Past Seminars & Events

Professor Kenichiro Itami

Professor Kenichiro Itami

Department of Chemistry

Nagoya University, Japan

Abstract

Catalyst-enabled molecular nanocarbon synthesis

Molecular nanocarbons including nanographenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are among the most important classes of compounds, with potential applications in nearly all areas of science and technology. Typically, molecular nanocarbons are structurally simple assemblies of benzene-based hexagons and one can imaginarily build up a range of structures with ease and the theoretically possible number of molecular nanocarbon structures (planar and nonplanar) is extraordinary. However, most of these molecules remain synthetically out of reach due to a lack of synthetic methods, and their potentially huge structure-property diversity has not been fully exploited. This lecture will highlight our programmable, diversity-oriented and growth-from-template synthesis methods for nanographenes based on annulative π-extension (APEX) concept. These methods allow accessing a range of previously untapped planar and nonplanar molecular nanocarbons such as warped nanographenes and infinitene.

Kenichiro Itami

Kenichiro Itami studied chemistry at Kyoto University, Japan, and completed his PhD in 1998 with Prof. Yoshihiko Ito. After being Assistant Professor at Kyoto University, he moved to Nagoya University as an Associate Professor in 2005, where he was promoted to Full Professor in 2008. In 2012 he created the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM) in Nagoya University, serving as the principal investigator (also the founding director until March 2022). During 2013-2020, he was the Research Director of JST-ERATO Itami Molecular Nanocarbon Project. Since 2019, he has also been the Research Fellow at the Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. The work of Ken Itami has centered on catalyst-enabling synthetic chemistry with broad directions including molecular nanocarbon materials, C-H activation catalysts, medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology. The representative achievement is the creation of a range of structurally uniform nanocarbons of fundamental and practical importance by bottom-up chemical synthesis. He is recognized as Highly Cited Researchers (Clarivate Analytics) 5 years in a row since 2017, with an h-index of 83.

 

Professor Abigail Knight

Professor Abigail Knight

Department of Chemistry

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Abstract

Biomimetic hierarchical structure in synthetic macromolecules

The remarkable functions of proteins, from refined binding profiles to efficient catalysis, are currently unrivaled by synthetic macromolecules due to complex hierarchical structure in natural systems. Inspired by this grand challenge, the Knight group is at the interface of chemical biology and polymer science, developing synthetic strategies to control hierarchical structure and high-throughput platforms to understand fundamental design principles underlying macromolecule conformation. These research efforts are motivated by the need for innovative strategies to address global health and environmental challenges, where our foundational work informs the de novo design and development of functional polymeric materials.

Abigail Knight

Abby began her independent career in the UNC Chemistry Department in 2018. She returned to the department eight years after earning her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry as an undergraduate. After graduating from UNC, Abby pursued a PhD in the chemical biology program at the University of California, Berkeley in the lab of Prof. Matthew Francis. Her PhD research focused on the development of a platform applying combinatorial libraries for the identification of selective metal ligands to address major challenges in water and environmental remediation and metal poisoning. As an Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow with Prof. Craig Hawker at the University of California, Santa Barbara, she designed smart nanomaterials with unique architectures and both biological and materials applications. These pursuits provided expertise in chemical biology and polymer science, supporting the Knight Research Group’s mission to design synthetic nanomaterials that rival the capabilities of proteins. Her group has recently been recognized with an NSF CAREER award.

Professor Kenichiro Itami

Professor Kenichiro Itami

Department of Chemistry

Nagoya University, Japan

Abstract

Synthesis of carbon nanorings and carbon nanobelts

The discovery and creation of new forms of carbon have always transformed the scientific landscape. For example, the discoveries of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and graphenes have opened doors to the science of nanometer-sized carbon allotropes, otherwise known as nanocarbons. Since then, researchers worldwide have unveiled their outstanding physical and chemical properties, and a number of applications and technologies have arisen in not only materials science but also biological research fields. The synthesis and study of this privileged class of “single- molecule” compounds has become one of the most engaging subjects in chemistry and holds huge promise to establish new fields in molecular science. However, there have been huge gaps between established small-molecule chemistry and nanocarbon science. In the case of CNTs, it is still not possible to access structurally uniform CNTs. Although a wide range of synthetic methods have been reported, CNTs are generally accessed as a mixture of various structures. One logical strategy to achieve full synthetic control over CNTs is to build up from a template molecule with structural precision (the so-called “growth-from- template” strategy), where a short CNT segment molecule represents an initial synthetic target. To this end, organic synthesis techniques are our most powerful tools to synthesize short CNT segments such as carbon nanorings and carbon nanobelts. This lecture will highlight our 17-year campaign in the synthesis and application of carbon nanorings and carbon nanobelts.

Kenichiro Itami

Kenichiro Itami studied chemistry at Kyoto University, Japan, and completed his PhD in 1998 with Prof. Yoshihiko Ito. After being Assistant Professor at Kyoto University, he moved to Nagoya University as an Associate Professor in 2005, where he was promoted to Full Professor in 2008. In 2012 he created the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM) in Nagoya University, serving as the principal investigator (also the founding director until March 2022). During 2013-2020, he was the Research Director of JST-ERATO Itami Molecular Nanocarbon Project. Since 2019, he has also been the Research Fellow at the Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. The work of Ken Itami has centered on catalyst-enabling synthetic chemistry with broad directions including molecular nanocarbon materials, C-H activation catalysts, medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology. The representative achievement is the creation of a range of structurally uniform nanocarbons of fundamental and practical importance by bottom-up chemical synthesis. He is recognized as Highly Cited Researchers (Clarivate Analytics) 5 years in a row since 2017, with an h-index of 83.

Dr. William Howitz

Dr. William Howitz

Will Howitz earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Irvine in 2020. After graduating he joined the faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he currently works as the Organic Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator. Aside from teaching organic chemistry laboratory and lecture courses, he also leads the graduate teaching assistant training program and conducts chemistry education research. Will’s research is focused on evaluating the impact of specifications grading on student learning and performance, the development of inquiry- driven undergraduate laboratory experiments, and the design of novel pedagogical tools to enhance student learning.

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Dr. Dana Horgen

Dr. Dana Horgen

Dr. Dana Horgen earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from St. Olaf College and then went onto earn her Ph.D. in chemistry from Baylor University in Texas. She has been teaching at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN for the last nine years. While at Rhodes, Dr. Horgen has coordinated the lab curriculum from the general chemistry lab, to organic lab through the analytical lab. She has also taught lecture courses in organic, courses in teaching science and science writing and communication and non-STEM-majors lab courses titled “Chemistry and Art”. Dr. Horgen has developed several new experiments for each lab course but a student favorite is one that utilizes the deep purple azulene and its color shifts as students transform it through EAS and then reduction to produce diastereomeric products, all of which can be monitored via TLC. In addition to teaching chemistry, Dr. Horgen enjoys running. She has helped coach a local high school team, started a Rhodes Running Club, and often runs a few half and full marathons each year.

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POLY PMSE Mechanical Characterization Skills Workshop

Speakers

Gabby Diaz: "Tensile testing"

AJ Zervoudakis: "Peel testing"

Matt Hausladen: "DSC and TGA"

Arit Das: "DMA"

Come learn from senior grad students and postdocs in the polymer group about mechanical characterization techniques they use in their research! Speakers will give 10 minute talks, and lunch will be provided from Cafe Zupas - please RSVP by February 28th if you would like lunch!

RSVP Here

Dr. Michelle Nelson

Dr. Michelle Nelson

Dr. Michelle Nelson is currently a Student-Based Faculty at the University of Minnesota Rochester. At UMR, Dr. Nelson is part of a collaborative, team-teaching environment focused on using best practices to engage students in active learning to teach organic chemistry concepts. She has a strong interest in exploring methods for creating inclusive classrooms that benefit students from diverse backgrounds without need for extra accommodations, including the use of multiple representations for more challenging concepts. She has created and taught labs for Organic Chemistry I and II which included the development of a semester-long project based on exploring sunscreens.

She earned a doctorate in chemistry at the University of California, San Diego where she explored the synthesis and physical properties of triazine nucleosides and the isolation and modification of phorbol esters. After graduation, she performed synthesis for medicinal chemistry purposes and created libraries of organic molecules.

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Professor Randall Goldsmith

Professor Randall Goldsmith

Department of Chemistry

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Abstract

“Deploying photonics technologies for chemical and biophysical measurements”

I will discuss how my group uses whispering gallery mode microresonators, microFabry-Perot cavities, plasmonic nanostructures, and topological photonic structures to develop new instrumentation for making measurements on single molecules and biomolecules.

Randall Goldsmith

Randall Goldsmith is the Helfaer Professor of Chemistry and an affiliate of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He completed undergraduate degrees in chemistry and biology (2002) at Cornell University. He received his Ph.D at Northwestern University (2008) studying photoinduced electron transfer under the direction of Professors Michael Wasielewski and Mark Ratner, and performed post-doctoral work at Stanford University with Professor W.E. Moerner, where he became profoundly convinced that molecules deserve to be looked at one at a time. He has been a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin Madison since 2011 where his research interests span single-molecule spectroscopy, micro and nanophotonics, chemical catalysis, photochemistry, and biophysics. His work has been recognized with a DARPA young faculty award, NSF CAREER award, Alzheimer’s Association Young Faculty Award, Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, and Journal of Physical Chemistry Lectureship Award. He was recently designated a Schmidt Futures Polymath.

Professor Luis A. Colón

Izaak M. Kolthoff Lectureship

Luis A. Colón, Ph.D.

SUNY Distinguished Professor

A. Conger Goodyear Professor of Chemistry Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence, College of Arts and Sciences

University at Buffalo

Abstract

“Study of diarylethene photochromic compounds”

Diarylethene (DAE)-based compounds have emerged as promising molecules with photo-switchable properties for applications in chemistry, materials science, and biotechnology. These photochromic compounds can undergo photo-reversible transformations between two chemical species, typically between ring-open and ring-closed isomeric structures, by means of light absorption (i.e., photoisomerization); the photo-switching renders isomers with distinct physical and chemical properties. To increase the likelihood of producing a solid-state photoactive material for an application, it may be useful to start with the compound in a specific isomeric configuration (e.g., ring-closed of DAE). This can be accomplished by locking a particular conformation in the liquid phase. The synthetic approach to lock such a conformation involves the irradiation of the molecule with UV light, which results in the production of both isomeric species in solution (i.e., ring-open and-closed) as well as other by products. It is important, therefore, to isolate the coexisting isomeric molecules of these compounds to study their individual characteristics. However, it has been difficult to separate and purify these isomers in yields that allow further studies of these compounds. We have studied the formation of a DAE ring-closed isomer as a function of light irradiation time. This allowed us to establish conditions to maximize the formation of a desired product resulting from the photochemical reaction. An upscaled separation method allowed for the isolation/purification of the individual compounds for further studies. The separated isomers were characterized to confirm the isomeric nature of the compounds. In this presentation, the experimental conditions that allowed isolation of DAE isomers will be discussed as well as the findings related to the formation of the different DAE isomeric species.

Luis A. Colón Graphic 3

Luis A. Colón

Luis A. Colón received the B.Sc. degree in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, the Ph.D. degree in chemistry from UMASS-Lowell, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University before joining
the Department of Chemistry at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. He is currently a SUNY Distinguished Professor and the A. Conger Goodyear Chair Professor of Chemistry. He also serves as Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences. His current research focuses on the study and characterization of materials for use in separation science and chemical measurements. Of particular interest are the development of chromatographic media for liquid phase separations and the development of new strategies to separate and analyze complex chemical or biochemical sample mixtures (e.g., biofluids, intracellular components, protein digests, and pharmaceutical drugs). He also works on issues that advance diversity in graduate education. His has mentored over 50 graduate students.

Luis Colón is Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS), the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). He has been awarded the NSF Special Creativity Award, the Benedetti-Pichler Award from the Microchemical Society, the Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal (ACS- WNY), the EAS Outstanding Achievements in Separation Science Award, and the Dal Nogare Award in Chromatography. Other distinctions include the AAAS Mentor Award, ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences, the ACS Stanley C. Israel Award, and the USA Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.

Host: Professor Edgar Arriaga

Professor Luis A. Colón

Izaak M. Kolthoff Lectureship

Luis A. Colón, Ph.D.

SUNY Distinguished Professor

A. Conger Goodyear Professor of Chemistry Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence, College of Arts and Sciences

University at Buffalo

Abstract

“Tinkering with silica: new approaches to modified silica materials”

Silica can be considered a ubiquitous material with a widespread of applications in chemical and biomedical research, let alone its multiple industrial applications. My research group investigates new approaches to synthesize silica materials and their chemical functionalization for several applications. This has led to the synthesis of stable hybrid silicas in the monolithic and particulate formats, studies of submicron hybrid particles for separations under ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatographic and capillary elelctrochromatographic modes, as well as exploring non-conventional methods to silica modification. One of our major research efforts is the production of silica particulates that can be utilized in chemical separations. In this lecture, I will present our recent work on two fronts: 1) the use of diazotization reactions to synthesize a thin polyphenylene-like layer on the silica particle surface, and 2) the synthesis of radially oriented nanostructures of organo-silica hybrid layers in a core-shell format. In both cases, the particulate’s surface contains a reactive pendant that allows for further surface functionalization, while preserving desired particle properties. I will discuss the synthetic approach used and the physicochemical characteristics of the synthesized silica material, as well as their potential use in chemical separations.

Luis A. Colón Graphic 2

 

Luis A. Colón

Luis A. Colón received the B.Sc. degree in chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, the Ph.D. degree in chemistry from UMASS-Lowell, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University before joining
the Department of Chemistry at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. He is currently a SUNY Distinguished Professor and the A. Conger Goodyear Chair Professor of Chemistry. He also serves as Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences. His current research focuses on the study and characterization of materials for use in separation science and chemical measurements. Of particular interest are the development of chromatographic media for liquid phase separations and the development of new strategies to separate and analyze complex chemical or biochemical sample mixtures (e.g., biofluids, intracellular components, protein digests, and pharmaceutical drugs). He also works on issues that advance diversity in graduate education. His has mentored over 50 graduate students.

Luis Colón is Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS), the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). He has been awarded the NSF Special Creativity Award, the Benedetti-Pichler Award from the Microchemical Society, the Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal (ACS- WNY), the EAS Outstanding Achievements in Separation Science Award, and the Dal Nogare Award in Chromatography. Other distinctions include the AAAS Mentor Award, ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences, the ACS Stanley C. Israel Award, and the USA Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.

Host: Professor Edgar Arriaga