Olivia DrakeSeveral Wesleyan faculty and graduate students attended the 68th Ohio State University International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy held in Columbus, Ohio in 2013. Stewart Novick, Herbert Pickett and Stephen Cooke, and graduate students Smitty Grubbs Ph.D '10, Daniel Obenchain and Brittany Long made presentations. Novick, chair and professor of chemistry, and Grubbs presented a talk on “Microwave Spectra and Structure of H2 - CuF: Overview of the Complexes of Hydrogen with Metal-Containing Diatomics." Novick, Grubbs and Obenchain presented “Observation of a Moderate Strength Interaction of Hydrogen with a Coinage Metal Halide: The Rotational Spectrum and Structure of the p-H2-CuCl and o-H2-CuCl Complexes." Novick,…
Irina Russu, professor of chemistry, and her former graduate student Alicia Every Ph.D. '09 are the co-authors of "Opening Dynamics of 8-oxoguanine in DNA," published in The Journal of Molecular Recognition, Volume 26, pages 175-180, in 2013.
Stewart Novick, chair and professor of chemistry, is the author or co-author of the following publications: "Probing the chemical nature of dihydrogen complexation to transition metals, a case study: H2—CuF," published in Inorganic Chemistry, 52, 816-822, 2013. "Detection of Nitrogen-protonated Nitrous oxide HNNO + by Rotational Spectroscopy," published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 117, 9968-9974, 2013. "Rotational spectrum and structure of cyclohexene oxide and the argon-cyclohexene oxide van der Waals Complex," published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry A 117, 13691-13695, 2013. "Corrigendum to: “Microwave spectrum and structure of the polar N2O dimer” [Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy 251 (2008) 153-158],"…
George Petersson, the Fisk Professor of Natural Science, professor of chemistry, and chemistry graduate student Duminda Ranasinghe, are the co-authors of “CCSD(T)/CBS Atomic and Molecular Benchmarks for H through Ar” published in the Journal of Chemical Physics, 138, 144104 in 2013. Petersson and chemistry graduate students Frank Dobek, Duminda Ranasinghe and Kyle Throssell, are the co-authors of “Evaluation of the Heats of Formation of Corannulene and C60 by Means of Inexpensive Theoretical Procedures” published in the Journal of Chemical Physics A, 117, 4726 in 2013. Petersson also is co-author of “Substituent Effects on O-H Bond Dissociation Enthalpies. A Computational Study”…
Rex Pratt, the Beach Professor of Chemistry, professor of chemistry, and chemistry graduate student Liudmila Dzhekieva are the co-authors of “Inhibition of DD-Peptidases by a Specific Trifluoroketone: Crystal Structure of a Complex with the Actinomadura R39 DD-Peptidase” published in Biochemistry 52, 2128 in 2013. Pratt and chemistry graduate students Venkatesh Nemmara and Kinjal Dave are the co-authors of “The Dual Substrate Specificity of Bacillus subtilis PBP4a” published in Biochemistry 52, 2627 in 2013. Rex Pratt and chemistry graduate student Ronak Tilvawala are the co-authors of “Covalent Inhibition of a Serine ß-Lactamases by Novel Hydroxamic Acid Derivatives” published in Biochemistry, 52,…
Albert J. Fry, the E. B. Nye Professor of Chemistry, is the author of four new papers published in 2013. "Ion pairing and association effects between tetraalkylammonium Ions and nitrobenzene redox species: Ion pairing to neutral substances” and " Ion pairing of tetraalkylammonium ions to nitrosobenzene and benzaldehyde redox species: A general binding motif for the interaction of tetraalkylammonium ions with benzenoid species," were published in the March and August editions, respectively, of the Journal of Organic Chemistry. The third, "The 'steric effect' of tetraalkylammonium ions on electrochemically generated anions is not steric" was published in the August edition of Electrochemistry Communications. These are the 7th, 8th,…
Erika Taylor, assistant professor of chemistry, assistant professor of environmental studies, and chemistry graduate student Kevin Barry, are the co-authors of an article titled "Characterizing the Promiscuity of LigAB, a Lignin Catabolite Degrading Extradiol Dioxygenase from Sphingomonas paucimobilis SYK-6," published in Biochemistry. This article is part of their effort to enable the utilization of lignin, the world’s second most abundant natural polymer, as a carbon source for the production of bioenergy and chemical feedstocks. An abstract will soon be available online here.
Brian Northrop, assistant professor of chemistry, is the author of "Experimental and theoretical studies of selective thiol-ene and thiol-yne click reactions involving N-substituted maleimides," published in The Journal of Organic Chemistry in August 2013. Read an abstract of the paper online here. He's also the author of a paper titled "Discrete, soluble covalent organic boronate ester rectangles" published in Chemical Communications, the journal of the Chemical Society, in July 2013. Read an abstract of the paper online here. Northrop's former students, Rob Stolz BA/MA '13 and Natalia Powers-Riggs '13 co-authored both papers.
Lauren RubensteinLisa Dierker, professor of psychology, and David Beveridge, professor of chemistry and the Joshua Boger Professor of the Sciences and Mathematics, have received a four-year grant for $599,995 from the National Science Foundation’s Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (TUES) program. This Phase II grant, awarded in August 2013, will support their work on “Passion-Driven Statistics: A multidisciplinary project-based supportive model for statistical reasoning and application,” which began with the development of the QAC 201 “Applied Data Analysis” course and will soon be implemented at other institutions.
Four Wesleyan faculty and staff members completed the Litchfield Hills Olympic Triathlon held July 14 in New Hartford, Conn. The triathlon featured a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike course, and a scenic, rural back road 10K run. Wesleyan participants included Mike McAlear, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry; Tom DiMauro, analyst programmer in ITS; James Taft, assistant director of technology support services in ITS; and Brian Northrop, assistant professor of chemistry. Northrop came in third place overall.
University Professor of Natural Science and Mathematics David Beveridge was one of 33 leading experts in science, engineering and technology recently elected to membership in the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. The new members will be introduced at the Academy's 38th annual meeting and dinner on May 22 at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. According to the Academy, election is "on the basis of scientific and engineering distinction achieved through significant contributions in theory or applications, as demonstrated by original published books and papers, patents, the pioneering of new and developing fields and innovative products, outstanding leadership of nationally…
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