Professor Williams Recognized for 50 Years of Service

January 6, 2012 by chemweb

Not a lot of people can say that they have worked for half a century, let alone for one employer – the University of Tennessee. Professor Ffrancon Williams (in picture left) was proudly being recognized for his 50 years of service to the University during the Service Awards Luncheon with UT President Joe DiPietro (in picture right) and UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011.

Williams joined the Department in 1961 as an Assistant Professor. His tenure at the University and continuous funding from the Department of Energy for almost 40 years have allowed Williams the chance to do what he loves most – research. He has also been active in teaching, however, and was the recipient of  the Student Associates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS) Outstanding Chemistry Professor Award in both 2009 and 2010.

Williams has been engaged in research on various aspects of radiation chemistry and intermediate species in chemical reactions for over 60 years. One of his most-proud-of research projects was conducted in the 1970s. He was the first one to demonstrate quantum-mechanical tunneling and “all-or-nothing” deuterium isotope effects in hydrogen-transfer reactions at low temperatures. Williams has generated more than 200 journal articles, among which many are cited for more than 100 times. (comprehensive list of publications)

During his 50 years at UT, Williams has directed 18 Ph.D. dissertations and 7 M.S. theses. He has received numerous awards and honors, including being a National Science Foundation Visiting Scientist, which allowed him to conduct research in Kyoto University, Japan; and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow, a fellowship that nowadays seems “almost impossible to get” with 4,000 applications each year for some 200 awards. He has also chaird the Gordon Research Conferences on Radiation Chemistry (1971) and Radical Ions (1984).

UT Service Awards are given to those who have been part of the UT family for 25 years or more to honor their continued contributions and loyalty to the University of Tennessee. View a list of Fall 2011 honorees.

Christiane Barnes Appointed Director of General Chemistry

January 6, 2012 by chemweb

Christiane Barnes, Lecturer of Chemistry, is appointed as the Director of General Chemistry effective January 1, 2012. Dr. Jeff Kovac stepped down as Director after 12 and one-half years of service.

As the new Director, Barnes will take over the responsibilities such as planning and conducting Graduate Teaching Associates (GTA) training, assigning GTA to courses, revising and updating the general chemistry program policies and procedures, managing the selection of annual general chemistry awards, and overseeing many other aspects related to teaching and the overall quality of the general chemistry program.

Having taught general chemistry for almost 20 years, Barnes is no stranger to the program. However, the new tasks still present some challenges for her. “I want to put my feelers out to faculty and see how they want to make the general chemistry program better than what it is now.” Barnes said.

Born in Germany, Barnes came to the University of Tennessee in 1986 and obtained her Master’s Degree in Chemistry in 1988. She went back to Germany and received her Ph.D. degree in 1991 from the University of Bonn. Barnes was then hired back as a post-doc working in Dr. Baker‘s lab in 1992, and served as an Editorial Assistant for the journal, Carbohydrate Research during 2000-2011. She started her teaching career in the Department in 1993.

“In the past few year, she (Christiane Barnes) reinvigorated the Educational Advancement Program section of general chemistry, making it a popular and successful option for at risk students.” Dr. Charles Feigerle, Head of the Chemistry Department, is confident that Barnes will “bring the same energy and enthusiasm for chemical education to the position of Director of General Chemistry.”

Kovac, who just stepped down, is Director of Science Olympiad, Director of the Governor’s School for Math and Sciences, and Director of the College Scholars program. He also recently published a book Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry.

Irene Abia Appointed Associate to YCC

January 3, 2012 by chemweb

Just graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry last December, Irene Abia’s education in the Chemistry Department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is truly fruitful. After winning ACS Young Chemistry Award last July, Abia has been recently appointed as an associate to the Committee on Younger Chemists (YCC).

YCC is a committee at the highest level of governance in ACS. It helps formulate policy that impacts, in particular, younger members of the society. Professor David Baker, Abia’s metor, is very proud of her. “Such an important appointment is a testament to Irene’s qualities shown by participation and leadership at ACS and related meetings.” Baker said.

Abia was born in Buea, Cameroon. After graduating from Bilingual Grammar School Buea in 1997, she attended the University of Buea and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. In 2003, she enrolled in the Medical University of Southern Africa, South Africa where she obtained an Honors Bachelor degree in Chemistry. From 2003 to 2006, she went on to study at the University of Pretoria, South Africa where she conducted research with Professor Kobus Eloff earning a Master’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry. In the fall of 2006, she moved to the United States and joined the research group of Professor David C. Baker at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where she was conducting research in the synthesis of carbohydrates.

After graduation, Abia did not waste her time at all. She’s expected to join the Chemistry Department at the University of Mississippi this month as Teaching Assistant Professor of Chemistry.

Prior to this award, Abia also received CIBA Young Scientist Award and featured in 2010 Fall department newsletter and YCC Leadership Development Award.

Professor Xue Appointed Associate Editor of Science China Chemistry

December 21, 2011 by chemweb

Ben Xue, Professor of Chemistry was appointed Associate Editor of Science China Chemistry last year and recently edited the December issue on the International Year of Chemistry (IYC).

The December issue includes 29 papers from Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, and the USA. It also features an interview of Professor Robert Grubbs and and a Comments by Professor Ada Yonath, two Nobel Laureates.

Dr. David Jenkins, Assistant Professor in Chemistry Department helped draft questions for the interview of Grubbs.

Another issue Xue helped organize is the November issue for the 80th birthday of Professor Ron Breslow of Columbia University. Xue wrote the prefaces for both issues.

Science China Chemistry is an academic journal co-sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and published by Science China Press. The journal publishes high-quality, original results in both basic and applied research.

Professor Kovac Publishes New Book

December 21, 2011 by chemweb

Jeff Kovac, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and Michael Weisberg, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania published a new book on science history, Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry.

They gathered together chemist Roald Hoffmann’s most significant contributions to the field of philosophy and included in the book some unpublished lectures to increase the value of the collection.

Professor Kovac’s honors and awards include election to Phi Beta Kappa, the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  Kovac is the author of over 100 publications including four books.

Abstract from Book

Nobel laureate Roald Hoffmann’s contributions to chemistry are well known. Less well known is that over a career that spans nearly fifty years, Hoffmann has thought and written extensively about a wide variety of other topics, such as chemistry’s relationship to philosophy, literature, and the arts, including the role of symbolism and writing in science, the nature of chemical reasoning, and the relationship between art and craft and science.

In Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry, Jeffrey Kovac and Michael Weisberg bring together twenty-eight of Hoffmann’s most important essays. Gathered here are Hoffmann’s most philosophically significant and interesting pieces, many of which are not easily found in print. In essays such as “Why Buy That Theory,” “Nearly Circular Reasoning,” “How Should Chemists Think,” “The Metaphor, Unchained,” “Art in Science,” and “Molecular Beauty,” we find the mature reflections of one of America’s leading scientists. Organized under the general headings of Chemical Reasoning and Explanation, Writing and Communicating, Art and Science, Education, and Ethics, these stimulating works provide invaluable insight into the practice of science. Hoffmann also has a reputation as a superb teacher of chemistry–one with a special talent for communicating complex ideas to novice students–and many of the essays here are of special interest to teachers of science in general, and chemistry in particular.

Insightful, thought-provoking, and filled with good humor, Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry will fascinate anyone interested in modern science or who enjoys engaging with an exceptional mind.

Darrell Lay Retires After 46 Years of Service

December 13, 2011 by chemweb

A retirement party was hosted for Darrell Lay today in Buehler Hall 511 to honor his 46 years of service to the Department of Chemistry.

With food, flowers, gifts, laughters, tears, speeches, holiday spirit, and even a “money tree”, chemistry faculty, staff, and students joined each other to celebrate the coming holiday and Darrel Lay’s retirement.

“Darrel is an exemplary parachute packer.” Dr. George Schweitzer paused a little, then compared faculty members to parachuters. “All faculty members should remember, we could not do research just by ourselves. We depend on our graduate students and staff.” Dr. George Kabalka patted Darrell on his shoulder and said, “I probably could not have gotten that grant if it were not for him.”

Darrell joined the Department as a Storekeeper on Dec. 6, 1965. At the time, he was responsible to order supplies and dispensed items to labs, faculty, and graduate students, but on a much smaller scale than now. As the Department transformed over the years, Darrell’s job also went through the same process. Darrell joked that he had worked everywhere inside the Department except that he had never had to lecture.

In the past 46 years, Darrell has worked hard to earn everyone’s trust, love, and respect. “Darrell is the most honest person I have ever met.” Dr. William Bull, former Associate Department Head said while returning a key he has kept for years to Darrell. And that act stimulated a room of laughters.

Darrell now lives with his wife Mary Ruth, who just retired from from Oak Ridge National Lab as a Senior Staff Administrator with the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility after 39 years of service. They plan to “do a little travel” in Tennessee first and hope to have “a trip out West” in the near future. While taking care of his blueberries, apple trees, and fig trees are also part of the plan, Darrell said he would come back to visit the Department from time to time. “No one spends half of century working somewhere just because of the job,” Darrell said. “I stayed because of people here. I love all the faculty members, students, and staff I work with.”

Special thanks goes to staff members in the Business Office and Main Office who organized the party and came up with many brilliant ideas.

View Retirement Party Pictures

Congratulations 2011 Graduates!

December 9, 2011 by chemweb

It’s again time of the year that we say congratulations and goodbye to some of our friends. Yesterday, 2011 UT Fall Graduate Hooding Ceremony was hosted in Thompson-Boling Assembly Center & Arena. While more are graduating, four Chemistry Ph.D students were able to attend and being hooded on the stage.

Please join us in congratulating 2011 graduates and wish them good luck with their future career and life! For those who just became alumni of this Department, we hope you could keep in touch with us, and come back to see us!

View more pictures of the hooding ceremony.

Alan Cramer Paper Accepted in JACS

December 6, 2011 by chemweb

Alan Cramer, a third year graduate student in Dr. Jenkins’ group, published a paper about synthesis of Aziridines in Journal of American Chemical Society (JACS).

Co-authored with Professor Jenkins, Cramer is the first author of this paper Synthesis of Aziridines from Alkenes and Aryl Azides with a Reusable Macrocyclic Tetracarbene Iron Catalyst.

In this paper, the two researchers expanded upon previous examples of catalytic aziridination, which utilize the more atom economical azide funtional group as the nitrene transfer reagent.  They demonstrated that their catalyst could perform the first ever examples of catalytic aziridination with tri- and tetra-substituted alkenes, as well as, electron donating aryl azides. “Our new iron tetra-NHC catalyst can perform these reactions not only at very low catalyst loading, but it can also be easily separated and recycled up to an additional three times.” Cramer said. Since the aziridine functional group is found in natural products and also used in pharmaceuticals, broadening the scope of the aziridination reaction is significant.

Born and raised in Powder Springs, GA, Cramer always wanted to be a chemist. He received his Bachor of Science degree in Chemistry from Kennesaw State University in 2008 and joined Jenkins Group a year later.

Working towards Ph.D., Cramer’s rearch has been focusing on organometallic synthesis with a special interest in structure and bonding and how these characteristics can be tuned from a molecular orbital stand point.  His current research involves trying to stabilize high energy metal ligand multiple bonds and performing oxidative group transfer reactions from them with various substrates.

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 and publishes approximately 16,000 pages of Articles, Communications, Book Reviews, and Computer Software Reviews a year. 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.

Last year, Cramer also co-authored a paper 18-Atom-Ringed Macrocyclic Tetra-imidazoliums for Preparation of Monomeric Tetra-carbene Complexes that was published in Organometallics, another American Chemical Society publication with a high Impact Factor of 3.888, ranked in the top ten in citations, impact factor, articles published and immediacy index in both categories.

Kovac Appointed Director of College Scholars Program

October 25, 2011 by chemweb

Dr. Jeff Kovac, Professor of Chemistry, was appointed the new Director of College Scholars Program in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Being a faculty member in the Chemistry Department since 1976, Kovac directs the department undergraduate programs, serves as the Director of the Tennessee Governor’s Schools for Science and Engineerigthe and also directed the Tennessee Science Olympiad State Tournament in 2009. He recently received Chancellor’s Honor for his excellent work in academic outreach.

The College Scholars Program is an interdisciplinary honors program in the College of Arts and Sciences. The program was founded to support highly motivated and academically talented students who have clear goals for their undergraduate education, and who cannot attain those goals within the traditional requirements structure of the College.

Once admitted to the program, a Scholar is exempt from all the course distribution requirements for undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences. Instead, each Scholar works with a faculty member who serves as a Mentor, with the Director of College Scholars, and with others to design a unique curriculum to meet the Scholar’s individual educational goals.  For more information, please visit CSP web site.

Xiaojun Wang Receives ACS Travel Award

October 11, 2011 by chemweb

Chemistry graduate student Xiaojun Wang in Professor Mays Group is selected as one of two recipients of American Chemical Society (ACS) Graduate Travel Award to attend 2012 ACS National Meeting in San Diego.

This Travel Award is sponsored by the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry’s Membership Committee. Each year, the Committee provides funding for two polymer graduate students to travel to ACS National Meeting and present their research results.

Wang will be delivering a presentation entitled “Microstructure Effects on Self-assembly of Polystyrene-b-Sulfonated Poly(cyclohexadiene)” to address an unexplored issue regarding self-assembly behavior of strong electrolyte block copolymers derived from dienes.

Wang is very excited for receiving this award. “I felt very excited and honored,” he said. “That means recognition of my research among all the applicants. And I am very grateful to my advisor, Prof. Jimmy Mays, who has supervised my research, fully supported this travel award application and gave me a strong recommendation.”

Wang obtained his Bachelor of Engineering in Material Science and Engineering at East China University of Science and Technology and a Master degree in Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics at Fudan University. He joined Prof. Jimmy Mays’ group in 2007 to pursue his Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry.

Wang’s research mainly focuses on synthesis of well-defined linear and branched polymers by anionic polymerization, post-modification, morphological study of sulfonated and fluorinated polymers, and self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers in aqueous system.

With full devotion to his research, Wang had first-authored and co-authored multiple publications in Soft Matter, Biomacromolecules and European Polymer Journal. Currently, he is working on an invited review for Soft Matter, collaborating with researchers at Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences in Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

Wang is also recently selected the Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research Symposium which will take place at the ACS Sandiego meeting starting on Sunday, March 25, 2012.