Chem-News April 1996

CHEM-NEWSNorth Dakota State University

Department of ChemistryVolume 3 Number 1 April 1996

Chem Club Students Venture to New OrleansWhile touring the Bourbon Street area of NewOrleans, the students were able to sample some ofthe region’s food, including alligator andcrawdads. One student mentioned that while hewas in New Orleans he “ate his weight” in shrimp.

During the ACS meeting, the NDSU students weretaken through an undergraduate orientation, whichfamiliarized them with the upcoming activities.

There were several opportunities geared for under-graduate attendees. Information was offered onresume writing, graduate school and the advan-tages of pursuing higher degrees.

On March 22nd, eight NDSU Chem Club studentspiled into a van and headed for the bayou ofLouisiana. Their destination? New Orleans, homeof the 211th National Meeting of the AmericanChemical Society.

During the 23-hour drive, the students took insome notable landmarks, such as the “Gateway tothe West” arch in St. Louis and the Kansas CityRoyal’s stadium. For the most part, however, theystayed on the road continuously, determined toreach New Orleans as soon as possible.

As they entered Louisiana, the group, whichincluded Shane Carter, Jason Barron, NedLindholm, Amy Singer, Kyle Allen, JeremyBucholz, Dave Nelson and Claire Pearson, wasglad to see temperatures in the 70s after livingthrough one of North Dakota’s worst winters.

Before the meetings began, the group was able toenjoy some of the social activities New Orleanshas to offer. In addition to taking advantage oftheir hotel’s outdoor swimming pool, the groupventured into the nightlife of Bourbon Street,which, according to Jason Barron, is “the coolestplace on earth!”

Another traveler, Ned Lindholm, remarked, “Itwas nice to visit a place with some kind of cultureto it. Here, every street is pretty much the same.There, you walk two blocks, and you see some-thing different. I’ve been to France, and some partsof the French Quarter actually remind me of Paris.”

Continued on page 2…

Inside...Bryan Jarabeck/Goldwater Scholar ......... 2Gillispie Group Plans Trip ......................... 3SI Program Offered .................................... 3Center Gears Up for Conference .............. 4Faculty Search Ends ................................... 4Boudjouk Group News ............................... 5Atwood Group News .................................. 6Atwood & Sibi Collaborate........................ 7Doug Louis Heads for Twin Cities ............ 7Mel Morris Keeps Going............................ 8Sibi Published in Lithium Link ..................8Theoretical News......................................... 8Say “Hello” to ............................................. 9Lin Pu’s Corner .......................................... 9DTI Expands Facilities .............................. 10Broberg Lectures Held ...............................11

Chem-News April 19962

Jason Barron,Amy Singer,Kyle Allen,JeremyBucholz, NedLindholm,Shane Carterand ClairePearson

“New Orleans” continued…

A poster session, which in-cluded 300 to 400 undergraduateposters, was held during themeeting. The other studentaffiliates participating in theconference gave the NDSUgroup a lot of good ideas,including fund-raising tips. Theywere also able to learn a lotfrom the posters displayed. Thestudents felt the poster work wasgood, but that NDSU’s facilitiesand opportunities give them thechance to do work that is just asgood, if not superior to the workdisplayed on the posters.

Jason Barron commented, “Ithink we [at NDSU] are able todo a lot more in-depth researchand become more familiar withequipment and the facilities. Thework we do here as undergradsis very competitive.”

Claire Pearson,Dave Nelson,Kyle Allen,Amy Singer,Shane Carter,Jeremy Bucholzand JasonBarron enjoy amixer at a NewOrleans ACSMeeting.

positive effect on him. Bryan says,“Dr. McCarthy and Dean havehelped teach me about everythingin the lab: the equipment, how towrite papers, everything. AndDean is really good at givingbackground information on howeverything works.”

While he’s only in his second yearwith the McCarthy Lab, Bryan hasalready published two papers inthe Journal of X-Ray Diffraction.He was the primary author of onepaper on BaPbO

3 and co-authored

the other with scientists from theNational Institute for Standardsand Technology.

Bryan plans to enter an MD-PhDprogram where he can continuehis research in chemistry.

Bryan’s winning essay focused onenvironmental and industrialchemistry. He is a regular fixturein the McCarthy Materials Char-acterization Lab, where he isconcentrating on a coal gasifica-tion project. Bryan also collabo-rates with Duane Simonson inPhil Boudjouk’s lab. They aredeveloping a paper on synthesiz-ing lead transition metal sulfidesand selenides.

Bryan gives Chemistry Depart-ment Chair Greg McCarthy muchof the credit for his success atNDSU. “He gave me practicallyevery opportunity I could hopefor,” says Bryan.

Bryan also mentions that re-searcher Dean Grier has had a

Bryan Jarabek,a Fargo nativeand sophomoreat NDSU, hasearned theBarry M.GoldwaterScholarshipand Excel-lence in

Education Award for 1996-97.

The Goldwater Scholarship paystuition, fees, books and room andboard, with a $7,000 annual maxi-mum. The purpose of the two-yearaward is to foster and encourageoutstanding students to pursuecareers in mathematics, naturalsciences and engineering. It isbased on demonstrated excellencein education and research.

Bryan Jarabek Named Goldwater Scholar

Chem-News April 19963

Since the fall 1995 semester, theChemistry Department hasoffered a series of weekly helpsessions for students takingChemistry 120 and 121. Thisprogram, which is called Supple-mental Instruction (SI), isprovided for all students whowant to improve their under-standing of traditionally difficultcourse material.

The voluntary program givesstudents a chance to meet withother members of their class tocompare notes, discuss impor-tant concepts and developstrategies for studying chemistry.The students may also choose totest themselves before theirprofessors do, so they’ll be readyfor any upcoming exams.

Roxane Meidinger supervisesthe Chemistry SI program. “Thekeyword here is cooperativelearning. The idea is for thestudents to work in groups andlearn from each other.”

Roxane works with SI studentleaders—competent studentswho have previously taken thecourse—to guide participantsthrough the sometimes difficult

LeaderChris Wallsworks with agroup of SIstudents

Supplemental Instruction SessionsOffered to Chemistry Students

course material. Currently, twoSI Leaders are lending theirtalents to the SI program: ChrisWalls and Aaron Tank.

According to Roxane, the SIprogram has improved thegrades by an impressive mar-gin. For example, in a Chemis-try 120 class of 458 students,96 attended at least one SIsession. Those students’average GPA was 2.39, whilethe remaining 362 students,who did not participate in SI,averaged only 1.81.

The SI program, which origi-nated in Kansas City, Missouri,appeals to all types of students.The student who would nor-mally have trouble with thematerial is benefiting andgetting better grades, while theabove average student attendsto guarantee getting an A.

Currently, about 10 percent ofstudents are taking advantageof the SI program. Those whoare participating have defi-nitely gained an advantagefrom it; however, the goal is tosee student participation growto 30 or 40 percent.

Gillispie GroupPlans Trip

Greg Gillispie and his group willsoon be taking a tour westward.The Gillispie Group will attendthe Photons and ChemistryConference, April 18-21, in EstesPark, Colorado, located in RockyMountain National Park.

Greg Oswald and Joe Klingfuswill give 25-minute talks, andErik Hagestuen, Tim Zensen, andundergraduate Chris Walls willpresent posters on their research.

This is the second year for thismeeting, which aims to givegraduate students and postdocs achance to meet and discuss theirwork in a scenic and informalsetting. Mark Schwab attendedlast year’s inaugural meeting.

Dr. Gillispie, Dr. Orv Swenson,and first-year graduate studentMax Lucci will also go to themeeting to observe. (Faculty canattend, but are not allowed tomake their own presentations.)

After the conference, the entiregroup will return to Fargo viaBozeman, Montana, where theywill spend much of Monday, April22, meeting with optical scientistsat Montana State University. Theywill also tour the facilities of BigSky Laser Corporation.

Chem-Newsis published by

Department of Chemistry • NDSUPO Box 5516 • Fargo, ND 58105

Editor Faculty AdvisorJill Retzer Dr. David Atwood

To obtain a copy of this newsletter, orto submit your comments,please call

(701) 231-9405 Fax: (701) 231-1057e-mail: cmgc@plains.nodak.edu

©Copyright 1996

Chem-News April 1996

Center for Main Group ChemistryGears Up for International Conference

The Fargo Conference onMain Group Chemistrywill be held at NDSU

Thursday, May 30, throughSaturday, June 1, 1996. Theconference is sponsored by theCenter for Main Group Chemis-try (CMGC), and is dedicated tothe many disciplines of chemis-try involving the main group (Sand P block) elements.

Nearly one-third of conferencepresentations will be given byinternational leaders in the fieldof main group chemistry. Thepreliminary program includes 49speakers, 14 of whom are inter-national. In addition, the postersession will include 13 interna-tional presentations. The confer-ence will give the Center forMain Group Chemistry impor-tant national and internationalexposure. This will be particu-larly beneficial to the continuedgrowth and development of the

NDSU Center for MainGroup Chemistry.

Conference sessions willbe held in the Memorial

Union, while social activities are

4

being planned at BonanzavilleUSA, the Hjemkomst Interpre-tive Center and the MoorheadCountry Club. Registration feesare $60 for students and $120 fornon-students, and May 1 is thedeadline for pre-registration. Theofficial abstract deadline wasFebruary 15, but the committeewill accept abstracts for postersuntil May 3.

Students presenting posters maybe eligible for registration feesupport from the North DakotaEPSCoR program. If you areinterested in applying for NDEPSCoR support, contact PhilBoudjouk, Project Director, at(701) 231-8601.

The scientific program for theconference includes the follow-ing topics and sessions:

• Main group elements inorganic chemistry

• Reactions and mechanismsinvolved in chemical vapordeposition

• Structure and reactivityrelationships

• Synthesis and characteriza-tion of compounds withnovel properties

• Low-valent main groupcomplexes and multiplebonding

• Solid state synthesis• Industrial applications

If you are interested in attendingthe conference, please contactJill Retzer at (701) 231-9405 ore-mail: cmgc@plains.nodak.edu.

8

6

7 15

16

After four months of hard work,the process of recruiting threereplacement faculty has finallydrawn to a close.

Dr. Andres Campiglia, who earnedhis PhD at the University ofFlorida, has accepted the analyti-cal chemistry position. He iscurrently an associate professor atthe University of Brasilia, and willjoin the faculty in January.

Also accepting positions at NDSUare Drs. Joe Eaton and GregCook. Dr. Eaton, who acceptedthe physical chemistry position,received his PhD from JohnsHopkins and did his postdoc atCity University of New York.

Dr. Cook earned his PhD from

Michigan State University andheld a postdoctoral position atStanford University. He hasaccepted the organic position.

The department would especiallylike to thank those undergraduateand graduate students who con-tributed their time to attendseminars and meet with thecandidates. Their input wasvaluable in helping the departmentdiscern each person’s potential asa teacher and advisor.

To celebrate the end of the searchprocess, more than 30 faculty,grad students, undergrads andother guests (including BrobergSpeaker, Dr. Fred Basolo) at-tended a dinner party at theMoorhead Country Club.

Faculty Search Ends

Chem-News April 19965

In March, Drs. PhilBoudjouk and Jang-HwanHong attended the NationalOrganosilicon Conference inChicago, hosted by Northwest-ern University. The poster theypresented was entitled,“Deprotonation of Silacyclo-pentadienes is Not a FacileRoute to Aromatic Silole An-ions.” It was co-authored by Drs.Boudjouk, Hong and Youlin Pan.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Steve Kloos, who received hisPhD at NDSU in 1995, became afather for the second time. Hiswife, Susan, had a baby girl,Kelsie Ann, on October 30,1995. Steve is now a researchchemist for Osmonics inMinnetonka, Minnesota.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦Phil Boudjouk and Steve Kloosare the inventors on a patententitled, “Method for Redistribu-tion of Trichlorosilane.” Theyhave found a way to convert anexplosive compound (trichloro-silane) to a safe and easily

for their scientific devel-opment and long-term

career goals.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦Dean Seidler has taken a jobwith Eastman Kodak in Roches-ter, New York.

Dr. Youlin Pan is employed byGelest, Inc. of Tullytown,Pennsylvania.

Dr. Jong-Hwan Hong, anadjunct professor inBoudjouk’s group, hasaccepted a position withSamsung Corporation inDaejon, Korea. He will

leave Fargo at the end of April.

Dr. Young Kun Kong, a visitingprofessor from Kyonggi Univer-sity, Korea, has returned toKyonggi after spending a one-year sabbatical with Dr.Boudjouk’s group.

Greg Schmitz, Seok-Bong Choi,Beon-Kyu Kim and DuaneSimonson are the “old-timers” inthe Boudjouk Group, and areanxiously awaiting their turn tobecome alumni.

Wayne Triebold joined Dr. Phil Boudjouk’s group inAugust 1995, and will concentrate on structurereactivity problems in main group chemistry. Beforecoming to NDSU, Wayne spent the past two sum-mers at Argonne National Lab near Chicago. He didenvironmental analysis for the army during his two12-week visits to the lab.

Wayne is originally from Oriska, North Dakota, andreceived his BA degree from Valley City StateUniversity. He spent some time farming near ValleyCity, and in between planting seasons, decided to gethis commercial pilot license. Wayne owns his ownplane, a two-seater Citabria, an acrobatic airplane.Wayne also dabbles in canoe-building. He hasconstructed three different cedarstrip canoes and hasdone some canoeing on the Sheyenne River.

Triebold Joins Boudjouk GroupWayne enjoys the teach-ing aspect of his positionat NDSU. He currentlyoversees the organic lab,while last semester hewas responsible for thegeneral chemistry lab.“It’s fun to work with thestudents in the organiclab. Helping them solvetheir problems helps mebecome more involved.”

So far, Wayne likes living in Fargo. He is also happyto be at NDSU; however, he does share the feelingsof many students when it comes to one particulartopic: “We need more parking!”

Updatesfrom the Boudjouk Group

handled diamine complex. Thepending patent is supported byDow Corning.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦Vivian McGrath,who did herpostdoc withDr. Boudjoukin 1994, re-cently publisheda review ofultrasound in theMarch edition ofChemistry inBritain.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Dr. Boudjouk is serving on theNational Science Foundation’spanel on Post-doctoral ResearchFellowships in Chemistry. Oneobjective of the program is toprovide opportunities for youngchemists to broaden their knowl-edge and experience. The fellow-ships are designed so applicantscan choose a research and train-ing environment most beneficial

Chem-News April 19966

Atwood Group NewsLook What Dave’s Guys are Up To Now!

by Jolin Jegier (with a little guidance fromDrew Rutherford and Mike Remington) Cationic Aluminum

Complexes with PotentialRelevance to Lewis Acid Cataly-sis.” We wish him luck, as he is alone chemist in a sea of biolo-gists—but then again, he is “TheGolden Boy.”

On a more serious note, theAtwood group continues to grow.Ryan “The Quantum Boy” Win-burn recently joined the flock.“QB” received his master’s degreein theoretical chemistry fromUND under Dr. Mark Hoffmann.

The group will continue to growthis summer, with two post-doctoral associates who will givethe group an international flavor.Dr. Mike Hill will be joining usfrom England, and Dr. PingrongWei will arrive from China.

In addition, Kevin Hencke, aUND graduate student and an OakRidge National Laboratory Co-opstudent, will be working with usduring the summer months. Hiswork will focus on the design ofligands for heavy metal binding.This work will gather preliminarydata for an EPA proposal.

The past few months havebeen very busy and produc-tive for the Atwood group, bothpersonally and professionally. Onthe business end, the group hashad manuscripts accepted forpublication in Organometallics,Main Group Chemistry, and twoin Chemical Communications.Additionally, we have submittedmanuscripts to five others:Organometallics, Dalton Trans-actions, JACS, Inorganic Chem-istry and Angewandte Chemie.

There have been some individualaccomplishments as well. DrewRutherford recently passed hismaxi. Unfortunately for Drew,the pressure is still on, as the dateof his upcoming nuptials loomson the horizon. Drew will marryJulie Nomeland on April 27. TheAtwood group would like to sendour condolences to Julie—Oh,did I say that out loud?—Weonly mention this becauserecently, a potential graduatestudent who had attended Uni-versity of Minnesota-Morris wasoverheard saying to Drew, “Iknow who you are! I’ve heardstories about you. You’re thetroublemaker!”

Remington Contributes to Atwood LabMike Remington was born and raised in Superior, Wisconsin, where hegraduated from Superior Senior High School in 1990. He went on to earnhis BS in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Superior last May.

Mike and his wife, Dana Thompson, moved to Fargo in June so Mikecould begin his graduate career at NDSU. Since that time, he has beenvery busy working in the Atwood Group. In fact, the results of Mike’sfirst synthetic project were accepted for publication in the ACS journalOrganometallics.

Mike and Dana are anticipating the arrival of their first child in July, soMike plans to continue staying busy for a long time to come!

Congratulations are also in orderfor David Atwood. He recentlyreceived the Career DevelopmentAward from the National ScienceFoundation. This award recog-nizes the achievements of youngfaculty members and providesfinancial support for them tocontinue their current research.More importantly, it means thathis students will not have to lookfor those paper routes after all!

With his first year of marriagenearly complete, Jolin has set hissights on finishing his graduatecareer. His original researchproposal defense is scheduled forearly May (just enough time torecover from Drew’s wedding—Iwonder if you can defend with aruptured corneal vessel and heartpalpitations?) Look for it in atheater near you.

Jolin has entered the DennisonStudent Research Competition,sponsored by the North DakotaAcademy of Sciences, with anarticle entitled “Synthesis andStructural Characterization of

Chem-News April 19967

The Atwood and Sibi researchgroups recently celebrated their firstcollaborative publication (Figure 1).It is due to be published in the Mayedition of Organometallics.

“This is an important occurrencefor the Main Group Center,” saysAtwood. “It is evidence thatmultidisciplinary approaches toresearch are, indeed, effective.”

The research described in thispublication could not have beenachieved by either the Atwood orSibi groups alone. Rather, it wasthe unique combination of eachgroup’s talents that made the work

Atwood and Sibi Groups Collaboratepossible. The idea that the “wholeis greater than the sum of theparts” is an underlying principlefor the Center for Main GroupChemistry.

The work is crucial in anotherrespect. “It is the foundation uponwhich we will base our work onthe biological toxicity of alumi-num,” says Atwood. “Livingorganisms have evolved over theeons without establishing a mecha-nism for handling aluminum. Thisis, despite the fact that aluminumis the second most abundant metalin the earth’s crust.

“Presumably, aluminumwas not available for usebecause it was tied up innaturally occurringalumino-silicate forma-

tions such asfeldspars,clays and

zeolites. These minerals areremarkably stable and withstandboth basic and acidic conditionsand are thermally stable.”

As a result of this evolution,aluminum is highly toxic whenintroduced into the bloodstream.Healthy individuals do not haveanything to fear; the gut acts as anatural barrier. However, someindividuals may be susceptible toaluminum toxicity. This is evi-denced by the large amounts ofaluminum, in an unknown form,found in the brains of patients whohave died from brain disorderssuch as Alzheimer’s Disease.

At the moment, there is no clearcausative link between Alzheimer’sDisease and aluminum. Theindividual’s genetic make-up isclearly a determining factor inwhether or not he will contract thedisease. However, there may also

Before coming to Fargo, Doug wasin the Navy, where he was firstintroduced to the world of electron-ics. The Navy took him to 42different states, including Hawaiiand Alaska. But before coming toNDSU, Doug, originally fromSioux Falls, South Dakota, hadnever even been to North Dakota.

After living in Fargo for two years,Doug and his wife, Laurie, decidedto purchase a house. They ended upbuying one which was owned bychemistry professor Greg Gillispie,who had been renting it out forseveral years—and who was morethan willing to sell. Before movingthe family to the Twin Cities, Lauriewill stay in Fargo to sell their house.

Doug and Laurie have threechildren: Andy (5), Mary (3) andSarah (4 months). The Lewisfamily will miss everyone in Fargo.“We made a lot of good friendswhile we were here.” But on thebrighter side, Doug notes, “InMinneapolis, our kids will becloser to museums and will be ableto experience more cultural events.”

Have you noticed what’s missingfrom the electronics shop in LaddHall? The friendly face of researchspecialist Doug Lewis, that’s what!

In January, Doug accepted aposition at Aetrium Inc., a companyspecializing in testing the reliabilityof semiconductors. He is workingwith the design and engineeringgroup where he is involved withdeveloping a new line of equipment.

For the past six years, NDSU hasbeen a big part of Doug’s life. Helearned a great deal while maintain-ing instrumentation for the depart-ment. “I can’t imagine getting thesame experience any other way,”Doug said.

Doug Lewis Heads for Twin Cities

Continued on back page…Figure 1

Chem-News April 19968

Mel Morris:He Keeps Going…and Going…and

Going…and Going…

Mel Morristalks with oneof severaltutoringstudents

Dr. Mukund Sibi

Mukund Sibi

Published in

Lithium Link

The Winter 1995 issue ofFMC’s Lithium Linkincludes a report from

NDSU chemist Mukund Sibi. Thetitle of Sibi’s article, “Preparationof Alkyne Derivatives viaOrganolithium Intermediates,”reviews the scope of lithium-basedmethodologies for the preparationof mono- and di-substitutedalkynes.

Lithium Link is a prestigiousindustrial publication distributedby FMC Corporation. FMC is theworld’s largest producer of lithiumproducts and is located inGastonia, North Carolina.

Chemistry Professor Mel Morrisretired in August. But that hasn’tstopped him from showing upfor work every day!

After 32 years with the NDSUChemistry Department, Mel washonored with a retirement partylast summer. And even thoughhe has officially retired, Mel canstill be found in the ChemistryofficeMondaythroughFriday,willingto helpstudents, staff and faculty in anyway he can.

When you think of a retiree, youmay imagine someone who takesadvantage of his time off to golf,pursue a hobby or just spendtime relaxing. Mel, however,does not buy into that idea:“This is my hobby,” he explains.

A majority of the time Melspends on campus is dedicated totutoring students. He sets aside aportion of every afternoon tomeet with students who need

help with chemistry material. Inaddition, Mel has substituted forother professors in the depart-ment, and will also teach acourse in Chemistry 121 duringthe summer session.

Along with the rest of the depart-ment faculty, Mel was activelyinvolved in reviewing prospec-tive candidates for open faculty

positions.He oftenscheduledtime tospeak withthe candi-

dates, and also reviewed themany submitted applications.

When asked about the possibilityof using his retirement years totravel, Mel replied: “Travel?Who would ever want to leaveNorth Dakota?”

It seems clear to some that Dr.Morris is determined to continuehis work at NDSU. And after all,why not? As long as his hobbybenefits so many students andothers, he’ll just keep going…and going…and going…

“This is my hobby.”–Dr. Mel Morris

THEORETICAL NEWSSubmitted by Michael Page

New Collaboration: QuantumChemistry Group and EPSCoR

Jodi Parks (EPSCoR) and DougLinder (Quantum Chemistry)were married April 18. Congratu-lations Jodi and Doug! Word hasit Doug has initiated formal legalproceedings to adopt Marbles,Fuzzy, and Lilac. AlthoughMarbles, Fuzzy, and Lilac wereunavailable for comment, oursources indicate Marbles may beconsidering a formal protest.

Matt Alm and Rob Napora areconducting undergraduate quan-tum chemistry research underNASA Space Grant Fellowships.Matt is investigating radical-radical reactions important inplanetary atmospheres, while Rob

Continued on back page…

Chem-News April 19969

A new postdoc has joinedMukund Sibi’s Group.Sithamalli Chandra-

mouli moved to Fargo in Aprilafter his PhD advisor suggestedhe come to NDSU.

During his time with the SibiGroup, “Mouli,” as he prefers tobe called, will concentrate ondeveloping a new area of free-radical chemistry using metaltemplates. “I heard about Dr.Sibi’s research and saw hispapers while I was at the Univer-sity of Pennsylvania, so I wasvery eager to work with him.”

Mouli and his wife, Jay, movedto Fargo from Philadelphia,where he had held a postdocposition at the University ofPennsylvania. After living on theEast Coast, they immediatelynoticed the friendliness offeredby North Dakota people. Moulisays he and Jay are especiallyimpressed by how helpful andkind the folks in Fargo are. “Iguess in the big city [Philadel-phia], life is much busier, andpeople don’t have as much timefor each other.”

Originally from India, Dr.Chandramouli received his MSdegree from Vanderbilt in Nash-ville, Tennessee, and went on toget his PhD from the Universityof Nebraska at Lincoln.

Jay and Sithamalli Chandramouli

Say “Hello” to…A National Science Foundation grant of$285,000 was recently awarded to Dr.Lin Pu’s research group. This national,highly competitive grant supports the PuGroup’s work on one aspect of chiralconjugated polymers. These materialsare constructed by utilizing the chiralityof 1,1'-binaphthyl compounds to gener-

Pu’sCorner

Lin

ate an exciting propeller structure. They represent a class of polymersthat was never studied and is expected to exhibit interesting electricaland optical properties with potential practical applications.

The Department of Defense has also announced that they are going tofund one of Dr. Pu’s projects through the EPSCoR program administeredby the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. According to Dr. Pu,“With the support of these grants, we have a unique opportunity todirectly compare the electrical and optical properties of these newmaterials. Our efforts on these materials will eventually lead to theirpractical applications.”

On March 6 and 7, Dr. Pu was invited to visit the Wright-Patterson AirForce Base at Dayton, Ohio, where he gave a seminar on his workcarried out at NDSU and interacted with the scientists in the Air Forcelaboratories.

Dr. Qiao-Sheng Hu is celebrating his firstanniversary at NDSU. Dr. Hu joined Dr. Pu’sgroup in February 1995, after receiving his PhDfrom the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemis-try in China.

Throughout the past year, Dr. Hu has beenworking on the synthesis and study of conju-gated polymers with main chain chirality. Hehas pioneered this research in Dr. Pu’s group

and has made the fundamental contributions. In addition, he has co-authored eight papers with other students in Dr. Pu’s laboratory. Thesepapers are either published or submitted, and have generated significantexcitement across the nation.

Besides Dr. Hu, there are six other students in Dr. Pu’s group. Mr. LiangMa, a graduate student who joined Dr. Pu’s group last summer, has beenworking on a chiral propeller polymer project. In the past year, hisdedication and hard work has led to a very fruitful outcome. He is themain author of three papers submitted to Macromolecules and JACS.

The group welcomes Ms. Kwon Musick and Ms. Xiao-Fan Zheng, twofirst-year graduate students. Kwon is working on a “Rainbow” project,and Xiao-Fan is busy with a main-group element catalysis project.

Mr. Hua Cheng, a visiting scholar from Beijing, is concentrating onpolymeric chiral sensors, and Julie Anderson, an undergraduate student,has also made progress in her learning of chemical research. And finally,Dilrukshi Vithrana has continued to make progress in her research onasymmetric catalysis using chiral polymeric catalysts.

Lin Pu Receives NSF Grant

Chem-News April 1996

DTI ExpandsFacilitiesby Greg Gillispie

10

DTI’s current home at 2301 12th Street North

The proposed site where newDTI facilities will be constructed

such as benzene and styrene tomeet the stringent drinking waterstandards.

A grant has also been awarded toDTI from Technology Transfer,Inc. (TTI), which is funded bythe state of North Dakota topromote economic development.DTI will develop laser-basedexperiments for college levelinstructional laboratories (P-Chem, instrumental analysis,modern physics), along withsupporting material includingmanuals, detectors, and all otheraccessories necessary for theexperiments. The goal is to makeit as convenient as possible forinstructors to incorporate newand exciting experiments into thecurriculum.

DTI will exhibit prototype lasersystems and experiments at theBiennial Conference on Chemi-cal Education and at the FallACS meeting, both in August.The plan is to have commercialproducts ready for sale by thespring of 1997. NDSU willparticipate in the testing of theexperiments by using them inour own laboratories.

Eventually, DTI hopes to addeducational modules for organicchemistry, general chemistry,and high school physical science.

Editor’s Note: DTI was started in1993 by chemistry professor GregGillispie and Randy St. Germain(MS, 1993). The company currentlyemploys nine, all but one of whomeither has a degree from NDSUand/or was a postdoc in Gillispie’sgroup. The laser-based technologydeveloped by DTI has been appliedextensively in the United States andin Europe.

Dakota Technologies, Inc. isexpanding again. DTI originallyoccupied 1,000 square feet whenactivity commenced in October1993, added an additional 1,000square feet in October 1994, andinstalled a stairway to gainaccess to 500 square feet ofstorage space over the offices.However, as the company’srange of activities has broadenedand new people have been hired,it has become crowded again.

In January, DTI’s landlord(Dakota Fence) proposed that thecompany move to a new build-ing, which would be constructednorth of the 19th Avenue stripmall and east of the BusyBubbles car wash. DTI hassigned a lease and will move latethis summer into a building with4,500 square feet on the mainlevel, and approximately another3,000 square feet on the upperlevel. The company is especiallyexcited about being able todesign specialized laboratoryspace and the addition of aconference room and a libraryfor journals, reports and reprints.

The need for additional space isoccasioned in part by DTI’sselection for a Phase II SmallBusiness Innovation Research(SBIR) award. During theproject, which is expected tobegin in early summer, DTI willrefine its technology to mate“downhole” sensors with de-ployment devices commonlyreferred to as Geoprobes.Geoprobes are much less expen-sive alternatives to cone pen-etrometers (ca. $50-100 K for aGeoprobe installed in a pick-uptruck or step van versus morethan $250 K for a cone pen-etrometer truck) for deployingsubsurface probes. However, thepercussion hammer (essentially ajackhammer) of a Geoprobeexposes the probe tip to forces ashigh as 10,000 Gs, which rapidlydestroys most equipment.

In the Phase I work, DTI showedthat delicate optics could beprotected against damage bythese enormous forces through acareful shock dampening design.DTI is seeking patent protectionon their design of “Shock Pro-tected Optical Cylinders” a.k.a.SPOCs. During the Phase IIwork, DTI will also work onsensors for chlorinated solventsand oxygen and on improvingthe chemically specific detectionof volatile organic compounds

Chem-News April 1996

Dr. Fred BasoloAudience members gather on stage to look atsamples Basolo brought with him.

science works. He started withthe discovery of CoCl

3•6NH

3 in

1798 and ended with the coordi-nation theory of A. Werner in1893. After giving his presenta-tion, Dr. Basolo invited audiencemembers to come up to the stageto examine samples of century-old metal complexes prepared byS. M. Jorgensen and A. Werner.

Dr. Basolo concluded his visitwith his Friday afternoon semi-nar, “Ring-Slippage Mechanismsand Kinetics of CO Substitutionof Metal Carbonyls.”

Following the presentation, Dr.Basolo joined chemistry depart-ment faculty and students for acelebration dinner at the Moor-head Country Club.

The Beckwith Recital Hall wasnearly filled to capacity theevening Dr. Fred Basolo gavehis Broberg Lecture presentation.

During the seminar, which wasentitled, “Science is Not Magic.How Science Works,” Basoloexplained that science is notmagic, so science teachers andscientists should not use theword “magic” when referring toscience. He went on to say thatchemistry demonstrations are not“magic shows,” but are scienceshows. Magic numbers, magicacid, magic methyl, and magicangle all have a basic scientificexplanation and are not magic.

Basolo used the early history ofmetal complexes to discuss how

Basolo Gives Broberg Lectures

Dr. Fred BasoloDr. Basolo is the Charles E. andEmma H. Morrison Professor ofChemistry at NorthwesternUniversity. He is internationallyrecognized for his original contri-butions to the synthesis andreaction mechanisms of transition-metal Werner complexes, and hisseminal work in the developingfields of organometallic andbioinorganic chemistry.

A member of the NorthwesternUniversity faculty since 1946,Basolo is honored as a truly giftedteacher and a leader in makingNorthwestern’s inorganic chemis-try department one of the best inthe nation. Many of his formerstudents occupy prominent aca-demic and industrial positions.

Basolo’s many awards and honorsinclude membership in the Na-tional Academy of Sciences, theAmerican Academy of Arts andSciences and the Italian Academyof Sciences Lincei. A lectureshipwas established in his name atNorthwestern, and he has pub-lished more than 400 scientificarticles, and co-authored twobooks. He also has received ACSAwards for Research and forService in Inorganic Chemistry.Basolo earned his doctorate fromthe University of Illinois in 1943.

11

“Boonin’ with Basolo”

David Atwood and his group memberstook Dr. Basolo to lunch during his lastday in Fargo.

Dr. Basolo traded stories with the At-wood group and proved to be extremelyhumorous and likeable. He even retainedhis composure and politely turned downan offer to go “boonin’” (off-roading) inJolin’s Bronco after lunch!

Chem-News April 1996

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“Collaboration” continued… one-half of the known chiral alumi-num complexes,” Atwood says.

“Continuing work will focus onpreparing other examples of thereported complexes as well asexploring their reactivity. Onestudy involves the formation ofsoluble aluminosilicates. We wouldthen be in a position to model howaluminum is moved from the realmof inorganic chemistry into thebiosphere. With any luck, we willfind this to be a difficult process.”

“Theoretical News” continued…

is unraveling thermochemistryand mechanisms relevant toadvanced fuels research. Matt alsohas developed a World Wide Webpage for the Theoretical Chemis-try Subdivision of the AmericanChemical Society. You may visit itat http://zn.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/acs/. We hear Rob is recipient of aGolden Key National HonorSociety Scholarship.

We have been seeing a lot more ofMark Schwab lately. Mark oscil-lates between wearing—backwardsof course—an experimentalist’scap and a theoretician’s cap. Markis going strong on his calculationsand hopes to finish his MS degreesometime this summer.

Dave Thweatt, the newest memberof the group, joined this year as afirst-year graduate student. Davecomes from several generations of

educators. Dave grew up inArizona and spent his last twohigh-school years in Minnesota,where he stayed as an undergradu-ate at Bethel College. Dave’sinterests include target shooting,fishing, music, and acting.

Strange theoretical coincidences:Out of the group of six, four haverun races 10 kilometers or longer,three have spent a few years in themilitary, and two play the tuba.

be a role for aluminum. At themoment, no one knows for sure.Considering the prevalence ofaluminum in modern life (it isfound in baking soda, flour,utensils, drinking cans, etc.), it isclearly important to know moreabout its biological chemistry.

Additionally, acid rain is contribut-ing to growing levels of aluminum

in lakes and streams. This solublealuminum is deadly to fish andother aquatic life.

“Our research is focused onunderstanding how aluminuminteracts with biologically relevantmolecules. All of the complexesreported in the Organometallicsarticle were derived from aminoacids. This is an area of researchthat has not been developed to anappreciable extent. For instance,our contribution represents about