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Author: Kayla Lang

Xue Group News Highlights

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Xue GroupFormer group member, Dr. Julia Abbott, currently Science Education Program Manager at ORAU (Oak Ridge Associated Universities), was featured in Knoxville News-Sentinel. She has helped organize the “Science Saturdays — a program that brings together scientists, local teachers and students through interactive presentations and hands-on science.” Julia received Ph.D. from our group in 2010 with research in organometallic chemistry.

01/24/2014

Seth Hunter’s paper “Magnetic Excitations in Metalloporphyrins by Inelastic Neutron Scattering. Determination of Zero-Field Splittings in Iron, Manganese and Chromium Complexes” has been accepted for publication in Inorganic Chemistry. This is a collaboration with Dr. Andrey Podlesnyak of the Quantum Condensed Matter Division at ORNL. ZFS parameters of several non-deuterated metalloporphyrins [M(TPP)Cl] and [Mn(TPP)] (H2TPP = tetraphenylporphyrin) have been directly determined by inelastic neutron scattering (INS).

12/21/2013

A paper titled “Unexpected C-H Bond Activations during and after the Reaction of a Metallacyclic Amide with Silanes. Formation of a μ-Alkylidene Hydride Complex, Its H-D Exchanges, and β-H Abstraction by a Hydride Ligand” has been accepted for publication in Chemistry – A European Journal. This paper is a collaboration between Dr. Xue’s group and that of Dr. Hu (Frank) Cai of Nanchang University. Frank was a postdoctoral associate in the group.

12/12/2013

Jonathan Fong received a scholarship from the Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel to attend theNational Biodiesel Conference & Expo, Jan. 20 – 23, 2014 in San Diego.

11/16/2013

Sam Rosolina Won Bronze at the 2013 MILSET Science Photo Contest. Read More

08/28/2013

Dr. Xue has been informed by American Journal of Analytical Chemistry (AJAC) that his paper with former Ph.D. student Stefanie Bragg Optimization of dry ashing of whole blood samples for trace metal analysis has been downloaded 1003 times. It proves to be one of the most popular papers in the journal.

Professor Bursten Elected AAAS Chemistry Chair

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Bruce BurstenDr. Bruce Bursten, distinguished professor of chemistry, was elected as the 2014 Chair-Elect, 2015 Chair and 2016 Retiring Chair of the Section on Chemistry of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

AAAS is the world’s largest and most prestigious general scientific society, with 126,995 individual and institutional members at the end of 2008. It is also the publisher of the well-known scientific journal Science, which was founded in 1880 on seed money from the American inventor Thomas Edison. It now has grown into the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general-science journal with a weekly circulation of 138,549.

Bursten will participate in all AAAS Chemistry Section meetings and oversee the section affairs to actively involve affiliated organizations and enhance communication among chemistry scientists in all areas. His new role with the AAAS will be in addition to his teaching and research activities at UT. Bursten conducts research in inorganic chemistry. His research centers on the correlation of theoretical and experimental electronic structural data with the bonding and reactivity patterns of metal-containing molecules. He is the author or coauthor of more than 160 research papers, and he has presented more than 200 research seminars at other universities, national laboratories, and companies. He is also a coauthor of one of the leading textbooks in general chemistry, currently in its 13th edition.

Prior to this honor, Bursten has received numerous national and international honors for his academic accomplishments. Among these, in 1984 he received a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Teacher-Scholar Award and in 1985 he was named a Fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. In 2001, he received the Catalyst Award from the American Chemistry Council, which is a national award for teachers of chemistry. He received the 2003 Spiers Medal and Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom, he was elected a Fellow of the AAAS in 2004, and received the Morley Medal of the Cleveland Section of the ACS in 2005. He was elected a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 2010.

Bursten received his S.B. in Chemistry with Honors from the University of Chicago in 1974, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1978 under the direction of the late Professor Richard F. Fenske. He was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Texas A&M University from 1978-1980, conducting research with the late Professor F. Albert Cotton. He joined the faculty of The Ohio State University in 1980 as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry.  In 1997 he was named Distinguished University Professor. In October 1999 he became Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Ohio State, a position he held until October 2003. In 2005 he moved to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. In 2006 he was elected to the Presidential succession of the ACS. He was President-Elect for 2007, President of the ACS for 2008, and Immediate Past President for 2009. During those three years, he also served as a member of the ACS Board of Directors.

Chris Murdock Published Paper in JACS

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Rotating Phenyl Rings as a Guest-Dependent Switch in Two-Dimensional Metal–Organic FrameworksChris Murdock, a fifth year Ph.D. student in Professor Jenkins’ group, published a paper titled Rotating Phenyl Rings as a Guest-Dependent Switch in Two-Dimensional Metal–Organic Frameworks in the Jounral of American Chemical Society (JACS*).

The researchers studied a 2D metal-organic framework (MOF) in which a portion of the bridging linker can swivel to block the pore as a function of guest. Importantly, the ligand can rotate in a controlled manner and it was shown for the first time that the opening and closing of the channels or pores can be monitored by 13C CP MAS NMR. “This direct spectroscopic tecnhique could be highly valuable for testing additional frameworks which breathe through a similar ‘gate’ mechanism and would reduce the need for single crystal diffraction.” said Murdock, “Additionally, classic molecular dynamic simulations provided insight into why  rotation occurs, and is due to differences in energies between the host framework and the adsorbed guest.”

This paper is a collaborative effort between Murdock, Jenkins and Dr. David Keffer, a professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department, and his student Nicholas McNutt. “Dr. Keffer and Nicholas McNutt performed classical molecular dynamics simulations on the materials I had synthesized.” Murdock explained, “The objective of the manuscript was the study of materials which can act as gates by simply rotating a portion of the material to open and close the accessible pores or holes. Dr. Keffer and Nick’s simulations were therefore important as they allowed us to understand why this rotation was occurring.”

Originally from Sturgis, Kentucky, Murdock attended Kentucky Wesleyan College and obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry in 2009. Two weeks after graduation, Murdock moved to Knoxville to start his graduate studies at the University of Tennessee and joined Jenkins’ group in 2010. His main research area is studying a new method for using MOFs as reagents. Murdock has first-authored and co-authored six papers since he joined the group. Besides his academic achievements, Murdock is actively playing sports including soccer and frisbee. Recently, he started running and participated in several 5Ks and even the Knoxville half-marathon last year. Scheduled to graduate this spring, Murdock is currently looking for industry jobs and staff scientist positions for maintaining X-ray facilities.

*Founded in 1879, JACS is the flagship journal of the American Chemical Society and the preeminent journal in the field. This periodical is devoted to the publication of fundamental research papers in all areas of chemistry. Published weekly, JACS provides research essential to the field of chemistry and is the most cited journal in chemistry field as reported in the 2010 Journal Citation Report© Thomson Reuters.

Professor Musfeldt to Lead Gordon Research Conference

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Janice Musfeldt, Chemistry Professor, will be leading Gordon Research Conference, which will be held at the University of New England, Biddleford, Maine, on August 10 to 15, 2014.

The program will consist of 30 invited talks, each followed by extensive discussion. Afternoon poster sessions and activities will provide further opportunity for informal discussions. Application and more information can be found online here.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://chem.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/03/GRC2014_Multiferroics-and-Magnetoelectrics-Flier.pdf” title=”GRC2014_Multiferroics and Magnetoelectrics Flier”]

Chemistry Alumna elected as President of ACS

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Diane Grob SchmidtDr. Diane Grob Schmidt, an UT Chemistry Alumna and the Chair of the Chemistry Department Board of Visitors, will be President-Elect, 2015 President and 2016 Immediate Past President of the American Chemical Society.

With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society, and a non-profit organization, whose members represent professional at all degree levels and in all fields of chemistry and sciences that involve chemistry. Since 1876, over 120 individuals have been identified with the title of President of the ACS.

Currently a Section Head in R&D at The Procter & Gamble Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, Schmidt received the prestigious ACS Henry Hill Award in 2012, and has been serving an active leadership role in ACS for over twenty years. She has chaired or served on more than 20 ACS task forces and working groups that have helped advance the profession. In addition she was elected to the ACS Board of Directors [2002-2010] and the ACS Board Executive Committee.Schmidt currently serves as a Director-at-Large of the Board of Directors at the Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

Chemical & Engineering News has more specifics.

View the election results posted on the ACS website.

Chemistry New Space: Strong Hall

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strong hallThe University of Tennessee and the Department of Chemistry currently have an optimism and excitement for the future, the likes of which I have never seen. Capital improvements are in progress in nearly every area of campus. The Department of Chemistry is directly involved in two of these, Strong Hall and the Joint Institute for Advanced Materials (JIAM).  As you may recall from the Fall 2012 newsletter, Strong Hall will include new instructional laboratories for general, organic, honors and analytical chemistry.  We have been meeting regularly with the design team and plans for these laboratories are evolving. The Strong Hall building site is off of Cumberland Avenue and 16th Street. The presentation of the building along Cumberland Avenue, which is shown left, is striking. The campus along Cumberland Avenue will be transformed in the next few years by three new buildings including Strong Hall, the new Student Center and Science Lab I on Cumberland and 13th. JIAM is the first building on the new Cherokee campus off Alcoa Highway near the UT hospital. I would encourage you to drive by this site sometime and see the progress for yourself. I think you will find that the view of the bend in the river from the JIAM site is stunning. While facilities are critical to the function of the University, education of students is our core mission and our faculty and staff strive for excellence in meeting that goal. I continue to be impressed with how our faculty, students, and their achievements continue to improve.

Charles Feigerle
Professor and Department Head

Rosolina Won MILSET Science Photo Contest

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winning photo (left) is one of the iridescence photos of his electrode producedSam Rosolina, a graduate student at Professor Xue Group won Broze at the 2013 MILSET Science Photo Contest. The winning photo (left) is one of the iridescence photos of his electrode produced in August.

The International Movement for Leisure Activities in Science and Technology (MILSET – MouvementInternational pour le Loisir Scientifique et Technique) is a non-governmental, non-profit and politically independent youth organization. It aims at developing scientific culture among young people through the organization of science-and-technology programs, including science fairs, science camps, congresses and competitions. View this year’s winning photos here.

The Method: Spirits and Graves

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QR code for adcock storyProfessor Emeritus Dr. Jamie Adcock is featured on this edition of The Method, a radio series produced and broadcast by WUOT.

Listen to the story here. Or use your phone to scan the QR code.

On this edition of The Method, we examine how two researchers are putting technology to work to find and identify mass graves. Then, Christine Jessel goes in search of spirits — the potable kind. The science behind moonshine is her story, so prepare to be jarred.

Iberi Gave Talk at Rose-Hulman

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Iberi Gave Talk at Rose-HulmanVighter Iberi, a fifth year graduate students in Professor Camden’s group, gave a talk at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on September 25th. Iberi was invited by his undergraduate chemistry professor Peter Adcock, currently a Visiting Professor of Chemistry at Rose-Hulman.

Both faculty and students from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Rose-Hulman attended Iberi’s talk on Plasmonics. Plasmonics is the study of the response of the free electrons in metallic nanostructures to the electric fields from light or fast-moving electrons. Part of the research done in the Camden group focuses on correlating plasmons excited by planewaves with plasmons excited by swift electrons, from the exact same nanostructure. The talk was well-received by faculty members and generated interests among students.

“It was a good experience; the students and faculty members were very welcoming.” Iberi said, “I learned the importance of being able to adjust a very technical talk to an audience with limited knowledge of one’s area of expertise; a fact that was highlighted by one of the professors after the talk. The experience would be beneficial in future presentations for job interviews.”

Originally from Nigeria, Iberi earned his Bachelor Degree of Science from the Campbellsville University in 2008. His current research area is based on the correlated study of plasmonic nanostructures with optical and electron microscopy.