Majors

Free Radicals Proselytize for the Chem Major

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The Free Rads hosted a Chemistry Major Interest Lunch on October 12 where they mingled with prospective majors. A representative member from each research lab gave a short presentation about their work. The majors were also able to share their advice on navigating the major while juggling other majors, interests, extracurricular activities, and study abroad. Nearly thirty prospective students participated while enjoying Italian food and informal conversation. Lunch was follwed by lab tours and students were able to peer inside the inner workings of several research labs to see what opportunities await them.
(submitted by Jing Jing Wang)

Nearly thirty students arrived to this event to learn about the major or impart advice on the major.

Free Radicals Officer, Theo Prachyathipsakul ‘19, explaining the requirements for the major and the differences between the A track and the B track.

Alexa Strauss ‘19, a Chemistry and MB&B double major.

The Tie-Dye Tradition Continues

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And the Free Radicals live on! The Free Radicals held their first major event on October 6, the annual Tie-Dye Lab Coat event, where the chemistry majors gathered outside of Hall-Atwater on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to dye their own lab coats. The day was organized by the Free Radical officers, Theo Prachyathipsakul, David Cabanero, and Jing Jing Wang with assistance from Professor Andrea Roberts. Around twenty Free Rads enjoyed Thai food and decorated their glamorous new lab coats, courtesy of the Chemistry department. Seniors who already had a lab coat from last year tie-dyed shirts. The group also colorized scarves for Professor Roberts and our administrative staff members, Terry Emmons and Aracely Suto. Check out the pictures from this event below! (submitted by David Cabanero)

Dan Chung ’20 drips emerald dye onto his lab coat with flourish.

(From left to right): Chien Ho ’19, Alison Biester ’19, Giselle Reyes ’18, (MA ’19), David Cabanero ’19, and Sojeong Park ’18 (MA ’19)

(From left to right)” May Do ’20, Sydney Taylor-Klaus ’20, Jana O’Donnell ’19, and Dan Chung ’20

Jaina Wollowitz ’20, and Jessica Garcia ’19

Some chemistry majors and their masterpieces

26 Chemistry Students Present at the Research and Science Poster Session

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The undergraduate summer research fellows presented posters on their accomplishments on July 26. Twenty-six of the presentations were on work done in the Chemistry Department, representing nine different research groups.  For more on the event, visit News @ Wesleyan.  A list of the chemistry presenters is below the photographs.

 

Eija Kent '19, Tenzin Ngodup '20, and Sonja Welch '20 stand in front of their posters
Eija Kent ’19, Tenzin Ngodup ’20, and Sonja Welch ’20

 

Image of Professor Carlos Jimenez-Hoyos and David Cabanero '19 standing in front of a poster discussing the project
Professor Carlos Jimenez-Hoyos and David Cabanero ’19

 

Image of Professor Michelle Personick and Frank Tucci '19 pointing out information on a poster to Professor Michelle Personick
Professor Michelle Personick and Frank Tucci ’19

 

Image of Rochelle Spencer '20 discussing her poster with Giselle Reyes (Grad)
Rochelle Spencer ’20 and Giselle Reyes ’18, MA ’19

 

Brynn Assignon “Expressing and Characterizing Heptosyltransferase Enzymes”
Alison Biester “Selectivity and Byproduct Formation in Thiol-Michael Reactions”
David Cabanero “Computational Studies on the Catalytic, Asymmetric ‘Interrupted’ Feist-Benary Reaction”
Grace Chen “Characterization of the solution speciation of vanadyl complexes through longitudinal and transverse relaxation times”
Dan Chung “Mapping the Allosteric Network of Glutathione Peroxidase-4 (GPX4)”
Mary Do “Synthesizing Analogs of Anti-Cancer Molecule, Rocaglamide”
Emanual Fetene “Expression and Purification of Computationally Designed Mini-Proteins”
Jessica Garcia “Synthesis of 6-(aminomethyl) picolinate”
Allie Goss “Synthesis of Nigrospine”
Abrar Habib “Synthesis of Bimetallic Palladium-Copper (Pd-Cu) & Silver-Platinum (Ag-Pt) Nanoparticles”
Chien Ho “Non-Linear Dependence of 1H Relaxation Rates on the Concentration of Copper Hexaaqua Ion”
Eija Kent “Investigation of Seed-Mediated Synthesis of Gold Containing Nanoparticles”
Amy Liu “Subcloning LpxE from pET-15b to pNGFP-BC”
Lucas Mani “Modification of Pyridine Donating Groups in TPADA and TPAMA to Optimize Stability and Relaxivity”
Tenzin Ngodup “Fingerprinting Biomolecules and the Detection of Disease Markers Through the Use of Rhodium Nanocubes For Surface Enhanced Resonance Raman Spectroscopy”
Theo Prachyathipsakul “Synthesis and Study of a Water-soluble Macrocycle”
Kristen Scopino “Molecular Dynamics of the 530 Loop of the Ribosome”
Kendar Serindag “Computational Design of DNA Scaffold for Optimization of CryoEM”
Joshua Signore “Conformational Isomerism of 1-Iodopentane and 1-Iodohexane”
Rochelle Spencer “Dendrimer Synthesis via Highly Efficient Thiol-Michael Reactions”
Kate Sundberg “The Synthesis of a Probe for Lignin Depolymerization Detection”
Grant Tillinghast “Kinetic Ensemble Refinement Improves Protein NMR Structures”
Frank Tucci “Mutagenesis of E. coli Heptosyltransferase I to Disrupt Enzyme Dynamics and Chemistry”
Aryan Vavila “Ab Initio Investigation of Radical Organic Compounds”
Sonja Welch “Electrochemical Synthesis of Gold Concave Nanocubes”
Jaina Wollowitz “A Computational, Energetic Analysis of the Roles of Initiators in Thiol-Vinylsulfone Reactions”

 

39 Chemistry degrees awarded at 2018 Commencement

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Graduates toss their caps into the air at the 186th Commencement

A total of thirty-nine degrees in Chemistry were awarded on May 27 at the 186th Commencement.  The department proudly congratulates all its new alumni/alumnae.

Ph.D. recipients:
Joy Cote
Stephen Frayne
Kyle Throssell

M.A. recipients:
Paul Brauchle
Yoon Jeong Choi
Haeyoon Jung
Corey Phillips
Robie Ryan

B.A. recipients:
Abby Cahn-Gambino
Angela Chung
Ethan Chupp
Shemaiah Clarke
Maya Craffey
Luke Davoren
Matthew DiGiovanni
Max Distler
Shione Donahue
Adi Gandhi
Trevon Gordon
Cody Hecht
Levi Huang
Emily Kessler
Nahian Khan
Joanna Korpanty (with High Honors)
Marjorie Kozloff
Christine Little
Maya Marshall
Ryan McMahon
Carlo Medina
Ji Yoon Park
Sojeong Park
Ivy Poon
Giselle Reyes
Daniel Robertson (with High Honors)
David Solti (with Honors)
Aaron Stone (with Honors)
Jeanette Thornton (with High Honors)
Ann-Dorie Webley (with Honors)
John Xu

Tishler Pizza Party and Awards Ceremony

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A packed room awaits the beginning of Chemistry’s Tishler awards ceremony.

The 2018 Tishler Chemistry Pizza Party & Awards Ceremony was held on May 2 this year.  Department Chair T. David Westmoreland noted the following milestones and accomplishments for the department:

The Department published 34 papers (with 33 different Wesleyan authors).

Ten students gave presentations at national or international meetings.

Six graduating seniors will receive Honors or High Honors for their senior theses.

Seven majors were elected to Phi Beta Kappa this year.

Five M.A. students and three Ph.D. students have completed their degrees this year.

Prof. John Mantzaris was recognized on the occasion of his retirement from Wesleyan for his many years of contributions to the department particular his teaching in the introductory chemistry lab.

The 2018 Chemistry Department Awards were announced.  Congratulations to all our award recipients!

ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry : David Solti
To recognize achievement in inorganic chemistry and to encourage further study in the field

ACS Analytical Award : Maya Marshall
Awarded for excellence in analytical chemistry

ACS Award in Organic Chemistry : Theo Prachyathipsakul
To a student who has displayed a significant aptitude for organic chemistry

ACS Award in Physical Chemistry : Zain Khanna
To recognize achievement in physical chemistry and to encourage further study in the field

ACS Connecticut Valley Section Award : Aaron Stone
For outstanding achievement by a graduating chemistry major

American Institute for Chemists Award : Ann-Dorie Webley
For outstanding achievement by a graduating chemistry major

Bradley Prize : Joanna Korpanty
To the senior or junior who excels in chemistry and particularly in special original work

CRC Award (General Chemistry): Kate Luo
For the outstanding first-year student in Principles of Chemistry

CRC Award (Organic Chemistry): Ben Bushnell
For the outstanding first-year student in Organic Chemistry

Hawk Prize : Cody Hecht
To the students who have done the most effective work in biochemistry

Martius Yellow Award : Jaquelin Aroujo
Awarded for excellence in Integrated Chemistry Laboratory

Peirce Prize : Max Distler
Awarded for excellence in chemistry

Silverman Prize : Jeanette Thornton
Awarded to a member of the junior or senior class for excellence in chemistry

The Wallace C. Pringle Prize for Research in Chemistry : Daniel Robertson
Awarded to a student for excellence in research.

Peterson Fellowship : Joy Cote
For graduate study in biochemistry

Tishler Prize : Andrea Lee
Awarded to the best graduate teaching assistant in chemistry

Items Fall 100 Feet, Explode at the Third Annual Big Drop

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Giselle Reyes (’18, MA ’19) ignites her favorite “textile”, gun cotton.

The 3rd annual Big Drop was held on May 9 outside the Exley Science Center to mark the last day of classes for the Spring semester. A series of smashable items—including water balloons, bouncy balls, watermelon, apples, pineapple, discarded computer equipment, plastic, and Oobleck—were dropped from the building’s rooftop. The Free Radicals also contributed a variety of explosions including the burning of an Orgo Lab report in liquid oxygen.

Click here for a short video and photos from the event.

 

Chemistry majors present at conference

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Christine Little, Cody Hecht, and Emily Kessler (third, fourth, and fifth from left)
Christine Little, Cody Hecht, and Emily Kessler (third, fourth, and fifth from left)

Chemistry majors Christine Little, Emily Kessler, and Cody Hecht, along with three MB&B majors, attended the annual Experimental Biology (EB) conference in San Diego in mid-April. All three were invited as members of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), a participating society of EB. At the meeting, Christine, Emily, and Cody each competed in an undergraduate poster competition (in which Christine was awarded an honorable mention for an exceptional poster!) and presented their posters in sessions according to their area of research.

Christine’s project in Ishita Mukerji’s lab focuses on characterizing the binding interactions of yeast histone H1 to DNA four-way junctions. Cody’s research in Erika Taylor’s lab investigates the protein dynamics of Heptosyltransferase I as part of ongoing inhibitor design efforts. Emily’s work in Manju Hingorani’s lab concentrates on the link between mutations in DNA mismatch repair protein MutS and Lynch Syndrome.

Seniors Elected to Phi Beta Kappa

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Five senior chemistry majors have been elected to the Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.  They will be honored at an induction ceremony on Saturday, May 26, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. in the Chapel.  The honorees are:

  • Max Distler
  • Kenneth (Cody) Hecht
  • Joanna Korpanty
  • Carlo Medina
  • Daniel Robertson

They join Maya Marshall and Aaron Stone, who were elected in the fall semester.  This has been a banner year for chemistry students and we proudly extend our congratulations to all.

Personick group presentations at ACS meeting

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Members of the Personick research group (left to right: David Solti ’18, Melissa King (grad), Prof. Personick, and Danny Robertson ’18) attended the American Chemical Society Spring National Meeting in New Orleans, LA from March 18-22, 2018. Danny gave a talk on Sunday on “(Ag)Au concave cubes as experimental models of computationally predicted active sites for the oxygen-assisted coupling of alcohols.” Melissa presented on Wednesday about her work on “Coupling competitive surface interactions: a synthetic route to enhanced grain boundaries at the exterior of multiply twinned palladium nanoparticles.” On Thursday, Prof. Personick presented the group’s recently published research regarding “Approaches for bridging dissimilar reduction kinetics in the synthesis of bimetallic nanomaterials.” All of the talks were well received by their respective audiences.

In addition to presenting their research, the Wesleyan contingent also recruited prospective graduate students for the Wesleyan PhD program at the graduate school recruiting fair, and Melissa was invited to participate in a panel on “Graduate School: The In’s and Out’s of Getting In” which was very highly attended. Prof. Personick caught up with Wesleyan alum Prof. John Keith (Univ. of Pittsburgh) over breakfast, and everyone spent time sampling the local cuisine.

Daniel Robertson (’18) receives travel award from American Chemical Society

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Daniel Robertson, a senior chemistry major, has been awarded a travel grant from the Division of Inorganic Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (ACS).  The grant will help defray the costs for him to attend the 255th National Meeting of the ACS, where he will be presenting on his recent research in Prof. Michelle Personick’s lab.  His talk is titled “(Ag)Au concave cubes as experimental models of computationally predicted active sites for the oxygen-assisted coupling of alcohols”.  The selection criterion for this competitive award is the scientific merit of the work being presented.  The meeting will be in New Orleans during the second week of the Wesleyan spring break.  If you are attending the meeting, Danny’s talk is scheduled for Sunday, March 18 at 8:50 a.m. in room 212 of the Convention Center.  He and Prof. Personick would be delighted to have you there.