Past Seminars & Events

Crystal Lee-Thao
Dept. of Organizational Leadership, Policy, & Development
University of Minnesota
Host: Chemistry D&I Grad Student Training Working Group

Abstract

Engagement Means...: Community College Students’ Understandings of Engagement

Research in higher education frequently report low levels of student engagement among community college students. What is commonly overlooked in these discussions are the students’ own understandings of engagement and how their understanding of the concept is connected to their student success. This qualitative study involved interviewing 11 students at an urban community college in the Midwest to better understand their engagement experiences and practices. Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory as a conceptual framework, the analysis of experiences revealed that participants conceptualized student engagement in three major ways: 1) compassion 2) academic motivation and 3) activism. Additionally, these three themes existed and interacted within all of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems. Implications for practice and research, as well as an informal model of community college student engagement, are included.

Crystal Lee-Thao

Crystal Lee-Thao earned her B.A. in Communications and Rhetorical Studies, at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and a M.A. in Higher Education from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, & Development at the University of Minnesota and the Assistant Director for the Louis Stokes North Star STEM Alliance.

Professor Angela M. Gronenborn
Department of Structural Biology and Pittsburgh Center for HIV-Protein Interaction
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Host: Professor William Pomerantz

Abstract

The awesome power of fluorine NMR

¹⁹F NMR is a powerful and versatile tool to study protein structure and protein ligand interactions due to the favorable NMR characteristics of the ¹⁹F atom, its small size and absence in naturally occurring biomolecules. ¹⁹F atoms can be introduced readily into proteins and ligands, permitting to use them as ‘beacons’ to study interactions by NMR. Both, ligand and protein resonances can be exploited for this purpose. I will discuss several applications, involving ¹⁹F-modified proteins and ¹⁹F-containing ligands, demonstrating the awesome power of ¹⁹F NMR.

Angela M. Gronenborn

Dr. Angela Gronenborn heads the Department of Structural Biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and holds the UPMC Rosalind Franklin Chair. Throughout her career, Dr. Gronenborn was involved in developing NMR methodology for structure determination of biological macromolecules. In the area of HIV research, Dr. Gronenborn directs the Pittsburgh Center for HIV Protein Interactions (PCHPI). In recent years, Dr. Gronenborn has focused on extending the application of NMR to the study of complex systems, in particular developing fluorine NMR approaches. Dr. Gronenborn is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, U.K., the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the International Society of Magnetic Resonance. She is a member of the Washington and New York Academies of Sciences and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the Norwegian Academy of Arts and Letters, the German National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Professor Davit Potoyan
Department of Chemistry
Iowa State University
Host: Professor Ilja Siepmann

Abstract

Multi-scale computational studies of assembly, regulation, and phase separation in the cell nucleus

Cells of higher organisms are known for the hierarchical self-organization of their genomes, proteome, and associated biochemical reactions. Uncovering the underlying driving forces for cellular self-organization is a topic of significant importance in biosciences. Recent experiments have revealed the ubiquitous presence of nano and microscale membranless compartments in the nuclei of cells, generated through liquid-liquid phase separation of protein and nucleic acid components. Due to the heterogeneous and non-equilibrium environment, nuclear compartmentalization's thermodynamic and kinetic aspects are challenging to study both in vivo and in silico.

Our group is developing and applying multi-scale computational models that use atomistic, coarse-grained, and phase-field techniques to study nuclear compartmentalization at different scales, in and out of equilibrium. In the talk, we will present a selection of recent results on protein-RNA phase transitions, mesoscale nuclear dynamics of chromatin phase separation, and detailed models of biomolecular condensates based on bioinformatics and atomistic simulations.

Davit Potoyan

Davit Potoyan received his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics at the University of Maryland-College Park in 2012. He spent the next few years training as a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics at Rice University developing theoretical and computational models for studying gene-regulatory networks and transcription factor DNA assembly. In 2017 Davit joined the Iowa State as a Caldwell Assistant Professor of Chemistry and currently holds a courtesy faculty appointment in BBMB and BCB programs. The research field of Professor Potoyan is in computational biophysics broadly defined. His group is using multi-scale computational tools rooted in statistical physics, bioinformatics, machine learning, and data analytics to work on various biologically motivated problems. Some of the active areas of research in the group include the condensation of disordered proteins and nucleic acids, enzyme dynamics, chromatin organization, and genetic regulatory networks.

Professor Robert J. Gilliard, Jr.
Department of Chemistry
University of Virginia
Host: Professor Ian Tonks

Abstract

Beryllium, Boron, and Bismuth: From Fundamental Redox Chemistry to Luminescent and Thermochromic Materials

Research efforts in the Gilliard laboratory span diverse areas of chemical synthesis. While the redox chemistry of transition metals is established, the development of main-group element-mediated redox cycles remain a major challenge. This is in part due to inherent differences in electronic structure and the highly reactive nature of main-group elements in low oxidation states. Thus, we have been interested in the design and isolation of low-valent and cationic main-group compounds that impact energy-relevant molecular transformations, including reactions with small molecules (e.g., carbon dioxide, dihydrogen). Our work has mostly centered around establishing bonding and reactivity trends among the alkaline earth metals (Be, Mg) and heavy pnictogens (Sb, Bi). Recently, we have begun to study heterocycles “doped” with boron for the development of new π-electron materials with unusual bonding and photophysical properties. This has led to the first examples of pyrene-fused N-heterocyclic boranes, thermochromic and thermoluminescent borafluorenes, and stable boracyclic radicals. Our primary goal has been to isolate molecules in rare electronic states and to provide a link between structure and function. This presentation will highlight our most recent results in these research areas.

Robert J. Gilliard, Jr.

Prof. Gilliard is a native of Hartsville, South Carolina. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Clemson University where he was an undergraduate researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Rhett C. Smith. He earned his doctorate in chemistry at The University of Georgia with Prof. Gregory H. Robinson. Gilliard was a Merck Postdoctoral Fellow and a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow where he completed his studies working jointly at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich) with Prof. Hansj rg Grützmacher and at Case Western Reserve University with Prof. John Protasiewicz. Gilliard joined the faculty at the University of Virginia as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in the Fall of 2017. He has received several awards and honors. Recent honors include: named to Forbes Magazine 30 under 30 list in Science, Inorganic Chemistry and Chemistry-A European Journal Emerging Investigator, Chemical and Engineering News Talented 12 Scholar, Scialog Collaborative Innovation Award, National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, Organometallics Distinguished Author Award, Beckman Young Investigator Award, Packard Fellowship. He also serves on the editorial advisory board for Chemical Communications, Chem Catalysis, Inorganic Chemistry, and Angewandte Chemie.

Professor Elizabeth Elacqua
Department of Chemistry
Pennsylvania State University
Host: Professor Marc Hillmyer

Abstract

Merging Organic Synthetic and Polymer Chemistry: Toward Accelerated Catalysis, Sequence Definition, and Architecturally-Diverse Sp3-Enriched Polymers

Efforts to develop synthetic methods that achieve robust materials (e.g., sequenced organic electronics, polymerizable renewable feedstocks, and/or sustainable cooperative catalysis) have generated a need to engineer strategies that merge organic synthesis and polymer chemistry to address grand challenges. Our group’s research is inspired by Nature and founded on using polymer chemistry to address shortcomings in organic synthesis, and using organic chemistry to confront challenges in polymer synthesis. This talk will detail our group’s recent efforts at this interdisciplinary interface. We will first discuss our homogeneous polymer catalysts that are visible-light activated and feature significant rate acceleration in cooperative organic photoredox catalysis, ascribed to more efficient single-electron transfer. Our approach deviates from conventional methods, and tackles diffusion-limited cooperative catalysis, while enabling enhanced reactivity under polymer confinement. Second, we will disclose the synthesis of sp3-hybridized 1D carbon-based polymers from simple petroleum-based or biomass-derived sp2 feedstocks under pressure. In these studies, we have uncovered new robust materials from abundant aromatics (e.g., furan, phenol, pentafluorophenol) that are theorized to possess high tensile strength and chemical versatility.

Elizabeth Elacqua

Beth was born and raised in upstate New York, and received her B.S. Degree in Chemistry and Biology from LeMoyne College (Syracuse, NY) in 2006. There, she conducted research focused on the synthesis of porphyrins as nitrogenase mimics, as well as on the total synthesis of natural products such as polyphenolic stilbenoids. After spending a year at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry working in the lab of Dr. Israel Cabasso at the Michael Szwarc Polymer Research Institute, she ventured to the University of Iowa for graduate school. At Iowa, Beth worked at the interface of solid-state chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, organic synthesis, and crystal engineering in the research group of Leonard R. MacGillivray, and received her Ph.D. in 2012. After graduation, Beth headed back to the great state of New York where she started as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at New York University working alongside Marcus Weck. At NYU, Beth utilized her background in supramolecular chemistry and crystal engineering to work on developing β-sheet-mimicking telechelic polymers for self-assembly, as well as designing reversibly-assembling colloidal matter.

Professor Amar Flood
Department of Chemistry
Indiana University
Host: Professor Valerie Pierre

Abstract

Anion Recognition and Hierarchical Assembly

Ions are intimately related to the sustainable and technological development of our society, which has helped motivate creation of synthetic receptors to manage cations and anions. Of these, cations have enjoyed the lion’s share of our attention ever since Werner’s Nobel in 1913 recognized the reliability of their coordination chemistry. Anions have barely had a look in. These negative beasties are large, diffuse and difficult to pin down. Yet they can no longer be ignored. Their roles are diverse and span from the use of dihydrogen-phosphate (H2PO4–) in fertilizer through to hexafluoro-phosphate (PF6−) used as the workhorse electrolyte in Li-ion batteries. This talk will cover recent works tackling these and other anions with shape-persistent and shape-dynamic receptors in the form of cyanostar macrocycles and triazole-based macrocycles, cages and foldamers. Along the way, the interplay between receptor and anion has grown more reliable, whether by design or discovery. This upgrade in status now allows us to learn the rules governing how anions can be used in self-assembly synthesis to control the structures and functions of advanced materials from supramolecular polymers to predictably fluorescent solids we call SMILES.

Amar Flood

Amar Flood was educated at Otago University, New Zealand (BSc Hons 1st, 1996; PhD 2001) under the supervision of Keith C. Gordon. He joined the group of Sir Fraser Stoddart (2002) at UCLA as a postdoctoral scholar conducting research on interlocked molecules and molecular switches. He started at Indiana University in 2005 as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2011, named the James F. Jackson Associate Professor in 2014, and was promoted to full Professor and named the Waterman Professor in 2015. He was Director of Graduate Studies from 2013-2019. He conducts research in four areas: (i) Anion recognition with CH hydrogen bonds. (ii) Molecular switches, both independently and with collaborators. (iii) Ultrabright fluorescent materials by design. (iv) Applications of anion recognition. He has co-organized three international symposia, chaired multiple scientific symposia including NSF and GRC sponsored meetings, is currently funded by the NSF and DOE and he is a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar.

Professor and Department Chair Michelle Arkin
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
University of California San Francisco
Host: Professor Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran

Abstract

Site-directed drug discovery

Michelle Arkin’s lab develops methods and molecules to target currently ‘undruggable targets’ like proteases and protein-protein interactions. This presentation will describe how the lab uses a fragment-based approach called disulfide tethering to discover chemical probes with new mechanisms of action for these two protein classes. Michelle also co-Directs the UCSF Small Molecule Discovery Center, which collaborates on chemical biology and drug discovery research.

Michelle Arkin

Michelle Arkin is professor and chair of Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco. Michelle’s lab develops innovative approaches to screen for chemical tools and drug leads, using biophysical approaches like fragment-based drug discovery and biological approaches including high-content imaging with primary cells and organisms. Michelle is co-Director of the Small Molecule Discovery Center, a collaborative research and core lab that includes a high-throughput screening facility and medicinal chemistry.

Emily Pelton
Senior Lecturer
University of Minnesota
Host: Professor Michelle Driessen

Abstract

General Chemistry Area Candidate

A pH buffer solution is an aqueous solution that contains a weak acid and its conjugate base (or weak base and its conjugate acid). When small amounts of acid or base are added, the pH of the solution changes very little. Buffer solutions provide a way to keep pH nearly constant in a wide variety of experimental and natural environments. For example, buffer solutions are often used to control pH when studying chemical reactions involving enzymes. In nature, the bicarbonate buffering system is particularly important, especially in the ocean. In this 20 minute mock lecture, Emily will teach how to calculate the pH of a buffer solution after the addition of strong acid and/or base.

Following the mock lecture, Emily will turn to a discussion focussed on her vision for how she might address observations of grade disparities between groups holding a variety of marginalized identities. Data demonstrating these disparities are consistent in introductory STEM courses at many institutions around the country, including the University of Minnesota and including general chemistry. Similar grade disparities are also found in subsequent courses. Emily will describe her vision of how to close gaps observed, with a particular focus on the large lecture modality (i.e., 200-350 students).

Emily Pelton 

Emily Pelton earned her BA in 2008 from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, majoring in ACS Chemistry and minoring in Spanish. She continued her studies in chemistry at the University of Minnesota, earning her MS in 2010 and Ph.D in 2013. Emily has been teaching in the chemistry department at the University of Minnesota since 2013. As a teacher, she focuses on the undergraduate experience in a variety of introductory, general, and organic chemistry courses. Emily’s interests lie in the development and implementation of transformative learning opportunities in the curriculum, especially in terms of assessment strategies, grading structures, and course format. She has had the privilege to teach thousands of students and is continuously examining and improving her teaching and courses to maximize her students’ learning experiences. Emily has won awards from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Educational Innovation to create and implement a hybrid version of Introductory Chemistry, develop online quiz banks for Introductory Chemistry, and develop intentional learning communities in General Chemistry I. In her work to improve student learning outcomes, especially for underrepresented groups, she is currently engaged in the University’s pilot of ECoach, a tailored messaging system designed to help students succeed in large-enrollment gateway STEM courses.

Professor Anne McNeil 
Department of Chemistry 
University of Michigan
Host: Professor Jessica Lamb 

Abstract

Synthetic Approaches to Sustainable Materials

Plastics have completely transformed our lives, while at the same time having a significant negative impact on our environment. Our research is aimed at developing synthetic approaches to more sustainable polymers. This talk will highlight two projects ongoing within our group. In both projects, we aim to use synthetic chemistry to give a current high-production-volume plastic a second life, attenuating its impact on the environment. 

Anne McNeil

Anne McNeil is the Carol A. Fierke Collegiate Professor of Chemistry and Macromolecular Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. She is also an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and HHMI Professor. Her current research interests include chemical recycling of waste plastic, methods for capturing microplastics, developing adsorbents for poly- and per-fluoroalkylsubstances, and identifying new materials for redox flow batteries. She has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, AAAS Fellow, Sloan Fellow, Dreyfus Fellow, Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award, Claudia Joan Alexander Trailblazer Award, and the Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize, among others. Prior to Michigan, Anne was a L’Oreal Post-doc Fellow with Prof. Tim Swager at MIT and earned her PhD from Cornell with Prof. Dave Collum, and graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary (1999). 

Abbey Fischer
Associate Professor
University of Wisconsin-Eau-Claire
Host: Professor Jane Wissinger

Abstract

Organic Chemistry Teaching Candidate

First discovered by Otto Diels and Kurt Alder in 1928, the Nobel-Prize winning Diels–Alder reaction is a cycloaddition reaction that has been widely applied in organic chemistry. This atom-economical reaction can be used to introduce chemical complexity in the synthesis of new molecules, including drug molecules and natural products. A conjugated diene and a substituted alkene react intermolecularly or intramolecularly to form a substituted cyclohexene derivative. In this 20 minute mock lecture, Abbey will introduce the Diels-Alder reaction and explain the mechanism and stereochemistry of the products formed.

Following the mock lecture, Abbey will turn to a discussion focussed on her vision for how she might address observations of grade disparities between groups holding a variety of marginalized identities. Data demonstrating these disparities are consistent in introductory STEM courses at many institutions around the country, including the University of Minnesota and including general chemistry. Similar grade disparities are also found in subsequent courses. Abbey will describe her vision of how to close gaps observed, with a particular focus on the large lecture modality (i.e., 200-350 students).

Abbey Fischer 

Abbey earned her Ph.D. in biological chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2005. Since that time, she has been a student-focused and reflective faculty member at a variety of institutions from Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to the University of Minnesota – Morris to the University of Wisconsin Colleges - Barron County, which is now the branch campus of UW-Eau Claire. She has taught primarily first- and second-year courses, including over ten years of organic chemistry, seven years of general, organic, and biochemistry (GOB), six years of general chemistry, and three years of chemistry and culture of food and cooking. Also teaching in the first-year seminar programs at all three institutions positively influenced her approaches to developing community within the classroom and supporting students new to – or returning to – the university. Collaborating with a multidisciplinary team across the state of Wisconsin, Abbey published two taxonomies related to High Impact Practices (HIPs). Both aim to bring intentionality to and ensure quality in the design of the engaging educational experiences. The first taxonomy is for use during the creation and evaluation of any HIP, and the second is specific to undergraduate research experiences. Abbey’s commitment to providing an outstanding educational experience was recognized by the faculty and staff of Marian University when they awarded her the 2011 James R. Underkofler Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. The faculty and staff of UW-Eau Claire – Barron County have presented her with the Faculty Outstanding Service Award multiple times.