UT Receives NSF Award to Commercialize Discovery

September 11, 2012 by chemweb

Jimmy Mays, a chemistry professor at UT Knoxville, has developed a substance that promises to replace conventional rubber in many products with something that is stronger, greener, and easier to recycle. Now he’s joining forces with the College of Business Administration’s Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to turn his new discovery into a game-changing business.

UT will receive $600,000 over two years from the National Science Foundation through its “Partnerships for Innovation” program to commercialize and optimize Mays’ newfound “superelastomers.” This is UT’s first NSF award focused on commercialization of research, and it is the Anderson Center’s first NSF award.

Superelastomers are polymers that can be repeatedly stretched without permanently deforming the shape of the material. They can be stretched further than ordinary elastomers (or rubbers). What makes superelastomers “super” is that they hold promise for improved strength, recyclability and more efficient processing of materials used in many different products. This revolutionary new concept would open up applications in many areas, such as toothbrushes, gloves, skin care, audio devices, and filtering technologies.

Jenkins Group Paper Highlighted in RSC Blog

August 2, 2012 by chemweb

The Jenkins Group published a paper entitled “Exploiting a Dimeric Silver Transmetallating Reagent to Synthesize Macrocyclic Tetracarbene Complexes“in Chemical Science. The paper was also highlighted in the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Chemical Science blog.

The paper, co-authored by Zheng Lu, Alan Cramer and David Jenkins, showcases a general synthetic method to prepare macrocyclic tetracarbenes with first, second and third row transition metals from both sides of the periodic table, using a dimeric silver transmetallating reagent. These silver transmetallation reactions demonstrate a generalized process, wider metal variety, and higher product yields than other typical synthetic methods for preparing polydentate carbene complexes.  Their synthetic advance lifts these intriguing compounds out of the realm of curiosities and opens up avenues to their future study and application.

Chemical Science, published by RSC Publishing is a journal for findings of exceptional significance from across the chemical sciences. This monthly journal launched in 2010 and was awarded The Best New Journal 2011 by the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers.

Professor Camden Received NSF CAREER Award

July 15, 2012 by chemweb

Jon Camden, an assistant professor of analytical chemistry at UTK, has been announced as a recipient of the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.

CAREER award is one of “the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.”

Camden’s award includes a 5-year $600,000 grant to support his research and educational activities. “The CAREER recognizes the potential of our research to be transformative and to integrate our research mission with education. This award will have a major impact on our efforts and it is a privilege for which I am very grateful.” Camden said.

Funding from this award will be used to develop surface nonlinear spectroscopy as an analytical method for probing the two-photon properties of molecules, surface adsorbate structure, and ultrasensitive detection.  Camden group will pursue detailed comparisons between experiment and theory. “This work is fundamental in that it explores how molecules adsorbed on nanoparticles scatter light, and it provides much needed experiments for the benchmarking of new theoretical methods of calculating nonlinear molecular properties.” Camden added, “It also has the potential to impact a wide range of practical applications such as catalysis and renewable energy production.”

In addition to the scientific endeavor, Camden group seeks to increase the number of high-school students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors in college. In collaboration with Debbie Sayers, a Chemistry Teacher at Hardin Valley Academy, Camden and his group will provide curricular enrichment to local public high-schools through the creation of ASPIRE teams (Aspiring Scientists Participating in Research and Education).  ASPIRE teams will deliver hands-on laboratory experiments to local high school classrooms once a month during the regular school year, for a total of six activities.

Professor Baker Named 2012 ACS Fellow

July 12, 2012 by chemweb

David Baker, Professor of Chemistry Department is inducted into the 2012 class of Fellows of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society.

As stated in a letter issued by the Chair of ACS Fellows Oversight Committee, Dr. John Adams, “ACS Fellows are nominated by their peers and selected for their achievements in and contributions to the sciences and for providing volunteer service to the ACS community.”

The 2012 ACS Fellows will be honored at a special ceremony during the ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia on Monday, August 20. The official list appeared in the July 23 issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN).

The ACS Fellows program began in December 2008. This year’s Fellows represent 23 technical divisions and 52 local sections and reflect a wide range of disciplines and geographic locations. Additional information about the program is available here.

Charles Sun Published in ACS NANO

July 3, 2012 by chemweb

Qi (Charles) Sun, a graduate student in Professor Musfeldt’s Group, published an article in ACS NANO, a monthly journal that provides an international forum for the communication of comprehensive articles on nanoscience and nanotechnology research. *

In the article Spectroscopic Signature of the Superparamagnetic Transition and Surface Spin Disorder in CoFe₂O₄ Nanoparticles, the researchers measured the infrared vibrational properties of CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles and compared the results to trends in the coercivity over the same size range and to the response of the bulk material.

“To the best of our knowledge,” Sun said, “this work is the first time to report a spectroscopic signature of the superparamagnetic transition and surface spin disorder from the spectroscopy point of view.”

Sun is originally from Huadian City, Jilin Province, China. He received his B.S. degree of Polymer Chemical Engineering in June 1999 from Dalian University of Technology in Dalian, China. Then he joined Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry Chinese Academy of Science in Changhcun, where he received M.S. degree majoring in Chemistry and Physics of Polymers in June 2005. In August 2007, Sun came to UT and joined Musfeldt Group to begin research in the field of spectroscopic investigations of nanoscale materials.

Prior to this publication, Sun has more than 10 publications and 5 patents.

* Published monthly, ACS Nano is an international forum for the communication of comprehensive articles on nanoscience and nanotechnology research at the interfaces of chemistry, biology, materials science, physics, and engineering. Moreover, the journal helps facilitate communication among scientists from these research communities in developing new research opportunities, advancing the field through new discoveries, and reaching out to scientists at all levels.

Chemistry Undergrad to Compete in the 2012 North American Collegiate Bridge Team Championships

June 29, 2012 by chemweb

Burton Mandrell, a chemistry undergraduate major, is a member of the University of Tennessee Bridge team that is one of four finalists in the National Collegiate Bridge Championship to be played in Philadelphia on July 14. The other three team members are Jenny Dabbs, Alex Happ, and Tim Michaels.

Metro Pulse interviewed Mandrell. He explained bridge is not a game just for old people and encouraged all to particpate.

View interview on Metro Pulse.

Department Welcomes 2012 SURP Students

May 21, 2012 by chemweb

Today the Chemistry Department hosted a reception to welcome 6 students participating in 2012 Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP).

The students will be working with chemistry faculty members and graduate students for 10 weeks this summer to gain the research experience and skills necessary for their future career and furthur education in the field of chemistry.

Particpating students are provided with free housing, travel allowance, and a stipend.

2012 Participants are:

• Kevin Robb from Truman State University will work in Professor Best’s lab
• Michael Hyatt from Murray State University will work in Professor Long’s lab
• Joseph Adedigba from Fisk University will work in Professor Zhao’s lab
• Lisa Kichner from Missouri State University will work in Professor Camden’s lab
• Rachel Mulder from Georgia Southern University will work in Professor Mays’ lab
• Caleb Swain from Georgia Southern University will work in Professor Campagna’s lab

More information about SURP

Chemistry Department Held 2012 Honors Day

April 30, 2012 by chemweb

UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS

CRC Press General Chemistry Award – Russell T. Smith
C. W. Keenan Outstanding General Chemistry Student Award – Emma K. Hollmann
Dr. Lucy E. Scroggie Scholarship – Desta D. Bume
C. A. Buehler Chemistry Scholarship – Burton K. Mandrell
East Tennessee Section, ACS, Award – Britta A. Johnson
Hach Foundation Scholarship – Maria C. Owens
Melaven-Rhenium Scholarships – Desta D. Bume, James R. Humble, Karson N. Lurie, Matthew A. Messer, Christopher E. Freye
Honors Chemistry Recognition – Mikhail Androsov, Desta D. Bume, Maria J. DeLucia, Jamie Dreher, Xin Huang, Hunter A. Johnson, Simone Ilia, Nathan Kenner, Genesis N. M. Minter, Andrew P. Moss, Molly E. Payne, Thomas R. Fleming, Hardie V. Sorrels, Elisabeth M. Spratt, Lauren T. Swientoniewski, Andrew G. Taylor, Rachel C. Wooliver
Chancellor’s Honors and Office of Research Summer Internships – David A. Cooper, Christopher E. Freye, Alexander S. McCullough, Andrew P. Moss
Chancellor’s Honors Top Collegiate Scholar – Sean Forrest

STAFF AWARDS

Outstanding Service Award – Pamela D. Roach, Beverly Adams Rosenbalm
Carol Moulton ACGS Service Award – James W. Gurley
James F. Green ACGS Service Award – Pamela D. Roach

GRADUATE AWARDS

Second Year Candidacy Award – Brianna C. Hughes
Outstanding Teaching Awards – James F. Patton, Kelly E. Hall
C. W. Keenan Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award – Christopher R. Murdock
Graduate Fellowship for Achievement in Inorganic Chemistry – Steven A. Cramer
Eugene John Barber Fellowship in Physical Chemistry – Peng Chen
Burchfield Burridge Warner Fellowship in Polymer Chemistry – Chaitra V. Deodhar
East Tennessee Section, ACS, Graduate Fellow – Amanda L. May
Gleb Mamantov Graduate Chemistry Scholar – Xiaojun Wang
SAACS Outstanding Chemistry T. A. Award – Naixiong Jin
UT Scholarly Activity Incentive Fund, Research Assistants – Heather M. Bass, Vighter O. Iveri
Joint Institute of Neutron Sciences Fellowships – Seth C. Hunter, Adam E. Imel, George H. Rouvelas
Society of Electroanalytical Chemistry Travel Award – Stefanie A. Bragg
Winners of the Board of Visitor’s Poster Competition – Heidi E. Bostic, Christopher P. Bennett

FACULTY AWARDS

SAACS Outstanding Chemistry Professor Award – Dr. Jeffrey D. Kovac
Ziegler Professor Announcement – Dr. Bin Zhao
ACS Fellows – Dr. Alan A. Hazari, Dr. Jimmy W. Mays
New Faculty – Dr. Brian K. Long

A Chemist in the Making

April 24, 2012 by chemweb

Someone who looks at Britta Johnson’s resume will find a number of impressive achievements, including several semesters of undergraduate research in the University of Tennessee’s Department of Chemistry.

In recognition of her research efforts, Johnson was awarded a Best Presentation prize during UT’s 2012 Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EUReCA).
The project she presented, “Dynamics of He adsorption on
MgO(100) surfaces,” focused on theoretical studies of the bound states of He atoms that are adsorbed on the surface of an MgO crystal.

Some of Johnson’s results were published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry* in 2011, in an article titled “Pairwise Additive Model for the He-MgO(100) Interaction.” Johnson was the article’s first author.

Britta’s co-author, Robert Hinde, has been Johnson’s undergraduate research mentor.  The two have worked together since summer 2009.  “Britta has been a great student and a great collaborator,” Hinde said.  “Her research has taught us a lot about fundamental atom-surface interactions.  A better understanding of these interactions can ultimately help scientists understand in more detail how chemical catalysts work.”

Johnson joined UT as a College Scholars major with a program of study titled “Quantum Dynamics and Mathematics.” When asked how she became interested in chemistry, Johnson responded that, “I knew I wanted to at least try research and see if it was something I would want to do… my Honors Chemistry professor (Dr. Kovac) had suggested I look into doing research with Dr. Hinde, and I’ve never looked back.”

Hinde’s research area is computational and theoretical chemistry, which might not be what most people think about when they first hear the word “chemistry.”  Research projects in theoretical chemistry frequently combine topics from chemistry, physics, and mathematics, and the projects often involve the use of computer programs to solve mathematical equations or perform simulations of chemical phenomena.

“I think it is amazing that basic mathematical concepts can be used to understand and model increasingly complex chemical systems,” Johnson said.  She added that she also found writing her own computer programs to be somewhat “intimidating” at the beginning; as she persevered, however, she became more fluent in programming and started writing, from scratch, the programs that she used in order to conduct her research.

Johnson felt grateful for having Hinde as her mentor. “I could not have asked for a better research advisor; whenever I have questions, whether they be about research, classes to take, or graduate school applications, I can always go to Dr. Hinde for advice.”

Johnson grew up in Knoxville and went to Karns High School before she joined UT.  While at UT, she was named a Goldwater Scholar.  After graduating this spring, Johnson will attend the University of Wisconsin to earn a Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry.

*The Journal of Physical Chemistry A (Dynamics, Kinetics, Environmental Chemistry, Spectroscopy, Structure, Theory) publishes studies on dynamics, clusters, and excited states; kinetics, and spectroscopy; atmospheric, environmental, and green chemistry; and molecular structure, quantum chemistry, and general theory. Out of 121 journals in the Physical Chemistry category, The Journal of Physical Chemistry A ranks #7 in total citations with 48,355 total cites. The Journal of Physical Chemistry also ranks #4 in citations out of 32 journals in the Atomic, Molecular and Chemical Physics category. The Journal received an Impact Factor of 2.732.* *Based on the 2010 Journal Citation Reports® by Thomson Reuters

UT Chemistry: World Top 20

April 23, 2012 by chemweb

A report funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese Academy of Science listed University of Tennessee as one of the World’s Top 20 universities with their analytical chemistry articles most cited in 2007.