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Professor Campagna Part of the Team Identified Bacterial Genes that Could Lessen Severity of Malaria

October 26, 2016 by Kayla Lang

KNOXVILLE—Researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have identified a set of bacterial genes that may help them find ways to lessen the severity of the disease malaria.

Their findings could also aid the research of fellow scientists working in malaria-stricken regions around the world.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.

Collaborators in this work include Steven Wilhelm, the Kenneth and Blaire Mossman Professor in the UT Department of Microbiology; Shawn Campagna, UT associate professor of chemistry; Gary LeCleir, UT research assistant professor of microbiology; Joshua Stough, UT doctoral student in microbiology; and Nathan Schmidt, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Louisville.

Read the full article on UT News

Graduate Student to Help Organize International Symposium on ‘Green Chemistry’

October 5, 2016 by Kayla Lang

The past summer was not ordinary for chemistry graduate student Roberto Federico-Perez, a member of Xue’s Research Group at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He participated in a week-long Green Chemistry & Sustainable Energy Summer School that took place at the Colorado School of Mines campus in Golden, Colorado from June 21 to 28. During the Summer School, Federico-Perez was introduced to Network of Early-career Sustainable Scientists and Engineers (NESSE), and was selected to work with NESSE in La Rochelle, France next May to organize the 2017 International Symposium on Green Chemistry (ISGC).

Sponsored by American Chemical Society, the Summer School hosted 55 participants from US, Canada and several countries in South America. Participants attended sessions throughout the day with topics ranging from green chemistry, ionic liquids to life-cycle assessment and policy-making. They were also offered workshops on grant proposal writing, entrepreneurship, and career planning.

To encourage interactions among participants, the program included group projects. “We had to analyze the life cycle of an organic synthesis and make a group presentation on it as part of our program.” Federico-Perez said. “I enjoyed working with people from different institutions and backgrounds on it. It was though, a labor-intensive task to be accomplished on a short deadline. However, we acquired some valuable working knowledge on the subject by participating on this hands-on exercise. ”

Green chemistry is a field that started as a result of a long discussion on how to make a more effective use of available resources. The term and field have become more widespread in the past 25 years. “The opportunity to observe how the principles of sustainability are incorporated on chemical research was a real benefit I obtained from this summer school.” Federico-Perez commented. “The ACS Summer School was a valuable experience to communicate the current trends on this field. This event has become an exceptional tool to foster a new generation of professionals with a different view on the application of chemistry.”

Federico-Perez’s endeavor into green chemistry did not stop when the Summer School ended. He was excited about NESSE, an organization established after the 2013 Summer School to provide a platform in order to create a community of next generation sustainable scientists connected globally.

“NESSE has members from all over the world, and organizes activities that range from maintaining a blog for communication of events in the field, hosting career workshops on green chemistry, and promoting the development of sustainable science groups.” Federico-Perez said.

As part of their agenda, NESSE participated in organizing the 2015 ISGC. They put out a call for volunteers to serve on 2017 ISGC committee, to which Federico-Perez responded and was selected along with another participant from this year’s Summer School.

“A big part of our current tasks is the communication of the event.” Federico-Perez explained the priority of the ISGC committee. “ISGC 2017 is the perfect inter-disciplinary platform to exchange the most recent advancements in the field, meet experts in public and private sectors, and network with the growing community of green chemistry. Over 800 attendees are expected to share their knowledge in multiple parallel sessions. The call for abstracts is open, and the submission deadline is October 31^st.”

Follow the link to find out more about 2017 ISGC.

Related article: Roberto Federico-Perez Received Eastman Travel Award

Al Hazari Chairs National Chemistry Week Theme Team

September 28, 2016 by Kayla Lang

Al Hazari, a retired director of labs and lecturer in chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, chaired the theme team for the 2016 National Chemistry Week (NCW). Sponsored by the American Chemical Society, the 2016 NCW is scheduled to take place October 16-22 with the theme, “Solving Mysteries Through Chemistry,” focusing on the chemistry of forensics and more.

William (Bill) Bass, the world-renowned forensic anthropologist and the founder of the UT’s  “Body Farm,” is featured in this year’s NCW publication titled, “Celebrating Chemistry.” (En Español)

NCW holds a series of events all around the country to “encourage chemists and chemistry enthusiasts to build awareness of chemistry at the local level.” Find out more on this website.

Hazari will perform a free chemistry magic show on Tuesday, Oct. 18th in Buehler Hall 555 on UT campus from 7 to 8 pm. The event is open to the public. Free parking is available at the 11th street garage from 6 to 9pm. More information can be found on this flyer.

Chemistry BOV Member Wilbur Shults Named ACS Fellow

September 8, 2016 by Kayla Lang

Wilbur (Dub) Shults, member of the Chemistry Board of Visitors at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was inducted into the 2016 Class of  Fellows of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The announcement was made in the July 18, 2016 issue of Chemical & Engineering News. The new fellows were honored at the August ACS meeting in Philadelphia.

Shults was named an ACS Fellow because of his contributions both to the scientific society and to the ACS community. Shults was “recognized for creating electrochemical techniques essential for precisely determining the composition of nuclear materials and for developing the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Analytical Chemistry Division into a world-leading organization.” Stated on the 2016 Fellow website, “as Chair of the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry, he implemented a new Division Management System and was instrumental in establishing the Division’s Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry, both of which continue today.”

Shults hails from Atlanta, Georgia, born to a railroad family in 1929. He moved to Greenville, South Carolina to complete his high school education and attended Emory University to pursue a bachelor’s degree. After he completed a master’s degree in chemistry, Shults moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee in 1951 and got his first job as a technician at a radiochemistry lab in the Division of Analytical Chemistry at Oak Ridge National Lab.

In 1955, Shults was drafted by the Army and sent to Fort Jackson for basic training and later reported to Denver Colorado to work in a nerve gas plant operated by the Army. After spending two and half years in the Army, Shults finished his tour of duty and came back to ORNL in 1957 to work in a research development group. With the encouragement of his mentor Myron Kelley at ORNL, Shults went back to school in 1962 to pursue a Ph.D. degree in chemistry at Indiana University. He completed two years of study there and came back to ORNL to finish his research in 1964, and was awarded the Ph.D. degree in 1966. Since then, Shults has lived in the Oak Ridge and Knoxville areas with his wife, Sue, and their three children.

Shults was promoted to Division Director at ORNL in 1976. During his long and fruitful career, he also served as the Head of the Analytical Chemistry Division of ACS. Shults retired from ORNL at the end of 1994 and became heavily involved in community service. He served on the Board of Visitors of the Department of Chemistry UT and was the president of Coalition of Oak Ridge Retired Employees from 2008 to 2013.

The ACS Fellows program was created in 2008 to recognize members of ACS for “outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and the Society.” Find out more on the website.

Note: Dub Shults’ bio was summarized based on an interview conducted in 2012 and archived in the Center for Oak Ridge Oral History. 

Chemistry Alumnus Reggie Hudson Elected Chair of ACS Astrochemistry Subdivision

September 8, 2016 by Kayla Lang

Chemistry Alumnus Reggie Hudson was elected the Chair of the Astrochemistry Subdivision of the American Chemical Society, the largest scientific society in the world with more than 157,000 members globally. Hudson obtained his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1978 studying with Ffrancon Williams, now Professor Emeritus of Chemistry.

After leaving UT, Hudson took a job teaching at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, staying there for 30 years and simultaneously collaborating with NASA researchers. In 2009, Hudson became a full-time employee at NASA to lead a small research group studying chemistry at low temperatures.

Hudson is now the Associate Chief for the Astrochemistry Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center just outside of Washington, DC. “About half of my work is administrative in nature and the other half is scientific research related to NASA missions.” Hudson said.

Besides his NASA job, Hudson also teaches at the Department of Astronomy in University of Maryland and is an Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at Eckerd College.

Musfeldt Group Received $1.6 Million NSF-DMREF Award for Advanced Materials Research

September 8, 2016 by Kayla Lang

Janice Musfeldt, Ziegler Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in collaboration with David Vanderbilt, Sang-Wook Cheong, Kristjan Haule, and Valery Kiryukhin from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, recently won a $1.6 million Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) Award from National Science Foundation for their project titled “Collaborative Research: Emergent functionalities in 3d/5d multinary chalcogenides and oxides.”

The winning project will consist of “a concerted theoretical and experimental exploration of materials in which 3d and 5d transition-metal sites coexist in multicomponent chalcogenide and oxide crystals and films.” As stated in their proposal.

“The research results from this award show promise for identifying new materials with improved properties such as stronger or more tunable magnets, materials whose electrical conduction can be switched in novel ways, and materials to serve in future generations of optical devices.” Vanderbilt said.

The program will also bring broader impacts to advance science education by organizing summer or winter schools for interested students and providing mentorship. Their first effort was the Quantum Materials Synthesis (QMS) Symposium that was held on August 30 and September 1 in 7 World Trade Center, New York. The development of new workshops on spin-orbit coupling in quantum materials as well as an international network for quantum materials research is part of the outreach of this collaborative project.

Graduate student Michael Yokosuk in Musfeldt’s group presented his recent research on magnetoelectric coupling at the QMS Symposium. His research paper was also accepted at Physical Review Letters. “Working with the DMREF team has really opened my eyes up to the world of materials science and physics.” Yokosuk said. “Working with this high-class team has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my science career. Their understanding of the subject matter really drives me to learn and become more independent as a researcher, while keeping close contact with collaborators.”

This is the second time that Musfeldt and her team have received this award. The first one titled “Collaborative Research: Enhanced functionalities in 5d transition-metal compounds from large spin-orbit coupling“ also in the amount of $1.6 million was awarded in 2012.

“It was very productive.” Musfeldt commented on their 2012 project, “one metric of science impact is publications. This collaboration produced a total of 24 papers in four years, with 11 in Physical Review Letters and two in Nature Communications.”

“Our collaborations with the Musfeldt group have been extraordinarily useful.” Vanderbilt added. “One aspect that has been especially rewarding is our series of working meetings, held three or four times per year, where we get together for two concentrated days of informaltalks to share our research visions and results.  As a result of this NSF-DMREF collaboration, I find that I, as a theorist, am working more closely with experimentalists than at any previous time in my career.”

“The new award supports work in a different but related direction – this time with greater focus on novel phases in multinary materials.” Musfeldt said. “Now that the program has been renewed by NSF, I hope to involve another student or two.”

As a participant in the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), the National Science Foundation awards a limited number of grants to researchers for Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF). Initial DMREF awards in 2012 total $12 million were earmarked for 22 grants in support of 14 DMREF efforts. In 2014, NSF has issued a solicitation for up to $22 million in awards under DMREF program. And in 2016, the total funding has grown to $36 million.

Picture above: DMREF team enjoys dinner at their favorite Greek restaurant. From left: David H Vanderbilt, Sang-Wook Cheong, Valery Kiryukhin, Jak Chakhalian, Janice Musfeldt, and Kristjan Haule.

Picture on the right: 2016 QMS Participants

A Synthesis of Science and Art

August 18, 2016 by Kayla Lang

Preeti Chandrachud, a fifth-year graduate student had her third paper published in the journal Organometallics in June 2016. The editorial board selected this article as a top manuscript and designated it for a cover selection. Since she is an amateur painter, Chandrachud also got the opportunity to design the cover art for the issue.

“I think it shows a great combination of science and art,” says Rachel Rui, director of recruiting, communication, and development in the Department of Chemistry.

Chandrachud’s research group investigates new methods for homogeneous aziridination catalysis. Homogenous catalysis involves preparing catalysts that dissolve in solutions to accelerate a chemical reaction, in this case aziridination. Aziridination is the process of forming a triangular ring with one nitrogen and two carbon atoms.

“Aziridines are important because of their presence in many biologically significant compounds, some of which have anti-tumor and antibacterial properties,” says Chandrachud. “More importantly, aziridines are intermediates for making complicated pharmaceuticals. One example is in the synthesis of Tamiflu.”

Despite their importance, aziridines are difficult to synthesize. In the paper, Chandrachud and her research group describe a general method for preparing a wide variety of aziridines using a novel catalyst. This method is of particular significance because it is environmentally-friendly. The only waste product is nitrogen gas. The group also prepared bicyclic aziridines, which are very important structures for biologically-relevant molecules.

The paper is based on the group’s second generation catalyst. Organometallics is a renowned journal in synthetic chemistry. Chandrachud and her group are especially proud because the editor accepted the paper without any changes, featured it on the cover, and allowed Chandrachud to create the artwork.

“We were very pleased with this decision,” says Chandrachud, whose advisor, David Jenkins, associate professor of chemistry, gave her creative freedom to design the cover art.

The cover design was a collaborate process. Chandrachud drew some rough sketches and while discussing them, Jenkins suggested a winery motif.

“As a wine connoisseur, I loved the idea,” says Chandrachud. “Although I am an amateur painter, Dr. Jenkins trusted me to paint the cover myself.”

After a couple rough paintings, the duo decided on the final design, which appears on the cover of the issue.

“The process was exciting and fun for me because I got to make my own painting for the cover article, which is not a common for many scientific journals. Most covers simply show diagrams or data figures. The editorial staff at Organometallics loved the contrast and original art,” says Chandrachud, who would like to thank UT and NSF for funding the project. “I feel really privileged for the opportunity to finish off my Ph.D. this way.”

Cover art description: Catalytic R₂C=CR₂ + NR aziridination has improved markedly over the last decade, but some of its first vintages were in the early 1980s. The first R₂C=CR₂ + NR aziridination reactions focused on hypervalent iodine reagents as the nitrene (NR) source and conjugated alkenes, such as styrene. Improvements in the early 2000s included the first enantioselective versions of the reaction as well as the first examples with aliphatic alkenes. In the last decade, aryl azides have been employed with both conjugated (2008) and aliphatic alkenes (2011) for more atom-economical aziridinations that do not require protecting groups on the nitrogen. This article showcases the first fully aliphatic R₂C=CR₂ + NR aziridination with aliphatic alkenes and alkyl azides.

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By: AMANDA WOMAC*, PREETI CHANDRACHUD**
*College of Arts and Sciences
** Department of Chemistry

Schweitzer Group News Update

August 9, 2016 by Kayla Lang

1. Melissa Nicole Bailey and Kaitlyn Angela McDonald, graduate students in Schweitzer Group, received diplomas for completion of the requirements in the Program for the Radiochemistry Graduate Certificate. They are only the second and third students awarded such diplomas.
2. George K. Schweitzer and his research group have received a three-year renewal of their grant from Siemens for research on ceramic gamma-ray and X-ray detectors.

Chemistry Business Manager Sharon Marshall Retired after 28 Years of Service

August 9, 2016 by Kayla Lang

Sharon Marshall, business manager for the Department of Chemistry has retired on July 31, 2016, after 28 years of service to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Marshall is a Knoxville local, growing up in Fountain City with her parents and two older sisters. She graduated from Central High School in 1976 and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from UT  in 1980. After working in Kingsport, Tennessee for a year and half as the youth and children’s choir director and director of activities in a church, Marshall returned to Knoxville. She subsequently worked part time as an adult, youth and choir director and youth director at churches and held part-time jobs in the retail industry. Marshall’s first job at UT was in the library business office in 1985. In 1989, Marshall steered her career back to local music education. But two years after her son was born, in 1992, Marshall decided to return to the University and accepted a job in the chemistry department to assist faculty with managing their awards. She stayed with the department since then. During Marshall’s time in the department, she held five different positions which all involved working with proposals and awards. Marshall was appointed the department business manager in 2005. The following interview was conducted on July 26, 2016, just before Marshall retired.

Interviewer: When did you come to work for UT? And what was your first job?

Marshall: My first position at UT was in the Library Business Office.  I started in August 1985 and left UT in August 1989 to pursue another career outside of UT.

Interviewer: When did you join the chemistry department and what was your first day like?

Marshall: I returned to UT in the Chemistry Department in May 1992.  I don’t remember a whole lot about the first except that several people smoked inside the Business Office/storeroom and I hated smoking.  I remember being overwhelmed the first day partly because the building was in the process of being remodeled floor by floor and they were removing all the asbestos.  You never knew from day to day what to expect.  If a stairwell just stopped all of sudden because the steps were missing or if walls had been removed or knew ones built where none had been before.

Interviewer: What changes have you noticed in the department since your arrival?

Marshall: The first thing is the Business Office/Chemstores was all shelves full of all kinds of things with only the front two rooms used as office space.  After I became the business manager and with 100% support from Dr. Craig Barnes we decided to expand the proposal/grant support for the faculty which involved hiring a second grants and contracts coordinator and another person to handle all of the extra paperwork due to IRIS.  This allowed the business office to work one on one with each faculty member on each of their proposals and maintain their accounts through the entire life of the award. Second, there are a lot of faculty here now that are so young that I could be their mother! Third, with the great knowledge of Dr. Fred Grimm we designed and implemented the Chemistry Purchasing System.  It has been a wonderful tool that has benefited everyone in the department. I will be forever grateful for Fred and his hard work on the project.

Interviewer: What are your most cherished memories here?

Marshall: My most cherished memories are working with Darrell Lay and Bobby Lay. They have become like the brothers I never had.  They made this a fun place and we still got our work done in spite of the laughter!

Interviewer: What will you miss most when you retire?

Marshall: The people who have respected my work and what I have accomplished while I was here. I have made a tremendous amount of friends all over the campus during the past 28 years. Many are very close and dear to my heart. They taught me a great deal about how the university works and how so many aspects effect all of the accounts, whether they are grants or state funds.

Interviewer: What’s your plan after retirement?

Marshall: Well, since UT retirement doesn’t pay enough to live on, I will be seeking a second job. I will be looking for something that doesn’t involve as much responsibility has I have had as the business manager. And I plan on enjoying myself as much as possible. I would like to travel occasionally in the United States.

Professor Kovac Invited to Speak at Swiss Universities

August 9, 2016 by Kayla Lang

Jeff Kovac, professor of chemistry, was invited by the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) to speak in SCNAT Ethics Lecture Tour, a series of lectures that will take place in the chemistry departments of Swiss Universities that will cover the broad topic of ethics in science endeavor. Kovac was invited to be the first speaker on their inaugural Lectureship.

The lecture tour is organized by Platform Chemistry of SCNAT and is scheduled to take place in fall 2016 in Swiss Institutions. “Our goal is to expose all chemists to this issue, whether they are undergraduate or graduate students, post-doctoral fellows or faculties.” Christophe Copéret, professor of chemistry at ETH Zürich, and President of the Platform Chemistry of the Swiss Academy of Sciences, said. Kovac will visit six universities and academic institutions in Switzerland at the end of October and beginning of November.

Kovac came to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1976. He has a bachelor’s degree from Reed College, a doctorate from Yale University, and two years of postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Some of his recent work is focused on chemistry education and chemistry ethics. Kovac’s talk titled “Ethics of chemical weapon research“ during 2015 American Chemical Society National Conference in Denver, CO, was highlighted in C&EN. He was also elected one of 13 senators in 2015 to Phi Beta Kappa Society, one of the nation’s oldest academic honor society. Kovac directed the Governor’s Schools from 1994 to 2012 and headed up the Science Olympiad from 2008 to 2012. His contributions to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematic) education was recognized by the College of Arts and Sciences back in 2013. Kovac also received Excellence in Academic Outreach Award during 2011 Chancellor Honors Banquet.

SCNAT Ethics Lecture (02.11.2016, ETH Zurich)