1 Chemistry Updates and Scientific Endeavors Vol 11, Winter 2014 Chair’s letter To all our Chemistry friends and alumnae, New Year’s greetings from snowcovered Syracuse, and welcome to the latest edition of the Chemistry department newsletter. The end of the fall semester coincided with the season’s first major snowstorm, and the campus is blanketed in white: beautiful to behold, even if it is a bit treacherous to navigate! For this issue, it’s my pleasure to serve as the stand-in for our chair, Prof. Karin Ruhlandt, currently on sabbatical leave as a Fulbright Fellow in Graz, Austria. Prof. Ruhlandt has spent an exciting semester abroad, teaching a course, giving seminars and exploring new research areas. Later this month she will be traveling to Italy to spend a week collecting data at the Elletra Syncrotrone Trieste international research facility. Prof. Ruhlandt will be returning to Syracuse in late February to resume her leadership of the Chemistry department. 2013 has been a rewarding and productive year for Chemistry faculty and students. The month of May brought with it the end of the academic year and our annual departmental awards ceremony, in which we celebrate the outstanding performances of our undergraduates. It’s always a bittersweet time for the faculty, because we must say goodbye to another class of talented seniors. This year’s senior class was extraordinarily accomplished, and included senior class marshal and valedictorian, Jaime Bernstein (’13). Jaime and her fellow Syracuse Scholar, Anna Kahkoska (’13), are long time members of Prof. Robert Doyle’s research group; both began their studies in medical school this year. Read all about the accomplishments of our amazing undergraduate and graduate students elsewhere in this issue! Not to be outdone by their students, our award-winning faculty has continued to receive University and national recognition for their outstanding research and teaching accomplishments. Among our prominent faculty in 2013 were Prof. Ivan Korendovych, recipient of a Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement award and Prof. James Spencer, recognized with a Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence. The end of summer found our department welcoming a class of 21 incoming graduate students from all over the globe. We celebrated their arrival and the completion of a grueling week of breadth exams with our traditional opening week lunch in the Life Science Complex atrium. Joining us for the event were alumnae Dr. Philip Pivawer (G ‘60) and Prof. Terry Morrill (‘61). Members of the Bowne Hall generation of Syracuse chemists, Phil and Terry received personal tours of our new teaching and research facilities in the Life Sciences Center, including an up-close look at the installation of the department’s new 400 MHz NMR spectrometer that arrived from Bruker in late August. On the subject of spectrometers, we’ve recently learned that a consortium of institutions, including Syracuse University, Upstate Medical Center and the SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, has been awarded NIH funding for an ultra highfield NMR instrument. At the time of this writing, Prof. Phil Borer is visiting the Bruker facility in Switzerland, to kick the tires on a new 800 MHz NMR spectrometer. Stay tuned for more on this exciting development in the months ahead! In other news, the department’s longstanding history of research into the chemistry of pharmacologically active compounds is one step closer to a new phase with the College’s approval of our Bachelor of Science program in Medicinal Chemistry. Scheduled for launch in the 20142015 academic year, this new course of study will provide students with training in the principles of both chemistry and the biological sciences, enabling them to understand the design, evaluation and implementation of pharmacologically relevant small molecules and biologics. Students in the Medicinal Chemistry program will be assisted in their studies by the addition of new upper division and graduate level courses and access to new, state-of-the-art instrumentation. Our existing 300 MHz Bruker instrument has been extensively upgraded and will be dedicated exclusively to teaching activities, providing students in our organic, physical and medicinal chemistry labs with access to high-field, multi-nuclear NMR technology. Two Agilent liquid continued on next page 2 UNDERGRADUATE ACHIEVEMENTS Jaime Bernstein ’13 (chemistry) and Anna Kahkoska ’13 (biochemistry), students working in Robert Doyle’s lab, were named as 2013 Syracuse University Scholars, the highest undergraduate academic honor bestowed at the University. Additionally, Bernstein, a dual chemistry and Spanish major, delivered the student address at the 2013 Syracuse University/ SUNY ESF Commencement (see www.news.syr.edu/speakingof-syracuse-university-25131). Kahkoska, a biochemistry senior working for Rob Doyle, was awarded Capstone Honors Thesis of the Year for Science and Engineering at the Honors Convocation. Korrie Mack ’13, a biochemistry student working in Ivan Korendovych’s lab in collaboration with Karin Ruhlandt, has been awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for work that she began this fall in the biochemistry and molecular biophysics Ph.D. program at the University of Pennsylvania. For her research at SU, Mack won the 2013 Norma Slepecky Undergraduate Research Prize, as well as 2012 Beckman Scholar Award. (More about her work can be seen in the online article “From proteins to biosensors” http://asnews.syr.edu/ newsevents_2012/releases/2012_Beckman_Scholars_ SU.html. Leann Miles ’14 and Allison Roberts ’14, biochemistry majors, were two of the 35 students chosen as Remembrance Scholars for 2013-14. Kristopher Murray ’14, a biochemistry student, is an American Chemical Society Scholar. GRADUATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS Wenjie Wu, a chemistry graduate student working in Mathew Maye’s lab, won the IPMI Colt Refining Student Award, an international award from the International Precious Metal Institute (IPMI). This award is given to a top graduate student who uses precious metals in research that has direct applications in industry. Colleen Alexander, G’13, received the Division of Inorganic Chemistry ACS Young Investigator Award for her work on the use of gold nanoparticles for drug delivery in cancer chemotherapy. Alexander presented her research findings at the Young Investigator Symposium at the National American Chemical Society meeting held in Indianapolis this fall. Mathew Maye and James Dabrowiak were co-advisors on her research project. Alexander also received the Sabin Metal Student Award from the International Precious Metals Institute. continued from cover chromatography–mass spectrometry systems, donated to the department by Eli Lilly and Company through the dedicated efforts of Dr. Jim Grace (‘89), will be incorporated into the laboratories of organic, biochemistry and forensics courses next year. There was some sad news in 2013, as we bid farewell to two long time members of our departmental family. Professor Thomas Walnut, a theoretical chemist and a member of the Syracuse University faculty for almost 40 years, passed away in late September. And just before Thanksgiving, we were saddened to learn that Prof. Donald Dittmer died Peter J. Rosado Flores, a fifth-year graduate student, received a First Place honor for his presentation at the Emerging Researchers National Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in Washington, D.C. Susan Flynn was one of eight recipients nationally who received a travel grant from Eli Lilly and the Women Chemists Committee (WCC) to attend the American Chemical Society meeting in Indianapolis. Flynn presented within her division and at the awardee poster session and was recognized at the WCC luncheon. Joseph Darling, a third-year chemistry graduate student working in James Hougland’s lab, has received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. at his home in Syracuse. Both Tom and Don were emeritus professors who stayed scientifically active well into retirement and remained involved in departmental activities until their last days. We will remember them as consummate scientists, our teachers and mentors, our colleagues and our friends. The coming new year promises to be an exciting time at Syracuse University, as we prepare to welcome Syracuse University’s 12th chancellor, Kent D. Syverud, and, later in 2014, a new Dean of the College. An ongoing search for a new biochemistry faculty member, jointly appointed between Chemistry and Biology, promises to continue to build the scholarly bridge between our two disciplines. I hope that each of you will keep us updated on events in your lives and careers, and should the occasion present itself, drop in and see first hand what’s happening in the department! On behalf of the faculty, staff and students of Chemistry, I wish each and every one of you all the very best in the coming new year, Warm regards, Jim Kallmerten 3 Alumni Corner Preeti Sejwal G’08 received her B.S. and M.S. in chemistry at Delhi University, India, and enrolled at Syracuse University for her doctoral studies. She graduated with a Ph.D. in chemistry under the supervision of Professor Yan-Yeung Luk. While in the Ph.D. program, she pursued summer internships at BristolMyers Squibb in Syracuse and worked in the bioprocess and bioanalytical division. Utilizing her expertise working at the interface of biology and chemistry, gained during her Ph.D. studies, she made significant improvement in the existing analytical methods at Bristol. Subsequently she was offered a full-time position as a bioanalytical scientist at Bristol. In 2010 she moved to Bristol’s facility in Princeton, New Jersey, and joined a discovery analytical group as a research investigator I. She provided analytical expertise to support multiple projects spanning across small, ‘milla,’ and large molecules, resulting in recognition and awards, and was promoted to research investigator II. Recently she accepted a senior analytical scientist position at AbbVie, a research-based pharmaceuticals company in North Chicago, Illinois. In this capacity she is working as a core analytical team member to support clinical and commercial manufacturing of drug products. She and her husband have settled in Chicago and welcomed a baby girl earlier this year named Arya. Where they are now . . . Diane O’Connor G’77, who received her M.S., is vice president for environment, health, safety, and sustainability at Xerox Corporation, where she has worked since 1977. Daniel Zaleski ’08 received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Virginia and is a postdoctoral fellow at Newcastle University in England. Patrick Carberry G’09, who received his Ph.D., is an assistant professor at Columbia University Medical Center. Nerissa Villegas G’09, who received her Ph.D., is a research scholar at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Debjyoti Bandyopadhyay G’11, who received his Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Institute of Technology. Adam Lau, a Research Experience for Undergraduates intern in 2011, is pursuing an M.S. in mechanical engineering at California State University, Sacramento. Laura Bateman G’12, who received her Ph.D., is a Hazard Review Specialist at UL (Underwriter Laboratories). Kari Darling G’12, who received her Ph.D., is an Advanced Placement Chemistry teacher in Massachusetts. Congratulations to all of our recent Ph.D. recipients: Christopher Fazen G’12, who received his Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Susan James G’12, who received her Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School. Yi Shi G’12, who received her Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Debbie Valentin G’12, who received her Ph.D., served an internship in global regulatory affairs for Bayer HealthCare before becoming a regulatory affairs specialist in medical devices and diagnostics at Johnson & Johnson. Fall 2012: Laura Bateman, Kari Darling, Susan James, Yi Shi, Dennis Viernes Spring 2013: Sijie Yang Summer 2013: Rebeka Alam, Colleen Alexander, Pei Ma, Burkhardt Wilke, Wenjie Wu, Joshua Zylstra Dennis Viernes G’12, who received his Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher at Syracuse University. Rebeka Alam G’13, who received her Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher at Notre Dame University. Colleen Alexander G’13, who received her Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Wenjie Wu, G’13, who received her Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis. Receiving their master’s degree: Gregory Ganci, Rosemary Loftus, Yi Luo, Luke Nye, Lu Yu 4 INSTRUMENTATION ENHANCEMENTS FOR RESEARCH AND TEACHING: A major focus of the chemistry department’s planning for the future has been to greatly expand our shared major instrumentation, for both research and teaching needs. In 2013 it has been particularly exciting to see a trio of news items that indicate these efforts are bearing a bumper crop of fruit. 1. NIH Funding for 800MHz NMR awarded. In September 2013, the National Institutes of Health awarded a $2 million grant to acquire a new 800 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer to serve biomedical scientists in Upstate New York. Syracuse University is one of six universities in the consortium, including SUNY Upstate Medical University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), Cornell University, University of Rochester, and SUNY Buffalo. The new instrument will be operational toward the end of 2014 and will be located on the ESF campus, a short walk from SU. The instrument will be the only one of its kind in Central and Western New York, filling a void in the region’s research infrastructure. Professor Phil Borer in the chemistry department worked to write the grant with Principal Investigator Professor Stephan Wilkens of SUNY Upstate. Borer anticipates that the instrument will be utilized mainly to determine the structures of proteins, nucleic acids, and their complexes with drugs and small molecules. “An 800 makes it practical to determine structures for molecules with molecular weights of 30,000 (30 kDa),” Borer said. “It is often hard to crystallize interesting biomolecules for X-ray studies. Also, NMR allows us to measure the rates and amplitudes of motion that are critical to understanding dynamic systems. The new 800 will allow us to attack problems that would be impossible on our existing spectrometers and reduce acquisition times from days to hours for many studies.” Two vendors offer 800 MHz NMR systems, Bruker and Agilent, and evaluation visits took place in December and January. Profs. Borer and Wilkens, and David Kiemle traveled to Switzerland (Bruker) and Santa Clara, CA (Agilent). Borer and Dr. Deborah Kerwood, manager of SU NMR facility sent a sample of a DNA aptamer that binds tightly to the HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein; Wilkens sent a protein from the vacuolar ATPase; and Prof. Frank Schroeder (Cornell) sent a complex mixture of small molecules isolated from insects. These are a few from the wide range of problems that can be attacked using the new instrument. The new 400-Hz instrument has a liquid-N2 cryoprobe optimized for 13C, with the capability to observe 1H, 19F, and other nuclei in the frequency range from 15N to 31P. A room-temperature probe covers the same set of nuclei but with a wider temperature range. There is a 60-sample changer, automated tuning and matching, and z-axis pulsed field gradients on each probe. After the 300-MHz upgrade, only 1H and 13C are available on that instrument. However, it is now equipped with a 16-sample changer and the same software as on the 400-MHz instrument. This allows for a much higher throughput of samples and allows this instrument to be used more effectively in the teaching laboratories, including second-year organic chemistry lab (CHE 276/326). 2. 400-MHz NMR installed. 3. Donated LC-Mass spectrometers for teaching In last year’s newsletter, we reported and research. that the department received funding from the National Science Foundation to purchase a new 400-MHz NMR instrument with a liquid nitrogen cryoprobe that will provide state-of-theart NMR technology, especially useful for organic, inorganic, and physical chemists. Funds were also included to upgrade the existing Bruker 300-MHz instrument with a new console, probe, and sample changer and make it available for the teaching laboratories as well as an overflow instrument. Delivery and installation of the 400-MHz instrument was completed in August 2013, and shortly thereafter the upgrades to the 300-MHz were completed. We are grateful to Eli Lilly Corporation for the generous donation of two Agilent LC-MS instruments in summer 2013. These instruments are capable of both electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), equipped with quadrupole detectors, and carried a combined original purchase price of more than $100,000. In arranging this donation, the role of Jim Grace, who received his B.S. in chemistry from our department in 1989 and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and has been at Eli Lilly since the mid 2000s, was instrumental. 5 These LC-MS spectrometers will be used primarily for teaching. One of them is located in the organic teaching laboratory (CHE 326) and one in a shared instrument room immediately next to the analytical teaching laboratory (CHE 335, CHE/FSC 444). Since fall 2012, the CHE 335 course has been making use of a different shared departmental LC-MS to carry out one of the experiments, designed by Professor Mark Braiman, with substantial guidance from Professor Rob Doyle, to analyze chymotryptic fragments of insulin. The donated instruments are immediately applicable for helping our undergraduate students to learn to perform powerful modern LC-MS analysis. Elements of Success The department appreciates contributions of any amount. However, we provide special recognition of donations of $5000 and above by dedicating elements in our Periodic Table display case to such supporters. (A listing of the elements dedicated so far is available on our department website, at chemistry.syr.edu/ elementwall). The College of Arts & Sciences Office of Advancement is taking steps to simplify making departmentally targeted contributions. In particular, such donations can now be accepted at https://secure.syr.edu/giving/ thecollege_giving.aspx (select “Chemistry” from the drop-down box). Please consider making a year-end taxdeductible donation to the chemistry department via this website. OUR DEPARTMENT IN THE NEWS Rob Doyle: Fighting Obesity (http://news.syr.edu/chemist-to- Mathew Maye: Stainless Nanoparticles(http://news.syr. study-orally-effective-therapy-to-fight-obesity-66659/) edu/su-chemists-develop-fresh-new-approach-to-makingalloy-nanomaterials-34372/) Mathew Maye: ‘Smart’ Nanoparticles (http://news.syr. edu/chemists-design-smart-nanoparticles-to-improve-drugdelivery-dna-self-assembly-11734/) 6 2013 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AWARDS Gershon Vincow Award for Excellence in General Chemistry Susannah Oberly, Jianing Xu, Michael Cruikshank Department Award for Exceptional Performance in Honors Chemistry Tyler Smith Department Award for Exceptional Performance in Analytical Chemistry Amiya Quidley George Wiley Award for Exceptional Performance in Organic Chemistry Daniel Nguyen and Chan Nguyen Department Award for Exceptional Performance in Inorganic Chemistry Jaime Bernstein Willem Prins Award for Exceptional Performance in Physical Chemistry Shannon Walter and Shane Stone Department Award for Exceptional Performance in Biochemistry Anna Kahkoska Birge Award for Exceptional Performance in Biochemistry Research: Korrie Mack Clayton Spencer Award for Exceptional Performance in Undergraduate Research, Sponsored by Alpha Chi Sigma: Jaime Bernstein Department Award for Overall Excellence in Chemistry Jaime Bernstein William D. Johnson Award for Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Susan Flynn Welcome New Students The department welcomes: Michelle (Mickie) Takacs, Harvey Mosher, Elyse Kleist, Steven Ortiz, Jayme Workinger, Tiffany Greenfield, Liz Cleverdon, Yue Wu, Ricky McDonough, Jay Tinklepaugh, Nivedita Mahajani, Zsofia Lengyel, Peter McLaughlin, Amanda Chan, Alex Dixon, Michael Clark, Emily Carpenter, Patrick Heaphy, Laxmikant (LP) Pathade, Hewen (Jung) Zheng (missing from picture: Mercy Alila) 7 FACULTY achievements Ivan Korendovych was one of only 30 junior faculty nationwide to receive a Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. The award administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities supports innovative research across all disciplines in science and engineering. Mathew Maye received a Meredith Teaching Recognition Award in spring 2013 along with six other faculty members at the University. Dr. Maye has a very innovative approach to teaching both undergraduate and graduate students.Mathew Maye also received the Young Technologist of the Year Award from the Technology Alliance of Central New York. Robert Doyle received the College Technology Educator of the Year award from the Technology Alliance of Central New York. Jon Zubieta received the 2013 College of Arts and Sciences Wasserstrom Prize Award. The prize, in memory of English Professor William Wasserstrom, is awarded to a faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences who exemplifies outstanding success teaching graduate students. Karin Ruhlandt, distinguished professor and chair, received a Fulbright award for travel to Austria to further her research and to serve as a guest lecturer. Jon Zubieta was also honored by Inorganica Chimica Acta with a special Festscrift issue titled “Protagonists in Inorganic Chemistry” (July 1, 2012, Volume 389). The issue celebrated Professor Zubieta’s career and achievements, highlighted by 750 publications, more than 21,000 total citations, and an H index of 76. Scientists from across the world– representing academic, industrial and teaching arenas–dedicated papers to Zubieta, with contributions included from MIT, Oxford University, Johns Hopkins University and Max Planck among others, representing more than a dozen countries. Laurence A. Nafie, emeritus distinguished professor, received the 2013 Pittcon Award for Spectroscopy. James Spencer received one of the five 2013 Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence awards in spring 2013. Spencer was cited for his “outstanding scholarship, superlative teaching, extensive community engagement, and commitment to the University community.” James Dabrowiak was awarded the International Precious Metal Institute Faculty Advisor Award, which is given on a yearly basis for faculty advising of students engaged in precious metals research. The award also recognized his student Colleen Alexander (see Graduate Achievements). Faculty Grants/Patents: Grants Rob Doyle: Awarded National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) R-15 grant James Hougland: “Investigation of ghrelin O-acyltransferase as a target for treating for hyperphagia in Prader-Willi syndrome.” Best Idea Grant, Foundation for PraderWilli Research. Ivan Korendovych: National Science Foundation Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation. “Continuous Liquid Fuel Production via Scalable Biosynthesis of Enzyme-Quantum Dot Hybrid Photocatalysts.” Ivan Korendovych: Oak Ridge Associated Universities. “Enzyme-Quantum Dot Hybrid Catalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis to Generate Liquid Biofuels.” Patents Rob Doyle: Awarded Patent on Vitamin-B12 oral bioconugates with PYY and GlP-1 Woven hydrogel based biosensor, Luk, Yan-Yeung; Weldon, Mark; Shetye, Gauri; Basner, Andrew; Simon, Karen; Burton, Erik Bicyclic brominated furanones with low toxicity for microbial control, Luk, YanYeung; Yang, Sijie 5 8 Chemistry Updates and Scientific Endeavors Department of Chemistry, Syracuse University 1-014 Center for Science and Technology Syracuse, NY 13244-4100 Address Service Requested Obituaries DON DITTMER, a professor emeritus, died unexpectedly November 26, 2013, at his home in Syracuse, NY. He earned his B.S. in chemistry at the University of Illinois, where he graduated in 1950 as co-salutatorian with Bronze Tablet recognition; and his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953. After one postdoctoral year at Harvard University, he taught at the University of Pennsylvania from 1954 to 1961. A one-year fellowship at DuPont followed; then Dittmer joined the faculty in our department in 1962 and remained as professor of chemistry until his retirement in 2001. In October of that year, a retirement dinner and Dittmer Symposium were held. Since then, he had continued research with both undergraduates and with postdoctoral students, using tellurium as an electron-transfer reagent for in solvent-free organic syntheses. Dittmer’s list of publications includes more than 100 scientific articles, many pertaining to organic synthetic methods that utilize compounds of the chalcogenide elements (sulfur, selenium, and tellurium). A memorial service in Hendricks Chapel will take place at 3pm on February 21, 2014. THOMAS H. WALNUT, a professor emeritus, died September 28, 2013, in Syracuse of heart failure. He earned his A.B. at Harvard University, interrupted by a spell serving with the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater during World War II; and his Ph.D. from Brown University. He did postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago, then spent more than 40 years of his professional career as a professor in our department, focusing on theoretical physical chemistry, especially the theory behind vibrational circular dichroism. He was also active as a competitive runner with the Syracuse Chargers Track Club. We would love to hear from you! If your mailing address has changed or if you have an item of interest for the next newsletter, please send them along! CHECK out our New Website and make sure to Like us on Facebook & Twitter E-mail: clvoorhe@syr.edu US. Mail: CUSE News - Department of Chemistry 1-014 Center for Science & Technology 111 College Place Syracuse, NY 13244-4100 Online: http://chemistry.syr.edu/about/alumni.html