Past Seminars & Events
Enhancing Wellbeing and Emotional Resilience, Mindfully
Department of Chemistry Strengthening Climate Event
Mariann Johnson
Mindfulness and Wellbeing Instructor
Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing
University of Minnesota
This experiential and interactive session will provide participants an opportunity to pause and reflect on their personal wellbeing and present mindfulness as an evidence-based tool for reducing stress and enhancing emotional resilience. Research has demonstrated that practicing mindfulness can broaden our perspective and down regulate the stress response, allowing us to be with life’s inevitable challenges more resourcefully. Mindfulness will also be explored as a relational practice; when we are mindful, we are often able to see and respond to others with greater sensitivity, understanding and compassion. The session will also include a mindfulness meditation and provide participants with practical tips for incorporating wellbeing and mindfulness into their everyday lives.
DEI Seminar: Daniel Gonzalez
Daniel Gonzalez
Dept. of Organizational Leadership, Policy, & Development
University of Minnesota
Host: Chemistry D&I Grad Student Training Working Group
The Latinization of the American Student: The Impact of Systemic Silencing & Implications for the Education Arena
Since 2000 the Latine/Hispanic population has been the largest racial minority within the United States; however, Latine students also have the largest educational opportunity gaps across racial identities. The session will begin with participants discovering the historical context of migration patterns, demographic shifts, and statistical differences related to educational attainment. Then, participants will unpack literature centering Latine student experiences and focus on research-based practices to help transform said experiences. The session will examine narratives illustrating systemic silencing in the education arena while also showcasing recommendations for improvement.
Daniel Gonzalez
Daniel Gonzalez (he/him/his) completed his B.S. and M.S.Ed. in Music Education from The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. Since completing his M.S.Ed., he has worked at the University of Southern Mississippi, Western Kentucky University, and currently at UMN in student retention roles within residential life and orientation and transition functions. As a proud first-generation student, low-income background, queer, Puerto Rican, Daniel has witnessed first-hand some of the barriers to success for those that hold similar identities. These experiences ground him in his purpose to create an environment that allows all to access and persist within higher education.
Professor Varinder Aggarwal
Gassman Lecture #3
Professor Varinder Aggarwal
School of Chemistry
University of Bristol, UK
Host: Professor Courtney Roberts
Organocatalysis applied to the Synthesis of Prostaglandins
Prostaglandins have been attractive targets in total synthesis for over 50 years, resulting in the development of new synthetic strategies and methodologies that have served the broader chemical community. However, these molecules are not just of academic interest, a number of prostaglandin analogues are used in the clinic, and some are even on the WHO list of essential medicines. In this lecture, I will describe our own approach to the family of prostaglandins, which centers around the synthesis of a key enal intermediate, formed from the L-proline catalysed dimerization of succinaldehyde. I will highlight the discovery and further optimization of this key reaction, its scale up, and subsequent application to a range of prostanoids including PGF2a, thromboxane A2, and beraprost.
Selected papers:
S. Bennett, G. Coulthard, V. K. Aggarwal, Chem. Rec., 2020, 20, 936–947.
C. Jing, S. Mallah, E. Kriemen, S. H. Bennett, V. Fasano, A. J. J. Lennox, I. Hers, V. K. Aggarwal, ACS Cent. Sci., 2020, 6, 995.
A. Pelss, N. Gandhamsetty, J. R. Smith, D. Mailhol, M. Silvi, A. Watson, I. Perez-Powell, S. Prévost, N. Schützenmeister, P, Moore, V. K. Aggarwal, Chem. Eur. J., 2018, 24, 9542.
H. Baars, M. J. Classen, V. K. Aggarwal, Org. Lett., 2017, 19, 6008.
S. Prévost, K. Thai, N. Schützenmeister, G. Coulthard, W. Erb, V. K. Aggarwal, Org. Lett., 2015, 17, 504.
G. Coulthard, W. Erb, V. K. Aggarwal, Nature, 2012, 489, 278-281.
Varinder Aggarwal
Varinder K. Aggarwal studied chemistry at Cambridge University and received his Ph.D. in 1986 under the guidance of Dr. Stuart Warren. After postdoctoral studies (1986-1988) under Prof. Gilbert Stork, Columbia University, he returned to the UK as a Lecturer at Bath University. In 1991 he moved to Sheffield University, where he was promoted to Professor in in 1997. In 2000 he moved to Bristol University where he holds the Chair in Synthetic Chemistry. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2012. Professor Aggarwal is a renowned organic chemist who has developed new chemical methods to assemble complex, biologically important molecules. His research includes new ways of speeding up, or catalysing chemical reactions, developing new classes of reagents for iterative synthesis, and applications of these methods in medicine, such as helping to provide more effective routes to potential vaccines against tuberculosis.
Gassman Lectureship in Chemistry
Regents Professor Paul G. Gassman died in April 1993, at the age of 57. He was internationally know in the chemical community, and left behind a legacy of achievement. During his career, he served as mentor and adviser to 85 doctoral and master’s candidates as well as dozens of postdoctoral associates and undergraduate students. Numerous awards, honors, and honorary degrees were bestowed in recognition of his contributions to research and his service to the scientific, professional, and university communities. Some of these awards include election to the National Academy of Sciences (1989) and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1992); the James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry (1985); Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1986); and the National Catalyst Award of the Chemical Manufacturers Association (1990). He served as president of the American Chemical Society in 1990. He was co-chair of the organizing committees of the National Organic Symposium (1991) and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research meeting (1992), on the University of Minnesota campus. It was his wish that a lectureship be established to bring distinguished organic chemists to the Department of Chemistry. We are proud to present this lecture series in his honor.
Professor Varinder Aggarwal
Gassman Lecture #2
Professor Varinder Aggarwal
School of Chemistry
University of Bristol, UK
Host: Professor Courtney Roberts
Synergy Between Photoredox Catalysis and Organoboron Chemistry
Photoredox chemistry has emerged as a powerful method to access radical intermediates under mild conditions. In this lecture I will show how radicals generated under such conditions can interact with different boron trapping agents, including vinyl boronic esters, vinyl boronates and bicyclobutylboronates. I will demonstrate the potential to make an array of new C-C bonds while retaining the highly versatile boronic ester.
Selected papers:
C. Shu, A. Noble, V. K. Aggarwal, Nature, 2020, 586, 714–719.
M. Silvi, V. K. Aggarwal, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2019, 141, 9511–9515.
A. Fawcett, J. Pradeilles, Y. Wang, T. Mutsuga, E. L. Myers, V. K. Aggarwal, Science, 2017, 357, 283–286.
A. Noble, R. S. Mega, D. Pflästerer, E. L. Myers, V. K. Aggarwal, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2018, 57, 2155.
M. Silvi, C. Sandford, V. K. Aggarwal, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2017, 139, 5736–5739.
Varinder Aggarwal
Varinder K. Aggarwal studied chemistry at Cambridge University and received his Ph.D. in 1986 under the guidance of Dr. Stuart Warren. After postdoctoral studies (1986-1988) under Prof. Gilbert Stork, Columbia University, he returned to the UK as a Lecturer at Bath University. In 1991 he moved to Sheffield University, where he was promoted to Professor in in 1997. In 2000 he moved to Bristol University where he holds the Chair in Synthetic Chemistry. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2012. Professor Aggarwal is a renowned organic chemist who has developed new chemical methods to assemble complex, biologically important molecules. His research includes new ways of speeding up, or catalysing chemical reactions, developing new classes of reagents for iterative synthesis, and applications of these methods in medicine, such as helping to provide more effective routes to potential vaccines against tuberculosis.
Gassman Lectureship in Chemistry
Regents Professor Paul G. Gassman died in April 1993, at the age of 57. He was internationally know in the chemical community, and left behind a legacy of achievement. During his career, he served as mentor and adviser to 85 doctoral and master’s candidates as well as dozens of postdoctoral associates and undergraduate students. Numerous awards, honors, and honorary degrees were bestowed in recognition of his contributions to research and his service to the scientific, professional, and university communities. Some of these awards include election to the National Academy of Sciences (1989) and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1992); the James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry (1985); Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1986); and the National Catalyst Award of the Chemical Manufacturers Association (1990). He served as president of the American Chemical Society in 1990. He was co-chair of the organizing committees of the National Organic Symposium (1991) and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research meeting (1992), on the University of Minnesota campus. It was his wish that a lectureship be established to bring distinguished organic chemists to the Department of Chemistry. We are proud to present this lecture series in his honor.
Professor Varinder Aggarwal
Gassman Lecture #1
Professor Varinder Aggarwal
School of Chemistry
University of Bristol, UK
Host: Professor Courtney Roberts
Assembly Line Synthesis
Nature has evolved highly sophisticated machinery for organic synthesis, many of which resemble molecular assembly-line processes. So far chemists have been able to apply this type of approach in the synthesis of peptides and oligonucleotides but in these reactions, simple amide (C‒N) or phosphate (P‒O) bonds are created. It is much more difficult to make C‒C bonds but this is central to the discipline of organic synthesis. This difficulty is why organic synthesis is challenging and why robust, iterative or automated methodologies have not yet emerged.
Here, we describe the application of iterative homologation of boronic esters using chiral lithiated carbamates and chloromethyllithium enabling us to grow carbon chains with control over both relative and absolute stereochemistry. Applications of this strategy to the synthesis of natural products will be demonstrated. In addition, the methodology is used to answer fundamental questions about nature and the specific role of methyl substituents in carbon chains. By understanding their role, I will show that molecules can be created with linear or helical conformations or hybrids of the two.
Selected papers:
K. Yeung, R. C. Mykura, V. K. Aggarwal, Nat Synth, 2022, 1, 117–126.
J. L. Stymiest, G. Dutheuil, A. Mahmood, V. K. Aggarwal, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2007, 46, 7491.
J. L. Stymiest, V. Bagutski, R. M. French, V. K. Aggarwal, Nature, 2008, 456, 778.
S. Balieu, G. E. Hallett, M. Burns, T. Bootwicha, J. Studley, V. K. Aggarwal, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2015, 137, 4398.
M. Burns, S. Essafi, J. R. Bame, S. P. Bull, M. P. Webster, S. Balieu, J. W. Dale, C. P. Butts, J. N. Harvey, V. K. Aggarwal, Nature, 2014, 513, 183.
J. Wu, P. Lorenzo, S. Zhong, M. Ali, C. P. Butts, E. L. Myers, V. K. Aggarwal, Nature, 2017, 547, 436.
C. Sandford, V. K. Aggarwal, Chem. Commun., 2017, 53, 5481.
K. Yeung, R. C. Mykura, V. K. Aggarwal, Nat Synth, 2022, 1, 117–126.
Varinder Aggarwal
Varinder K. Aggarwal studied chemistry at Cambridge University and received his Ph.D. in 1986 under the guidance of Dr. Stuart Warren. After postdoctoral studies (1986-1988) under Prof. Gilbert Stork, Columbia University, he returned to the UK as a Lecturer at Bath University. In 1991 he moved to Sheffield University, where he was promoted to Professor in in 1997. In 2000 he moved to Bristol University where he holds the Chair in Synthetic Chemistry. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2012. Professor Aggarwal is a renowned organic chemist who has developed new chemical methods to assemble complex, biologically important molecules. His research includes new ways of speeding up, or catalysing chemical reactions, developing new classes of reagents for iterative synthesis, and applications of these methods in medicine, such as helping to provide more effective routes to potential vaccines against tuberculosis.
Gassman Lectureship in Chemistry
Regents Professor Paul G. Gassman died in April 1993, at the age of 57. He was internationally know in the chemical community, and left behind a legacy of achievement. During his career, he served as mentor and adviser to 85 doctoral and master’s candidates as well as dozens of postdoctoral associates and undergraduate students. Numerous awards, honors, and honorary degrees were bestowed in recognition of his contributions to research and his service to the scientific, professional, and university communities. Some of these awards include election to the National Academy of Sciences (1989) and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1992); the James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry (1985); Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1986); and the National Catalyst Award of the Chemical Manufacturers Association (1990). He served as president of the American Chemical Society in 1990. He was co-chair of the organizing committees of the National Organic Symposium (1991) and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research meeting (1992), on the University of Minnesota campus. It was his wish that a lectureship be established to bring distinguished organic chemists to the Department of Chemistry. We are proud to present this lecture series in his honor.
Professor Jonathan R. Nitschke
Kolthoff Lecture #3
Professor Jonathan R. Nitschke
Department of Chemistry
University of Cambridge, UK
Host: Professor Valerie Pierre
Material through Subcomponent Self-Assembly: Catalysts, Sensors, and Polymers
“Subcomponent self-assembly”[1] describes the formation of complex structures from simpler building blocks through the concomitant formation of coordinative (N→Metal) and dynamic-covalent imine (N=C) bonds. Some of the structures formed using this technique can serve as useful materials. Capsules can act as catalysts,[2] and they can sense and report the presence of a guest through fluorescence[3] or magnetism.[4] Double-helical metal-organic polymers[5] also show potentially useful properties as optoelectronic materials and memristors.
Figure 1. From left to right: catalytic transformation of a high-energy cyclic intermediate into a specific open-chain product;[2c] a spin-crossover cage that can magnetically sense guests;[4] a CuI4 model compound[6] for a series of copper-containing conjugated metallopolymers.[7]
[1] J. R. Nitschke, Acc. Chem. Res. 2007, 40, 103-112.
[2] (a) Z. Lu, R. Lavendomme, O. Burghaus, J. R. Nitschke, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 9073-9077; (b) P. P. Neelakandan, A. Jiménez, J. D. Thoburn, J. R. Nitschke, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 14378-14382; (c) A. G. Salles, S. Zarra, R. M. Turner, J. R. Nitschke, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 17052-17059.
[3] A. J. Plajer, E. G. Percastegui, M. Santella, F. J. Rizzuto, Q. Gan, B. W. Laursen, J. R. Nitschke, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 4200-4204.
[4] R. A. Bilbeisi, S. Zarra, H. L. C. Feltham, G. N. L. Jameson, J. K. Clegg, S. Brooker, J. R. Nitschke, Chem. Eur. J. 2013, 19, 8058-8062.
[5] J. L. Greenfield, J. R. Nitschke, Acc. Chem. Res. 2022, 55, 391-[391-401.
[6] J. L. Greenfield, F. J. Rizzuto, I. Goldberga, J. Nitschke, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 7541-7545.
[7] J. L. Greenfield, D. Di Nuzzo, E. W. Evans, S. P. Senanayak, S. Schott, J. T. Deacon, A. Peugeot, W. K. Myers, H. Sirringhaus, R. H. Friend, J. R. Nitschke, Adv. Mater. 2021, 33, 2100403.
Jonathan R. Nitschke
Jonathan Nitschke received his bachelor’s degree from Williams College (USA) in 1995 and his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001 under the supervision of T. Don Tilley. He then undertook postdoctoral studies with Jean-Marie Lehn in Strasbourg under the auspices of a US NSF fellowship, and in 2003 he started his independent research career as a Maître-assistant (fixed-term independent PI) in the Organic Chemistry Department of the University of Geneva. In 2007 he was appointed University Lecturer at Cambridge, where he now holds a Professorship. He is the recipient of the Izatt-Christensen Award in Supramolecular chemistry (2022), a Wolfson Research Merit Award of the UK Royal Society (2017), the International Award for Creative Work of the Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry (2016), the Bob Hay Lectureship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2013), the Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize in Supramolecular Chemistry (2012), the Corday-Morgan Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2011), the Dalton Transactions European/African Lectureship (2011), the Werner Prize of the Swiss Chemical Society (2007) and the European Young Chemist Award at the first EuCheMS Congress (2006). He won an ERC Starting Grant (2011-2016) and an ERC Advanced Grant (2017-2021). His research program investigates the self-assembly of complex, functional structures from simple molecular precursors and metal ions.
Kolthoff Lectureship in Chemistry
Izaak Maurits Kolthoff was born on February 11, 1894, in Almelo, Holland. He died on March 4, 1993, in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1911, he entered the University of Utrecht, Holland. He published his first paper on acid titrations in 1915. On the basis of his world-renowned reputation, he was invited to join the faculty of the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemistry in 1927. By the time of his retirement from the University in 1962, he had published approximately 800 papers. He continued to publish approximately 150 more papers until his health failed. His research, covering approximately a dozen areas of chemistry, was recognized by many medals and memberships in learned societies throughout the world, including the National Academy of Sciences and the Nichols Medal of the American Chemical Society. Best known to the general public is his work on synthetic rubber. During World War II, the government established a comprehensive research program at major industrial companies and several universities, including Minnesota. Kolthoff quickly assembled a large research group and made major contributions to the program. Many of Kolthoff’s graduate students went on to successful careers in industry and academic life and, in turn, trained many more. In 1982, it was estimated that approximately 1,100 Ph.D. holders could trace their scientific roots to Kolthoff. When the American Chemical Society inaugurated an award for excellence in 1983, he was the first recipient.
Professor Jonathan R. Nitschke
Kolthoff Lecture #2
Professor Jonathan R. Nitschke
Department of Chemistry
University of Cambridge, UK
Host: Professor Valerie Pierre
Functional Systems of Capsules
Metal-organic cages can serve as cogs in chemical systems,[1] which respond to stimuli in order to accomplish useful functions.[2] One such system is the heat engine shown in Figure 1 below,[3] where a thermo-responsive cage moves from one end of a tube to another, following a temperature gradient, bringing its cargo along. Some of these systems can accomplish chemical separation in potentially useful ways.[4]
Figure 1. A thermo-responsive cage, which in the presence of an ionic liquid (IL) transits from ethyl acetate (EA) into water when the temperature lowers, and back again when the temperature increases. Photographs (i)-(vii) show the motion of the cage and its molecular cargo back and forth through multiple layers of solvent, following a thermal gradient.
[1] J. R. Nitschke, Nature 2009, 462, 736-738.
[2] D. Yang, L. K. S. Krbek, L. Yu, T. K. Ronson, J. D. Thoburn, J. P. Carpenter, J. L. Greenfield, D. J. Howe, B. Wu, J. R. Nitschke, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 4485-4490.
[3] B. N. T. Nguyen, A. B. Grommet, A. Tron, M. C. A. Georges, J. R. Nitschke, Adv. Mater. 2020, 32, 1907241.
[4] D. Zhang, T. K. Ronson, Y.-Q. Zou, J. R. Nitschke, Nature Rev. Chem. 2021, 5, 168-182.
Jonathan R. Nitschke
Jonathan Nitschke received his bachelor’s degree from Williams College (USA) in 1995 and his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001 under the supervision of T. Don Tilley. He then undertook postdoctoral studies with Jean-Marie Lehn in Strasbourg under the auspices of a US NSF fellowship, and in 2003 he started his independent research career as a Maître-assistant (fixed-term independent PI) in the Organic Chemistry Department of the University of Geneva. In 2007 he was appointed University Lecturer at Cambridge, where he now holds a Professorship. He is the recipient of the Izatt-Christensen Award in Supramolecular chemistry (2022), a Wolfson Research Merit Award of the UK Royal Society (2017), the International Award for Creative Work of the Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry (2016), the Bob Hay Lectureship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2013), the Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize in Supramolecular Chemistry (2012), the Corday-Morgan Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2011), the Dalton Transactions European/African Lectureship (2011), the Werner Prize of the Swiss Chemical Society (2007) and the European Young Chemist Award at the first EuCheMS Congress (2006). He won an ERC Starting Grant (2011-2016) and an ERC Advanced Grant (2017-2021). His research program investigates the self-assembly of complex, functional structures from simple molecular precursors and metal ions.
Kolthoff Lectureship in Chemistry
Izaak Maurits Kolthoff was born on February 11, 1894, in Almelo, Holland. He died on March 4, 1993, in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1911, he entered the University of Utrecht, Holland. He published his first paper on acid titrations in 1915. On the basis of his world-renowned reputation, he was invited to join the faculty of the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemistry in 1927. By the time of his retirement from the University in 1962, he had published approximately 800 papers. He continued to publish approximately 150 more papers until his health failed. His research, covering approximately a dozen areas of chemistry, was recognized by many medals and memberships in learned societies throughout the world, including the National Academy of Sciences and the Nichols Medal of the American Chemical Society. Best known to the general public is his work on synthetic rubber. During World War II, the government established a comprehensive research program at major industrial companies and several universities, including Minnesota. Kolthoff quickly assembled a large research group and made major contributions to the program. Many of Kolthoff’s graduate students went on to successful careers in industry and academic life and, in turn, trained many more. In 1982, it was estimated that approximately 1,100 Ph.D. holders could trace their scientific roots to Kolthoff. When the American Chemical Society inaugurated an award for excellence in 1983, he was the first recipient.
Professor Jonathan R. Nitschke
Kolthoff Lecture #1
Professor Jonathan R. Nitschke
Department of Chemistry
University of Cambridge, UK
Host: Professor Valerie Pierre
A Menagerie of Chemical Beasts and Their Strange Cages
Simple organic subcomponents can come together around metal-ion templates to produce intricate hollow capsules.[1] This talk will describe the design and uses of some of these three-dimensional architectures, a few of which are shown in Figure 1 below, along with the use of the same construction principles to produce interlocked structures – catenanes and knots.
Figure 1. From left to right: an FeIIL6 cage that encapsulates white phosphorus;[2] an antiaromatic-walled cage;[3] a capsule isomorphous to ferritin;[4] a trigonal prism with di-silver(I) vertices.[5]
[1] D. Zhang, T. K. Ronson, J. R. Nitschke, Acc. Chem. Res. 2018, 51, 2423-2436.
[2] P. Mal, B. Breiner, K. Rissanen, J. R. Nitschke, Science 2009, 324, 1697-1699.
[3] M. Yamashina, Y. Tanaka, R. Lavendomme, T. K. Ronson, M. Pittelkow, J. R. Nitschke, Nature 2019, 574, 511-515.
[4] J. A. Davies, T. K. Ronson, J. R. Nitschke, Chem 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2022.01.003.
[5] J. P. Carpenter, C. T. McTernan, T. K. Ronson, J. R. Nitschke, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 11409-11413.
Jonathan R. Nitschke
Jonathan Nitschke received his bachelor’s degree from Williams College (USA) in 1995 and his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001 under the supervision of T. Don Tilley. He then undertook postdoctoral studies with Jean-Marie Lehn in Strasbourg under the auspices of a US NSF fellowship, and in 2003 he started his independent research career as a Maître-assistant (fixed-term independent PI) in the Organic Chemistry Department of the University of Geneva. In 2007 he was appointed University Lecturer at Cambridge, where he now holds a Professorship. He is the recipient of the Izatt-Christensen Award in Supramolecular chemistry (2022), a Wolfson Research Merit Award of the UK Royal Society (2017), the International Award for Creative Work of the Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry (2016), the Bob Hay Lectureship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2013), the Cram Lehn Pedersen Prize in Supramolecular Chemistry (2012), the Corday-Morgan Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2011), the Dalton Transactions European/African Lectureship (2011), the Werner Prize of the Swiss Chemical Society (2007) and the European Young Chemist Award at the first EuCheMS Congress (2006). He won an ERC Starting Grant (2011-2016) and an ERC Advanced Grant (2017-2021). His research program investigates the self-assembly of complex, functional structures from simple molecular precursors and metal ions.
Kolthoff Lectureship in Chemistry
Izaak Maurits Kolthoff was born on February 11, 1894, in Almelo, Holland. He died on March 4, 1993, in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1911, he entered the University of Utrecht, Holland. He published his first paper on acid titrations in 1915. On the basis of his world-renowned reputation, he was invited to join the faculty of the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemistry in 1927. By the time of his retirement from the University in 1962, he had published approximately 800 papers. He continued to publish approximately 150 more papers until his health failed. His research, covering approximately a dozen areas of chemistry, was recognized by many medals and memberships in learned societies throughout the world, including the National Academy of Sciences and the Nichols Medal of the American Chemical Society. Best known to the general public is his work on synthetic rubber. During World War II, the government established a comprehensive research program at major industrial companies and several universities, including Minnesota. Kolthoff quickly assembled a large research group and made major contributions to the program. Many of Kolthoff’s graduate students went on to successful careers in industry and academic life and, in turn, trained many more. In 1982, it was estimated that approximately 1,100 Ph.D. holders could trace their scientific roots to Kolthoff. When the American Chemical Society inaugurated an award for excellence in 1983, he was the first recipient.
DEI Seminar: Cherise Ayers
Cherise Ayers
Dept. of Organizational Leadership, Policy, & Development
University of Minnesota
Host: Chemistry D&I Grad Student Training Working Group
Minding the Gaps: Reframing Our Mindset Around K-12 Educational Gaps
Cherise Ayers is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota. Her 20 year career in K-12 education has included numerous roles, including teacher, dean of students, assistant principal, principal, and equity supervisor for a suburban school district. She has expertise in professional development, strengthening support systems for students, and evaluating programs, and she is passionate about nurturing community and family engagement and implementing systems of progressive change. This talk provides a historical context for understanding the myriad educational gaps between Black students and their White peers. It challenges listeners to consider the problematic nature of gaps and the systems in which they exist.
Cherise Ayers
Cherise holds a B.A. in English from Spelman College and an M.A. in secondary education and teaching from Brown University. She is currently working on her PhD in Education Policy and Leadership as a member of the Executive Cohort in OLPD. Her research interests include Critical Race Theory, culturally responsive pedagogy, educational liberation, and anti-racist school leadership. A teacher at heart, Cherise’s specialty is making connections as she explains complex and uncomfortable topics with style, humor, and grace.
Professor Jen Heemstra
Professor Jen Heemstra
Director of Faculty Recruiting and Development
Department of Chemistry
Emory University
Host: Professor William Pomerantz
Harnessing biomolecular recognition in the lab and building resilience in the classroom
Nucleic acids are exquisitely adept at molecular recognition and assembly, making them foundational to life processes and enabling researchers to harness them for applications beyond their canonical biological roles. As an example, aptamers have been evolved in nature to regulate cellular processes and can also be generated in the laboratory and utilized for biosensing and therapeutic applications. We have leveraged the molecular recognition capability of aptamers to generate chiral sensors for high-throughput measurement of small-molecule enantiopurity, thus addressing a critical bottleneck in biocatalysis. We demonstrate fluorescence-based enantiopurity measurement in a microplate format and via flow cytometry, and have developed a method for the direct evolution of new aptamer sensors.
…And we’ve encountered a lot of failure along the way. As researchers, we recognize that failure is both an unavoidable and necessary part of discovery, and that overcoming failure requires resilience. This led us to ask the question: when and how do undergraduate STEM students develop the resilience they need to persist through failure? To address this question, we founded FLAMEnet as a nationwide collaborative aimed at developing, implementing, and disseminating educational interventions that leverage psychological frameworks to promote retention and success of students in STEM.
Jen Heemstra
Jen Heemstra received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine, in 2000. At Irvine, she performed undergraduate research investigating the folding of synthetic beta-sheet mimics, which instilled in her a love of supramolecular chemistry. She then moved to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she completed her Ph.D. in 2005 studying the reactivity of pyridine-functionalized phenylene ethynylene cavitands. After a brief time in industry as a medicinal chemist, she moved to Harvard University to pursue postdoctoral research exploring mechanisms for templated nucleic acid synthesis. Jen began her independent career in 2010 and is currently a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Emory University. Research in the Heemstra lab is focused on harnessing the molecular recognition and self-assembly properties of nucleic acids and proteins for applications in biosensing and bioimaging. In addition to her research, Jen is also actively engaged in science communication, outreach, and advocacy via her social media presence, and professional development seminars and workshops. Outside of work, Jen enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, as well as rock climbing, cycling, and running.