ChemNews - Department of Chemistry - University of Minnesota

Wayne L. Gladfelter 

www.chem.umn.edu 

GREETINGS FROM THE CHAIR 

Wayne L. Gladfelter 

Greetings from Minnesota. I hope this letter finds you 

in good health and cheer. As usual we’ve had a difficult 

time packing a full year of activities into one letter. For 

those interested in learning more about a specific topic, 

additional details are available at our website (http://www. 

chem.umn.edu). 

While preparing for several presentations about the 

Department of Chemistry, I compiled a number of 

statistics that highlight the impact of our educational 

mission. During the 2002-2003 academic year, nearly 

11,000 students were enrolled in chemistry 

classes. Most of these students took general 

or organic chemistry. Because the number 

of students enrolling in these lower division 

courses has been growing, we are facing 

some rather tight resource issues. Thus far, 

through the creative work of our staff and 

support from the Dean, we have been able 

to accommodate those students needing 

to enroll in these courses. The number of 

students enrolled in upper division courses 

has been steady, and as you can see later in 

this newsletter, 74 received their BS in Chemistry 

during 2003. In addition to our undergraduate teaching 

activities, our PhD program remains the largest at the 

University of Minnesota. During fiscal 2003, we attracted 

nearly $10,000,000 in external grants to support over 200 

graduate students and approximately 70 postdoctoral 

associates. 

• DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY 

ChemNews 

Spring 2004 

In the Fall of 2004, we will celebrate the centennial year 

of the Department of Chemistry. Although Chemistry was 

taught as a subject from the beginning of the University of 

Minnesota in 1860’s, it was not until 1904 that the School 

of Chemistry was formed as an organizational unit headed 

by Dean G. B. Frankforter. Details regarding the 100 Years 

of Chemistry celebration will be announced this spring. 

On a slightly smaller scale we are planning to celebrate 

in February the opening of the new LeClaire Chemical 

Instrumentation Facility. Relocation of the X-ray 

crystallography and mass spectrometry labs was 

delayed until the fall of 2003 due to construction 

on the plaza directly above these labs. The 

entire facility has been up and running since 

November and provides each of the labs 

(NMR, mass spec and X-ray) with much 

needed additional space. The entire facility 

looks great. I am also happy to report that 

through the excellent oversight of Stan 

Bonnema and the cooperation with 

Facilities Management the project came 

in 13.8% under budget. 

It now appears that we may be heading for a much 

larger renovation – Kolthoff Hall. The undergraduate 

biology labs have moved to their new building, and 

we need to convert the empty space into chemical 

laboratories. Most of this space is ear marked for wet 

chemical research labs to be equipped with much needed 

hoods. The planned renovation, however, is far more 

continued on page 2 

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 

CHEMISTRY ALUMNI & FRIENDS 

BREAKFAST MEETING 

The next Alumni & Friends Breakfast Meeting is 

scheduled for 7:30 on Tuesday March 30th at the 

227th ACS Meeting in Anaheim, CA. Please be sure 

to register for event #SE-13 when you fill out the 

ACS registration form. 

Page 1

continued from page 1 

extensive. Many improvements are needed to 

bring the building into compliance with current 

fire and safety codes. Another major component 

of the renovation will be the replacement of 

all the fume hoods in the building and an 

overall upgrade of the ventilation system. The 

University has put this $24,000,000 project 

forward as a high priority in its 2004 capital 

improvement request to the state. By late 

spring we should know whether or not it will 

be funded. Those of you who live in Minnesota 

may have already heard from me about this 

project. I have encouraged you to contact 

your legislator and ask them to support the 

University’s request. By the time you receive 

this newsletter there may still be time for one 

last letter or email. You can find the address 

of your legislator at the website http://www. 

supporttheu.umn.edu. 

As in the past this newsletter highlights 

special recognition of students, staff and faculty 

that was awarded in the last year. In addition 

to these, we have recently heard of three 

additional awards for our faculty members. 

At the Anaheim ACS meeting, John Ellis 

will receive the first F. A. Cotton Award in 

Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry. Also in March, 

Tim Lodge will receive the American Physical 

Society Prize in Polymer Physics at the APS 

meeting in Montreal. Finally, Don Truhlar 

will receive the National Academy of Sciences 

Award for Scientific Reviewing. We will include 

details of these exciting accolades in the next 

edition of the Newsletter. 

Finally, I want to invite you to attend our 

Alumni and Friends breakfast at the Anaheim 

ACS meeting. These gatherings are a fun way 

to stay connected. 

Page 2 


Spring 2004 

Newsletter Committee 

Wayne Gladfelter 

David Hoffman 

Wayland Noland 

Kathy Ross 

Stephanie Stathopoulos 

Donald Truhlar 

This publication is available in alternative 

formats upon request. Please call 612-624- 

8008. The University of Minnesota is an 

equal opportunity educator and employer. 

Printed on recycled paper. 

RSEC 

RSEC Growing by Leaps 

and Bounds 

Fall 2003-The Minnesota 

Research Site for Educators 

in Chemistry is entering 

it’s third year of operation. 

The RSEC site has grown 

enormously in terms of the 

number of undergraduate 

institutions it serves, in the 

number of researchers who have been awarded 

RSEC funding, and in its educational offerings. 

To date twenty-eight faculty and twentythree 

undergraduates from twenty primarily 

undergraduate institutions have been supported 

through the RSEC. This semester RSEC is also 

supporting U of M chemistry graduate student 

John Stubbs to travel to Drake University 

in Des Moines and teach a new course in 

computational chemistry. And at the beginning 

of this semester, RSEC supported the Balanced 

Academic Life workshop which was designed 

to help senior chemistry graduate students and 

post-docs navigate the academic job market in 

chemistry. A number of University of Minnesota 

chemistry graduate students attended as well as 

students from Iowa State University, North 

Dakota State University, the University of Iowa, 

and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The 

meeting was organized by Dr. Scott Hartsel, 

a faculty member from the University of 

Wisconsin, Eau Claire and RSEC researcher. 

The workshop featured presentations from a 

number of faculty members from area colleges 

and universities. RSEC is also providing 

travel funding for faculty and their students 

to present their RSEC-related research at 

national meetings. In March, eight individuals 

traveled to the Spring meeting of the American 

Dr. Michael Dvorak, St. Cloud State 

University with student Steven Kron. 

Chemical Society to present their research. It 

looks like a similar number will be able to travel 

to the ACS meeting in Anaheim in April 2004. 

Several of our researchers have written and 

published papers featuring their research results 

and more still have applied for research funds 

from external funding sources to continue their 

research activities. Lastly, several more primarily 

undergraduate institutions, including Illinois 

College, in Jacksonville, Illinois, and Concordia 

College in Moorhead, Minnesota, have become 

RSEC-affiliated institutions. We now have 

thirty-three institutions and over three hundred 

faculty members affiliated with RSEC! Many 

thanks to all of our RSEC cluster members and 

RSEC researchers who have worked hard to make 

RSEC a success. 

The RSEC Lecture Series Gets 

Underway 

With the installation of cameras and sound 

equipment in room 331 Smith Hall this past 

summer, the RSEC Lecture Series has begun. 

Every semester RSEC will web cast the presentations 

of 4-5 prominent chemistry professors 

to audiences at RSEC-affiliated institutions in 

the Northern Mid West. Dr. Michael Kahlow 

of the University of Wisconsin River Falls gave 

the inagural RSEC lecture. Everyone is welcome 

to join us in person in room 331 Smith Hall on 

the days of the lectures or view it via Internet 

at www.chem.umn.edu/rsec. 

Dr. Michael Ross, St. John’s University 

Dr. Mark Vitha, Drake University

Chemistry Alumni Activities 

2003 was a very active year for Chemistry alumni. In addition 

to the regular Minnesota alumni breakfasts held at each ACS 

meeting, there were several Chemistry activities held in Minnesota 

and nationally. 

Philadelphia Area Alumni Lunch 

Chemistry alumni living in the Philadelphia area braved the 

aftermath of an impressive snowstorm to gather last January for 

lunch at Harry’s Savoy Grill in Wilmington, Delaware. Wayne 

Gladfelter, Chemistry Department Chair, updated the group on the 

status of Chemistry at Minnesota, and answered numerous questions 

about the department, 

IT and the University. 

Dr. Carl Krespan`52 

was honored as a 

new member of 

the University of 

Minnesota’s Heritage 

Society. Over 120 

Chemistry alumni reside 

in the Philadelphia 

area. 

3M/Chemistry Alumni Reception 

The fi rst meeting of 3M/Chemistry alumni took place on 

September 17th at the Holiday Inn near 3M in St. Paul. Chemistry 

alumni with a 3M affi liation were invited to the reception, and 

several current and retired members of the Minnesota Chemistry 

faculty also attended. Plans are underway for the next gathering 

of this group in 2004. Please contact David Hoffman at 612-625- 

6035, or dhoffman@it.umn.edu if you would like to add your name 

to the invitation list, or if you are interested in helping with planning 

for the event. 

2003 Chemistry Golf Outing 

A small, but dedicated group of alumni and faculty 

gathered this summer at 3M’s Tartan Park Golf Course 

for the 2003 Chemistry Golf outing. Contact the 

Chemistry department if you are interested in 

playing in next year's outing. 

Daniel H. Rich `64 to Receive Outstanding 

Achievement Award 

Dr. Daniel H. Rich will receive an Outstanding Achievement 

Award from the University of Minnesota in May 2004. Daniel 

received a Bachelor of Chemistry degree in 1964 from the University 

of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Cornell 

University in 1968. He is currently Director of the University of 

Wisconsin Molecular Modeling Laboratory, and is the Ralph F. 

Hirschmann Professor of Medicinal and Organic Chemistry, School 

of Pharmacy and Department of Chemistry. His research interests 

concern the synthesis and conformational analysis of cyclic peptides, 

the design and synthesis of transition-state analog inhibitors of 

therapeutically important enzymes, and design and synthesis of 

peptidemimetics. 

Kolthoff Hall Upgrade Tops IT legislative request 

For years, “temporary” biology labs have occupied a big chunk 

of Kolthoff Hall. As those labs relocate to new biosciences facilities 

elsewhere on campus, IT is poised to reclaim that space to meet the 

need for additional chemistry research and teaching labs. Interested 

alumni, students, faculty and staff gathered in November for a briefi ng 

on the project. The infrastructure of Kolthoff Hall, which opened in 

1971, is showing its age. To meet new code requirements and provide 

a healthy environment for faculty, staff, and students, the building 

will require a new ventilation system and other safety upgrades. This 

$24 million project,- which will help IT attract and retain the nation’s 

best and brightest scholars- is part of the University’s 2004 legislative 

request. Help move this important project forward. Join the Legislative 

Network at www.supporttheu.umn.edu, a coalition of volunteers who 

share a commitment to higher education and to the University. Alumni, 

parents, donors, and anyone concerned about Minnesota and higher 

education are welcome to participate. 

Second Annual Chemistry Graduate Student Symposium 

The second annual Chemistry Graduate Student Symposium was 

held on May 20, 2003 on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. 

The symposium consisted of research presentations by third-year graduate 

students in the Chemistry Ph.D. program. The presentations were 

formally assessed by a committee of faculty members and distinguished 

Chemistry alumni. Dr. John Baldwin`60, Concurrent Pharmaceuticals, 

Dr. Paul Guehler, `65, 3M, and Dr. Newman Bortnick, `41, `44, Rohm 

and Haas, participated 

as alumni judges. Travel 

awards of $500 were 

presented to Joseph 

Fritsch, Curtiss Hella and 

Jessica Allen for the best 

seminar in each of the 

three sessions. The third 

annual symposium will 

take place on May 18, 2004. 

Are You Member of the Heritage Society? 

You can become a member the Heritage Society by including the 

Chemistry department in your estate plans, such as through a simple 

bequest in your will. The University of Minnesota created the Heritage 

Society – which is a part of the University’s Presidents Club – to honor and 

recognize those individuals who have made a future gift to the University 

in this way. As a member, you can look forward to attending University 

events held in Minnesota and major cities across the United States, 

publications updating you on the University and the impact of private 

support, and a commemorative certifi cate and lapel pin. By including 

the Chemistry department in your will, you can make a generous gift 

without reducing your current income. Bequests account for a major 

portion of the University’s endowment and provide signifi cant funding 

for programs, facilities, and student aid. You can specify how you wish 

your gift to benefi t Chemistry, and you can create special funds in your 

name, or in memory of loved ones. Charitable bequests are normally 

deductible in full for estate tax purposes. Bequests should be made to 

the University of Minnesota Foundation and designated to assist the 

Chemistry department. To fi nd out more about making a bequest, or 

to enroll as a member of the Heritage Society, contact David Hoffman, 

development offi cer for Chemistry at dhoffman@it.umn.edu or 1-800- 

587-3884. 

Page 3

Retirement 

Larry L. Miller was born in Waterloo, 

Iowa, on June 29, 1939. 

He attended Colorado 

State College in Greeley, 

Colorado, and received his 

B.S. in chemistry in 1961. 

He entered the University 

of Illinois, Urbana, and 

received his Ph.D. in 1964. Dr. Miller then 

worked as a Research Chemist for American 

Cyanamid Company. In 1966, he joined 

the faculty of Colorado State University as 

an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to 

Associate Professor in 1969 and to Professor in 

1972. He joined the faculty of the Chemistry 

Department at the University of Minnesota in 

the fall of 1976. From 1983-1987 he served 

as Department Chairman. Other prestigious 

appointments included Visiting Professorships 

in England, Denmark, Japan and Israel, a 

Visiting Scientist appointment at the Salk 

Institute, and as a Paul J. Flory Fellow at 

IBM. Dr. Miller’s other awards include an 

A. P. Sloan Fellowship, a J. S. Guggenheim 

Fellowship, Fellow of the Japan Society for the 

Promotion of Science, the Horace T Morse- 

Minnesota Alumni Association Award for 

Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate 

In Memoriam 

Doris E. Berg passed away February 5, 

2003. Doris started her career at the University 

of Minnesota Chemistry Department working 

for Bill Parham in 1958 on ACS related 

projects. During her career she worked for 

Wayland Noland, Larry Miller and many 

other professors. She received a Civil Service 

Achievement Award in 1972 and retired 

October of 1983. 

Doris was born September 11, 1916, in 

Minneapolis, MN. She grew up on a farm 

in Greenwood City, WI where she graduated 

from Greenwood High School. She attended 

Minneapolis Business College after high 

school and worked briefl y for James J. Hill 

as a secretary. In May of 1938 in Savannah, 

GA she was married to Wilbert L. “Bill” Berg 

of Dutzow, MO. Following their marriage, 

Doris and Bill traveled throughout the south 

with Bill’s band until 1945. Doris and Bill 

moved back to Minneapolis in 1950. Prior to 

their marriage Doris and Bill hitchhiked from 

Greenwood to the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair, 

“A Century of Progress”. They had two sons, 

Gary and Vincent. 

Page 4 

Education, Institute of Technology Outstanding 

Teacher Award, an Institute of Technology 

Distinguished Professorship, and the 2002 

George Taylor/Institute of Technology Alumni 

Society Distinguished Teaching Award. He 

served on a number of government advisory 

panels and journal advisory groups as well as 

many departmental, college and University 

committees and consulted for both the chemical 

industry and the legal profession. 

Larry’s research interests were diversifi ed 

and fruitful leading to more than 200 

publications and several patents. He advised 

many graduate students and post-docs. Thirty 

nine students received their Ph. D. under 

his direction. Although he has trained as a 

physical organic chemist he soon focused a 

lot of attention on organic electrochemistry. 

His students did the fi rst synthesis of complex 

pharmaceutical molecules (alkaloids) using 

electrochemistry and demonstrated a number of 

new reactions and basic electrode mechanisms. 

A seminal piece of work was the fi rst chemically 

modifi ed electrode, which changed chemist’s 

views of electrodes from physical entities 

to chemical ones. His students showed the 

fi rst polymer coated electrode and the fi rst 

example of catalysis by these coatings. One 

of the most adventurous projects was on the 

organic chemistry taking place in gaseous radiofrequency 

plasmas. Much of his research work 

at Minnesota focused on materials chemistry, 

specifi cally on electrically conducting organic 

materials, and the molecules and ion radicals 

that go into them. The synthesis and redox 

properties of long conjugated quinones and 

rigid rod, “molecular lines” revealed some 

unusual properties that provoked interest from 

many other groups. Structurally contrasting 

was work on dendrimers–well defi ned, 

highly branched 

p o l y m e r s . H i s 

students discovered 

the fi rst examples of 

conducting oligomers 

and in collaboration 

with Kent Mann, the 

students demonstrated 

the importance of pidimers 

and pi-stacks to 

conducting oligomers 

and polymers. This 

led to recent studies of 

vapor sensors, organic 

photodiodes and LEDs, 

and with Dan Frisbie 

of organic thin film 

transistors. 

As numerous and 

Miller in '79 with 

group menbers. 

signifi cant as are Larry Miller’s service and 

research contributions, it is his teaching efforts 

that are extolled widely, both by his colleagues 

and the many students who benefi ted from his 

dedication to this aspect of his work. He used 

innovative alternative teaching methods well 

before they became stylish, organizing the large 

introductory organic chemistry class into small 

study groups to meet outside of regular course 

hours and receiving high student evaluations in 

this course with a reputation of being a diffi cult 

“weed out” course for pre-meds. He introduced 

a creative writing exercise in a science class 

(“molecular anthropomorphism”), long before 

the University began its initiative to improve 

writing across the curriculum by requiring 

writing intensive courses within all disciplines. 

He integrated his research with teaching in 

graduate offerings such as his seminar “How to 

Get a Research Idea and Get Someone to Pay 

You to Work on It.” During his last few years 

at Minnesota, Larry received positive notoriety 

for his inventive freshman seminar, “The Color 

Red,” which touched on fi elds as eclectic as art, 

politics, culture, psychology, and of course, 

a little chemistry, bringing new students a 

glimpse into the wide ranging possibilities of a 

university education. Larry managed to make 

large classes feel small, and small classes were 

broadened to worlds of possibility. 

Professional colleagues, former students, 

and support staff alike paint a picture of Larry 

as caring and dedicated, creative and imbued 

with integrity. He touched many lives while 

at Minnesota, and the high esteem in which 

he is held here might make it seem as though 

this is a eulogy for a career now over. Nothing 

could be further from the truth, for Larry 

Miller leaves us only to embark upon a new 

career in art, specifi cally sculpture. His modest 

retirement event here on April 15-16 gave us 

a chance to see some of his work, and many of 

us agree that the potential exists for 

us to say we knew him “when.” We 

wish Larry a long, productive and 

happy new career as he settles on 

the West Coast, and we will miss 

him greatly. 

"Resource 

Assessment"

Faculty Awards 

2/03 - Don Truhlar - Minnesota Award 

– American Chemical Society Minnesota 

Section The Minnesota 

Award was established in 

1958 to honor section 

members who have made 

outstanding contributions 

in chemical research or in 

service to the profession. 

Quality, excellence, innovation, leadership, and 

commitment are traits sought out in candidates 

for this award. Don Truhlar was cited for his 

“unparalleled record of research in theoretical 

chemistry and physics” as evinced from his more 

than 750 refereed publications. 

2/03 - Kent Mann - Horace T. Morse- 

University of Minnesota Alumni Association 

Award for Outstanding 

C o n t r i b u t i o n s t o 

Undergraduate Education 

Each year since 1965, the U of 

M has recognized a select group 

of faculty members for their 


to undergraduate education. This honor is 

awarded to exceptional candidates nominated 

by colleges in their quest to identify excellence 

in undergraduate education. In addition to 

honoring individual faculty members, the award 

contributes to the improvement of undergraduate 

education at the University by publicizing 

their work and thus to serve as a resource for 

the whole faculty. Kent Mann’s excellence in 

teaching and academic program development 

were recognized by this award, with his efforts in 

directing undergraduate research, instituting new 

experiments in laboratory courses, and pioneering 

computer-aided instruction being particularly 

noteworthy. 

3/03 - Christopher Cramer - Distinguished 

McKnight University Professor The 

purpose of the program is 

to honor and reward the 

most distinguished and 

highest-achieving mid-career 

faculty who have recently 

attained full professor status 

– especially those who have 

made significant advances in their careers at 

the University, whose work and reputation are 

identifi ed with the University of Minnesota, and 

whose work has brought great renown and prestige 

to Minnesota. Chris Cramer was recognized for 

his outstanding record of accomplishment in 

teaching, research, and service. Of particular 

note was the publication of his textbook 

(“Essentials of Computational Chemistry”) and 

his unusually broad perspective and interest in 

widely varying chemistry subdisciplines, which has 

led to collaborative research with more than 20 

members of the department. Chris joins the other 

Distinguished McKnight University Professors in 

the Department of Chemistry: George Barany, 

Michael Ward, Frank Bates, Timothy Lodge, and 

William Tolman. 

4/03 - Lou Pignolet - George Taylor/IT 

Alumni Society Distinguished Teaching 

Aw a r d T h e Ta y l o r 

Award for Distinguished 

Te a c h i n g r e c o g n i z e s 

faculty who have made 


to undergraduate and/or 

graduate teaching in the 

Institute of Technology. Lou Pignolet was 

noted as “one of the most outstanding and most 

innovative teachers in the University, especially 

in large freshman lecture courses.” Of particular 

importance was his development of the WebCT 

internet class management system for use in large 

classes. 

4/03 - Lou Pignolet - Best Professor in 

the Chemistry Department, selected by 

IT students Once again (fourth year in a 

row!), Lou Pignolet was chosen for this award 

by I.T. students who vote for their choice during 

registration every semester. This is the only 

teaching award that is chosen by an actual student 

vote. Lou’s enthusiasm, innovation, and caring for 

student learning are clearly appreciated by the I.T. 

student body. 

4/03 - Wayne Gladfelter - Inaugural Award 

-- Colorado School of Mines Department 

of Chemistry and Geochemistry Wall 

of Fame In 2003, The 

Colorado School of Mines 

Department of Chemistry and 

Geochemistry inaugurated 

a new program to recognize 

and honor their alumni and 

friends who have achieved 

notable success in their professional careers. 

Wayne Gladfelter was among the fi rst inductees. 

6/03 - Karin Musier-Forsyth - Merck 

Professor of Chemistry This 5-year 

endowed professorship in the 

Department of Chemistry 

is awarded for outstanding 

contributions to teaching, 

research and service. Karin 

was recognized for her world- 

renowned research focused 

on obtaining a molecular level understanding of 

protein-RNA interactions, as well as her dedication 

to myriad service duties and development of a 

graduate ethics course “The Professional Conduct 

of Research.” 

10/03 - David Blank - Packard Fellowship 

for Science and Engineering This 

prestigious award (16 granted 

nationwide in 2003) was 

established in 1988 to allow 

the nation’s most promising 

young professors to pursue 

their science and engineering 

research with few funding 

restrictions and limited paperwork requirements. 

The fi ve-year grant of $625,000 will enable David 

to expand his efforts to directly probe the local 

environment of a chemical reaction during the 

fl eeting moments when bonds are actually broken 

and formed (100-500 femtoseconds) using his 

newly built ultrafast laser laboratory. 

2003 - Timothy Lodge, Frank Bates & 

coworkers - 2003 Publication Award from 

the Society of Rheology The Journal of 

Rheology Publication Award 

Committee of the Society 

annually selects the best paper 

published in the journal 

during the preceding two 

years for special recognition 

at the the annual meeting and 

for a monetary award. This 

award is supported by TA 

Instruments of New Castle, 

Delaware. The paper selected 

was: K. Krishnan, B. Chapma, 

F.S. Bates, T.P. Lodge, K. 

Almdal, and W.R. Burghardt, 

“Effects of shear fl ow on a polymeric bicontinuous 

microemulsion: Equilibrium and steady state 

behavior” J. Rheol. 2002, 46, 529-554. 

Page 5

Postdoc and Graduate Fellowships and Awards 

Postdoc 

Mathias Christmann (Forsyth) inititated a research program (habilitation) at the RWTH Aachen 

under the mentorship of Prof. Dieter Enders and was awarded with the Liebig-Fellowship of the 

Fonds der Chemischen Industrie (VCI). Gordon Florence (Forsyth) was elected as a Research Fellow 

of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Dept of Chemistry, Cambridge. Lisa Geisler (Forsyth) 

received a travel award of $1000 to attend the workshop “Coaching Women in their Pursuit of A 

Successful Career” sponsored by the Committee on the Advancement of Women Chemists at the 

annual AIChE meeting in San Francisco. Ben Gherman (Cramer) received an NIH postdoctoral 

fellow, awarded November 2003. Robert Kennedy (Musier-Forsyth) was awarded an NIH 

postdoctoral fellowship. Hai Lin (Truhlar) was named an MSI Research Scholar. Dan Major 

(Gao), from Israel, is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award for postdoctoral research 2003- 

2005. Takahiro Takemura (Forsyth) was awarded the Uehara Memorial Foundation Fellowship by 

Taisho Pharmaceutical Company. Kris H. Wammer (McNeill) a Dreyfus Environmental Chemistry 

Postdoctoral Fellow, was awarded a research grant ($5490) from the National Institute of Water 

Research (USGS). The grant is entitled “The Effects of Long-Term Low-Level Antibiotic Exposure 

on the Development of Antibiotic Resistance” and will be used to support a summer undergraduate 

researcher who will assist Dr. Wammer with her postdoctoral project. 

Graduate Students 

The Recipients of the Graduate School First Year Fellowships are Erin Dahlke. Susan Andryk, 

Paul Boswell, Scott Brown, Adam Chamberlin, Adam Moser, Jessica Nielson and Daniel Theis are 

Kolthoff Fellows, Benjamin Kucera is supported by a 3M Graduate School Fellowship. 

Nermeen Aboelella (Tolman), Victor Sussman (Ellis), and Sarah Schmidtke (Blank) continue 

to receive fellowships from the National Science Foundation. John Stubbs (Siepmann) was awarded 

a Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship. Li Sun (Siepmann) received the Frieda Martha 

Kunze Fellowship. Anne Reynolds (Tolman) received the Louise T. Dosdall Endowed Fellowship. 

Daron Janzen (Mann) received a Department of Chemistry Fellowship. Kevin Cole (Hsung) was 

awarded the ACS Division of Organic Chemistry Graduate Student Fellowship and John Stubbs 

(Siepmann) received the RSEC Teaching Internship Award. Jason Thompson (Cramer/Truhlar) 

was a recipient of a CCG Excellence award for travel to New York. Chris Kinsinger (Cramer) 

received an Inorganic Chemistry Division Travel Award. Recipients of the John Overend Award 

in Physical Chemistry were Jingzhi Pu (Truhlar) and Jason Thompson (Cramer/ Truhlar). Joseph 

Fritsch (McNeill) was awarded an EPA 

STAR Graduate Fellowship. 

Ziyad Al- 

Rashid (Hoye) , Amy Anschutz (Penn) 

and Tyler Moersch (Gladfelter) were the 

recipients of the Robert L. Ferm Memorial 

Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. 

One of Ziyad's students wrote “Ziyad was 

very enthusiastic about chemistry and has 

a good sense of humor making lab more 

fun.” Amy's students wrote “Amy works 

Page 6 

Ziyad Al-Rashid, 

Tyler Moersch, and 

Amy Anschutz 

very hard and is a very effective teacher.” 

Of Tyler they said “He is able to present 

even the most complex ideas and issues 

in a clear manner.” 

Five graduate students received BP Amoco and Chemistry Department 

travel grants, allowing them to attend various national conferences. Those attending the National 

meeting of the American Chemical Society in New York, NY were Nicole Boaen (Hillmyer), Laurie 

Breyfogle (Hillmyer & Tolman), Matthew Craddock (K. Leopold), Laura MacManus-Spencer 

(McNeill) and Jason Thompson (Cramer & Truhlar). Three students received awards at the 

UMN Chemistry Department Graduate Student Symposium: Jessica Allen (Ellis), Joseph Fritsch 

(McNeill) and Curtiss Hella (Gladfelter & Roberts). Chris Kinsinger (Cramer) won a Chemical 

Computing Group Award of Excellence to fund his travel to the New York ACS meeting. Simon 

Shannon (Barany) received the following awards: a Community of Scholars Program (COPS) 

travel grant to attend and present at the 36th Annual Conference of the National Organization of 

Black Chemist and Chemical Engineers, an NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences 

(NIGMS) Biotechnology Training Grant Fellowship, and the Young Investigator Award, 8th Annual 

International Conference on Solid-Phase Synthesis and Combinatorial Libraries, London UK. 

Kevin P. Cole is one of 16 recipients 

of 2003-2004 American Chemical Society 

Organic Division Fellowships. His specifi c 

fellowship is sponsored by Schering-Plough 

Research Institute. Kevin received a B.S. 

degree in Chemistry in 2000 from the 

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. 

During his undergraduate study, Kevin 

worked in Professor Wayland E. Noland’s 

research lab and became well acquainted 

with heterocyclic chemistry. After electing 

to stay on at Minnesota to pursue graduate 

studies, he joined Professor Richard P. 

Hsung’s group, and is currently a fourth 

year graduate student. Kevin’s research has 

been on the development of new synthetic 

methodologies and their applications toward 

natural product synthesis. He has already 

completed a 20-step total synthesis of 

arisugacin A and is currently engaged in the 

total synthesis of phomactin A. 

Last year two alumni of our undergraduate 

program received the ACS Organic Division 

Graduate Fellowships. Mark L. Bushey, 

currently at Columbia University, where 

he has explored the development of selfassembling 

materials and liquid crystals 

under the supervision of Colin Nuckolls. 

And Stefan Debbert, who has contributed 

to the synthesis and kinetic studies of [1,3] 

sigmatropic shifts in the laboratories of Barry 

K. Carpenter at Cornell University. 

Mark L. Bushey 

Stefan Debbert

Undergraduate Fellowships and Prizes 

Senior Awards 

Peteris Auzins Memorial Scholarships awarded to advanced undergraduates who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in 

undergraduate research in addition to overall scholastic excellence: Amos Anderson. David A. and Merece H. Johnson Scholarship awarded 

to an advanced undergraduate who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in undergraduate research in addition to overall scholastic 

excellence: Michael Frederick and Edward Huttlin. The Kenneth E. and Marion S. Owens 

Scholarship In Chemistry awarded to an advanced undergraduate who has demonstrated 

outstanding achievement in undergraduate research in addition to overall scholastic 

excellence: Sarah Geers. Gleysteen Scholarship awarded to advanced undergraduates 

who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in undergraduate research in addition 

to overall scholastic excellence: Katsiaryna Nikitsina and Mike Puskarich. 

Junior Awards 

The Robert C. Brasted Memorial Fellowship a fellowship as well as a parttime 

apprenticeship in the Department’s General Chemistry Program awarded to 

an outstanding chemistry major who has expressed an interest in a teaching career 

in chemistry: Anthony Vosberg. The Lloyd W. Goerke Scholarship awarded 

to a chemistry major who has shown outstanding academic achievement and 

who has fi nancial need: Viet Pham. M. Cannon Sneed Scholarship awarded 

to a chemistry major who has demonstrated great promise 

Top: 

Deb 

Pierson, 

Jessica 

Johnson 

Middle: 

Amos Anderson, Ed 

Huttlin, Sarah Geers 

Bottom: Benyam 

Yoseph (Dec 

'03), Rowland 

Chigbu, 

James Nathan 

(Aug '03) 

for future achievement: Emily Que. George T. Walker 

Scholarship awarded to a chemistry major who has shown 

outstanding academic achievement and who has fi nancial 

need: Benji Mathews. 

Sophomore Awards 

Thomas DuBruil Memorial Awards awarded to 

sophomores who have demonstrated outstanding achievement 

in undergraduate research in chemistry: Prateek Verma. 

Other Awards 

J. Lewis Maynard Memorial Prize in Advanced Inorganic 

Chemistry. This award is given for outstanding scholastic 

achievement in advanced inorganic chemistry: Sarah Geers, 

Deborah Pierson and Deborah Westrum. 

CRC Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award sponsored by 

the CRC Press, Inc. This award consists of the latest CRC Handbook 

of Chemistry and Physics and is given to a freshman chemistry major 

for outstanding scholastic achievement in freshman chemistry: Bradley 

Froehle. 

Merck Index Award sponsored by Merck & Co., Inc. This 

award consists of the latest edition of the Merck Index and is given to 

a sophomore chemistry major for outstanding scholastic achievement in 

organic chemistry: Jonathan Derocher and Esther Kao. 

Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry sponsored by the 

Division of Analytical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. This 

award consists of a year’s subscription to the journal, Analytical Chemistry 

and is given for outstanding scholastic achievement in analytical chemistry: 

Anthony Vosberg. 

Robert C. Brasted Outstanding Undergraduate TA Awards. This award was established in 2001 in honor of Robert C. Brasted, 

Professor at the University of Minnesota from 1947 to 1986 and former Director of General Chemistry for more than 25 years. Dr. Brasted’s 

strong commitment to teaching and education earned him fi fteen teaching awards including: the American Chemical Society Award in 

Education, The Chemical Manufacturers Award, The James Flack Norris Award of the Boston ACS Section, the John Kuebler Award of 

Alpha Chi Sigma and the Mosher Award of the California Section. He was the only person to receive all fi ve of these awards. The Brasted 

Outstanding Undergraduate TA Awards recognize outstanding contributions to teaching by undergraduate assistants: David Chia. 

Page 7

Research Highlights 

These are just a few of the highlights of the research conducted in the department within the last year. For more on the research developments 

see the departmental website: http://www.chem.umn.edu/netstep/ 

Metal Carbonyl Anions: from [Fe(CO) 4 ] 2- to [Hf(CO) 6 ] 2- and Beyond 

Metal carbonyl anions have a rich history in chemistry and are important precursors to a variety of organometallic, 

inorganic, and organic species. Since the isolation of the first example, [Fe(CO) 4 ] 2- , in 1931, related metal carbonyl 

anions have been reported for nearly all transition metals; and the most recent, [Hf(CO) 6 ] 2- , was reported first discovered 

in 1990 in the laboratory of Professor John Ellis of our department. 

Hexacarbonylhafnate(2-), which was structurally characterized by Professor Doyle Britton of this department (see 

illustration, which was kindly provided by Professor Arnold Rheingold of the University of California, San Diego), 

remains the only example of a substance containing the element hafnium in a formally negative oxidation state. Related 

metal carbonyl tri- and tetra-anions have also been prepared in Professor Ellis’ laboratory and contain transition metals 

in their lowest known oxidation states of -3 and -4, respectively. In principle, compounds containing transition metals 

in oxidation states lower than -4 may exist if the coordinated ligands are resistant towards reduction. 

A recent review by Ellis [Organometallics 22, 3322, 2003] surveys the syntheses and characterizations of homoleptic 

mononuclear metal carbonyl anions (homoleptic complexes are compounds in which all the ligands bound to the 

metal center are identical) and considers prospects for the syntheses of new examples of this intriguing class of 

compounds. 

Total Synthesis Spurs Methodological Innovation 

The total synthesis of potential new drug candidates isolated from natural sources continues to flourish in the Department. In the recently 

completed total synthesis of the cyclodepsipeptide natural product apratoxin A, graduate student Jiehao Chen and his advisor Craig J. Forsyth had 

to overcome several unprecedented synthetic challenges. These included the joining of apratoxin’s polypeptide and ketide motifs via proline ester 

and thiazoline moieties. The acute acid sensitivity of the b-hydroxy thiazoline imbedded in apratoxin’s architecture prompted the application of 

extremely mild conditions for de novo thiazoline formation. Hence, a thioester containing an azide moiety (1) was subjected to an in situ Staudinger 

reduction / aza-Wittig (SaW) reaction sequence using only tributylphosphine in benzene. The resultant masked b-hydroxy thiazoline-containing 

intermediate 2 was then parlayed into the first total synthesis of apratoxin A, as recently described (J. Chen and C. J. Forsyth J. Am. Chem. Soc. 

2003, 125, 8734). The unique structural features of 

apratoxin A are accompanied by potent levels of in 

vitro anticancer activity, although the mode of action 

remains unknown. The synthetic access developed 

at Minnesota will enable in-depth studies to probe 

the relationship between apratoxin’s structure and 

anticancer activity, and its mode and mechanism of 

action. 

Simulation of Dihydrofolate Reductase with Substrate and Cofactor Polarization 

Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) catalyzes the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-dependent reduction of 7,8-dihydrofolate 

(DHF) to 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate (THF). DHFR maintains intracellular pools of tetrahydrofolate and is essential for biosynthesis; hence it is a target 

for anticancer and antibacterial drugs, and its clinical importance has led to numerous experimental and 

theoretical studies of its catalytic mechanism. The overall reaction is rate limited at high pH by a hydride 

transfer step. 

To provide a deeper understanding of DHFR catalysis, postdoctoral associate Mireia Garcia-Viloca and 

Professors Jiali Gao and Donald Truhlar used combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical 

calculations to study the effects of the enzyme electric field on the molecular polarization of the cofactor, 

NADPH, and the substrate for the Michaelis complex, the transition state, and the product–enzyme 

complex. The method can be useful for the rational drug design of inhibitors to DHFR. Figure a shows 

the electron density difference plot for 5-protonated dihydrofolate substrate in the active center of the 

enzyme. Figure b is the same for the tetrahydrofolate product. Blue contours represent regions where there 

is a depletion of electron density, and red contours indicate areas where there is a gain, upon transferring 

the substrate from the gas phase into the active site. 

With these insights, a potential energy surface was modeled, and the reaction rate and kinetic isotope 

effects were calculated by ensemble-averaged variational transition state theory with multidimensional 

tunneling. A primary kinetic isotope effect (ratio of the rate constant for transferring hydride to that for deuteride) 

of 2.8 was obtained, in good agreement with the experimentally determined value of 3.0. The primary KIE is mainly 

a consequence of the quantization of bound vibrations. In contrast, the secondary KIE, corresponding to deuteration at a 

nonreactive site, is predicted to have a value of 1.13, which is almost entirely due to dynamical effects on the reaction coordinate, 

especially tunneling. When this was calculated, there was no experiment available, but the secondary KIE has now been confirmed by 

measurements carried out by Professor Amnon Kohen of the University of Iowa. 

Page 8

Structure of Iron(IV)-oxo Complexes – Clues for O 2 Activation 

The metabolically important oxidative transformations carried out by nonheme iron enzymes are often proposed to involve a high-valent ironoxo 

intermediate as the key oxidant, but evidence for these species has at best been only indirect. Postdoctoral associates Jan-Uwe Rohde and Jozsef 

Kaizer, graduate student Eric Klinker, and Korean visiting students Mi Hee Lim and Jun-Hee In in the group of Professor Lawrence Que have 

recently succeeded in the generation and isolation of the first examples of such transient species from synthetic iron(II) complexes. They showed 

that mononuclear complexes with a terminal FeIV=O unit have been formed in stoichiometric reactions with a peracid or 

iodosylbenzene as oxygen donors at low temperature. 

Surprisingly, these novel iron(IV)-oxo molecules are only weakly chromophoric, with weak transitions in the vis/NIR region 

(700-820 nm), which have apparently precluded their discovery until now. With the supporting ligand tetra(N-methyl)cyclam 

(TMC), the lifetime of the FeIV=O group is greatly enhanced, allowing [FeIV(O)(TMC)(NCMe)](OTf)2 to be crystallized. 

Its high-resolution crystal structure reveals an Fe-O bond length of 1.646(3) Å, demonstrating that a terminal FeIV=O unit 

can exist in a nonporphyrin ligand environment (see illustration, which shows the molecular structure on the top and spacefilling 

representation on the bottom). With this precedent, complexes with other polydentate nitrogen ligands have since been 

obtained. The fact that the supporting ligand can be used to tune the stability and oxidative reactivity of the FeIV=O unit 

provides valuable mechanistic clues into how iron centers in enzymes activate O2. 

These projects involve substantial contributions from graduate students William W. Brennessel, Michael R. Bukowski, 

and Audria Stubna (at Carnegie Mellon University). This project is a collaboration among three groups in three universities: 

the Que group in our department, the group of Prof. Wonwoo Nam at Ewha Womans Univ. in Seoul, and the group of Prof. 

Eckard Münck at Carnegie Mellon Univ. 

Anticancer Drugs in Individual Mitochondria 

Doxorubicin (Figure A) is commonly used to treat several forms of cancer. Its effectiveness is believed to result from halting DNA replication 

in the nucleus of the cell. However doxorubicin can also be cytotoxic. When this drug accumulates in the mitochondria of cardiac tissue, it causes 

cardiomyopathy. 

Although localization of doxorubicin in the nucleus can be confirmed by fluorescence 

microscopy (Figure B), this technique is not adequate for pinpointing its localization in 

mitochondria. Postdoctoral fellow Guohua Xiong, former graduate student Adrian Anderson 

and Professor Edgar Arriaga are using capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence 

detection to detect the accumulation of doxorubicin in individual mitochondria obtained from 

leukemia cell lines. Using this approach, they simultaneously detect fluorescence emitted by 

a mitochondrion-selective marker (Mitotracker Green, Figure A) and doxorubicin contained 

within a given organelle. Figure C shows a dual electropherogram (fluorescence intensity versus 

time) where each detected mitochondrion produces a ‘spike’ in the green detector (535 nm) and 

each organelle containing doxorubicin produces a ‘spike’ in the red detector (635 nm). 

It was surprising to find that mitochondria do not accumulate doxorubicin equally. In fact, only 

one third of these organelles seem to have detectable levels of this drug. This observation poses 

the question whether all mitochondria contribute equally to doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity 

and challenges the assumption that all the mitochondria in a cell have the same biological functions. 

Probing dipole lattices at molecule-metal interfaces 

Charge redistribution at molecule-solid interfaces is a well known phenomenon in surface chemistry, surface physics, and electronic materials/devices. 

Molecule-metal contacts play critical roles in organic-based electronic devices, such as organic light-emitting devices (OLED) or field-effect transistors 

(FET). An important question that arises is whether charge redistribution at such a molecule-metal interface has characteristics, such as band bending, 

in common with metal-to-semiductor interfaces? Graduate students Gregory Dutton and Jingzhi Pu, and Professors Xiaoyang Zhu and Donald 

Truhlar find that charge redistribution at a molecule-metal interfaces is substantially localized. For an ordered molecule-metal interface, C ‘ on the 

(111) face of Cu, the interfacial dipoles resulting from charge redistribution effectively form a dipole lattice. The figure shows the electron density for 

the n = 1 image state on Cu(111) covered by 1 monolayer of buckyballs as function of distance (left-to-right) from the metal surface and the lateral 

distance (vertical) along the crystal direction of Cu. This shows that the periodic electrostatic potential resulting from the dipole lattice provides 

lateral confinement of interfacial electron wave functions, a physical phenomenon which has 

only been observed in the past for semiconductor quantum well structures. This effect can 

be used to tune a variety of surface electronic properties, such as the coupling between 

interfacial states and bulk bands, the lateral transport of charge at the interface, and 

interfacial electron transfer between two dissimilar materials. This study may have 

a profound impact not only on surface chemistry and surface physics, but also on 

the emerging fields of molecular and organic electronics. 

Page 9

Teaching & Research 

Incorporating Bioanalytical Chemistry into the 

Undergraduate Curriculum: Exposing Our students 

to the “State of the Art” 

Driven by student demand and faculty interest, we have started 

to replace the old Quantitative Analysis lab titration experiments with 

new experiments utilizing enzymes as catalysts and new instrumentation 

geared to more biological and pharmaceutical samples. There are three 

new experiments in differing states of implementation. Together they 

will provide the undergrad with up-to-date experience. 

The fi rst is an enzyme experiment, where beta galactosidase 

reacts with a sugar substrate that generates a fl uorescent product. The 

experiment is done on the microscale (50 uL) using micropipettors 

and ultra small fl uorescence cuvets. The reaction is run with excess 

substrate under pseudo fi rst order conditions—the goal is to generate a 

Michaelis plot and to determine the amount of substrate in a sample. 

The experiment was the 

brainchild of Prof. Arriaga 

and was developed by 

TA Nilhan Gunaskera. 

The analytical group was 

successful in obtaining 

the funding from IT 

necessary to purchase two 

new fl uorimeters with 

kinetics software, together 

with the associated water 

baths, micropipettors and 

fl uorescence cuvets. The 

experiment was incorporated 

into Chem. 2111 in the 

Fall of 2002, with mixed 

results. It was revised and 

incorporated into Chem 

4121 by request of the 

Chemical Engineering faculty in the Spring of 2003. A second revised 

version has worked very well in Chem. 2111 in Fall of 2003. 

Encouraged by our success with the previous experiment, and 

by the interest of Chemical Engineering students in Chem. 4121, we 

decided to develop an HPLC experiment applied to pharmaceutical 

samples. We were fortunate to get Adam Schellinger to develop this, 

but we did not get IT funding for instrumentation. However, the 

organic faculty loaned us an underutilized Beckman HPLC, which has 

worked very well. The new experiment that Adam developed will be 

incorporated into Chem. 4121 in the Spring of 2004 and Chem. 2111 

in the Summer and Fall of 2004. 

With these two new experiments, we have enabled over 200 

students per year to have hands-on experience with state of the art 

instrumentation. This should make our students more competitive in 

the workplace and perhaps more excited about chemistry and graduate 

school. But we still have a long way to go. 

Our third experiment involving CZE is still in the proposal stage 

(written by Mike Bowser and Edgar Arriaga). Because of its expense 

($60,000) and non-robustness, this experiment is targeted to a smaller 

audience, the students of the advanced Analytical lab (about 10-20 

students/year). This will truly give our majors a unique, almost research 

type experience. 

Page 10 

Nanoscience in the Department of Chemistry 

Chemists have always dealt with science in small dimensions so 

it is not surprising that many are making signifi cant contributions to 

the emerging fi eld of nanoscience. Nanoscience seeks to explore the 

special, size-dependent properties and reactivity of ensembles of atoms 

or molecules between 1 and 100 nm in dimension. Research projects 

in the department are fi nanced by approximately $ 2 million of federal 

support. A sampling of these is listed below and details can be easily 

accessed over the web (www.chem.umn.edu). 

One of the most elegant examples of three-dimensional selfassembly 

of nanostructures involves that found in block copolymers. 

Complete phase separation of the two incompatible portions of 

the polymer chain is frustrated by the covalent connection between 

them. In an attempt to minimize their interfacial contact, they form 

a fascinating array of nanostructures that are dependent on the nature 

and relative proportions of the two blocks 

and temperature. Professors Lodge and 

Hillmyer have large programs devoted to 

the synthesis and study of these fascinating 

macromolecules. In one example, Prof. 

Hillmyer and students created an ordered 

array of uniform pores (20 nm in diam) 

by hydrolytically removing the polylactide 

block of a polystyrene-polylactide diblock 

copolymer. The nanoporous product can 

be used in separations or as a template 

for synthesizing other materials having 

nanometer dimensions. In another 

innovative project Professor Lodge and his 

students have identifi ed the mechanism 

and studied the kinetics of the phase 

change from one ordered nanostructure to 

another. 

Synthesis of functional 

nanostructured polymers 

Professors Jeff Roberts and Uwe Kortshagen (Mechanical 

Engineering) are coleaders of the NSF IGERT (Integrated Graduate 

Education and Research Training) grant that focuses on nanoparticles. 

Professor Roberts has initiated a major program to study the surface 

chemistry of nanoparticles found in the atmosphere. Soot, carbon 

particles formed by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, pose a 

serious environmental and public health problem. Oxidation of soot 

particles is one of the more promising approaches to eliminate them, 

but little was known about the details of this complex reaction. Professor 

Roberts and Zacchariah have developed a clever approach to measure 

the size-dependent chemical reactivity of soot particles freshly generated 

in a diesel engine. The results establish that the activation energy for 

oxidation is independent of particle size, but differences in particle 

densities lead to variation in the pre-exponential factors. 

Proteins, DNA and RNA are unique molecules with nanometer 

dimensions. Construction of artifi cial structures using nucleic acids 

is being exploited by Professors Karin Musier-Forsyth and T. Andrew 

Taton in collaboration with Professor Richard Kiehl (Electrical and 

Computer Engineering) and Professor Nadrian Seeman at NYU. The 

goal is to attach nanoparticles of gold and other materials to specifi c sites 

on monomers and allow them to self-assemble into structures using the 

well-defi ned rules established by study of the natural systems. Organized 

arrays of these nanoparticles can be interrogated by electrical signals and 

used for information storage and other molecular electronic devices. 

continued on page 16

Alumni News 

Malcolm M. Renfrew (Ph. D. '38 – Glockler) 

Malcolm is a long retired professor of chemistry 

at the Univ of Idaho. After receiving his Ph. 

D. he spent 25 years in the chemical industry 

before joining his undergraduate alma mater, 

Univ of Idaho, as head of physical sciences. 

He now writes a twice yearly newsletter for 

the chemistry department. He and wife Carol 

continue to live near the campus in Moscow. 

Edgar E. Renfrew (Ph. D. '44 – Lauer) 

Edgar is the retired VP for research of the 

American Color and Chemical Corp. and 

continues to live in Lock Haven, PA. His 

professional career was devoted to dyestuffs 

R&D including tours with General Aniline 

and Film, 3M, and Koppers. He is the inventor 

or co-inventor of 66 US patents. 

Ken Johnson (Ph. D. '77 – Lipsky) 

After leaving the Chem dept in 1977, I did a one 

year post-doc at the Univ of Chicago. After that 

I joined IBM in Rochester, MN and worked 

there for 15 years before being transferred to 

the IBM facility in San Jose, CA. My career 

at IBM centered on magnetic recording 

technology - particularly the design of the hard 

disk used in hard disk drives. I continue to 

work in this technology in a management role 

as Vice President of R+D at MMC Technology, 

a subsidiary of the Maxtor corporation, one of 

the world’s leading producers of disk drives. 

Matthew A. Doscotch (M.S. '96 - Munson) 

I was recently appointed as an adjunct faculty 

member at the William Mitchell College of 

Law, teaching Patent Litigation. I currently am 

an attorney with the intellectual property law 

firm of Merchant & Gould located in Mpls. 

Dave Evers (BChem '96) 

Since I received my BS from the “U” I went to 

Michigan and received my PhD in medicinal 

chemistry. I’m currently at UNC Chapel Hill’s 

cancer center doing molecular virology in E.-S. 

Huang’s lab as a postdoc. I’m not much of a 

chemist anymore, but life is great and my wife 

and I are happy. 

Kari Hendlin (Holcomb) (BChem '96) 

After graduating in ‘96 the closest thing I did to 

chemistry was work in a pharmacy. Currently, 

I’m a 3rd year in the undergraduate Biomedical 

Engineering program at the U of M and 

plan to focus my last year on the mechanical 

engineering aspect of medical device design. 

I hope to eventually work in a hospital doing 

clinical testing. Hi Lane!! 

Chris Dunlap (Ph.D. '97 - Carr) 

I am recently tenured and promoted Associate 

Professor of Chem at Saint Mary’s College - 

Notre Dame, IN, which is a Catholic liberal 

arts college for women. We are an independent 

institution that has some relationships with the 

Univ of Notre Dame (an answer to the first 

question out of everyone’s mouth). I teach 

the analytical and general chemistry sequences 

here. I now have two children, Caitlin (4 years 

old) and Ian (8 months old). 

Sean M. Flaim (BChem '97) 

I am co-inventor on patent 6,509,349, 

“Antimicrobial 2-pyridones, their 

compositions and uses”, from my time at 

Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, which 

was my first position upon graduating the U of 

MN. I am currently on leave of absence from 

medical school at Medical College of Ohio in 

Toledo, OH. I’m working as a patent paralegal 

in the District of Columbia while I’m back on 

the East Coast, and hope to return to school 

this coming July. 

Amanda Paterick Gavin (BChem '97) 

After completing my undergraduate degree I 

went on to receive my Masters degree in science 

education. I was married in 1999 and have been 

teaching Chemistry and Physics at Eastview 

high school for five years. I just recently had 

our first baby - a boy, and am now on maternity 

leave for the rest of the school year. 

Anne Weber-Main (Ph.D. '97 - Stankovich) 

In Oct 2003 I became Assoc. Director of 

Research in the Dept of Family Practice 

and Community Health, U of MN Medical 

School. In this role, I consult with faculty 

on their research goals, assist them with their 

scholarly writing projects (grant proposals, 

journal articles, book chapters), and co-direct 

a team of research support staff. I helped 

develop and serve as core faculty in a threeyear 

clinical investigator fellowship program 

for family physicians, funded by the Health 

Resources and Services Adm. This fall, I 

finished co-writing a book for academic dept 

chairs and deans, entitled, “How to Be A 

Highly Research-Productive Dept: Lessons 

Learned From Leaders in Academia,” in press at 

Anker Publishing. Family and social activities 

continues to enrich my life. I particularly enjoy 

spoiling my seven-year-old daughter, exercising 

(especially ultimate frisbee), and visiting loved 

ones from my former life in New Jersey. 

Anne E. Sarver (Hodges) (BChem '98) 

I graduated this summer with my Ph.D. in 

Chemistry and Chemical Biology from UC 

San Francisco where my husband, fellow alum 

Aaron Sarver (‘98) is also currently a graduate 

student. My graduate work in the lab of 

Prof. C.C. Wang focused on characterizing 

a potential new drug target in the parasite 

Giardia lamblia. I am currently working inSan 

Francisco at the Institute for OneWorld Health 

(http://www.iowh.org), the nation’s first nonprofit 

pharmaceutical company. 

Michelle Douskey (Ph. D. '99 - Munson) 

After completing my PhD, I did postdoctoral 

research in the Chem Eng Dept at U of MN 

with Alon McCormick. The work was an 

industrial collaboration with Rohm and Haas 

and involved investigating the cure properties 

of a new coating the company had developed. 

In 2000, I was a Visiting Professor at the Univ 

of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. I married Scott 

Olson in the summer of 2001. Scott and I then 

moved to California so he could enter graduate 

school in public policy and I could start a new 

job. I landed a great position as a lecturer in 

the Dept of Chem at UC-Berkeley. My job 

involves teaching classes, training the teaching 

assistants, and curriculum development. I have 

been exposed to many new ideas about teaching 

and learning and am involved in chemical 

education research. In my free time, I decided 

to launch a photography business which links 

my life long love of art with my passion for 

science. I have been experimenting with black 

and white photographs of glassware and other 

objects. If you need some chemistry related art 

for your office, please feel free to browse my 

web site at chemical-images.com. 

Kim Kroiss (BChem & BChemEng'99) 

I’m currently working at Pratt & Whitney 

Space Propulsion in San Jose, CA and working 

on my masters in Chem Eng at San Jose State 

Univ. I hope to finish my degree within the next 

year, so I can work on some projects around the 

house, become more active in SAMPE or SWE, 

and start riding horses again. I’ve felt a couple 

of small earthquakes, but I don’t miss winter! 

Autumn (Rich) Farrell (M.S. '01 - McNeill) 

After graduating, I worked as a Scientist in the 

environmental division of the Dept of Civil 

Eng at the U of MN. I was married to Greg 

Farrell in September of 2002. I’m currently 

working for Kohler Company in Kohler, WI, 

in the environmental lab as a Chemist II. 

Attention Alumni 

Send us your update. 

Send your update to either 

www.chem.umn.edu/alumni/contact. 

html or alumni@chem.umn.edu 

Let us know what you think. 

We want this publication to reflect 

the interests of our readers. Send your 

comments to: 



207 Pleasant Street S.E. 

Minneapolis, MN 55455 

or 

chemnews@chem.umn.edu 

Page 11

Alumni Recognition and Memoriam 

Robert Duan (Ph.D. ’97 

L.Miller) named the Asia Pacific 

TS&D leader for the Emulsion 

Polymers (EP) Business. In this 

job, Robert will lead the Paper 

and Carpet TS&D and TS&D 

labs located in Australia, China, 

Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. 

Robert Hammer (Ph.D. ’90 Barany), Prof 

of Chem at Louisiana State 

University, has been honored 

with an LSU Distinguished 

Faculty Award. Bob has gained 

an international reputation 

in the peptide field through 

a strong individual research 

program related to the impact of novel amino 

acids in peptides and proteins. Bridging 

research with teaching, undergraduate research 

in the Dept of Chem has flourished largely as 

a result of Bob’s personal effort to promote 

it. Bob has also done service work on shared 

instrumentation grants, and the initiation 

of the NSF-REU program at LSU. He has 

served nine years on the graduate recruiting 

program. 

Nes Rotstein (Ph.D. ’91 

Lodge), North American 

commercial manager for Dow 

Fiber Solutions (DFS) in the 

Polyolefins & Elastomers 

portfolio, has been named 

Page 12 

Joel Graves 

Hudsonville, MI 

Keri Hobbs 

Brooklyn Park, MN 

Robyn Hoffmeister 

La Crosse, WI 

Derek Hogan 

Brooklyn Center, MN 

Bobbie Husnik 

Minneapolis, MN 

Edward Huttlin * 

Fargo, ND 

Jessica Johnson 

Topeka, KS 

Ryan Johnson 

Woodbury, MN 

Michael Kroll + 

Wiliston, ND 

Shannon Labernik 

Forrest Lake, MN 

Robert Lambeth III 

Racine, WI 

Boonwei Lau + 

Singapore 

Betsy Leegard 

St. Paul, MN 

Paul Lewis 

St. Cloud, MN 

Chad Loula 

Chisago City, MN 

Jennifer Mattke 

Eden Prairie, MN 

Bonita Mohamed • 

Fridley, MN 

Adam Morgan 

St. Paul, MN 

Matthew Mortensen 

Shakopee, MN 

Andrew Nelson 

La Crosse, WI 

Katsiaryna Nikitsina + 

Gomel, Belarus 

Samuel Nitzkowski 

Mankato, MN 

Eric Palm 

Prior Lake, MN 

Paul Phelps 

Onalaska, WI 

In Memoriam 

Virgil Boekelheide (PhD ’43 Koelsch) of 

Eugene, OR died Sept. 24, 2003. 

Dennis P. Landucci (BS ’66 MS ’69 Noland) 

of Prescott, WI, died Sept. 2003. 

Harold V Lindstrom (BChem ‘34) of Arnold, 

MD died Feb. 19, 2003. 

Jo Ann Millard (MS ’84 Borch) of Jamesville, 

NY died Nov. 19, 2003. 

Eugene E Olson (PhD ‘69) of Arroyo Grande, 

CA died Jan. 29, 2003. 

John L Poirier (BChem ‘76) of St Paul, MN 

died Aug. 9 2003. 

Stanley P Rowland (BChem ‘38) of Lacey, WA 

died June 20, 2003. 

John P Ryan (PhD ’52 MacDougall & 

O’Connor) of Inver Grove Heights, MN died 

Oct. 29 2003. 

Neil C Sher (BChem ‘54) of Minnetonka, MN 

died July 2003. 

Alfred J Wallner (BChem ‘50) of Roseville, 

MN died June 1, 2003. 

Percy A Wells (BChem ‘28) of Jenkintown, PA 

died Apr. 5, 2003. 

Chemistry Degrees Granted from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003 

Bachelor's Degrees and home town 

Vindya Alahapperuma 


Amos Anderson 

Manilla, Phillipines 

Angela Boettcher 

Wausau, WI 

Brett Bogenschutz 

Mankato, MN 

Nada Bombich 

Columbia Hts, MN 

Robert Borne 

Rosemount, MN 

Brian Brandt 

Richfield, MN 

Kaitlin Bratlie 

Coon Rapids, MN 

Steve Brisk 

Waukesha, WI 

Michelle Brown 

St. Paul, MN 

Kyle Butz 

Fond Du Lac, WI 

Clyde Cady 

New Brighton, MN 

Rowland Chigbu 

Aba, Nigeria 

Chad Cummings 

St. Paul, MN 

Jessica Dahlquist 

St. Paul, MN 

Charles Damschen 

Hampden, ND 

Kathryn Downing 

White Bear Lk, MN 

Dylan Drake-Wilhelm 

Lakeville, MN 

Rolly Enderes 

Chippewa Falls, WI 

Benjamin Feist + 

St. Anthony, MN 

Jesse Fillmore 

St. Anthony, MN 

Zachary Finders 

Williston, ND 

Mike Frederick ++ 

White Bear Lk, MN 

Sarah Geers ++ 

New Hope, MN 

Neil Robert Granlund 


global sales manager for DFS. This move 

recognizes and builds upon his successful sales 

results and continuous relationship-building 

with North American targeted brand owners 

since DFS’ launch in Fall, 2002. 

David Schwenke (Ph. D. ’85 Truhlar), who 

is at NASA Ames Lab in CA, has just been 

named a Fellow of the American Physical 

Society. 

President George W. Bush recently appointed 

Jean’ne M. Shreeve (MS ’56 

Sandell), to serve as chair of 

the President’s Committee 

on the National Medal of 

Science. Shreeve, a 42-year 

member of the Univ of 

Idaho faculty, presided over the UI’s research 

endeavors for 12 years until 2000 when she 

stepped down as VP for research and graduate 

studies to return to the laboratory. As Idaho 

EPSCoR Project Dir since '86, she has helped 

to bring in $72 million in federal funding. 

Collin Wick (Ph.D. '03 Siepmann) postdoc 

with Prof Theodorou in Athens, GR. received 

the MPS-DRF “Distinguished International 

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship” by the 

Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate 

of NSF. 

Julia Winter (BS ’84) has been named 

the CERM Regional Teacher of the Year, 

recognizing her many contributions to 

attracting students to high 

school chemistry and beyond. 

In her 8 years at Detroit 

Country Day School, she 

has been a driving force in 

the classroom, club activities, 

science fairs, and other 

academic competitions. 

+ Distinction, ++ High Distinction, • Magna Cum Laude, * Summa Cum Laude 

Katherine Phillips 


Deborah Pierson * 

Maple Grove, MN 

Nicholas Plummer 

Sturgeon Bay, WI 

Lin-Chie Pong 

La Miranda, CA 

Michael Puskarich + 

Greendale, WI 

Daniel Rocque 

Racine, WI 

Alexander Slichter 

Sioux Falls, SD 

Gregory Sutton 


Matthew Swenson 

Albert Lea, MN 

Susanna Tarnowski 

Wayzata, MN 

Kevin Tauer 

Eagan, MN 

Haeen Thach 

Fort Smith, AR 

Andrew Thayer 

Sauk Rapids, MN 

Kevin Timm 

Wood Lake, MN 

Anh Van Tran 

Maplewood, MN 

Chad Tschanz 

Hartland, WI 

Adria Tyndall 

Savage, MN 

Mikhail Voloshin 

St. Louis Park, MN 

Christopher Vu 

Rosemount, MN 

Liem Duc Vu 

Bloomington, MN 

Ryan Waletzko + 


Chad Wells 


Kimberly Wilhelm 

Maple Grove, MN 

Sarah Williams 

N Mankato, MN 

Lisa Yahya 

Minneapolis, MN

Chemistry Degrees Granted from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003 

Master's Degrees Advisor Thesis Title Current Location 

William Brennessel Ellis Synthesis and Reactivity of Bis(1-4-ETA-4-Anthracene)Cobaltate(1-). 

Michael Burand Mann 

Maegan Harris Gao 

Shih-An John Hsieh Distefano Studies Directed Towards the Determination of the Kinetic Isotope Effect 

of Protein Farnesyl the Kinetic Isotope Effect of Protein Farnesyl 

Christopher Kurth Arriaga 

Nicholas Lanzatella Noland 

Yingtao Lu Forsyth Synthetic Studies Towards Phorboxazole A. Synexis, NC 

Jeremy Reisinger Lodge 

Ashutosh Singh Roberts FoodSci UMN-TC 

Johanna Wolf Hillmyer Template Synthesis of Nanomaterials from Nanoporous Polymer Monoliths. Surmodics, MN 

Yan Zhang O’Doherty Study of the Remote Stereoelectronic Effect on the Regioselectivity 

of Sharpless Asymmetric Dihydroxylation. 

Ph.D. Degrees Advisor Thesis Title Current Location 

David Burleson Roberts The Chemical Vapor Deposition of Zirconium Dioxide From Zirconium Ecolab, St. Paul MN 

Tetra-Tert-Butoxide and Zirconium Nitrate. 

Damtew Demeke Forsyth Total Synthesis of Dysidiolide and Cacospongionolide F: A General NIH Postdoc 

Approach to the Synthesis of Labadane, Isolabadane and Clerodane Polyterpenes. Harvard Univ. 

T Matthew Hansen Forsyth I. Enhanced Synthesis and Diversification of the Phorboxazole Chemotype. Abbott Laboratories 

II. Synthetic Studies Towards the Marine Natural Product Isoobtusadiene. Abbott Park, IL 

Sherri Hunt K. Leopold Structural Studies of Partially Bonded and Hydrogen Bonded Complexes. Postdoc UC Irvine 

Eun Ju Kim Gray Synthesis of Oligosaccharide Libraries Using Ionically-Tagged Glycosyl Donors. Postdoc NIH 

Benjamin Lynch Truhlar Computational Thermochemistry and Thermochemical Kinetics. Postdoc U of M 

Vicki Macmurdo Que Characterization and Reactivity of Intermediates in the Reaction of Teaching at 

High-Spin Diiron (II) Complexes with Dioxygen. Anoka Ramsey 

Michael McLaughlin Hsung Development and Application of a Highly Diastereoselective Formal [3+3] 

Cycloaddition Reaction for the Synthesis of Heterocyclic Natural Products. 

Brian Melde Stein Templated Synthesis and Adsorption Investigations of Mesoporous Postdoc at Amherst 

Organosilicas and Macroporous Ceramics. College 

Rebecca Michelsen Roberts Studies of Oxygenated Hydrocarbons with Sulfuric Acid Films: Postdoc NASA Ames Res 

Implications for Heterogeneous Tropospheric Chemistry. Ctr, Moffett Field, CA 

JJason Ness Hillmyer Heterogeneous Hydrogenation of Model Polystyrenes and Functionalized Atofina 

Drivatives. 

Dongfeng Qi Distefano Rational Design of Artificial Transaminases by Chemical and Genetic Approaches. 

Ramkumar Rajamani Gao Integral Membrane Proteins: Structure and Function. 

Jay Schlechte Miller Synthesis and Electrochemical Studies of Nanoscopic Dendritic Dumbbells. Postdoc at Kansas 

Polymer Res. Ctr. 

Andrew Schmidt Miller Mechanisms and Sensor Properties of Vapoconductive Polymers. 

Scott Schmidt Hillmyer Enhanced Crystallization Rate and Morphological Behavior of PLA Atofina 

Containing Composites. 

Edward Sherer Cramer Modeling the Structure, Dynamics, and Reactivity of Molecular Systems: Rib-X Pharm. 

Nucleic Acids. New Haven, CT 

Heather Sklenicka Hsung Synthesis of Decahydroquinoline Containing Natural Products. Teaching at 

Rochester CC 

Catherine Smith O’Doherty I. Studies Toward the Total Synthesis of Iminosugars 

II. Total Synthesis of Several poly 1,3-syn-diol Natural Products. 

Ryan Smith Gladfelter Chemical Vapor Deposition of Pure and Mixed Group IV Oxides Elf-Atochem 

From Anhydrous Metal Nitrate Precursors. 

Donna Staarup Gladfelter and Nanoscale Characterization of Surface-Modified and Surface-Grafted General Electric 

Haugstad Polymers Using Environmental Control Scanning Force Microscopy. 

Avery Stephens Stankovich Investigating Ligand-Induced Interactions of Medium-Chain Acyl-Coa Proportional 

Dehydrogenases. Technologies, TX 

Brian Trammell Carr and Novel Stationary Phases on Silica and Zirconia for the Reversed Phase High Waters Inc., 

Hillmyer Performance Liquid Chromatographic Separation of Acidic and Basic Analytes. Milford Mass. 

Collin Wick Siepmann Investigating Chromatographic Retention Using Monte Carlo Simulations. Postdoc in Athens, GR 

Hui Xiong Hsung Synthesis and Cycloaddition Reactions of Electron Deficient Allenamines. 

Page 13

Many Thanks To Our Donors from 2002 

Industrial support to education is a boon to both academia 

and industry. The strength of this partnership is the key to the future 

of chemistry in this country for top universities provide the high 

caliber individuals who will tomorrow lead the very companies who 

have invested in them today. Special projects, including matches for 

equipment grants, the departmental portion of set-up packages for 

new faculty, and summer support of graduate students, are made 

possible through the generosity of our friends in industry. Some 

companies provide support directly to the research programs of faculty 

members whose basic research is important to industrial applications. 

On behalf of the department, its faculty and staff, and the student 

beneficiaries of this generosity, we thank the following companies and 

educational foundations for their support in 2002. 

Page 14 

Abbott Laboratories 

BP Amoco Foundation, Inc. 

BP America, Inc. 

The Dow Chemical Company Foundation 

The Health Fund of Minnesota 

New England Biolabs, Inc. 

Pfizer, Inc. 

The Proctor & Gamble Fund 

Schering-Plough Research Institute 

Schlumberger Well Services 

Shell Oil Company Foundation 

SJE Rhombus 

3M Company 

Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals 

A number of other funds have been created for special purposes, 

usually at the request of the donor for specified purposes. These 

funds and their 2002 benefactors are: Kolthoff Fund: Madolyn 

Youse Babcock, Grace Po-Yuen Chiu, Johannes F. Coetzee, Charles 

M. and Linda C. Hall, Albert C. Holler, and Yutaka Okinaka; Lester 

C. and Joan M. Krogh Endowed Fellowship: Lester C. and Joan 

M. Krogh; Kenneth E. and Marion S. Owens Endowed Fellowship: 

Kenneth E. and Marion S. Owens; Kenneth E. and Marion S. Owens 

Scholarship: Kenneth E. and Marion S. Owens; Lloyd W. Goerke 

Undergraduate Chemistry Scholarship: Lloyd W. Goerke; Bryce L. 

Crawford Lectureship Fund: Kathleen A. Davis, I. C. Hisatune and 

spouse, and Richard K. Inskeep and the Wayland Noland Research 

Fellowship Fund: Roy A. Johnson and Addison Piper. 

Memorial funds are a most fitting remembrance of those whose 

contributions to science and to society deserve special recognition. 

These funds and their 2002 contributors are: Robert C. Brasted 

Memorial Fellowship Fund, Ieva O. and George E. Hartwell; Thomas 

P. Du Bruil Memorial Fund, Ann C. Brey, and Paul D. Brey; Paul 

Companies with matching gift policies help to ensure 

that industrial donations are consistent with public sentiment about 

the merits of charitable giving. Such programs vary from one-to-one 

to three-to-one matching ratios. We thank the following companies 

for their donor matches in 2002. 

The Air Products Foundation 

Alliant Techsystems Inc. 

BP Foundation, Inc. 

Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc. 

Chevron Texaco Corporation 

Cognis Corporation 

Crompton Corporation 

Dow Chemical Company Foundation 

Ecolab Foundation 

Exxon Mobil Foundation 

GE Foundation 

General Mills Foundation 

Glaxo Smith Kline Foundation 

Goodrich Foundation 

HB Fuller Company Foundation 

Honeywell International Foundation, Inc. 

IBM International Foundation 

Lockheed Martin Corporation 

Lucent Technologies Foundation 

The Merck Company Foundation 

Motorola Foundation 

Novartis US Foundation 

The Pfizer Foundation 

The Pharmacia Foundation, Inc. 

Phillips Petroleum Foundation, Inc. 

The P Q Corporation 

Seagate Technology Inc. 

Shell Oil Company Foundation 

The Sherwin-Williams Foundation 

Tennant Foundation 

3M Foundation, Inc. 

Waters Corporation 

G. Gassman Lectureship in Chemistry: Philip J. Chenier, Gerda 

Ann Gassman, and D. James Schreck; Albert J. Moscowitz Memorial 

Lectureship In Physical Chemistry Fund, David A. Lightner, Susan 

Oeltjen, and Steven C. Riemer; Overend Memorial Fund, Kathleen 

A. Davis and Thomas G. Goplen; and John Wertz Fellowship in 

Chemistry, Paul R. Hanson and John A. Wertz .

Individual Donors in 2002 

Individual support from our alumni and friends is crucial to the myriad activities of our department. Thanks to your generosity, we have been 

able to offer fellowships and scholarships to our outstanding students, retain our best faculty, and implement projects which will improve our 

facilities. The Chemistry Special Projects Fund is the department’s main discretionary fund, which supports student fellowships and awards 

as well as the bulk of the other activities mentioned in this newsletter. With gratitude, we acknowledge our 2002 donors. 

Harmon B. Abrahamson 

Irving M. Abrams 

C. J. Alexander 

Thomas C. Allison 

Roger W. Amidon 

Mark L. Anderson 

Robert N. Anderson 

Harold J. Andrews 

Mary C. Anttila 

Nicholas N. Armstrong 

Paul J. Axt 

Jerold O. and Donna M. 

Bahls 

John J. Baldwin 

Jonathan L. Bass 

Bruce N. Bastian 

Willard H. Beattie 

Donavan F. Beaver 

Robert D. Berg 

John T. Bergman 

Leonard F. Bjeldanes 

Jason L. Blanchard 

Kay Youngdahl 

Blohowiak 

Frank D. Blum 

G. Bohnert Bodem 

Newman M. Bortnick 

Larry J. Bresina 

Mark E. Brigham 

Larry F. Brinkman 

Doyle Britton 

Nicolas Brodoway 

Dean G. Brown 

Jay S. Buckley, Jr. 

Albert V. Buettner 

Paul J. Cahill 

Deanna D. Carlson 

Richard A. Carver 

Daniel Y. Chang 

Wei Chen 

Clayton G. Christensen 

Dale L. Christensen 

Paul C. Ciernia 

Henry B. Clark 

Robert E. Coffman 

Martha E.Copeland 

Arthur J. Coury 

Frank A. Cutler, Jr. 

Leonard J. and Judith A. 

Czuba 

James C. Darling 

Sheila S. David 

Warren F. Davis 

Charles A. Daws 

Paul A. Deck 

Emily S. DeRotstein 

Jonathan W. DeVries 

Eugene DeWald 

Suzanne B. Dietz 

Christopher J. Dinsmore 

Mark L. Dittenhafer 

Karen D. Donnelly 

Charles H. Douglass Jr. 

Charlotte R. Drenckhahn 

Michael A. Dvorak 

John H.Dygos 

James J. Eaton 

John A. Edgar 

Gilbert L. Eian 

Jason R. Elhardt 

James M. Elvecrog 

William and Jean 

Engelmann 

Jurgen H. and Mary M. 

Exner 

Roxy N. Fan 

James B. Federline 

Daniel W. and Patricia 

D. Firth 

Marvin W. and Florence 

A. Formo 

Nile N. Frawley 

Robert W. Freerksen 

A. C. Gilby 

Norman W. and Joan L. 

Gill 

George R. Glaros 

Sabiha A. Gokcen 

David J. W. Goon 

Stephen K. Gorsky 

Greta A. Gosewisch 

Bob G. and Mary Beth 

Gower 

Robert W. Grady 

Robert L. Graham 

Eston M. Gross 

Paul R. Gustafson 

Richard T. Haasch 

Mark D. Hadler 

Kenneth E. Hafften 

Philip D. Hammen 

Joseph B. Hanson 

Willard A. Hareland 

Curtis D. Hargadine 

Scott R. Harring 

Mary P. Stickelmeyer and 

Henry A. Havel 

Todd R. Hayes 

Steven G. Hentges 

Jerry A. and Deborah J. 

Herby 

Robert E. Hileman 

Kevin K. Hobbie 

Derk J. Hogenkamp 

Paul A. Holte 

Nicholas J. Horvath 

Craig A. Hoyme 

He Huang 

Allan M. Huffman 

Robert J. Iverson 

Charles F. Jackels Jr. 

Kay F. Jamieson 

Anthony C. Jeannotte II 

James A. Jensen 

Bryan M. Jewison 

Eugene C. Johnsen 

Brian J. Johnson 

Curtis E. Johnson 

Janine and Bruce D. 

Johnson 

Susan A. Johnson 

D. C. Johnston and S. C. 

McFarlan 

Richard W. and Joan M. 

Joos 

Eric W. Kaler 

Richard T. Kilby 

Richard J. Kvitek 

Roger W. Kwong and 

Johanna Hargreaves- 

Kwong 

Clayton L. Lance 

Melinda J. C. and Steven 

H. C. Lee 

Richard J. Legare 

Wu-Shyong Li 

Arnold A. Liebman 

Steven E. Lindberg 

Kyle J. Lindstrom 

Donald H. and Karen D. 

Lucast 

Gerold Luss 

Joel G. Malmberg 

Daniel R. Mantell 

Curtis and Susan 

Marcott 

James J. Markham 

Mark W. Martinson 

Albert S. Matlack 

Bruce M. Mattson 

Donald S. McClure 

John R. McGaa 

Joseph F. Merklin 

Bahram Moasser 

John J. Muellner 

Mary H. Murai 

Craig B. and Pamela W. 

Murchison 

Richard G. Newell 

John G. Newman 

Joseph Nichols 

Lawrence A. Nielsen 

Scott C. Nivens 

Karl C. Ochs II 

Martha J. Ohlson 

Eric J. Olson 

Kurt D. Olson 

Peter C. Olson 

H. James Osborn 

Thomas G. Ostertag 

Rudolph Pariser 

Helen M. Parker 

Richard L. Parton 

Sadanand V. Pathre 

David R. Peck 

Barbara L. Schmidt and 

James R. Persoon 

Sheri L. Peterson 

Wayne A. Peterson 

Darryl L. Petrak 

Richard and Patricia 

Pieper 

Ronald L. Plante 

Brad J. Poeschl 

Joseph P. Porwoll 

William W. Prichard 

William F. Prigge 

Michael J. Prokosch 

Stanton F. Rak 

Jayanth H. Ratnayake 

Anthony J. Razel 

Benjamin R. Reed 

Michael D. Rein 

Edgar E. Renfrew 

Malcolm M. and Carol 

C. Renfrew 

Aloyce J. Rholl 

Daniel H. Rich 

Timothy I. Richardson 

Rueben D. Rieke 

Donald N. Robinson 

Edgar R. Rogier 

Anthony R. Rossini 

Wayne J. Rothschild 

Nestor A. Rotstein 

Leonid I. Rubinstein 

Alan H. Runck 

Paul S. Russo 

Catherine E. Ryan 

Ann M. Sadler 

Gary L. Santee 

Mark S.Schaberg 

Susan K. Schenkenberg 

George F. Schuette 

John L. Schultz 

Jay F. Schulz 

Kirby J. Scott 

Lynne T. Sergi 

Judith Silk Sherman 

Daniel D. F. Shiao 

Young-Tzung Shih 

Steven R. Skorich 

Richard S. Smith 

Roger C. Splinter 

Thomas G. Stavros 

Kathleen and Mark 

Steine 

Vernon A. Stenger 

Robert E. and Debra R. 

Stevens 

Joseph F. Stieber 

Roger W. Strassburg 

Melvin P. and Dorothy 

B. Stulberg 

Joseph C. Suhadolnik 

Richard J. Sundberg 

Dale G. Swan 

April J. Swanson 

Glen L. and Elizabeth L. 

Swanson 

Laychoo Tan 

Paul E. Tavernier 

Khalid A. M. Thakur 

Todd C. Thompson 

James R. Throckmorton 

Steven J. Tinker 

Joesph R. Tome 

Wade J. Tornquist 

Charles A. Triplett 

Edward T. Ulrich 

James R. Vyvyan 

Terence C. Wagenknecht 

Mary J. Wahlstrom 

Joseph T. Warden, Jr. 

Vincent J. and Anita R. 

Webers 

David A. Weil 

Edward O. Welke 

Edward L. Wheeler 

Larry R. Wilson 

Dawn M. Witherill 

Ellen L. Wu 

Lee R. Zehner 

Patrick G. Zimmerman 

Michelle M. Zirngible 

Page 15

Nanoscience in the Department of Chemistry continued from page 10 

A number of groups are working 

on altering the properties of surfaces 

through the use of nanometer-thick 

layers of organic or inorganic films. 

Professor Xiaoyang Zhu and his 

group have developed methods to 

attach organic ligands to the surface 

of silicon. The researchers have 

successfully modified the friction 

characteristics of silicon surfaces 

in microelectromechanical systems 

(MEMS) and have demonstrated 

the ability to control protein 

adsorption on glass slides. Their 

discoveries have been patented and 

licensed by the start-up company 

MicroSurfaces, Inc. 

Professor Phil Buhlmann and his group are developing ways to 

functionalize carbon nanotubes and use these incredibly sharp structures 

as tips in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) for the recognition 

of specific chemical groups. The modified STM tips chemically interact 

with the imaged samples, and the resulting STM images reflect the 

chemical selectivity of the tip–sample interactions. This exciting new 

application of molecular recognition promises to evolve into a general 

approach to selective surface imaging with high resolution. Ultimately, 

they plan to use this new STM method to observe in-situ chemical surface 

reactions and to demonstrate various applications in nanotechnology 

and biosciences. 

Conventional STM Tip 


Institute of Technology 

Kolthoff and Smith Halls 

207 Pleasant St. S.E. 

Minneapolis, MN 55455 

Surface Molecular Engineering 

Microarrays, Molecular 

Electronics, micro/nano fabrication 

Chemical Tip Modification 

Makes Recognition of 

Carboxyl Groups Possible 

Co-ax Nanocable: 

Copolymer-Jacketed Nanotubes 

In addition to the synthesis of nanoparticles, their utilization will 

require the development of methods to attach them to surfaces; a problem 

for some structures with little or no surface chemistry such as carbon 

nanotubes. Professor Taton and his students have developed a strategy 

for encapsulating individual nanostructures within an amphiphilic, 

crosslinked polymer shell. They are investigating the use of these shells 

as a means of attaching nanoparticles to biomolecules. The polymer 

shell itself also has the ability to stabilize the nanoparticles, which will 

be particularly important for more reactive particles composed of metals 

or semiconductors. 

Finally, recognition must be given to the interdisciplinary nature of 

nanoscience. Most of the projects described above involve collaboration 

with researchers in other disciplines, including electrical engineering, 

biomedical engineering, materials science, chemical engineering, 

molecular biology and mechanical engineering. By necessity chemists 

working in this field must use characterization tools that are not 

traditionally associated with chemistry departments. We are fortunate 

to have an outstanding Materials Characterization Facility located in 

Shepherd Lab (see website http://resolution.umn.edu). This user facility 

provides training and access to scanning and transmission electron 

microscopes, powder and thin film X-ray diffractometers, small angle 

X-ray scattering systems, scanning probe microscopes, a Rutherford 

backscattering spectrometer and other methods needed to characterize 

materials. Gaining experience with these methods serves to broaden the 

educational foundation of our students. 

Nonprofit Org. 

U.S. Postage 

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