Chemistry Weekly Newsletter 2015-2016

Fall 2018 Newsletters	Spring 2019 Newsletters
September 7, 2018 September 22, 2018 October 5, 2018 October 22, 2018 November 5, 2018 November 20, 2018 December 7, 2018

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Prof. George Lisensky was named the Solem Chair in Natural Sciences in recognition of his research and teaching!

Prof. George Lisensky’s recent research work was published (his 85th publication!):

A. Rahaman, S. Ghosh, S. Basak-Modi, A. F. Abdel-Magied, S. E. Kabir, M. Haukka, M. G. Richmond, G. C. Lisensky, E. Nordlander, G. Hogarth, "Chalcogenide-capped triiron clusters [Fe3(CO)9(μ3-E)2], [Fe3(CO)7(μ3-CO)(μ3-E)(μ-dppm)] and [Fe3(CO)7(μ3-E)2(μ-dppm)] (E = S, Se) as proton-reduction catalysts," Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, 880, 213-222 (2019)

The topic for the spring 2019 chemistry seminar series (CHEM 280/380) will be the Chemistry and Biology of Vision.

Prof. George Lisensky has added a section of Scientific Glassblowing (CHEM 370). There are open seats.

-University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE. $5000-$6000 pay for 10 weeks research. Priority review begins Friday, February 1 and all applications must be completed by Friday, March 1, 2019.

-Coatings and Polymeric Materials, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND. $4000 pay for 10 weeks research. Application deadline March 1, 2019.

-Center for Advancing STEM Teaching, Learning, and Evaluation, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY. $5000 pay for 9 weeks research. Application due January 31, 2019.

-Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA. $5750 pay for 10 weeks research. Application deadline February 11, 2019.

-Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE. For students with disabilities, stipend for 10 weeks research. Application due February 1, 2019.

-Center for Engineering MechanoBiology, Washington University, St Louis, MO. $5500 stipend for 10 weeks research. Application due February 1, 2019.

-Biophysics Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. $5000 pay for 10 weeks research. Applications are due February 11, 2019.

-Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. $5750 pay for 10 weeks research. Applications are due February 15, 2019.

-American Chemical Society Nuclear & Radiochemistry Summer School, San Jose State University, CA. $4000 pay for 6 weeks of classes. Applications are due February 1, 2019.

-Ph.D. in Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
-M.S. in Chemistry or Applied Physics, Master’s Industrial Internship Program, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
-M.S.E. in Secondary Education, STEMteach Graduate Program, University of Wisconsin, River Falls, WI

Newsletter Information
Please send any news items for the Newsletter to Ted Gries (griest@beloit.edu).

Congratulations!
Dylan Pawlak’22 declared a Biochemistry major
Robert Odom’22 declared a Biochemistry major
Kieran Rodning’21 declared a Chemistry major

The following students presented during the 2018 Midstates Consortium for Math and Science Physical Sciences, Math, and Computer Science Research Symposium at Washington University in St. Louis, MO:
Ross McFarland-Porter, Using graphene to study perovskite solar cells
Jonathan Palmer, Analysis of Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil dietary supplements with ATR-FTIR spectroscopy

On Monday, November 26th from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in SC 402, the Pre-health Professional Student Club is hosting a lunch panel with current students who have completed a variety of shadowing experiences related to health [Megan Kerr - nursing; Jameson Ghalioungui - dentistry; Shelby Kline - physical therapy; Melissa Pelkey - medicine; Steven Soli - medicine]. This is an excellent opportunity to find out more about (i) how to setup shadowing experiences, (ii) what to expect from shadowing experiences, (iii) what not to expect from shadowing experiences, and (iv) how to communicate about experiences. The student club is sponsoring lunch from Jimmy Johns. If you plan to eat, respond to club president Melissa Pelkey (pelkeym@beloit.edu).

The American Chemical Society is accepting applications for its Nuclear & Radiochemistry Undergraduate Summer Schools. Programs are held at San Jose State University in San Jose, CA and at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, NY. Both programs run from June 16, 2019 through July 27, 2019. This opportunity allows you to earn college credit and includes a $4000 stipend, all tuition and fees, transportation to an from the summer school location, housing, books, and lab supplies! Applicants should have at least two years of college chemistry, one year of physics, and one year of calculus. The deadline to apply is February 1, 2019. For more information see: chemistry.missouri.edu/nucsummer

The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory is accepting applications for their summer field program. Enroll in field-courses on Barrier Island Ecology, Cetacean Behavior, Coastal Restoration, Coastal Herpetology, Elasmobranch Biology, Marine Invertebrate Zoology, Oceanography, Marine Ichthyology, and/or Marine Mammals. The deadline to apply is April 19, 2019. For more information see: use.edu/gcrl-apply

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Opportunity in Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology

The Snyder fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provides a 10-week summer research opportunity for a student that has completed the organic course sequence. The fellowship provides a $5,000 stipend, housing, travel, and $750 towards research expenses. An applicant must be nominated by the Beloit Chemistry Department. Talk to your adviser if you are interested. For more information see: chemistry.illinois.edu/snyder

Graduate Programs that Have Contacted the Department
-Ph.D. in Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Wayne State Chemistry, Detroit, MI
-M.S. or Ph.D. in Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ

Newsletter Information
Please send any news items for the Newsletter to Ted Gries (griest@beloit.edu).

Congratulations!
Jacob Sligar’21 declared a Biochemistry Major
Sydney Wilkov’22 declared an Environmental Chemistry major.
Luke Kindle’22 declared a Biochemistry Major

The following students presented during the 2018 Midstates Consortium for Math and Science Biological Sciences/Psychology Research Symposium at the University of Chicago, IL:
-Victoria Angeles, Investigating Susceptibility of Tadpoles to ranavirus (FV3) with Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyl
-Guadalupe Orbezo-Perez, Differential regulation in defense-related genes by flg22 and elf18 in Arabidopsis thaliana
-Dulce Saenz, Carbon Cycling in Managed Turf and Restored Ecosystems
-Monica Smith, Effects of nitrates and phosphates on growth and leukocyte recruitment of Xenopus laevis

Visiting Assistant Professor Candidate
On Friday, November 9th, Dr. Tim Perkins will be on campus as a candidate for the Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry position. Dr. Perkins earned a B.S. in chemistry from Maryville University in 2012 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Northern Illinois University in 2018. His graduate research focused on the synthesis and characterization of lanthanide metal-organic frameworks and lanthanide metal-metalloid complexes. Dr. Perkins will present a departmental seminar on Friday from 12:30-1:30 in SC 402. All are welcome. If you would like Bagels and More sandwich (and pickle and cookie), please respond to Taylor Ajamian (ajamiant@beloit.edu) by Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. The successful candidate for this Visiting Assistant Professor position at Beloit will teach one section each of thermodynamics and kinetics (CHEM 240) and introductory chemistry (CHEM 117) during the spring semester.

Graduate Fellowship Opportunity
Applications are being accepted for the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship. This program provides up to four years of financial support for students pursuing doctoral degrees in the fields related to properties of materials under extreme conditions and hydrodynamics, nuclear science, or high energy density physics. Applications are due January 16, 2019. For more information see: www.krellinst.org/ssgf

Undergraduate Summer Research Programs that Have Contacted the Department
-Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program, Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
-Summer Undergraduate Research Program, Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Science, New York, NY

Graduate Programs that Have Contacted the Department
-Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Science, New York, NY
-Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Louisiana State University, Shreveport, LA
-Ph.D. in Complex Biosystems, Department of Statistics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
-Ph.D. in Complex Systems Chemistry, International Graduate School, University of Strasbourg, France
-Master of Science in Physics-Quantum Computing, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
-Master of Education in STEM, School of Education, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

Newsletter Information
Please send any news items for the Newsletter to Ted Gries (griest@beloit.edu).

Professors Parmentier and Labby present their current research at the 2018 Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society on October 22nd in Ames, Iowa. Their talk is titled, “Isolation and analysis of lavender essential oil: An undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory experiment”.

Advising Practicum is October 31
[11:30-12:50] Informal Advising Lunch for prospective and current majors in Chemistry (SC 402) and Biochemistry (SC 302).
[1:00-1:50] Update you Advising Map (chem.beloit.edu/majors/). An updated map is required for course registration authorization by chemistry and biochemistry majors.
[2:00-2:50] Spooky Chemistry Demonstrations in the Morgan Room of Mayer Hall.

Undergraduate Summer Research Programs that Have Contacted the Department
-University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program

Graduate Programs that Have Contacted the Department
-Master of Entrepreneurship, Technology, & Innovation, Colleges of Science and Engineering, University of Notre Dame, South Bend , IN.
-M.S. or Ph.D. in Chemistry or Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate Program, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA.

Tentative Spring Course Schedules Are Posted in the Chemistry Student Lounge!

Are You a 4th-Year Chemistry or Biochemistry Major Interested in Attending Graduate School Next Year?
The chemistry department is hosting an informational lunch on October 12th from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Sanger Science Center 402. Come discuss what you should be thinking about and doing in the next couple weeks and months. Bagels and More sandwiches will be served. To RSVP, email Ted Gries (griest@beloit.edu) by October 10th.

Are You Interested in Volunteering at the Beloit Memorial Hospital?
The Pre-Health Professionals Student Club is hosting Regina Dunkin, the Volunteer Coordinator at Beloit Memorial Hospital, for an informational session on October 10th from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Sanger Science Center 349. HPAC will sponsor Bagels and More sandwiches (and pickles and cookies!). To RSVP for lunch and to pickup the required preregistration paperwork, stop by Taylor Ajamian's office (Sanger Science Center 113) by October 8th at 4:00 p.m.

Special Geochemistry Lecture on Water and Lithium
Dr. David Boutt, Associate Professor of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst will present the 2018 Geological Society of America Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecture at 4:00 p.m., October 25th in Sanger Center for the Sciences SC150.

The Earth is warming at an unprecedented pace due to the release of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. Our society is now in the great transition to a green and more sustainable energy supply. The development of portable and powerful energy storage mechanisms is essential to replace our dependence on the high-energy density fossil fuels. Lithium-ion batteries have emerged as one important technology for this purpose. The element lithium is abundant and plentiful on the planet but is rarely found at high concentrations to be of economical use. Economic deposits of lithium are found in pegmatites and closed-basin continental brines. The origin of the lithium brines and their distribution worldwide is fundamentally tied to the hydrology and hydrogeology of the host basins. This talk focuses on the multifaceted role of (ground) water in transporting, accumulating, and extracting lithium in continental brines and this discipline represents an important interface between hydrogeology, economic geology, and our green energy supplies. Field examples from Northern Chile and the Great Basin of the United States highlight the inter-disciplinary nature of the origin and evolution of continental lithium brine deposits. Many aspects of geosciences including volcanology, sedimentology, geomorphology, geochemistry, geophysics, paleoclimate, structural geology and tectonics combine with hydrogeosciences make this a particularly exciting example of the importance of earth sciences to future energy supplies. The environmental impacts of lithium brine pumping is explored and discussed in the context of balancing the sustainability of lithium-ion batteries.

National Physical Science Consortium Fellowship Opportunity for 4th-year Students
The National Physical Science Consortium is a partnership between government and academic research laboratories and industry. This fellowship offers up to six years of support for Ph.D. work and covers full tuition to 125 graduate research universities. Additionally, fellows spend up to two summers in paid internships working in sponsoring government or private labs. Individuals who identify with groups traditionally underrepresented in science are especially encouraged to apply and make up 82% of the program fellows. Students typically apply during their senior year. The deadline to apply is November 30, 2018. For more information go to www.npsc.org.

Woods Hole Marine Biology Semester in Environmental Science for Current 2nd-year Students
Spend the fall of 2019 in the Semester in Environmental Science at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. Completing an off-campus semester at Woods Hole makes students highly qualified applicants for their competitive research internships or field assistant positions. Typically, students enter the program after having completed basic prerequisites of college chemistry, biology, and math. Applications are due March 22, 2019. For more information go to mbl.edu/SES

Graduate Programs that Have Contacted the Department
-Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), School of Pharmacy, Concordia University, Mequon, WI
-Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Environmental Science and Policy, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, NY
-Master of Science (MS) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Applied Chemistry, Geochemistry, and Materials Science, Department of Chemistry, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO

Tentative Spring Course Schedules Are Posted in the Chemistry Student Lounge!

Department and Program Student Representative
Guadalupe Orbezo-Perez (Biochemistry’20) will be serving as the student representative to departmental meetings this semester. Guadalupe will be an excellent source of information on administrative and curricular happenings within the department. At various times throughout the semester, she may also solicit feedback from peers on departmental matters. Thank you for serving in this role, Guadalupe!

Research Presentation Opportunity
If you have completed a research experience on or off campus, then this is for you! The Midstates Undergraduate Research Symposia are November 2nd and 3rd for Biological Sciences and November 9th and 10th for Physical Sciences. Talk with your advisor to determine if you have work that is suitable to present at these undergraduate symposia. This will satisfy the LAP requirement through the LAP-3 (Synthesis) option. The deadline to apply is September 26th!

Study Abroad Presentation Opportunity
If you have studied abroad, then this is for you! Beloit College International Symposium Day provides an opportunity for students to present on the influence of international academic experiences on learning. This year’s symposium day is Wednesday, November 14th (in lieu of classes). The deadline to submit an abstract is September 24th.

The Chemistry Graduate School Experience from Chemistry & Engineering News
If you’re considering graduate school, let this package serve as your road map. If you’ve been through graduate school, let us take you down memory lane. If you’re currently in graduate school, hang on, because this experience is unlike any other in a chemist’s journey to becoming an independent scientist. Link to article: https://cen.acs.org/education/graduate-education/chemistry-graduate-school-experience/96/i36.

Graduate Programs that Have Contacted the Department
Ph.D. in Chemistry or Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Newark, DE

Newsletter Information
Please send any news items for the Newsletter to Ted Gries (griest@beloit.edu).

Health Professions Advising Committee (HPAC) Lunch
Join the faculty advisors on the Health Professions Advising Committee (HPAC) for an informal lunch in Sanger Science Center 349 from 12:30-1:30 p.m., on September 19. This is an excellent opportunity to meet the advisors and catch up on what you have been doing. Bagels and More sandwiches will be provided. Please RSVP to Taylor Ajamian (ajamiant@beloit.edu) by noon on Monday, September 17

Talk with your advisor to determine if you have work that is suitable to present to this undergraduate audience. This will satisfy the LAP graduation requirement through the LAP-3 (Synthesis) option. The deadline to apply is September 26, 2018.

This nationwide program is being launched in all the AHEC Programs throughout the nation, with a goal of preparing a diverse, skilled primary care workforce in rural and underserved communities.

Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Interprofessional Healthcare Case Competition

This annual event hosted by Wisconsin AHEC invites students from any Wisconsin college/university to compete in a case competition, and prove you’ve got the knowledge and skills that employers are seeking in up-and-coming health professionals! Teams will have two months to work together on a case study and submit their entry prior to the competition event. Each team will conduct an analysis of interprofessional efforts during the care of a patient/client. At the end of the process, your team will present your findings to a panel of judges representing various disciplines in the community of Wisconsin’s healthcare professionals.

The Midwest chapter of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists has two scholarship opportunities available:

The deadline to apply is October 15, 2018. For more information and to apply, see the Midwest Chapter’s website at www.midwestscc.org/scholarship.

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