwa Chung Taton Selective Surface Chemistry of Micropatterned CellMimics.Leila S Datoo Wagner Azidothymidine Phosphoramidate Analogues asPotential Therapeutic Agents.Audrey Ann Eigner Massari Plan BSusanna Jean Emond Hoye Plan BMelissa Ann Fierke Stein Plan BAalo Kumar Gupta Tolman Plan BKim N Ha Veglia Probing the Allosteric Mechanism of SRCalcium-ATPase Regulation by Phospholambanusing Mutagenesis and NMR Spectroscopy.Jessica M Hilborn Tolman Plan BEnver Cagri Izgu Hoye Plan BAshley Nicole Jay Cramer Plan BSally Melissa Kessler Kass The Investigation of Aryl and Biaryl PyridiniumZwitterions.Stephanie Lin Koester Penn Plan BSecil Koseoglu Buhlmann Plan BBenjamin E Kucera Ellis,John Emmett Plan BKelly Joanne Kyro Distefano Structural and Functional Studies of the Protease,Ras Converting Enzyme IFeifei Li Que Plan BJingyi Li Zhu Plan BSara Love Haynes Plan BElodie Eleonore Marlier McNeill Plan BFrancesc Molins Lipsky and Blank Plan BJames F Neels Hoye and Sturla Antitumor Acylfulvenes: Chemical and BiologicalReactivity.James Mochoge Nyachwaya Siepmann Plan BChang-yub Paek Carr and Mc Cormick Plan BBritt Marie Peterson McNeill Plan BJason David Peterson Massari Plan BLouis Marcel Pitet Hillmyer Plan BHuzaifa Saifee Rangwala Hoye Efforts Towards Partial Peptidomimetics of Anginex:A Scaleable Synthesis of Kelly's B-turn Mimic.William R Sanow Arriaga and Bowser Plan BKyle R Schwartz Mann Plan BHajime Seki Georg Plan BBrent Speetzen Kass Utilizing a Thermodynamic Cycle to Find the C-HBond Dissociation Energy of Ferrocene and ItsImplications in the Ionic vs. Covalent Bonding inMetallocenes.Brandon James Winters Roberts Plan BChen Xing Wagner Plan BChao Zuo Taton Crosslinked, Block-Copolymer Shells PreserveNanoparticle Morphology.Page 19

Hidayati AbdullahPinky Naresh AnandaniMark Robert AndersonJeremy Lynn BachmanJennifer E BarnesVnay BediBenjamin James BendingCarlton James BienertJennifer BohlerEmily Jane Marie BrandMelissa J BuescherRonald Scott CampCristina Lee CurtisJane CurtisTommy Vy DangAnish DasMichael Andrew De MeuseDavid A DegenhardtAaron T DenkJonathan Ross DietrichChansouk DuangapaiKyle Robert DullingerMaria McRae DykstraNatalie A ElmasryDavid R ErolaChristopher M EvansMidhasso Hama FogeKristin Elise FrederickMatthew Larry GermanDennis John Gerold JrLadd Kim GormanAlexander Hafner DiazJosiah I HakalaCary HaynerPaul HouangMarisa Lee HovlidJaney HsuTodd K HysterNathan A JacksonAriel Raina Larson JohnsonBlake William JohnsonBradley M JohnsonJesse C JonesDavid Steven JordanAaron Jon KangasAneesha Dionne KellySharif X KoepPatrick E KonoldMatthew Marcus LagerquistKatie Nadine LeePage 20Bachelor's Degrees and Home TownShah Alam, Malaysia Danny LiuMankato, MNRebecca M LoperMinneapolis, MN Maxwell MasonCottage Grove, MN Michael Robert MillerColumbus, INRyan Dale MillerPlymouth, MNMohd Azraai Mohd MiswanWoodbury, MNPatrick James MoranGreat Barrington, MA Joshua D MorlockAndover, MNLindsey Marie MusselmanAlexandria, MNRyan Joseph NelsonNashwauk, MNVinh Thai NgoOakdale, MNTuong Vi Thi NguyenChamplin, MNSusan Njeri NjorogeMinneapolis, MN Leslie OlearyMinneapolis, MN Alister R OlsonDickinson, NDNatalie Elizabeth OlveraMinnetonka, MNJennifer Louise OrthSaint Paul, MNHee-Yun Ellie ParkBurnsville, MNMichaela Jean PerskeSioux Falls, SDKelle M PetersonWorthington, MN Jacqueline Jean PiersonDeerwood, MNAmanda Morgan ProseRichfield, MNHassan SamatarSt. Paul, MNAlex SamuelDuluth, MNRita Marie SilbernagelEden Prairie, MNMalgorzata Maria SiorekBrooklyn Park, MN Jeffry Verne SorensenMinneapolis, MNDerek StrakaLakeville, MNShawn Patrick SullivanMinneapolis, MNTrista M TalbotWinona, MNNirwan Juanda TanWayzata, MNAsmeret TesfahunFarmington, MNBrian D TomichBlaine, MNFlorence T TranEden Prairie, MNNhan Thanh TrinhMinneapolis, MNPhilip UhrichMendota Heights, MN Nicholas Lee UntiedtApple Valley, MNYoua VangMinneapolis, MNWilliam Darius VarianDuluth, MNKevin Joseph VossRosemount, MNLindsey R WalstromLakeland, MNTruman C WambachWoodbury, MNNicole M WantyRoseville, MNErik Asphaug WargLakeville, MNEllis J WarnerMaplewood, MNEleni K Wiley-SchaberNew Brighton, MN Jason K WongMinneota, MNYia YangChamplin, MNSara YoheBloomington, MN John R ZhangWoodbury, MNNiceville, FLChesterfield, MOInver Grove Heights, MNCedar Rapids, IABandar Baru Bangi, MalaysiaLittle Canada, MNCrystal, MNRichfield, MNShoreview, MNRichfield, MNSpring Park, MNNairobi, KenyaRamsey, MNWelcome, MNMinneapolis, MNSleepy Eye, MNEdina, MNSartell, MNOregon, WINew Hope, MNMaple Grove, MNShillington, PAMinneapolis, MNCedar, MNSioux Falls, SDVadnais Heights, MNOwatonna, MNBrooklyn Park, MNMinneapolis, MNSurabaya, East Java, IndonesiaMinneapolis, MNHudson, OHLake Elmo, MNColumbia Heights, MNFairfield, CTMarshall, MNMinneapolis, MNMinneapolis, MNAnoka, MNWeston, WISuperior, WIButternut, WIHastings, MNZimmerman, MNRoseville, MNHopkins, MNBrooklyn Center, MNFargo, NDPlymouth, MN

OUTREACHWISE women present Cool Chemistry once againby Letitia YaoWISE: http://nmr.chem.umn.edu/wise/wise.htmlFifty-four girls from metro area schools just went shopping.In Smith 249. They found lip gloss, lotion, and soap.These items were not from Sephora; they were made bytheir very hands and are just a part of what the girls wereable to take from their Cool Chemistry experience.Cool Chemistry is the annual outreach event hostedby the Chemistry Chapter of the Women in Scienceand Engineering (WISE). This year’sevent took place on April 26th, where girls, grades 7th-9th, spent the daylearning how cool chemistry can be. The day consists of a rotation ofthree workshops (chosen by the girls upon registration), as well as lunchprovided by Papa John’s Pizza and a plethora of demonstrations. Thisyear WISE members were joined by two area teachers and an Aldrichsales representative, making Cool Chemistry 2008 the most diverse andfar-reaching ever.Cool Chemistry is a girls-only event supported by WISE funds fromthe Office of University Women and the Department of Chemistry, aswell as Ecolab and area partners. Other University departments contributedtake home items for the event. EcolabChemistry Students work at the State FairOnce again the Chemistry Department helddown a booth at the Minnesota State Fairthis summer, where all kinds of householdsecrets were explored. Secil Koseoglu ofthe Buhlmann group assists a young girlwith determining the pH of common householditems in the picture to the right.donated tote bags, Sigma-Aldrich providedstopwatches and other gift items for allparticipants, and Corning Glass donatedglassware for the event. SeasonedWISE members and Letitia Yao, theWISE staff advisor, have watched CoolChem progress from its infant years toa highly successful area event, sponsoredby the Institute of Technology.Haynes Lab hosts children for Chemistry DayThis year, the Haynes lab hosted their 3rd annual Chemistry Day aspart the "Summer in the City" program at the West 7th CommunityCenter in St. Paul. 13 members of the Haynes lab (and friends) spentthe afternoon of July 8, 2008 getting 80 kids, ranging in age from6-13, excited about science. The event begins with dramatic demonstrations- group members discuss supersaturated solutions whilestarting lifesaver-initiated soda fountains, reaction rates while heatingand cooling the chemiluminescent contents of glowsticks, and catalytic reactions while makingfoamy "elephant toothpaste." Then, the kids split up into groups and rotate through four tables ofhands-on activities including making polymer slime, doing candy coating chromatography, writing acid/base invisible inkmessages, and exploring phases of matter with dry ice and liquid nitrogen. The day ends with freshly made liquid nitrogenice cream sundaes... and hopefully, a few more future scientists.Page 21

RESEARCHInteraction of nanoparticles with biological cellsRecent research from the group of Professor Christy HaynesNanoscale materials are facilitating novel biomedical applications in the areas of therapeutics and assay development.Characterizing the basic interaction of these nanoparticles with biological cells is critical for data interpretationand further technological development. This characterization of nanoparticle-cell interaction suffers froma paucity of analytical chemistry studies and presents interesting measurement challenges based on the complexbiological environment, the dynamic nature of the nanoparticle-cell interaction, and the high sensitivities requiredfor single cell assays.The Haynes group has recentlydemonstrated that carbon-fiber microelectrodeamperometry can be used toassess critical cellular function of primaryculture immune system cells afternanoparticle exposure. Gold nanoparticlesare the focus of Haynes groupstudies to date based on their wide applicationin the areas of DNA and drugdelivery, direct inhibition of cancer cell proliferation, photodynamic therapy, and as both intra- and extracellularbiomarker probes. The group’s electron microscopy and amperometry studies reveal that mast cells, a critical immunesystem effector cell, take up gold nanoparticles, these gold nanoparticles interrupt the granular matrix, andthe disrupted matrix triggers abnormal chemical messenger secretion. Understanding the mechanistic interactionof the nanoparticle and the intracellular environment will facilitate future design and fabrication of non-cytotoxicnanoscale materials.Fluidic and air-stable supported lipid bilayer and cellmimickingmicroarraysRecent research from the group of Professor Xiaoyang ZhuAn academic-industrial research team led by Professor Xiaoyang Zhu ofUMN and Dr. Athena Guo of MicroSurfaces, Inc. reported a ground-breakingdiscovery on biomaterials and biotechnology in the latest issue of the Journalof the American Chemical Society (DOI:10.1021/ja800049f). The first authoron the paper was chemistry graduate student Yang Deng. As drug delivery,therapy, and medical imaging are becoming increasingly cell-specific, thereis a critical need for high fidelity and high-throughput screening methodsfor cell surface interactions. Cell membrane-mimicking surfaces, i.e., supportedlipid bilayers (SLBs), were not sufficiently robust to meet this need.Learning from nature, particular biophysics of the magic molecule cholesterol, this research team designed anddeveloped a novel surface with tethered and dispersed cholesterol groups. They discovered that SLBs formedon such a designer surface became air-stable due to the cooperative stabilizing effect of the tethered cholesterolgroups incorporated into the bottom leaflet. Achieving air-stability allowed the team to easily fabricate SLB microarraysfrom direct robotic spotting of vesicle solutions. They further demonstrated the application of the SLBsas cell membrane-mimicking microarrays by reconstituting peripheral as well as integral membrane componentsthat can be recognized by their respective targets. These demonstrations established the viability of the fluidic andair-stable SLB platform for generating content microarrays in high throughput studies, e.g., the screening of drugsand nanomedicine targeting cell surface receptors.Page 22

Force fields for complex reactionsRecent research from the group of Professor Don TruhlarCombined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) methods have provided powerful means forstudying chemical reactions in condensed phases such as liquids, enzymes, and solids. In these approaches, the reactioncenter is described quantum mechanically, while the surroundings are treated by using a molecular mechanicsforce field. However, the high computational cost of quantum mechanical (QM) calculations prevents carryingout QM/MM molecular dynamics simulationswith reliable accuracy and adequate sampling.In order to reduce the computationalcost of the QM calculation,postdoctoral research associateMasahiro Higashi and Regents Professor DonaldG. Truhlar* have developed a new method calledelectrostatically embedded multi-configurationmolecular mechanics (EE-MCMM) for generatingglobal potential energy surfaces (PESs) in thepresence of an electrostatic potential. MCMMdescribes the global PES of a condensed-phasereaction with electronic structure information, inparticular energies and partial chargedistributions, obtained in the gas phase at selectedgeometries. Because this new method is efficient,high-level QM calculations can be usedin QM/MM methods. The result is a key step towardstudying chemical reactions in condensedphases with high accuracy.Methyl anion dethroned as themost basic speciesRecent research from the group of Professor StevenKassAfter decades as the champion of proton acceptors, the methyl anionis finally playing second fiddle to the gas-phase lithium monoxideanion. In a joint effort between University of Minnesota researchersZhixin Tian and Prof. Steven R. Kass and collaborators at the Universityof Sydney, the LiO- species was prepared and its acid-base propertieswere measured to verify calculations that predicted its chemicalprowess. Their work was reported in The Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2008, 105, 7647) andhighlighted in Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN June 9, 2008).Page 23

Another big fish story for Way Nolandby Rodney D. DeKruif (1982)The 2008 Indole Invitational was held August 1-3 at The Love Shack on Big SandLake, Phelps, Wisconsin. As a forum for insightful, provocative commentaryand debate, a wide range of current political,technical, legal and financial issues were addressed,if not finally resolved.Even so, the weekend offered anglingopportunities, especially for those ascribingto a "catch and eat" philosophy. ProfessorWayland E. Noland, holder of mostevent fishing records, once again raised thestandard by setting marks in three categories:(1) northern pike (25 in., 3lb., 12 oz.); (2) on a cane pole, pre-Carter administration;and (3) unassisted, just net.Pictured with the trophy fish (above), from left: the ubiquitousDave Rolf (Ph.D., 1983); Way Noland; Tom Gill (Ph.D. 1983); and EricZilley (M.S., 1982). Behind the camera and out of slime range were MikeDiPierro (Ph.D., 1984) and Rod DeKruif (M.S., 1982; J.D., 1986).This year's Invitational marked the 30th anniversary of a perchance,fateful gathering in Room 101 Smith Hall. The occasion was suitably toastedand will be, again, in 2009. Past participant Jim Kilgore (Ph.D., 1983)will return to headline the opening session.Department of ChemistryInstitute of TechnologyKolthoff and Smith Halls207 Pleasant St. S.E.Minneapolis, MN 55455Nonprofit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDMinneapolis, MNPermit No. 155