The Chemistry of Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament
Shirley Johnson, Tucker Creek Consulting, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Retired
Thursday, March 3, 2011, 7:00 PM, (Refreshments at 6:30 PM) Aquinas Hall, Room 216, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY
Contact: Lynn Maelia (Lynn.Maelia@msmc.edu or 845-569-3131)
About the lecture: Shirley Johnson’s area of expertise is in the safeguarding of reprocessing plants and design verification. The lecture will start with her efforts in Japan as an IAEA inspector and Project Head for designing and implementing safeguards in the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, which is the largest safeguards challenge that the IAEA has ever undertaken. She will address the measurements and process monitoring required in implementing a safeguards approach for nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. Shirley will also present her work and experiences in Iraq as a member of the 4th inspection team in 1991. She was appointed to the team to evaluate the efforts and progress that Iraq had achieved in developing reprocessing capabilities. Some slides from the inspection will be shown. Shirley has also worked with Princeton University and the International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM) on ways of verifying a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT). Verification of nuclear weapon treaties such as this has been one of the big stumbling blocks and a major reason that it hasn’t been signed. She will present some of her work on verifying chemical processes such as reprocessing, conversion, enrichment and fabrication plants, so that they are not to be used as part of a nuclear weapons program.
Exploring Chemistry at Bacterial Surfaces Using Atomic Force Microscopy
Megan Ferguson Assistant Professor, Chemistry Department, SUNY New Paltz
Thursday, March 31, 2011, 7:00 PM, (Refreshments at 6:30 PM) Sci Vis Lab, Mudd Chemistry Building, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Contact: Zach Donhauser (zadonhauser@vassar.edu or 845-437-5739)
About the lecture: Bacteria modify their surface properties to more effectively interact with their environment. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to collect high-quality images of bacteria for some time, but only recently has it also been used to quantify physical properties of bacterial surfaces in native fluid environments. Force curve data have been collected on five different types of living bacteria. Cell stiffness and cell-AFM tip adhesion data show that these physical properties can be directly related to the biochemistry of cell membranes. Cells forming a biofilm are stiffer than their planktonic counterparts forced to adhere to a chemically modified surface. These techniques, as well as chemically functionalized AFM tips, are being used to more specifically probe how Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus and Pseudomonas putida adapt to altered environmental conditions.
About the speaker: Megan Ferguson attended University of Maryland, Baltimore County and received B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Geography & Environmental Systems in 2000. She went on to the California Institute of Technology, where she conducted research on the photocatalyzed oxidation of As(III) by TiO2. Her postdoctoral position at Occidental College combined research on the surface chemistry of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus with mentoring undergraduate researchers. In 2007 she joined the SUNY New Paltz Chemistry Department, and she has further broadened her research scope to include surface chemistry of various bacteria.
Synthesis
and Adaptive Behavior of Reversibly-Formed, Nanostructured Polymers
Frantz
Folmer-Andersen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, State University of New York at New Paltz
Wednesday,
March 3rd, 2010
7:00
PM
Mudd Chemistry Building, SciVis Classroom
Vassar College
(Refreshments
at 6:30 PM)
Contact: Joe Tanski at (845) 437-7503 or by e-mail at jotanski@vassar.edu
A series of amphiphilic dialdehyde and dihydrazide monomers were synthesized, and shown to undergo reversible polymerization by hydrazone condensation in acidic aqueous solution. The polymers were studied by methods including size exclusion chromatography, transmission electron microscopy, and neutron and light scattering. The data support the existence of rod-like nanostructures of variable lengths and constant diameters, which are interpreted as individually folded polymer chains. Because of unusual solubility properties, the polymers are observed to undergo reversible chain growth upon heating. Additionally, the system displays remarkable resistance to molecular weight degradation when one monomer is in excess, which suggests that polymer folding provides an energetic driving force for polymerization. This idea is further supported by the fact that the more hydrophobic of the two dihydrazide monomers is selectively polymerized in direct competition experiments, but this selectivity is lost in less polar aqueous-organic solvent mixtures. The demonstrated ability of non-covalent interactions (in this case hydrophobic forces) to direct the spontaneous formation of certain polymer sequences from a mixture of reversibly interacting components will be discussed in terms of its possible relevance to prebiotic evolution.
Greening
the Chemistry Curriculum
Michael
C. Cann, Ph.D.
Professor
of Chemistry,
SUNY
New Paltz
(Refreshments
in CSB 319 at
Contact: Dan Freedman at 845-257-3795 or by e-mail at freedmad@newpaltz.edu
About
the lecture: Green
chemistry in the US can trace its major roots back to the early 1990s with the
passage of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 and the subsequent formal
focus on green chemistry by the EPA in 1991. Since this time research and
development in green chemistry/technology has gained considerable momentum.
Many companies and academic research faculty now recognize the environmental
and economic benefits that environmentally benign chemistry has to offer. If
we are to broaden the base of those that view chemistry with a "green
tint," then green chemistry must be infused into conventional chemistry
courses that are offered in the traditional college chemistry curriculum. It
should be "second nature" for our students of today and the chemists
of tomorrow, to view all chemistry with pollution prevention in mind.
Ways in which we have infused green chemistry into the curriculum will
be addressed. This discussion will include the green chemistry web-based
modules that have been developed with the aid of a Camille and Henry Dreyfus
Foundation grant, and the book "Real-World Cases in Green Chemistry"
funded by the ACS/EPA (Please see academic.scranton.edu/faculty/CANNM1/greenchemistry.html).
In addition we will focus on the ACS/EPA Green Chemistry Educational Materials
Development Project (please visit www.acs.org
and click on the ACS Green Chemistry Institute® link for more
information).
About
the speaker:
Michael Cann was born and raised in the
Directions to SUNY New Paltz:
From NYS Thruway Exit 18, turn left at the traffic light after the toll
booth. Turn left at the third traffic light onto
A Self-Employed Application Chemist’s Odyssey in the World of Analytical Instrument Development
The
Viability of a $50K High Resolution NMR and $15K ESR Spectrometers
Dr.
John C. Edwards
Process
NMR Associates, LLC
Donnelly
Hall, Room 225 (DN 225)
(Refreshments
at
Contact: Jocelyn Nadeau
at 845-575-3000 x2224 or by e-mail at Jocelyn.Nadeau@marist.edu
About the lecture: The availability of
cheap commodity electronics developed for the cellular phone industry is
revolutionizing the design of NMR and ESR spectrometers. Rather than
instruments that fill half a room, cost $200-3,000K+, and intimidate users, it
is possible to produce spectrometers that are an order of magnitude cheaper to
produce. Examples of NMR and ESR spectrometer development projects will be
described as well as the wide-ranging applications that these spectrometers
can deliver to the areas or process control, food authentification and
automated laboratory analysis.
About the speaker:
John Edwards was born and raised in
Gangliosides
of Smooth Muscle Cells in Culture: Effect of Ascorbate
Dr.
Joseph A. Skrivanek
Professor
and Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Director
of Baccalaureate and
Horton Hall, Room 1
(Refreshments
at
Contact: Tim MacMahon at
845-341-4575 or by e-mail at timothy.macmahon@sunyorange.edu
About the lecture:
Gangliosides are a family of
sialic acid-containing glycolipids found in high concentrations in neurons and
in lower levels in other vertebrate tissues. Significant quantitative and
qualitative differences have been noted in relation to both organ and species.
In extra neural tissues, these glycolipids may mediate cell adhesion to the
extracellular matrix, possibly through interaction with fibronectin.
Previous work has shown that ascorbate supplementation leads to the
formation of an extracellular matrix consisting primarily of collagen and that
this matrix influences the biosynthetic capabilities of the cell. In the work
to be described, the ganglioside composition of calf aortic smooth muscle
cells, cultured in the presence and absence of ascorbate, was analyzed.
Ascorbate supplementation resulted in increased ganglioside sialic acid levels
and a change in chromatographic profile involving both absolute and relative
increases in GD1a. These findings will be discussed in relation to the
proposed role of gangliosides as mediators in the interaction of various cells
with extracellular matrix.
About the speaker:
Dr. Joseph Skrivanek
received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Chemistry from the
Biobleaching
Enzymes for Green Production of White Paper
by
Elisa M. Woolridge
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics
Marist College
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Mudd Chemistry Building, Third Floor
Refreshments will be served at 6:30 pm
Contact:
Abstract:
The paper industry has a notorious reputation for using harsh pulping and
bleaching chemicals to produce a white, bright product.
Many companies, in the interest of minimizing the environmental impact
of their processes, have turned to solutions found in nature to degrade lignin
and liberate cellulose, the prized substance for papermaking.
For example, the biomass-processing enzymes laccase and xylanase can
independently modestly reduce the amount of chlorine dioxide required for
bleached pulp production. Although
combined enzyme treatment is anticipated to be appealing to biomass-converting
industries seeking to implement green processes, simultaneous incubation of
these enzymes results in the rapid loss of xylanase activity.
This talk will give an overview of biotechnology processes used in the
industry and will also report on the progress of our research to understand
and improve such processes.
Bio: Elisa M. Woolridge was appointed Assistant Professor of Chemistry in Marist College’s Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, & Physics in 2002. Dr. Woolridge earned her PhD in Organic Chemistry with a research emphasis in mechanistic enzymology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1990; her BS in Biochemistry was awarded with Departmental Honors from Millersville University of Pennsylvania in 1985. After completing graduate studies, Dr. Woolridge served for several years as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland at College Park. Dr. Woolridge joined Marist College after nearly a decade of industrial research, where, as Research Scientist for International Paper Company, she had the opportunity to develop and optimize process chemistry, with particular emphasis on biotechnology applications. Her research aims to understand the mechanisms of enzymes responsible for the metabolism of aromatic and carbohydrate polymers, driven by the need to develop enzyme systems for environmentally benign conversion of lignocellulosics, the world’s largest renewable energy resource.
The Wood-Based Biorefinery in a Petroleum Depleted World
By
Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry
State
(* Formerly of Texaco R&D, Beacon, NY)
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Mudd Chemistry Building, Third Floor
Refreshments will be served at 6:30 pm
Contact:
Abstract: The 21st century is envisioned to become the “age of biology” as renewable biomass resources replace petroleum in energy and industrial product applications. Motivated by concerns over national energy security, global CO2 reduction, a need for biodegradable products, and enhanced rural economic development, the engineering and construction of “biorefineries” for the manufacture of fuels, chemicals, polymeric materials and power from renewable resources is now a critical national priority. The context and intent of a biorefinery must be much more than simply replacing crude oil with renewable raw materials. A successful biorefinery must: 1) efficiently separate its raw material source into individual components, and, 2) be able to convert these components into marketplace products. The biorefinery must mirror the efficiency of today’s modern petrochemical refinery in using all components of its raw material source for the production of chemicals, fuels, and power.
See the Stipanovic Website at SUNY_ESF for further details.....http://www.esf.edu/chemistry/faculty/stipanov.htm
Bio:
Dr. Arthur J. Stipanovic is currently Professor and Chair of the
Department of Chemistry at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and
Forestry (SUNY-ESF) in
Sometimes the Arene Comes off and Sometimes it Doesn’t:
Synthetic and Catalytic Applications of Ruthenium-Arene Complexes
By
Dr. Daniel Freedman
Department
of Chemistry
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Coykendall Science Building, Room 320
Refreshments will be served at 6:30 pm
Contact:
Abstract: For several years my students and I have been investigating the synthetic and catalytic applications of “piano stool”-type ruthenium complexes in which the “seat” is an arene ligand like benzene and the three “legs” of the stool can be a variety of other ligands. We have demonstrated that when one of the “legs” is a nitro group, the arene ligand can be easily displaced. We have used this reactivity to prepare a variety of complexes that have applications in the development of sensors and oxygen-activation catalysts. When the “legs” are stronger electron donors, such as diketonate, ketoiminate, and diketiminate ligands, the Ru-arene bond is quite stable and the complexes act as catalysts for transfer-hydrogenation reactions.
Improving Biodiesel Stability and Lubricant Anti-Wear/ Friction Modifier Performance Through Additive Technology
Frank J. DeBlase, Ph.D.
Sr. Research Scientist, Chemtura Corporation, Middlebury CT
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
7:00 PM
Donnelly Hall, Room 240
Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York
(Refreshments at 6:30 PM)
Contact: Neil Fitzgerald at 845-575-3000, ext. 2491 or by e-mail at Neil.Fitzgerald@marist.edu
About the speaker: Dr. DeBlase received a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry with a minor in Polymer Chemistry from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. After working in the area of applied spectroscopy at Harrick Scientific Corp., he spent over sixteen years as a research chemist for Chevron/Texaco, Texaco Additives Corporation, and Texaco Research and Development. In 2004, he joined Chemtura Corporation where he presently works as a Senior Research Scientist in the areas of fuels and lube tribology, biodiesel antioxidants, and new additive development. His current efforts are in process chemistry, new additive development, 6-sigma project management, and technical supports for Naugalube® antioxidants, Naugalube® friction modifiers/anti-wear additives, and Synton® poly-alpha-olefins. He is an active member of ASTM, ACS, and Sigma XI.
Greening
the Chemistry Curriculum
Michael
C. Cann, Ph.D.
Professor
of Chemistry,
SUNY
New Paltz
(Refreshments
in CSB 319 at
Contact: Dan Freedman at
845-257-3795 or by e-mail at freedmad@newpaltz.edu
About the lecture: Green
chemistry in the US can trace its major roots back to the early 1990s with the
passage of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 and the subsequent formal
focus on green chemistry by the EPA in 1991. Since this time research and
development in green chemistry/technology has gained considerable momentum.
Many companies and academic research faculty now recognize the environmental
and economic benefits that environmentally benign chemistry has to offer. If
we are to broaden the base of those that view chemistry with a "green
tint," then green chemistry must be infused into conventional chemistry
courses that are offered in the traditional college chemistry curriculum. It
should be "second nature" for our students of today and the chemists
of tomorrow, to view all chemistry with pollution prevention in mind.
Ways in which we have infused green chemistry into the curriculum will
be addressed. This discussion will include the green chemistry web-based
modules that have been developed with the aid of a Camille and Henry Dreyfus
Foundation grant, and the book "Real-World Cases in Green Chemistry"
funded by the ACS/EPA (Please see academic.scranton.edu/faculty/CANNM1/greenchemistry.html).
In addition we will focus on the ACS/EPA Green Chemistry Educational Materials
Development Project (please visit www.acs.org
and click on the ACS Green Chemistry Institute® link for more
information).
What’s
in Your Curry?
Dr.
Kishore Bagga
Department
of Chemistry
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Donnelly 237
Refreshments will be served in Donnelly 235 at 6:30 pm
See the newly renovated chemistry labs!
Contact:
Abstract: The presentation shall touch on a variety of herbs and spices commonly used in the making of a curry. Historical, chemical, medicinal, herbal and culinary aspects of the ingredients shall be discussed. The presentation shall include samples of spices and /or herbs to view and smell. Special tips with regards to the use of the contents shall be shared.
“vassar’s
new x-ray diffractometer: Structural Diversity in NANOPOROUS Titanium
Aryloxide Metal-Organic NetworkS”
Dr.
Joseph M. Tanski
Department
of Chemistry
Contact
Neil Fitzgerald (Marist) at 845-575-3000
ext. 2491 or by e-mail at Neil.Fitzgerald@marist.edu.
About
the lecture: Chiral nanoporous
metal-organic coordination network (MOCN) materials have emerged as an active
area of research in the field of crystalline materials engineering.
Such materials have potential application as tunable heterogeneous
asymmetric catalysts. A key
feature of MOCN materials is that considerable structural predictive ability
exists over traditional solid-state inorganic compounds in their design.
A new CCD X-ray diffractometer has made the necessary structural work
possible at Vassar. Crystallography
and the instrument itself will be discussed in the context of current work on
the synthesis and characterization of a unique class of covalent early
transition metal aryloxide MOCN compounds.
Diverse network architectures are obtained based on different
4,4’-bisphenoxide bridging ligands. The
reaction of Ti(OR)4 (R
= isopropyl, S-(+)-2-butyl) with a dihydroxy functionalized organic spacer
(4,4'-biphenol, bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfide, bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)methane) in
various solvents (ether, tetrahydrofuran or pyridine) at 130˚ C affords
microcrystalline materials which have been characterized by single crystal
X-ray diffraction. These include a
homochiral three-dimensional coordination polymer from 4,4'-biphenol, {[Ti(OC6H4C6H4O)1.5(O-(S)-(+)-2-Bu)(HO-(S)-(+)-2-Bu)]2}n,
and several polymers derived from bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfide, including a
three-dimensional network {[Ti(OC6H4SH2C6H4O)2]2}n,
two-dimensional sheet {[Ti(OC6H4SH2C6H4O)2(THF)2]2}n
and a one-dimensional chain, [Ti(OC6H4SC6H4O)2(py)2]n.
In order to probe how the structural features of the dihydroxy spacer
ligand precursors may affect MOCN structure, the X-ray structures of Bisphenol-A
(bis(4-hydroxyphyl)-2-propane) and three of its derivatives have been
determined. The results show that
the Caryl-E-Caryl angle (where E = S, 104.21(4)º; C(CH3)2,
108.9(7)º; CH2, 114.85(7)º; O, 118.8(1)º) may be integral in
controlling network dimensionality and topology in metal-aryloxide networks
obtained from derivatives of Bisphenol-A.
About
the speaker: Dr. Tanski earned his A.B. in chemistry from
Directions:
For a campus map, please visit www.marist.edu/welcome/map.html.
“An Industrial
Chemist’s Perspective of the Alkylation of Naphthalene from Laboratory to
Pilot Plant”
King
Industries,
About the lecture: Alkylated naphthalenes are a unique class of synthetic fluids with
outstanding thermo-oxidative stability relative to conventional mineral base
oils and many synthetic fluids, such as esters and poly-alpha-olefins.
This talk will discuss the relationship between the general structure of the
alkylated naphthalene and its physical and chemical properties. In particular,
various structural characteristics, such as the alkyl chain length, alkyl chain
branching, and number of alkyl groups on the naphthalene ring, will be
correlated to properties such as thermo-oxidative stability, viscosity,
viscosity index, pour point and solubility parameter. Additionally a general
discussion of the challenges an industrial chemist encounters during transition
from laboratory to the pilot plant.
About
the speaker: Mr.
Abramshe is currently employed as a Process Development chemist for King
Industries located in Norwalk, Ct. In his current position he is responsible for
the scale-up of industrial processes from the laboratory to pilot plant scale,
up to 500 gallons. He received his BS in Chemistry from
Directions
to SUNY New Paltz: Take I-87 to Exit 18 and turn left at the
traffic light after the toll plaza (Rte. 299). From Rte. 299, turn left at the
third traffic light onto
"8th
Annual ACS Undergraduate Chemistry Research Symposium
Wednesday,
April 25, 2007
, 3:30
– 8:00 PM
, Students
Talk:
Dinner:
Guest
Speaker: Dr. Thomas Mallouk
The
Mid-Hudson Section of the American Chemical Society is pleased to announce the
eighth annual Undergraduate Chemistry Research Symposium to be held at
The
Symposium: The symposium will
be held from
Please
submit your abstract, via e-mail or diskette, to:
Dr.
Joe Tanski
Department
of Chemistry
Phone:
845-437-7503
E-mail:
jotanski@vassar.edu
Dinner:
Please make reservations with Dr. Joe Tanski by Friday,
April 13.
Dinner will be at
Directions:
About
the Speaker: Dr. Mallouk is
the DuPont Professor of Materials Chemistry and Physics and the Director of the
Center for Nanoscale Science at
"Microwaves
for Fast, Clean, Easy Organic Synthesis"
Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater
Wednesday, May 9th, 2007, Room 303, Aqunias Hall, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, New York
About the lecture: Microwave heating offers a way to make molecules quickly, easily and cleanly. In this presentation, microwave promoted synthesis of a range of organic compounds will be discussed as well as the challenges facing chemists wanting to use microwave chemistry to make large quantities of their target compounds. In addition to the application of microwave heating to the preparation of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, the fast easy and rapid synthesis of the valuable biofuel biodiesel will also be showcased.