Click the links below to watch the magic show performed by Dr. Al Hazari, Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Laboratories in the Department of Chemistry.
Magic Show on Knoxville WBIR-TV 10
Magic Show on Knoxville WATE-TV 6
Vighter 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.
Jonathan Fong, a graduate student in the Chemistry Department and his mentor Professor Xue published a paper A dye-doped optical sensor for the detection of biodiesel in diesel in Chemical Communications. Findings in this paper are well-received and the significance of the study is highlighted in Biodiesel Magazine.
Read the full article: Tenn. researchers develop 5 ppm FAME detector for jet fuel.
Findings from the same research are also featured in the most recent American Chemical Society Chemical & Engineering News.
April 2013, Professor Musfeldt (second from left)’s group in front of 45T Hybrid Magnet System they used in research. Tatiana Brinzari (second from right). Their host/collaborator in NHMFL: Steve McGill (third from right).
Tatiana Brinzari, a recent Ph. D. graduate from Professor Musfeldt’s group, published two papers Quantum critical transition amplifies magnetoelastic coupling in Mn[N(CN)2]2 and Electron-phonon and magnetoelastic interactions in ferromagnetic Co[N(CN)2]2 in Phys. Rev. Lett (PRL) that emanate from her thesis work.
Brinzari grew up in Chisinau, Moldova and received her undergraduate degree of inorganic chemistry from Moldova State University (MSU) in 2005. Upon obtaining her master’s degree in chemistry from MSU, Tatiana joined Dr. Musfeldt’s group in 2007. Since then, her research focused on magneto-optical spectroscopy of multifunctional molecule-based materials and novel oxides. Brinzari published a dozen papers in journals such as PRL, Inorg. Chem, and Phys. Rev. B during her time at UT.
Professor Musfeldt, Brinzari’s mentor, enjoyed working with her. “Tanea is a very gifted young lady, and it has been my pleasure to work with her during her PhD. These publications in PRL are very much deserved.” said Musfeldt.
Graduated with a Ph.D. degree last December, Brinzari is now a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Physics and Chemistry at the University of Florida, Gainesville.
By Dylan Platz (2013 REU participant)
Humming hymns and talking himself, Brandon Hambrick lets his photographic memory take him step by step through a process known as polymerization.
In the science experiment, the 18-year-old from the Harrison area is creating a chain of large molecules by combining smaller ones — kind of like linking many small Legos to create a big one.
Unlike most students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Hambrick is still on campus for the summer, one of eight students selected by the school for this year’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program in chemistry, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. Having just finished his freshman year at UT, he’s the youngest student selected for this year’s program, at least 3 years younger than almost every other participant.
Professors Michael Best (first from left) and Brian Long (first from right) with eVOL10 students at awards ceremony
Chemistry Professors Brian Long and Michael Best recently received Service Awards from the College of Engineering for their participation in the Engineering Volunteers for Tenth Graders (eVOL10) Program 2013, a program designed to introduce tenth graders to applied sciences and raise their awareness of careers in STEM disciplines including chemistry and engineering.
A total of 32 students participated in this year’s program. Long and Best provided the participating students Chemistry 101 session, graduate student support, instruction, and walked them through Chemical Car Design Projects. For the project, students designed and built their own vehicles that were propelled through the combination of sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid. A competition was held at the end of the program, and impressive distances of travel above 35 feet were attained by student groups. In the program feedback survey, all of the students considered the experience was “fun” and “rewarding”.
Professor Brian Long mentoring students during Chemical Car Design Project
Evolved from a previous program: Introduction of Sophomores To Engineering Principles (INSTEP), eVOL10 is a one-week summer program started in 2013. It introduces participants to applied sciences and ACT math preparation, and provides opportunities for them to compete in challenges involving the interplay between chemistry and engineering, and tour an engineering industrial plant. The program was provided to students at no major cost and is projected to continue in future years.
Dr. Diane Grob Schmidt, an UT Chemistry alumna and the Chair of the Chemistry Department Board of Visitors, is offically entered as a Candidate for the American Chemical Society President-Elect, 2014.
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.
Schmidt’s name will appear on the fall ballot. You can look for her Candidate statement in the Sept. 16 issue of C&EN. The ballots will be mailed to ACS members on Oct. 4. Please vote for a “Vol Chemist”!
Professor Michael Best (left), Professor Shawn Campagna (right)
UT Chemistry Department has been offering critical research and professional development skills to undergraduate students through its summer program for more than 10 years. This year the program was awarded a three-year-grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is officially recognized as a site for Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU).
Chemistry professors Michael Best and Shawn Campagna are the two principal investigators of the NSF proposal. “Our REU summer program is designed to provide participating students with the skills necessary to be successful in graduate school, which are very different than those that are required for undergraduate studies.” Best said, “Students participate in a cutting-edge research project and develop laboratory skills, improve their ability to communicate their research project and results, and learn about the different career opportunities that are available pertaining to chemical research.”
REU at UT Chemistry is a 10-week program during which the students work with a research group and are mentored by faculty members inside the Department through research projects and interactive workshops. Student participants will receive $5,000 stipend and free housing on campus. Workshops include weekly seminars, safety, ethics training and resume, career preparation training. This year’s program also included site visits to Oak Ridge National Lab and Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, TN.
“NSF funding allows us to significantly expand the program, both in terms of the number of students that we can accommodate as well as the scope of programs and workshops that we can offer participating students.” said Campagna.
Besides expansion of the program, UT Chemistry REU also partnered up with Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (TLSAMP) to reach out to first-generation college students and students from underrepresented groups.
Application to the program was open to all undergraduate students throughout the United States. Through a competitive selection process, 9 students were admitted into this year’s program.
“I have learned a variety of things from participating in this year’s summer research program thus far. It has changed my entire outlook and attitude toward chemistry and science as a whole.” said Gabriel Webber from the Alabama State University.
Another participant Jessica Ellett from the University of North Georgia felt the same way. “I thought I knew a pretty decent amount when I first came here, but I have learned so much more, about the graduate work, what it’s like to be in a professional lab, and the expectations of required of professional scientists.” said Ellett. “It has been a wonderful experience, one that I know will help me greatly in the days to come.”
An important aspect of this year’s program is the addition of a science journalism student, Dylan Platz, who rotates among the labs, shadowing REU participants, participating in research, and preparing written articles about participants and the program. “As the REU Science Writer, I’m allowed to be in every lab–getting a first-hand look at every student’s research.” Platz said, “It’s an extremely fun time seeing how different kinds of labs are run and how the research is conducted. The REU experience has been great all summer and I expect it to finish up strong.”
Application to next year’s program will open this October on UT Chemistry REU web site.
Tanei Ricks (first from right) with students at GRU.
Tanei Ricks, a first year graduate student at Professor Best‘s group went back to his Alma Mater, Georgia Regents University (GRU), on Wednesday, June 12 to give a talk about graduate school preparations to students in the Summer Scholars Program sponsored by the NSF through CURS (Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship) at GRU.
Ricks was invited by Dr. Andy Hauger, director of the summer program, as an alumnus and former recipient of the Savannah River Scholarship (SRS). Ricks was also the first person to graduate from the SRS program and the only one to go to graduate school so far. Around 20 students attended the talk. Tanei shared his experiences at the UT Chemistry Department and concentrated on graduate school preparation.
“I feel like I’ve learned and progressed so much in the year since I’ve left,” said Ricks, “I feel like I was very well prepared by GRU to handle the pressures of grad school and perform at a high level so it was nice to come back and share my first year experiences with other students who are considering going down this road as well.”
Ricks joined UT Chemistry Department in 2012 and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Professor Best’s group. His current research emphasizes on synthesizing inositol probes to study biological systems using click chemistry. Ricks recently received PEER Fellowship.