CHEM-NEWS Winter 2000 Volume 7 Number 1 North Dakota State University Department of Chemistry 32nd ACS Great Lakes Regional Meeting Chemistry for the New Millennium 4 - 6 June, 2000 Fargo, North Dakota Preparations This semester just about everyone is involved in getting ready for the 32nd American Chemical Society (ACS) Great Lakes Regional Meeting (GLRM) to be held in Fargo at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. The meeting opens on Sunday afternoon, June 4 and concludes on Tuesday evening, June 6. Drs. Sibi, Cook, Boudjouk, Mallik, and Tallman are working on symposia and special sessions. Dr. Garvey just completed the call for abstracts. Greg Oswald and Seth Rasmussen are soliciting sponsors and exhibitors. Denley Jacobson is working on local arrangements. Scott Peterson and the Chemistry Club are planning undergraduate activi- ties, as is Randy Baren for graduate student attendees. Rose Overby is executing the complex mailings, and Linda Stoetzer is managing finances. Everyone is preparing or submitting abstracts. In the P&C Department, Dr. Bierwagen is working on his symposium along with planning the annual coatings short course, which will mesh with the GLRM. Colleagues at UND, Moorhead State and Concordia are assisting with program and organization. General Chair Greg McCarthy is working to see that all the meeting organization pieces come together. Meeting Site The GLRM will be held at the just-remodeled Holiday Inn Conference Center, listed as one of the top 20 Holiday Inns in the world! Compared to its national meetings, ACS regional meetings offer a more relaxed and personal, and less expensive means of learning about the latest developments in research and for professional networking. We expect that the GLRM will attract 300-500 attendees, including many university students and pre-college teachers. Technical Program The GLRM will feature the following symposia and special sessions: Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Asymmetric Synthesis for the 21st Century, Biomolecular Recognition, Coating Materials for the 21st Century, Communicating Chemistry to the Public, Environmental Analytical Chemis- try, New Chemistry of the Main Group Elements, Theoreti- cal/Computational Chemistry. Contributed oral and poster papers are welcome in all areas of chemistry. General sessions are planned on Analytical, Inorganic, Organic, Physical, and Polymer Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Chemical Education. Three poster sessions are scheduled, so there will be ample opportunities to accommodate contributed papers from all chemical profes- sionals, including pre-college teachers, undergraduate students, and graduate students. Learn more about the technical program at our website: http:// www.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/glrm/ Alumni Invited to Participate NDSU chemical science alumni are invited to a “chemists homecoming” at the GLRM. President Joseph Chapman will host a reception for alumni and family at the new Alumni Center on Tuesday evening, June 6. More than 1,100 chemi- cal sciences alumni have been informed about the GLRM and we hope a large number will be able to come. If you want to learn more about the GLRM, or wish to present a paper, see our website, http://www.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/glrm/ Special Events Other special events at the meeting will include a Women Chemist’s Luncheon, which will feature NDSU/UND Cont’d page 3 http://www.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/glrm/
Transcript
CHEM-NEWSWinter 2000Volume 7 Number 1
North Dakota State University Department of Chemistry
32nd ACS Great Lakes Regional MeetingChemistry for the New Millennium
4 - 6 June, 2000Fargo, North Dakota
PreparationsThis semester just about everyone is involved in gettingready for the 32nd American Chemical Society (ACS) GreatLakes Regional Meeting (GLRM) to be held in Fargo at theHoliday Inn Convention Center. The meeting opens onSunday afternoon, June 4 and concludes on Tuesday evening,June 6. Drs. Sibi, Cook, Boudjouk, Mallik, and Tallman areworking on symposia and special sessions. Dr. Garvey justcompleted the call for abstracts. Greg Oswald and SethRasmussen are soliciting sponsors and exhibitors. DenleyJacobson is working on local arrangements. Scott Petersonand the Chemistry Club are planning undergraduate activi-ties, as is Randy Baren for graduate student attendees. RoseOverby is executing the complex mailings, and LindaStoetzer is managing finances. Everyone is preparing orsubmitting abstracts. In the P&C Department, Dr. Bierwagenis working on his symposium along with planning the annualcoatings short course, which will mesh with the GLRM.Colleagues at UND, Moorhead State and Concordia areassisting with program and organization. General Chair GregMcCarthy is working to see that all the meeting organizationpieces come together.
Meeting SiteThe GLRM will be held at the just-remodeled Holiday InnConference Center, listed as one of the top 20 Holiday Innsin the world! Compared to its national meetings, ACSregional meetings offer a more relaxed and personal, and lessexpensive means of learning about the latest developments inresearch and for professional networking. We expect that theGLRM will attract 300-500 attendees, including manyuniversity students and pre-college teachers.
Technical ProgramThe GLRM will feature the following symposia and specialsessions: Agricultural and Food Chemistry, AsymmetricSynthesis for the 21st Century, Biomolecular Recognition,Coating Materials for the 21st Century, CommunicatingChemistry to the Public, Environmental Analytical Chemis-try, New Chemistry of the Main Group Elements, Theoreti-cal/Computational Chemistry.
Contributed oral and poster papers are welcome in all areasof chemistry. General sessions are planned on Analytical,Inorganic, Organic, Physical, and Polymer Chemistry,Biochemistry, and Chemical Education. Three poster sessionsare scheduled, so there will be ample opportunities toaccommodate contributed papers from all chemical profes-sionals, including pre-college teachers, undergraduatestudents, and graduate students. Learn more about thetechnical program at our website: http://www.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/glrm/
Alumni Invited to ParticipateNDSU chemical science alumni are invited to a “chemistshomecoming” at the GLRM. President Joseph Chapman willhost a reception for alumni and family at the new AlumniCenter on Tuesday evening, June 6. More than 1,100 chemi-cal sciences alumni have been informed about the GLRM andwe hope a large number will be able to come. If you want tolearn more about the GLRM, or wish to present a paper, seeour website, http://www.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/glrm/
Special EventsOther special events at the meeting will include a WomenChemist’s Luncheon, which will feature NDSU/UND
Cont’d page 3
http://www.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/glrm/
Chem-News 2 Winter 2000
Alumni Establish First Presidential Fellowship
It is an investment in people that is the first ofits kind at North Dakota State University.
Alumni Dr. Robert and Mary Ann Tucker,Brownsburg, Ind., have established aresearch fellowship endowment fund toassist graduate students in chemistry.Annual distributions from the “Dr. Robertand Mary Ann Tucker PresidentialResearch Fellowship Endowment Fund”will provide for a student’s salarystipend, direct research expenses andresearch-related travel.
“This generous gift is truly an investmentin people,” said NDSU President JosephChapman, who has urged NDSU to worktoward Carnegie Research II status,defined as 50 or more doctoral graduatesand the generation of $15.5 million to$40 million in competitive federalresearch grants each year.” The Tuckersare the first of the President’s Circledonor group to participate in thissignificant way to improve the univer-sity’s graduate program. Through theefforts of the President’s Circle, we willhave tremendous flexibility to invest inpeople. NDSU is fortunate to have manyfine research facilities where we need tofocus our enhancement efforts is in therecruiting and retention of the bestfaculty, scholars and researchers.”
In addition to the monetary gift, RobertTucker, recently retired, is serving as anadjunct professor. He plans extendedvisits to campus to share his workexperience with the graduate studentwho receives the fellowship and toparticipate in research.
Tucker, a 1957 NDSU graduate in chemis-try, also earned master’s and doctoraldegrees at Iowa State University. His
career with Praxair Surface Technolo-gies, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., included along tenure as the company’s AssociateDirector of Technology, followed bystints as the Director of AdvancedResearch and Development andDirector of Business Development. Healso was a corporate fellow for manyyears. “I’ve always had an interest ineducation and that feeling has grownover the years. I’ve taught many shortcourses around the country and theworld, and have been an adjunctprofessor at the University of Illinois.To me, education and the universityenvironment are very stimulating,”Tucker said. “I’m retired and I want tokeep active. In addition to consulting,I’d like to be involved in research andlearn some more myself.”
His wife, Mary Ann, received abachelor’s degree in chemistry fromNDSU in 1961. She went on to earn amaster’s degree in chemistry from IowaState University. She also earned amaster’s degree in business administra-tion and a law degree from IndianaUniversity. Her career included beingVice President and Associate GeneralCounsel for B.F. Goodrich.
The Tuckers’ hope is that the fellowshiprecipients will conduct research inmaterials chemistry, such as surfacescience or corrosion protection. Ofparticular interest are materials thatcombine polymers with inorganicmaterials such as metals or ceramics.
Gregory McCarthy, professor and chairof chemistry, said the gift will assist thedepartment by increasing the number ofgraduate students. “Existing resourceslimit the number of graduate studentswe can support in our program. Oneway to increase the numbers, and helpthe university increase the number ofdoctoral graduates, is to seek supple-mental outside support. The Tuckers’gift is a crucial first step in this pro-cess,” he said.
“Just as important is the chance for thestudent and the student’s adviser to workclosely with Dr. Tucker,” McCarthy said.“He offers a rare combination of ascientist with decades of industrialexperiences, who knows from continuousinvolvement how universities andgraduate education work.”
Craig Schnell, vice president for aca-demic affairs, said the fellowship helpsmake NDSU more competitive on anational basis for gifted doctoralstudents. “By offering a stipend, we canattract quality graduate students,” hesaid. “Also, it strengthens and builds ourgraduate program by taking us to thenext level of development. The chemis-try department has one of our premiergraduate programs and this gift helps tomaintain and build that program.”
In giving of finances and his talents,Tucker said he is fulfilling an obligationto give something back to his alma mater.“Mary Ann and I feel we gained a lotfrom the university, so we should giveback to it,” he said.
Tucker also has a message for his fellowalumni. “There’s room for others to dothe same thing,” he said.
The President’s Circle, established by theNDSU Development Foundation,recognizes alumni and friends who giveannual gifts of $1,000 or more. Itencourages and develops active partici-pation and support of NDSU through aclose association with the university’spresident and administrators.
President’s Circle members are encour-aged to support the Greater UniversityFund, which provides funding for suchthings as scholarships, student services,faculty development, technology andlibrary enhancements. Members also maydesignate gifts to specific areas, includ-ing a college, academic unit, departmentor project.
from: It’s Happening at State, January 12,2000
Chem-News 3 Winter 2000
32nd ACS Great Lakes Regional Meeting
Zoha AL-Badri
NDSU graduate student Zoha AL-Badriwas named the first recipient of the “Dr.Robert and Mary Ann Tucker Presiden-tial Research Fellowship.” The second-year doctoral student is working with a
research group led by Philip Boudjouk,Distinguished Professor of Chemistry.
His research currently focuses on makingferrocene substituted silicon polymers.According to Boudjouk, “the goal of thisresearch is to prepare thin films that canadhere to surfaces of any size or shape,and that conduct electricity with minimumresistance. In the short term, we hope toprepare materials that will sidetrackcorrosion processes, which are largelyelectrical in nature, on aluminum surfacesin aircraft.
AL-Badri, a resident of Winnipeg,Canada, earned his bachelor’s degreeat the University of Winnipeg in 1998.“Zoha is a particularly well-qualifiedrecipient,” said Gregory McCarthy,professor and chair of chemistry. “Hehas done very well at all aspects of thegraduate program, as a teachingassistant, in courses and candidacyexams and in launching his researchproject. He is a hard worker, and willbenefit significantly from thementorship of Dr. Tucker in surfaceand materials chemistry.”
AL-Badri selected for first Tucker fellowship
ACS Great Lakes Regional Meeting cont’d
alumnae who have advanced to seniorpositions in government researchlabs, industry and the university.Another luncheon will honor twoACS Regional High School Chemis-try Teacher awardees, and willfeature A Melodious MusichemicalManifestation (chemistry demonstra-tions in costume, with music) by theCreighton University Musichemistrygroup. The ACS will hold a numberof career workshops. Additionalworkshops will focus on innovationsand reform of pre-college chemicaleducation, and will be of interestto practicing chemists, pre-collegeteachers, and chemistry students andothers who do science outreach toschools.
Opportunities for Teachers TooTeachers can earn graduate credit fortwo courses that will utilize presenta-tions and workshops at the meeting:Advances in Chemistry, 1 cr. orChemistry in K-8 Education, 1 cr.
Vacation OpportunityWe suggest that this would be a greattime to head to Fargo, and maybecombine the GLRM with a vacationtrip to one of our regional attractionssuch as Fort Abraham Lincoln, with itsreconstructed Custer home and bar-racks, Knife River Indian VillageNational Historical Site, Fort Mandanand other stops on the Lewis and Clark1804-1805 Trail, Itasca State Park, thesource of the Mississippi River, NorthDakota Badlands and historic Medoraat Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The setup for the Molecular Visualiza-tion Laboratory has been completed.This project was funded by studenttechnology fee. The laboratory islocated in Ladd Hall, Room 311 and isopen to students during the regularbusiness hours (8 am – 5 pm, Monday
The Molecular Visualization Laboratory is functional now …Sanku Mallik
– Friday). The facility currently housesseveral PC’s interacting with a SiliconGraphics Octane server through high-speed local network. In order to meetthe projected needs, the server hasenough processor speed (2 x 250 MHzRISC processors in parallel), RAM (386
MB) and storage disk space (22 GB).Molecular modeling software formacromolecules (Macromodel 6.5 forproteins, DNA etc.) and small organicand organo-metallic molecules(CAChe 4.2, Oxford Molecular Inc.)are installed on the server. Studentswork on the PC’s, interacting with theserver for computation. In addition tothe Chemistry department, thePharmacy department is also using thefacility for computation and visualiza-tion.
Molecular structures and propertymaps (electron density, electrondelocalization, reactivity patterns,bond strain, UV and IR spectra etc.)generated at the facility by Mallik areavailable from two web sites. Thefirst site is intended for undergraduatestudents (Chem 342, Organic Chemis-try II) and the second site targetsgraduate students (Chem 741, Physi-cal Organic Chemistry I).
The URL’s for the web sites are:http://mvl.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/mallik/Visualization/visual.html
Robert KoobNorth Dakota State University-Chemistry faculty, 1967-1981;Dean of College of Science andMathematics 1981-1984; Vice Presi-dent of Academic Affairs, 1985-1990;Interim President, 1987-1988.
Since leaving NDSU I have served fiveyears as Senior Vice President at CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, CA and haveserved as President here at Universityof Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IAsince August of 1995.
On the personal side, my family hasgrown to include eight grandchildren.
Mark GordonNorth Dakota State University-Chemistry faculty 1970-1992;Distinguished Professor 1987-1992.Iowa State University, Ames, IADepartment of Chemistry.
Hi to All! I guess it's nearly eightyears since we left Fargo for IowaState. Joan, my group and I wereamong the very few who moved
SOUTH to Ames. I was asked tocomment on what I miss about NDSUand Fargo. While I sure don't miss theharsh winters (as I told Mike Page,timing is everything), I have to admit Ido take a certain amount of (perverse?)pleasure in telling people in Iowa whatincredible wimps they are! What Imiss the most, of course, are the friendsI left behind. It is a perk of what wedo for a living that we get to travel tomeetings frequently, so I do see manyof my friends from time to time. I seeMike regularly, and I saw GregGillispie at a meeting in Boston. But,many of you I haven't seen since mylast trip to Fargo.
Ames and Fargo are not so different,although Ames is truly a universitytown. Half the population of 50,000 arestudents; most of the rest have some-thing to do with Iowa State. So, theF-M area is a bit more cosmopolitan,but Des Moines is just a half hour drivesouth. Our house is in one of the fewwooded areas of Ames, pretty secluded,but not nearly as much as our NorthDakota "country estate" that we thinkabout wistfully from time to time.
What's happening with us? Joan isspending much of her life with calligra-phy and judging figure skating.
Mike Schmidt, who many of you willremember, is still with me. He willtake a year off starting in April to be aVisiting Professor at Tokyo Metropoli-tan University. My group is fairly big,with seven graduate students (includingthree new ones this year) and threepostdocs, in addition to Mike.
In addition to my long-standinginterests in silicon chemistry andorganometallic chemistry, our big newinterests are in developing new methodsfor studying solvent effects and surfacechemistry. Both seem to be quite
successful. I am also very fortunate tobe the Director of the Ames LaboratoryApplied Math Program, which includessomething called the Scalable Comput-ing Laboratory. The SCL is a group ofchemists, physicists and computerscientists whose research is focused ondeveloping new ways to do highperformance computing at relativelylow cost. We do this by puttingtogether clusters of fast workstations.Of course, these clusters are also veryhandy for doing quantum chemistrycalculations!
My other main task is to serve asSecretary-Treasurer of the PhysicalChemistry Division of the ACS. MikePage will tell you that this job is madevery easy by my Admisitrative Assis-tant, Kris, who makes sure everythingworks and is organized. I have beenextremely fortunate to have people likeLinda at NDSU, Kris at ISU and Joan(everywhere!) as part of my life.
People at NDSU may remember:Theresa Windus is rising through theranks at Pacific Northwest NationalLaboratory and is very highly thoughtof. She and I are still collaboratingand are co-PIs on a computer scienceproposal to NSF.
Nikita Matsunaga is in his second yearas Assistant Professor at Long IslandUniversity. Kiet Nguyen is a highlyrespected staff scientist at the AirForce Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB. Likewise Jerry Boatz atEdwards AFB. Kim Baldridge is still atthe San Diego Supercomputer Center,and now also has an Adjunct AssociateProfessor position at UCSD. One of myformer undergrads from ISU is now asecond year graduate student with Kim -that's a real kick! Jan Jensen is now inhis third year as Assistant Professorat the University of Iowa.
Chem-News 5 Winter 2000
News from Former Faculty of Chemistry Department
Lin PuNorth Dakota State University-Chemistry faculty 1995-1997.University of VirginiaDepartment of Chemistry.
We are doing fine here. We have had6-8 inches of snow twice in the pastcouple of weeks. Therefore, we arelike being back in Fargo now in awhite world. Both my wife and Imiss Fargo and many people there.We have moved into a new house webuilt one and half years ago. Every-thing is nice.
Dr. Qiao-Sheng Hu and DuaneSimonson who moved with mefrom Fargo are still with me now.Dr. Hu is looking for an academicposition and has already received anoffer for a tenure-track assistantprofessor position from City Univer-sity of New York, Staten Island. Heis still interviewing other schoolsincluding Virginia Tech and NorthIllinois University. Other Fargopeople in my group have left. KwonMusick has found an industrial joband Dr. Wei-Sheng Huang went to
Patrick HoggardNorth Dakota State University-Chemistry faculty 1981-1995.Santa Clara University, CADepartment of Chemistry.
Actually, I do miss the North Dakotawinters. Even the blizzards. They wereexciting and always a challenge. And ifthe challenge just couldn't be met, thenGenie and I would stay home andwatch the weather happen out thewindow, wondering all the time how itwas possible for the snow to bemoving absolutely parallel to theground (another form of Zeno'sparadox: how did the snow actuallyfall if it was always moving side-ways?).
My fondest memories of blizzardshave to do with candidate searches. Weseemed to have a knack for bringingpeople out exactly when the biggeststorm of the season hit. JerryKoronowski was a P-Chem candidatewho arrived, a miracle in itself, duringa huge one. The school was closeddown, but we all made it in, and weheld our interview with the windhowling outside, everyone wonderinghow we were going to get home. 19thAvenue was a death trap. Jerry and therest of us got instant frostbite everytime we went outside. Jerry was madean offer, but elected not to take it.
Steve Castellino arrived (possibly afollowup visit, because Nancy waswith him) not during a blizzard, butright after a monster snowfall. Abouttwo feet had fallen, and the plows hadmade little progress. Somehow, Imanaged to drive down Broadway topick him up - he was staying at theSeneca Inn near St. Luke's, and wedrove back up Broadway to findsomeplace to eat breakfast, becausenone of the cross streets were passable.We stayed more than two hours,
during which time Nancy kept lookingout the window and wondering (Ican only suppose) whether Fargowas really the place for them. ButSteve had visions of skiing in to work,and thought it was great.
How you know you're not at NDSUanymore: I e-mailed the library thismorning, suggesting two books theymight want to consider adding to thecollection. Within a half hour I got areply stating that both books had beenplaced on rush order. Of course,NDSU's chemistry collection is muchmore extensive than Santa Clara's, butI'm just not used to people jumpingwhen I make a suggestion. Greetingsto all! If you are in town, please stop by
Ladd 104 and visit. Also, we’dlove to hear from you and whatyou are doing! Please keep usupdated on address changes.
MIT to continue his post-doctoraltraining. My wife is also looking for acomputer related job right now.
Including a post-doctoral fellow comingin a couple of weeks, my group willhave 5 post-doctorals, 4 graduatestudents and 2 undergraduate students.We are still working on chiral organicmolecules and macromolecules andexploring their applications in asymmet-ric catalysis, chiral sensors, electrolumi-nescence and nonlinear optics.
North Dakota State University scien-tists recently received three patentsbased on their chemistry research, andanother is expected shortly.
The new patents, which may eventu-ally be used in such things as develop-ing new products for North Dakotaagriculture and making pharmaceuticaldrugs, range from a process to linksilicon atoms to a method of producingamino acids.
The patents come at a time whenNDSU President Joseph Chapman isurging the university to work towardCarnegie Research II status, which isdefined as 50 or more doctoralgraduates and the generation of $15.5million to $40 million in competitivefederal research grants each year.
“NDSU can position itself for moresponsored research, especially in itsareas of strength,” said Dale Zetocha,executive director of the NDSUResearch Foundation, which facilitatesthe patenting, licensing and distribu-tion of net revenue from licensing oftechnologies from NDSU’s researchprograms.
“With President Chapman’s newemphasis, it is important to patentNDSU technologies that have commer-cial potential. Successful licensing ofthese technologies can result inlicensing revenue and also enhanceNDSU’s reputation with the possibilityof attracting additional researchfunding.”
Process Patent is Joint Effort ofNDSU and Industry
One of the patents, “CompoundsContaining Tetra-decachloro-cyclohexasilane Dianion,” is consider-ed a prime example of how the
university can work together withprivate business.
The patent, earned by Philip Boudjouk,professor of chemistry; B.K. Kim,NDSU PhD 98; M.P. Remington Jr.,graduate student; and B.P.S. Chauhan,research associate, is for a “controlledmini-polymerization” that is describedas an inexpensive and efficient way tolink six atoms of silicon in one ring.“This is an immediate precursor toelectronic materials and it may becomea very useful precursor to silicon usedin industry, especially the semi-conductor industry,” said Boudjouk.
The patent is a result of four years ofstudy and was a collaboration withDow Corning, which paid for thepatent process in the United States and19 jurisdictions in Europe.
“This is a greatexample of afruitful interactionof a university and industry,” Boudjouksaid, noting the research has alreadyattracted attention from Germanmanufacturing firms. “Dow Corninggets the first shot at commercializingthe process, while the university retains100 percent ownership of the rights.”
Boudjouk said the next step in theresearch is to use the process tocombine silicon with other metals tohelp control electronic properties. “Ifwe are successful in that, it could leadto additional patents in the future,”Boudjouk said.
Process Patent May Provide New UsesFor Crambe
Another new patent may open the doorto additional products from a NorthDakota crop. Boudjouk; Mukund Sibi,professor of chemistry; and Jianguo Ji,research associate, earned a patent for“Method for Preparation of CarboxylicAcids,” which is a process that har-nesses oxygen from the air to replaceozone in chemical methods. This workis important because ozone is a power-ful oxidant used to kill bacteria, but itis very costly. By using oxygen, the
method becomes much less expensive.Specifically, the process is beingutilized to find non-food uses for thecrop crambe. Using the method, thescientists have developed precursors fornylon, perfumes and high-performancelubricants. The research has drawn theattention of companies in the UnitedStates, Italy, Germany and England.
“It is an exciting thing to receive apatent,” Sibi said. “This is an avenue Idon’t normally pursue. This is adifferent mission and a facet of sciencenot many people know about. Ourcolleagues read about our research injournals, but a patent is a differentmatter all together. It feels good.”
New Methods May Be Used in DrugMarket
One patent and another soon on theway are expected to have their impactfelt in the manufacture of pharmaceuti-cal drugs.
Sibi, along with Prasad K. Despande,research associate, and Anthony J.LaLoggia, graduate student, received apatent for “Diarylamino-propanedioland Diarylmethyl-oxazolidinoneCompounds,” which may find uses inthe chiral drug market. This is a newmethod of preparing optically activediarylalanines, which have the potentialto dramatically enhance the therapeuticactivity of peptide analogs.
The university also has received noticethat a patent will be allowed for amethod to produced unnaturalamino acids called “beta amino acids.”The patent, “Method of Preparation ofB-Amino Acids -RFT-28,” was devel-oped by Sibi, John J. Shay, researchassociate; Craig P. Jasperse, visitingfaculty from the Moorhead StateUniversity chemistry department; andMei Liu, graduate student.
“These beta amino acids are precursorsto prepare beta lactams, which arepenicillin-like compounds,” explainedSibi. There is renewed interest in thisarea because of the new wonder drugTaxol, which is used for cancer
Dr. Phil Boudjouk Dr. Mukund Sibi
Chem-News 7 Winter 2000
C h e m i s t r y P a t e n t s
chemotherapy. That particular drug hasbeta amino acid as a portion of it.”
The successful patents for theseprocesses is part of a continuingNDSU effort to innovativelycontribute to research, developmentand technological advances. Withthe latest patents, the total numberof NDSU research-related patentsnow stands at 30.
“Patents are not only important inprotecting the intellectual propertyrights of technologies developed atNDSU, but they also add valuewhen approaching potentiallicensees to commercialize atechnology,” Zetocha said. “Compa-nies can justify investing in atechnology, including scale-up andadditional research and develop-
Bhanu Chauhan, Michael Remington, Mei Liu.
Gillispie Receives Small BusinessAdministration Award
Gregory Gillispie, professor of chemis-try and president of Dakota Technolo-gies, Inc., received a Small BusinessAdministration "1999 Small BusinessInnovation Research Tibbetts Award"at an Oct. 26 awards luncheon inWashington, D.C. He was one of 62honorees from across the country.
The SBIR program is a competitivethree-phase award system that providesqualified small businesses with oppor-tunities to propose innovative ideasthat meet the specific research andresearch and development needs of thefederal government. Named for RolandTibbetts, the person acknowledged asthe father of the program, the presti-gious, national awards are madeannually to small firms, projects,organizations and individuals judged toexemplify the best in SBIR achieve-ment.
Dakota Technologies, Inc., special-izes in real-time technology forenvironmental analysis, processcontrol and chemical sensing. Thecompany incorporates sophisticatedspectrometers and vapor detectors insmall diameter pipe that is driveninto the ground with specializedtrucks. A more research orientedproduct, the Northern Lights tunabledye laser, was also developed as aspin-off of the firm's environmentalwork.
Gillispie's company was recognizedas an outstanding role model forNorth Dakota SBIR companies. "Theaward validates that the science andtechnology we are involved with iscompetitive on the national level.That's always reassuring," he said."It’s a verification that what we aredoing is technically advanced andmeaningful."
The Air Force award was in theamount of $100,000 for Real-Time
Washington Awards Event:Greg Gillispie and Senator Byron Dorgan
Fuel Leak Detector research. TheDepartment of Energy award for$75,000 was for High Spatial Resolu-tion Optical Sensors for DNAPLsresearch.
During his visit to the nation's capital,Gillispie was invited to a breakfast inthe Old Executive Office Building, metwith the North Dakota congressionaldelegation and attended a reception atthe House of Representatives.
F a c u l t y N e w s
ment, if they have exclusive rights to atechnology.”
The research efforts provide significantopportunities for both NDSU facultyand industry. They also yield a greatlearning experience for NDSU students.“Even if they are not directly involvedin the work, students are in the same laband they learn a little about this emerg-ing research,” said Boudjouk. “Inaddition they meet people from industrywho visit campus, so they can establisha network with professionals in thefield. It really is a very good educationprocess for those both directly andindirectly involved.”
from: It’s Happening at State, Sept. 29,1999
from: It’s Happening at State, Nov. 10, 1999
Chem-News 8 Winter 2000
Undergraduate Research Fellows and their groups:
Class of 2000Scott Peterson (Cook Lab)Marissa Wisdom (McCarthy Lab)
■
Class of 2001Matthew Kidd (Page Lab)Stephanie Lerach (McCarthy Lab)Rachel Peterson (Campiglia Lab)Rebecca Wertish (Cook Lab)Michelle Wiest (Tallman Lab)
■
Class of 2002Krista Fisher (Sibi Lab)Patrick Griffin (Boudjouk Lab)Elizabeth Hillerson (Boudjouk Lab)Linda Mizeur (Mallik Lab)Renee Peterson ((McCarthy Lab)
Graduated FellowsMatt Alm (Page Lab)Univ MN Dental School
Bryan Jarabeck (McCarthy Lab)Georgetown University Ph.D/MD Program
Stephanie MoeFred Hutchinson Cancer Research Cntr.Seattle, WA
Brian Very (Boudjouk Lab)Dakota Technologies, Inc.
■
Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program
How it Started
Six years ago Phil Boudjouk had abrainstorm. For many years we had beenencouraging our undergrad majors to joinresearch groups, learn professionalteamwork and experience the thrill of newdiscovery. Many took our advice andjoined groups by their sophomore or junioryear. Phil reasoned: why not extend theopportunity to freshman and give highschool graduates yet another reason forchoosing to get their chemistry degree atNDSU. Our well-funded research facultywould dedicate a portion of their federal orindustrial research grants to provide amodest stipend. Freshman could stay oncampus and not have to seek supplementalincome off campus. They would have a“home base” right in the department, andmentoring would be ongoing from theirprofessor, and post-docs, grad students andupperclass and undergraduate researchers intheir group. We would name these studentsUndergraduate Research Fellows (URF).We would also consider sophomores whohad not been selected originally, butdemonstrated excellence during theirfreshman year, or were transfer students.
With data from the Admissions Office, inthe spring of 1995 we considered theincoming class of 1995 chemistry majorswho had high ACT, GPA and graduationclass rank. Five students accepted ouroffers, and all five graduated within fouryears and with honor from Chemistry or arelated major. The program worked just asplanned, in that the fellows got theopportunity early to consider research asone option for a career. What happens afterthe freshman year? Most fellows continueresearch, either in their original group orelsewhere on campus.
My Undergraduate ResearchFellow’s Experience
By: Michelle Wiest, Tallman Lab
Four hundred seventy-five days. Ac-cording to my lab book, that’s how longI’ve been running experiments on thepoly(3-octadecyl pyrole) coated panels.That would have seemed like a long timeto me to run experiments on one set ofpanels - before I started working in Dr.Tallman’s corrosion lab. Here, you getexcited when your panels start to fail theexperiments. Of course, you alwayswant to see your polymer-coated panelsdo better than the industry standard (mypolymer is neck and neck with thestandard chromium primer).
There is a bit of a gap that the 475 daysdon’t account for in my career here inthe chemistry department. This can beexplained by my freshman year. I recallthe first week I, with little more than thebasic understanding that the world ismade up of atoms, worked in the lab.One of the graduate students was tryingto explain how the impedance experi-ments worked. I just nodded andpretended that I understood some of theconcepts like what a modulus plot was.As the graduate students showed me theins and outs of the corrosion lab, Ibecame more of an undergraduateresearcher, and saw less of the base bathfor glassware. Finally, toward the end ofthe year, I was granted the opportunity toprepare and begin running aluminumpanels with poly(3-octadecyl pyrole).
Jumping to my junior year, my panelsare aging, and I have some experiencebehind me. I have quite a bit moreknowledge about chemistry and am verycomfortable in the lab. The graduatestudents, who are like older brothers andsisters to me (always telling me what todo), have made my experiences fun aswell as educational. I love being part ofthe Tallman clan, and being an under-
graduate research assistant has beenan integral part of my collegeexperience.
Michelle Wiest
Chem-News 9 Winter 2000
College of Science and Mathematics Announces Awards
The NDSU College of Science andMathematics has recognized three of itsfaculty with its annual research andteaching awards. The Research Awardwas shared by John Hershberger,associate professor of chemistry, andMark McCourt, professor of psychol-ogy. Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat, assistantprofessor of geology, received theTeaching Award. The honors werepresented at the annual college picnicSept. 13.
Hershberger’s research interests are inthe area of kinetics and dynamics ofchemical reactions in the gas phase. Hiswork, which has received more than$600,000 in grant support, has focusedon providing accurate rate constants forchemical reactions in the atmosphere.
Knowledge of chemical behavior inthese systems is seen as an important
step toward pollution control, climatemodeling and technological improve-ments of industrial processes.
“John is an outstanding research-teacherand he is well recognized in the physicalchemistry community for his excellentcontributions to combustion chemistry,”wrote chemistry department faculty in aletter of nomination. “John is anoutstanding teacher and is able tocommunicate his ideas very well. Hiscourses in all areas of physical chemistryare among our best. Students participat-ing in the course are of the opinion thatthey get 200 percent for their money.”
During his time at NDSU, Hershbergerhas supervised two postdoctoral fellows,four doctoral students and two master’sdegree students. “I’m pleased andhonored to have received this award,” hesaid. “I’d also like to thank present andpast students who have made thisresearch possible.”
Hershberger joined the NDSU faculty in1989. He earned his bachelor’s degree atthe University of California, SantaBarbara, and his master’s degree anddoctorate from Yale University.
Among his other honors are a NationalScience Foundation graduate fellowshipand the Lars Onsager Fellowship. Hisvita includes 37 publications and 15professional presentations.
Dr. John Hershberger
The History of SISupplemental Instruction has been inoperation for more than 25 years. It’s aworld-wide program that is used heavilyin England, South Africa and Australia.
The original Supplemental Instructionprogram started in the medical school atthe University of Missouri-Kansas City.Currently, they offer SI in approximatelyeight different areas. Since implementingthe program, UMKC has continued topromote it and provide training to facultyand staff who come from many differentcities and states. They are also develop-ing a video-supplemented program forhigh school chemistry classes.
“SI differs from tutoring and other helpprograms, because it has statistical data,which shows that it improves grades.Rather than just targeting the poorstudents, SI concentrates on difficult, or‘gate keeper’ subjects that are typicallymore challenging.”
“There is a need to implement theprogram the first day of class, and theneed for training the leaders to beeffective and avoid pitfalls. The SIleaders are facilitators, not instructors.”
Supplemental Instruction
Supplemental instruction help isoffered for Chemistry 120, 121and 341.
Fall Enrollments: Chemistry 120 840 students Chemistry 121 150 students Chemistry 341 200 students
Greg Oswald coordinates theprogram and has four students -Scott Peterson, Shannon Bennett,Todd Sherwood and Scott Reule -conducting the classes.
NSF REUReturns to NDSU Chemistry
After a seven year hiatus, the NationalScience Foundation has awardedsupport to the department for a summerResearch Experience for Undergradu-ates program in chemistry. The$173,000, awarded to Profs. GregoryCook and Mukund Sibi, will fund theprogram for three years, beginning this
summer. During their 10-weekresearch experience, twelve NDSU-REU students will be immersed in aresearch lab and exposed to a broadscope of ongoing chemical research inthe department. The students willbenefit from an organized program ofprofessional development activitiesincluding seminars, workshops, andtrips to corporate and state laborato-ries. Cont’d page12
Supplemental Instruction for Chemistry 341with Scott Peterson.
Chem-News 10 Winter 2000
Department of Chemistry Million Dollar Campaign
S S S SOne of the distinguishing characteristics of a prominant doctoral chemistry program is theavailability of graduate student fellowships to aid in recruiting highly qualified students. Depart-ment of Chemistry faculty have established an endowment fund for Chemistry Graduate StudentFellowships. The initial goal is to raise $1 million. This will provide interest income which willbe directly applied to supporting graduate students in our MS and PhD programs. Gifts are taxdeductible and may be sent directly to the NDSU Development Foundation, P.O. Box 5144,Fargo, ND 58105-5144. Designate your gift to “Chemistry Graduate Student FellowshipFund”. You may make a gift by credit card by calling 1-800-279-8971 or 701-271-0296. Anysize gift is very much appreciated.
If you’ve walked by Dunbar 151recently, you may have noticed awarm breeze coming from ourlab. This breeze is not due to afaulty heater, a broken steam pipe,or the like. Instead, it is due tothe leaving of Brent Reems. Iknow it seems like a stretch, butwith Brent leaving us for greener
pastures, no longer do we hear “who turned the thermostat up to 80°?” Brentdefended his Master’s thesis titled “Evaluation of Corrosion Protective Proper-ties of Electronically Conducting Polymers: Polyaniline and PolypyrroleThrough Electrochemical Techniques“ January 5th, 2000. After a successfuldefense, he moved west to Bismarck, ND to work as a State Forensic Chemist.
Dr. Dennis Tallman has also moved to greener pastures, although temporarily.Dennis is enjoying his time at the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute atWollongong, Australia. While there, he is synthesizing conducting polymers tobring back to his eager students.
Postdoc Xiaofan Yang left us for a week in January to go to Hawk’s KeyResort on Duck Key located in the Florida Keys. Although, a trip to presentour research at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research project review, nodoubt she will come back smiling and well rested! Jie He has been busyrunning new and exciting experiments on the Scanning Vibrating Electro-chemical Technique instrument. I had the opportunity to travel to Wright/Patterson Airforce Base in Dayton, Ohio in December to present a poster. Itwas a very enjoyable and educational outing! Undergrads Michelle Wiest andStacy Rohlik continue to impress us all with their determination and hardwork.
I guess you could say that even with the graduation of an important member ofour lab, we’re still going strong. We wish Brent the best of luck and hope thathe drops by the lab often.By: Vickie Johnson Gelling
NDSU's fight song isn't just for touch-downs anymore. Starting Saturday,Oct.9, new chimes began ringing "OnBison" quite often on campus. "We(are going to) play the fight songeveryday at noon," said Mark Hubbard,last year's student government vicepresident.
These chimes are the finished productof a long-running fund raising cam-paign by student government alongwith other supporters.
This campaign began in 1997 byformer student vice president, CoreyMartin. “(Martin) was looking for alarge project, something that couldbring back school pride," Hubbardsaid. Hubbard said that Martin alsointended for this to be a projectbetween the student government andSU's alumni. Martin decided to restoreschool spirit by restoring the chimesthat once rang on top of Ladd Hall.
The original chimes at Ladd Hall fellinto disrepair during the early 1980s,according to Hubbard. An administra-tive decision was made to end mainte-nance on the chimes.
In his effort to get new chimes for thecampus, Martin began soliciting localbusinesses, students and faculty fordonations. The intention was for thechimes to be a gift to the school fromthe class of 1997-1998.
Hubbard took Martin's place as vicepresident and took over the fundraising efforts for the new chimes. Lastyear, Hubbard got the AlumniAssociation involved with the fundraising and more money was raised,using matched funds contributions.
Current student body vice presidentMike Schnell has now taken over thefinal fund raising for the project.According to Schnell, the largest andfinal contribution that made thepurchase of the new chimes cont’d
Ladd Hall Gets BellsThe Tallman Group
Dr. Robert Tucker and Vicki Gelling
NSU
D
Chem-News 11 Winter 2000
possible came from Mavis Nymon.Nymon is a former faculty memberat SU. Nymon is using her monetary giftas a dedication to her mother, who wasalso a faculty member at SU. Accordingto Hubbard, the total cost for thepurchase and installation of the chimesis around $17,000.
The new chimes are programmed to playevery hour on the hour. At noon, SU'sfight song "Go Bison" will ring throughthe halls. "Yellow and Green" willaccompany students and faculty as theyend their days on campus. Schnell andSU's choir director, Jo Ann Miller,worked together to select the music thatwill be played. According to Hubbard,these are high tech chimes that canbasically play any kinds of songs youwant them to play. "You could programthem to play 'The Star Spangled Banner'on the Fourth of July," Hubbard said.
The chimes were purchased bySchulmerich Bells, a nationalcompany. A dedication ceremony tookplace on Saturday, Oct. 9. The ceremonywas short, and many of the people whomade this possible were in attendance.
One thing is for certain; a nostalgicmemory can now be restoredfor the alumni of SU. Thanks to effortsof and contributions of everyone in-volved, new memories of the dailysounds of the chimes can be created forfuture and current students.
Ladd Hall
Broberg Lecture Featured Dr. Daryle Busch
A Journey in theMicrocosm with a Molecular
Organization Man
Sept. 22 - 8 pmReineke Fine Arts Center
This fall’s Broberg Lecturer wasDr. Daryle Busch, Professor ofChemistry, University of Kansas,President-elect of the AmericanChemical Society. He visitedNDSU Sept. 22-23. HisWednesday evening lecture wasopen to the public, and his
second presentation Thursdayafternoon, was geared towarduniversity faculty and students.
Dr. Tallman, Dr. Busch and Dr. Boudjouk
President Chapman visits Chemistry
NMR Lab: President Chapman, Dr. McCarthy,Chairman & Group.
Laser Kinetics Lab: Dr. John Hershberger &President Chapman
Material Characterization Lab: PresidentChapman and Dean Grier.
Organic Synthesis Lab: Tara Ternes, Dr.Robert Tucker & President Chapman.
In September President Chapmanbegan his campus visits to alldepartments here at NDSU. OnDecember 9th he was with us inthe Chemistry Department for ourregular faculty meeting and thenproceeded to some of the labs aspictured above. NMR Lab: Keith Parajasingham, President
Chapmen & Dr. McCarthy.
North Dakota State University Chemistry Department P.O. Box 5516
Fargo, ND 58105-5516
32nd Annual Great Lakes Regional Meeting June 4-6, 2000, Fargo, ND
Non-Profit OrgU.S. Postage Paid
Permit No. 818Fargo, ND 58105
New Alumni CenterDedication of Chimes on Ladd Hall
Dr. Gary Stolzenberg’s “Next Step Workshop”(L to R) Charmane Disrud (Turtle Mt. CC), N.Balalkrishnan (United Tribes Tech. College),Larry Groth (Lake Region State College), GaryStolzenberg, Ann Malan (Cankdeska ChikanaCC) Tom Gonnella (Mayville State College).
The Rasmussen group is getting up and running, with one graduate student andfour undergraduate students. Graduate student Don Kenning joined the group inNovember and will be using electrochemistry to study the polymerization andelectronic properties of polythienopyarizes. Undergraduates Kari Mitchell,Scott Rothstein, and Dan Sattler are also working on the polymer project andare presently synthesizing functionalized thienopyrazine monomers. Kari hasalso been recently awarded an AURA for the upcoming summer. UndergraduateMisty Tomchuk is doing work on carbon dioxide reduction catalysts. Dr.Rasmussen is busy putting the final touches on the lab as well as doing reactionsfor the polymer project and the carbon dioxide project. A group open house isplanned sometime soon. Anyone from the department will be free to meet thegroup and to check out what we have done with the lab.
Klosterman Library
Dr. H.J. Klosterman
Rasmussen GroupBy Don Kenning
NDSU Career Milestones1946 B.S. Chemistry, NDSU1946-1955 Research Assistant, Ag Experi- ment Station, NDSU1949 M.S. Chemistry, NDSU1955 Ph.D. Chemistry, Univ. MN1956-1988 Chair, Biochemistry, NDSU1990 D.Sc. (Honoris Causa), NDSU1960-1980 Chair of Physical Facilities Committee, NDSUResearch Specialty:Chemistry & Biochemistry of Flaxseedand Flax Products
cont’d from page 9
NSF REU Returns to NDSU Chemistry
Participation by Dakota Technologies, Inc.will allow additional research opportunityfor our REU participants in the privatesector. Students will be housed together incampus dormitories and will be paid astipend of $3000. Details about the programand application materials can be found onthe department's web page.
Birthday Celebration - standing, SethRasmussen, Andres Campiglia, Greg Cook,Joe Eaton; front row Mike Page, GregMcCarthy.
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