Professor Amir Hoveyda wins 2010 Yamada-Koga Prize

Professor Amir Hoveyda, the Joseph T. and Patricia Vanderslice Millennium Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Chemistry Department, has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the Yamada-Koga Prize, an international award given annually by the Chemical Society of Japan to an organic chemist who has had a major impact in the field of synthesis of optically active compounds. There will be a one-day symposium on 29 October 2010 in Tokyo to honor Professor Hoveyda, with speakers from all over the world to present lectures. Professor Hoveyda will also present an award lecture.

The prize consists of a medal, a plaque, a cash award, and travel expenses for the recipient to and from Japan. Founded in 1995 to commemorate the late Professor Shun-ichi Yamada's pioneering research on the synthesis of optically active compounds, the Yamada Prize was renamed as the Yamada-Koga Prize in 2005, to honor also the late Professor Kenji Koga.

It is a special honor for Professor Hoveyda to be awarded this prize in recognition of his world-class research on the synthesis of optically active compounds. The fact that the selection committee chose a Boston College professor for this prize speaks to the Chemistry Department's - and the University's - growing reputation in the sciences, nationally and internationally. For a list of Yamada-Koga prize recipients, please see: Recipients of the Yamada-Koga Prize
(11.10.09)


Professor Larry Scott receives ISPAC award

We are pleased to announce that Professor Larry Scott has received a prestigious award from the International Society for Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds at their Twenty-Second International Symposium for Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds, which was held this year in Charleston, SC.   The award, which is given once every two years, was presented on the first day of the symposium, and Professor Scott was asked to present a plenary lecture on his research at Boston College, which he entitled "Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Bowls, Baskets, Balls, and Tubes:  Challenging Targets for Chemical Synthesis." The award certificate reads: "The International Society for Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds presents the 2009 Research Achievement Award to Professor Lawrence T. Scott for his outstanding contributions to the field of polycyclic aromatic compound research, particularly in the areas of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon synthesis and mechanistic investigations.”



Professor Scott is shown receiving the award from the president of the ISPAC, Professor Jan Andersson, University of Munster, Germany.
(10.06.09)


Dr. E. Joseph Billo receives 2009 Hill Award

The 2009 Henry A. Hill Award was presented to Dr. E. Joseph Billo, retired Professor of Chemistry, at the October 2009 meeting of the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society (NESACS). The Hill Award, which is presented annually, recognizes meritorious service to the section and to the profession of chemistry. Dr. Billo is currently serving his second term as NESACS chair and has been a member of NESACS since 1974. Over the past 35 years, Dr. Billo has provided dedicated service to NESACS in numerous capacities, most notably as chair of the Chemical Education, Esselen Award, National Meeting, and Program committees; as organizer of the Undergraduate Research Symposium; and as a member of the Nominating, James Flack Norris Award, Budget, Continuing Education, and National Meeting committees. Dr. Billo, an inorganic chemist, is known for his book, Excel for Chemists.
(11.11.09)


Learning in the Laboratory by Dr. Mike Panichas is published

The Chemistry Department is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Panichas’s book, Learning in the Laboratory: Student Perceptions of Cooperative Inquiry and Traditional Expository Practices, was recently published by Verlag DM. The book presents a case study evaluation of chemistry laboratory courses, illustrating how the teaching practices of traditional expository lab exercises and cooperative inquiry projects impact student learning both academically and affectively. In addition to a detailed presentation of methodologies, the book includes an historical overview of theory and practice in laboratory teaching, as well as a philosophical discussion of how the findings offer a bridge between the idea of constructivism as an epistemology, and the use of cooperative inquiry as a pedagogy. The book is based on Dr. Panichas’s dissertation at BC’s Lynch School of Education. Dr. Panichas is Senior Lab Technician for the Department of Chemistry undergraduate labs.
(6.22.09)


Merkert NMR Center Gets Extreme Makeover

Over $1.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, and University cost-sharing is dramatically transforming the Chemistry Department’s Center for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) into a cutting edge facility that will enhance research in chemical synthesis, catalysis, and determination of the solution structure of biomolecules. NMR is a powerful analytical tool used to measure and determine the identity of molecules as well as the structural parameters for highly complex molecules. NMR is integral to the research carried out by organic chemists and chemical biologists who develop new methods for enantioselective catalysis, synthesize natural products, and explore the structures and functions of biomolecules. All scientists in Merkert – Chemistry faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers alike – will reap enormous benefits from a group of new and upgraded NMR spectrometers, including a new state-of-the-art 600MHz spectrometer for biomolecular systems.

For further information on the Center for NMR at the Merkert Chemistry Center, please go to: http://www.bc.edu/chemistry/facilities/nmr.html
(6.1.09)


Arts & Sciences (literally!)



Incorporating physics, chemistry, and mineralogy, “Intersections of Science and Painting,” a new course created by chemistry Professor David McFadden (right), shows students how scientific knowledge and analysis are used to restore and conserve works of art, verify the age of materials, and establish authenticity. Richard Newman (left), who heads the scientific research laboratory at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, joined McFadden’s class in Merkert 130 on April 21 to describe the techniques he employs in examining artwork, and to recount his collaborations with art historians and museums. For the 40 undergraduates in the class—including majors in art, biology, chemistry, and 12 other disciplines—Newman’s lecture was “a nice way of seeing how all the things we had studied are put to use,” said McFadden.
(4.27.09)


Professor Udayan Mohanty Named Guggenheim Fellow

The Chemistry Department is thrilled to announce that Professor Udayan Mohanty has been named a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow for 2009. A distinguished physical chemist, Professor Mohanty was the only chemist this year from the United States to receive this impressive award. Recent Guggenheim Fellows in Chemistry are John Tully, Margaret Tolbert, and Laura Kiessling. Since 1925, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has annually offered fellowships to artists, scholars, and scientists in all fields. This year, the Guggenheim Board of Trustees has granted 180 Fellowships selected from a group of almost 3,000 applicants. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of stellar achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment. Scores of Nobel, Pulitzer, and other prize-winners grace the roll of Fellows, including Ansel Adams, W.H. Auden, Aaron Copland, Martha Graham, Langston Hughes, Henry Kissinger, Vladimir Nabokov, Isamu Noguchi, Linus Pauling, Paul Samuelson, Wendy Wasserstein, Derek Walcott, James Watson, and Eudora Welty.

Professor Mohanty’s research is in theoretical and computational biophysics, chemical biology, and physical chemistry. His interdisciplinary research program utilizes and develops a range of novel and powerful techniques that spans fields from modern physical chemistry, biophysics, biophysical chemistry and soft condensed matter physics. The driving force in the advances of his research program is their close collaboration with experimental groups. A number of areas of current interest to Professor Mohanty include (i) single molecule studies on the ribosome; (ii) chemical biology of DNA flexibility in vivo; (iii) polyelectrolyte behavior of DNA and RNA, and (iv) dynamics of super-cooled liquids and glasses.

Professor Mohanty received his Ph.D. from Brown University and completed his post-doctoral studies at the University of California at San Diego. He joined the Chemistry Department at Boston College in 1985.
(4.10.09)


Graduate Fellows Announced

The development and training of young scientists continues to be at the very heart of the Chemistry Department’s teaching and research mission. We are especially grateful to two distinguished alumni of Boston College – Dr. John LaMattina, BCC ’71 and Rita Rodin Johnston, BC’90 - whose generous support of our graduate students will foster excellence in the next generation of chemical scientists.

La Mattina Graduate Fellows



We are pleased to announce that Jeannette O’Brien, Thomas Lightburn, Laura Brozek, and Adil Zhugralin served as LaMattina Graduate Fellows for fall term 2009. All are advanced graduate students in the department’s organic chemistry division. Jeannette O’Brien, a member of Professor Jason Kingsbury’s lab, focused on the development of Lewis-acid mediated <2+2> cycloadditions involving the use of reactive keteneiminium salts. The research of Thomas Lightburn, a member of Professor Kian Tan’s lab, focused on ligand design and synthesis, as well as the application of the scaffolding ligand to hydroformylation. Laura Brozek, a member of Professor Jim Morken’s lab, studied applications of a new mode of reactivity in asymmetric palladium-catalyzed reactions. Adil Zhugralin, a member of Professor Amir Hoveyda’s lab, studied the development of catalysts and methods in the area of stereoselective Ru-catalyzed olefin metathesis. We are grateful to Dr. John LaMattina, a 1971 graduate of the Boston College Chemistry Department and an accomplished scientist leader in industry, for his generous support of these exceptional young organic chemists.

Rodin Graduate Fellows in Chemistry Appointed



We are pleased to announce the spring term 2009 appointments of four Rodin Graduate Fellows in Chemistry – Zhen You, Hee Yeon Cho, Tricia May, and Elisha Fielding. The department is especially proud of the exceptional accomplishments of our women graduate students, and we look forward to the positive impact that their experiences as Rodin Graduate Fellows in Chemistry will bring to their professional careers.  Featured are: Ms. Zhen You, an advanced graduate student in Professor Marc Snapper’s research group, will be a Rodin Graduate Fellow in organic chemistry. Ms. Hee Yeon Cho, a second year graduate student in Professor James Morken’s research group, will be a Rodin Graduate Fellow in organic chemistry. Ms. Tricia May, an advanced graduate student in Professor Amir Hoveyda’s research group, will be a Rodin Graduate Fellow in organic chemistry. Ms. Elisha Fielding, an advanced graduate student in Professor Steven Bruner’s research group, will be a Rodin Graduate Fellow in chemical biology. We are grateful for the generous support of Ms. Rita Rodin Johnston, BC ‘90 who made this gift in the memory of her late father and chemist, Dr. Raymond L. Rodin.
(2.12.09)


Brian Steinberg Receives NESACS Award

Brian Steinberg, a graduate student in Professor Larry Scott’s research group, has just been accepted to the Northeast Section of the American Chemical Society’s (NESACS) student exchange program that will take place in March 2009 in Essen, Germany. Brian will present the results of his research at NESAC-sponsored events both in Essen and in Boston later in the spring. Brian’s presentation will be based on a forthcoming paper highlighting the development of a microwave assisted intramolecular arylation reaction and it's use in the synthesis of highly curved carbon scaffolds.
(12.12.08)


New Class of Catalyst Reported by Hoveyda in Nature

Vanderslice Millennium Professor of Chemistry Amir Hoveyda's latest research, published in the journal Nature, has developed a new class of catalyst that promises to expand research in the fields of medicine, biology and materials science.

A new class of exceptionally effective catalysts that promote the powerful olefin metathesis reaction has been discovered by a team of Boston College and MIT scientists, opening up a vast new scientific platform to researchers in medicine, biology and materials. The new catalysts can be easily prepared and possess unique features never before utilized by chemists, according to findings from a team led by Professor Amir H. Hoveyda and MIT Professor and Nobel Laureate Richard Schrock, who received the 2005 prize in Chemistry for early discoveries of catalytic olefin metathesis. The team's findings are reported in the current online edition of the journal Nature. "In order for chemists to gain access to molecules that can enhance the quality of human life, we need reliable, highly efficient, selective and environmentally friendly chemical reactions," said Hoveyda, the Joseph T. and Patricia Vanderslice Millennium Professor and Chair of the Chemistry Department. "Discovering catalysts that promote these transformations is one of the great challenges of modern chemistry."

Catalytic olefin metathesis transforms simple molecules into complex ones. But a chief challenge has been developing catalysts to this organic chemical reaction that are practical and offer exceptional selectivity for a significantly broader range of reactions. Schrock, the Frederick G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry at MIT, said the unprecedented level of control the new class of catalysts provides will advance research across multiple fields. "We expect this highly flexible palette of catalysts to be useful for a wide variety of catalytic reactions that are catalyzed by a high oxidation state alkylidene species, and to be able to design catalytic metathesis reactions with a control that has rarely if ever been observed before," Schrock said. Highly versatile molecules that contain carbon–carbon double bonds, alkenes, or olefins, are ubiquitous in medicinally relevant and biologically active molecules. Tetrahedral in constitution, the new catalysts are the first to exploit a metal with four different ligands– molecules that bond to the central metal – which in turn dictate the catalysts' high level of reactivity and selectivity. "For the first time these catalysts take advantage of the configuration of a metal with four different ligands attached to it, an untested situation that has long been predicted to be a strong director of asymmetric catalytic reactions that take place at the metal center," said Schrock. Unique to this catalyst is the metal molybdenum as a source of chirality, also known as "handedness. "Like the mirror image of left hand and right, molecules can come in two variations, one a reflection of the other. But these two variations often function in entirely different ways – sometimes one proves harmful, while the other is benign. With molybdenum at its core, the new catalyst gives chemists a simple, unique and efficient way to produce one form of the molecule or the other in order to yield the desired reactions. The new catalysts are also structurally flexible, a relatively unconventional attribute that lends them exceptional chemical activity. The discovery of catalysts with stable configurations and flexible structures is expected to allow chemists to design, prepare and develop new chemical transformations that furnish unprecedented levels of reactivity and selectivity, according to the co-authors, which include BC researchers Steven J. Malcolmson, Simon J. Meek, and Elizabeth S.Sattely.

The findings mark the latest discovery from the long-standing collaboration between the Hoveyda and Schrock labs, work that has been supported by more than $3.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health for nearly a decade. "Unquestioned leaders in their own areas of science, Hoveyda and Schrock have pooled their complementary skills to come up with an elegant solution to an elusive goal—the development of catalysts for enantioselective olefin metathesis," said John Schwab, who oversees organic synthesis grants at the NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences. "This is a beautiful illustration of the power of collaborative science."
(11.19.08)
Science Daily, Chemistry World (UK), Nanowerk, PhysOrg.com, DailyIndia.com, http://web.mit.edu/chemistry



EMERGE to Promote Diversity in Chemistry Graduate Education

This fall, the Chemistry Department will launch a new program to promote diversity in graduate science education. EMERGE - the acronym for Expanding Multi-Cultural Engagement and Recruitment in Graduate Education – will bring promising undergraduates from diverse cultures to the Merkert Chemistry Center at Boston College for an in-depth view of the doctoral program in Chemistry. The two-day program will include opportunities to meet with Chemistry faculty and graduate students and to tour the campus and the Boston environs. The due date for applications is 30 September, and applicants may apply on-line. For further information, please go to: www.bc.edu/chemistry/grad/emerge.html or contact Chemistry Graduate Program Administrator Ms. Dale Mahoney at dale.mahoney@bc.edu. (08.01.08)


Davidovits Lab and Aerodyne Collaborate on Climate Change Technology

An aerosol mass spectrometer developed by scientists from the Merkert Chemistry Center and Aerodyne Research, Inc. is giving scientists who study airborne particles the technology they need to examine the life cycles of atmospheric aerosols – such as soot – and their impact on issues ranging from climate change to public health. Chemistry Professor Paul Davidovits and Aerodyne Principle Scientist Timothy B. Onasch say their novel spectrometer allows researchers to understand what happens to these submicroscopic particles that can absorb and scatter light and influence the lifetime of clouds.

“For scientists looking at climate change, the biggest uncertainty has to do do with the effect of aerosol particles in the air,” says Davidovits. “The issue is made that much more complex because aerosols can have different effects on climate. That means the target is constantly shifting.” For further information, please see: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080725094041.htm
(07.28.08)


John Kozarich Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows Named

We are pleased to announce the appointments of the 2008 Kozarich Fellows as they embark on their summer research projects at the Merkert Chemistry Center. Austin Travis and Angelo Cangialosi, both sophomores at Boston College, are actively engaged in the laboratories of Professors Jason Kingsbury and Amir Hoveyda, respectively.  Austin’s and Angelo’s unabashed enthusiasm for studying organic chemistry at Boston College shone through in their fellowship proposals. As a researcher in the Kingsbury lab, Austin relishes the challenges to his intellectual and creative capabilities. Angelo embraces the analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities required for successful molecular synthesis in the Hoveyda lab. As young researchers, Austin and Angelo seem destined to follow in the footsteps of role model, Dr. John Kozarich (BCC’71).



For Dr. John Kozarich, who endowed the summer fellowship program that bears his name, the undergraduate research experience in the Chemistry Department at Boston College planted the seeds for his astounding career in academic and pharmaceutical research. Dr. Kozarich currently serves as chairman and president of ActivX Biosciences, Inc. and was formerly vice president at Merck Research Laboratories. He has also served on the faculty at the University of Maryland and Yale University Medical School. He has over 125 publications and holds three patents. Dr. Kozarich received his B.S. in Chemistry summa cum laude from BC; his Ph.D. in biological chemistry from MIT; and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. We are grateful for his generous support and inspiration. (06.20.08)


Inaugural Jeong-Long Lin Fellows Begin Summer Research

The Merkert Chemistry Center welcomes the inaugural Jeong-Long Lin Fellows as they begin their summer research projects in our faculty laboratories. Patrick Momplaisir is no stranger to Boston College, having obtained a B.S. in Management in 2003. Patrick has been in the McNair Program at the University of Massachusetts/Boston since 2006, where he is taking post-baccalaureate courses in medical science. Patrick is working with Professor Larry McLaughlin’s research group on a project that entails synthesizing modified oligonucleotides for use in studying biological events such as RNA processing. Ervin Pejo started out at Bunker Hill Community College and transferred to the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, where he is a Biochemistry major. Ervin is working with Professor Mary Roberts’s research group on a project that looks at phospholipases and their interactions with membranes. Andrew Rivera, a Boston College undergraduate, is majoring in Biochemistry and just finished his freshman year. Andrew is working with Professor Kian Tan’s research group on a project to develop methods for controlling selectivity in organic reactions.



Professor Jeong-Long Lin, a visionary physical chemist, served as chair of the Chemistry Department at Boston College during a pivotal period in the department’s history. His leadership emphasized the high standards of scholarship that have sustained the department’s excellence and continue to inspire us into the future. (6.17.08)


Women in Science & Technology Program: Third Time’s a Charm!

A Boston College student-run program designed to inspire the next generation of women scientists has just completed its third year. The month-long Saturday series, which ran from 26 January through 16 February, brought together 24 female students from Boston-area high schools for research, lectures, field trips, and the opportunity to meet mentors and role models from scientific disciplines. This year’s participants came from Braintree High School, Malden High School, Methuen High School, North Cambridge Catholic High School, and Trinity Catholic High School.



Participants spent the morning sessions engaged in laboratory experiments led by women undergraduate science majors from Boston College. In the afternoon sessions, participants enjoyed field trips and special lectures designed to demystify science with real-life applications. Activities included a tour of a research lab at the Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute where they saw brain surgery performed on a mouse. They visited the New England Wildlife Center for a hands-on tour of their treatment care facilities and educational center. A detective from the Sexual Assault Unit of the Boston Police Department discussed the use of science-based techniques on crime scene investigations. Professor Goran Krilov, a theoretical chemist, engaged participants with hands-on computer visualizations of chemical structures. On the final day of the program, participants were given a tour by Ms. Elizabeth O’Day (BCC’06) of several Harvard University research laboratories. Liz O’Day, now a graduate student at Harvard, initiated the WST Program in 2006, as a way of sharing her enthusiasm for science with young women and introducing them to career opportunities in the field.

Eighteen undergraduate women science majors at BC volunteered their time and energy to help with the project, and Liz Carroll served in a leadership role. Chemistry Professors Mary Roberts and Lynne O’Connell and Clare O’Connor from Biology serve as advisors to WST, in addition to being role models for the students.

We thank Boston College undergraduate science majors Amanda Balboni, Nikki Carreau, Liz Carroll, Meaghan Cells, Courtney Cronin, Dani Currier, Grace Festin, Inna Grishkan, Emily Kim, Grace Kim, Julie Oh, Katie Poutsiaka, Nari Rheu, Kristen Schratz, Sarah Shannahan, Cara Sullivan, Christine Vaudo, and Allison Whalen for their contributions to WST. (2.20.08)


Professor Torsten Fiebig Receives Sloan Research Fellowship

The Chemistry Department is pleased to announce that Professor Torsten Fiebig, an assistant professor of physical chemistry, has been awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship. The highly prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships are intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in specified fields of science. Currently, a total of 118 fellowships are awarded annually in seven fields: chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics. The Sloan Research Fellowships were established in 1955 to provide support and recognition to early-career scientists and scholars. Selection procedures for Sloan Research Fellowships are designed to identify those who show the most outstanding promise of making fundamental contributions to new knowledge.

Professor Fiebig joined the faculty of the Chemistry Department at Boston College in 2003. A native of Germany, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Gottingen in 1996 and was a post-doctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Professor Fiebig’s honors include: the Grammatikakis-Neumann Award of the Swiss Chemical Society (2006); the Emmy-Noether Fellowship (2000), and the Otto-Hahn Medal of the Max Planck Society (1997).

The Fiebig research group is interested in a fundamental understanding of molecular interactions and ultrafast processes (e.g. energy, electron and proton transfer) in complex molecular architectures. Our primary focus is to develop and apply new spectroscopic methodologies for probing real-time structural changes in biological systems. The underlying goal is to understand molecular function by probing structure and dynamics simultaneously. Currently, the Fiebig research group investigates the interaction of UV-radiation with DNA on the ultrafast time scale addressing the question of how electronic excess energy delocalizes and dissipates in -stacked nucleic acids. (02.15.08)

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