1
Chemistry Updates and Scientific Endeavors
Vol. 12, Winter 2015
Chair’s letter
Fulbright Fellow in Graz, Austria. Upon
returning from her sabbatical leave in
March, she was immediately recruited
by Chancellor Syverud to serve as
Interim Dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences while the college searches
for a new, permanent dean. As she
does with all things, Dean Ruhlandt
has fearlessly embraced this new
challenge and is bringing the same
vision, energy, and enthusiasm to her
leadership of the College as she did to
our department.
To all our Chemistry friends
and alumnae,
Season’s greetings and welcome to
the latest edition of the chemistry
newsletter! The fall semester is winding
down, bringing with it the end of a
banner year for our faculty, students
and staff. Read on to catch up on all
their recent accomplishments.
The department started 2014 on a
very high note, with the announcement
that Professor Carlos Castañeda
would be joining our faculty. Carlos’
joint appointment in both chemistry
and biology is the first of its kind
and signals a new phase in our
initiative to develop a world-class
program in chemical biology here at
Syracuse University. With apparently
inexhaustible energy and interests
that range from mathematics to cell
biology, Carlos is providing an exciting
new dynamic to our research program.
Learn more about Carlos on page 4.
August arrived with a new class of
incoming graduate and undergraduate
students. Fourteen entering chemistry
Ph.D. students from all over the
world began their graduate studies
at Syracuse this year. Their lives
will be different from those of past
graduate students in one important
respect: After 24 years of service to
chemistry, Joyce Lagoe has retired
from her longtime position as graduate
coordinator. Going forward, our
students will be in the capable hands
of Jodi Randall, who assumes the job
of head graduate wrangler. I hope you
will join us in wishing both Joyce and
Jodi all the best in their new roles!
The holidays came early to chemistry
when our new Chancellor announced
the creation of the Scientific
Equipment Excellence Fund, a
million-dollar investment by the
University into new equipment for
our science laboratories. To date,
more than $250,000 worth of new
instrumentation has been installed
in our undergraduate laboratories,
providing our students with an
opportunity to train with state-of-the-art
tools that will prepare them for careers
in industry and the academy.
Strangely, I find myself exactly where
I was at this time last year: waiting
for the first snowfall and filling in as
interim chair for my colleague, Karin
Ruhlandt. As you may recall, Professor
Ruhlandt spent most of last year as a
The coming new year promises to be
an exciting time at Syracuse University
as we welcome a new Dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences and
begin the search for a new Provost.
An ongoing search for a new faculty
colleague in inorganic/materials
chemistry will build our department’s
strength in this important area of
research and scholarship. 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 firsthand 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
2
Photo Courtesy of Linda Wang
Research Experience for Undergraduates
Annual canoe trip in the Adirondacks
Twenty-four students from Puerto
Rico, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Minnesota, Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania, and New York were on
campus this summer doing research
in the chemistry labs. Next year’s
program dates will be June 1 to
August 8.
WCC Chair Amber Charlebois, left, with award
winner Reesheda Gilbert, second from right,
and award sponsors Dr. Frankie Wood-Black and
Kenneth Black
Reesheda Gilbert, a 2014 Research
Experience for Undergraduates student,
won the Women Chemists Committee’s
Overcoming Challenges Award this past
summer. She received the award at the
American Chemical Society meeting in
San Francisco.
Poster Session in the Life Sciences
Atrium (90 posters from REU
programs in biology, chemistry,
LSAMP, and the Biomaterials
Institute; as well as SUNY Upstate
Medical University College of
Medicine and SUNY ESF.)
UNDERGRADUATE ACHIEVEMENTS
Leann Miles ’14: Fulbright Award;
currently attending the University
of Pennsylvania for Ph.D. studies in
biomedical science.
Allison Roberts ’14: 2014 Outstanding
Achievement in Biochemistry; 2014
Judith Seinfeld Fellow; postbaccalaureate
fellowship at the National Cancer
Institute, part of the National Institutes of
Health.
Rachael Burke ’15: Beckman Scholar,
presented her research at the Beckman
Conference in Los Angeles in August
2014. She is also a 2014 Remembrance
Scholar.
Leslie Patton ’15 (biochemistry) and
Justin Elkhechen ’15 (biochemistry)
received the Crown Award from the
Renée Crown University Honors Program,
which will help support their research
projects in James Hougland’s and James
Henderson’s laboratories, respectively.
GRADUATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Ijaz Ahmed began an internship in fall
2014 at GlaxoSmithKline in the medicinal
chemistry department, working with the
cancer epigenetics, oncology research
and development team.
Joseph Darling was selected to attend
the 64th Lindau Meeting of Nobel
Laureates on Medicine and Physiology
in July 2014. This weeklong meeting
in southwestern Germany brought
approximately 600 exceptional graduate
students from almost 80 countries to
meet and interact with more than 35
Nobel Laureates.
Soumyashree Gangopadhyay and
Raghuvaran Iyer were awarded
travel grants from the ACS Biological
Chemistry Division. This helped support
their attendance at the 248th National
Meeting of the American Chemical
Society, last fall in San Francisco.
Elizabeth Raymond received a Prize
Poster Competition Award at the Protein
Engineering Canada Conference, for her
work with Professor Ivan Korendovych
in creating an allosterically regulated
catalyst for the retro-aldol reaction.
Michael Ruggiero presented his work on
metal-sulfate interactions in crystalline
solids at the Ab initio Modelling in Solid
State Chemistry 2014 conference held at
the Imperial College in London.
Jayme Workinger spent a month at the
Polish Institute of Organic Chemistry in
Warsaw as a visiting scholar in the lab of
Professor Dortoa Gryko.
3
ALUMNI CORNER
Ewelina Witko
Ph.D. ’12 received
her B.S degree
in chemistry and
mathematics
from Cedar Crest
College, Allentown,
Pennsylvania,
and enrolled in
the chemistry
Ph.D. program at Syracuse
University. She graduated with
an M.Phil. (2010) and Ph.D.
(2012) in physical chemistry
under the supervision of
Professor Timothy Korter. Her
research included terahertz
spectroscopy of military and
improvised explosives as
well as explosives-related
components and solidstate density functional
theory simulations of the
experimental spectra. While
in the Ph.D. program, she
interned at the Naval Surface
Warfare Center - Indian
Head Division. In 2011, she
was awarded the SMART
scholarship sponsored by the
Department of Defense and
Lindsay Avery
G’07 received her
B.S. in chemistry
and biochemistry
at Syracuse
University.
During her time
at Syracuse she
was involved in
undergraduate
research under the
mentorship of Professor
Nancy Totah, who allowed her
the space and opportunity
to explore organic synthetic
chemistry in the laboratory
and provided invaluable
scientific and personal
guidance. With a love of
medicine and a passion for
chemistry, Avery decided to
pursue a graduate career in
pharmacology. In 2012 she
graduated from Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine
with a Ph.D. in pharmacology
and molecular sciences; she
studied the distribution and
disposition of antiretroviral
drugs for the treatment of
HIV-1.
Subsequently
she completed
a postdoctoral
fellowship at
Johns Hopkins,
studying cellular
mechanisms of drug
metabolism. During
this time she
was offered a
senior scientist position
in the mechanistic ADME
group at Pfizer Inc. in
its pharmacokinetics,
pharmacodynamics
and metabolism (PDM)
department at Pfizer’s
Andover, Massachusetts,
research facility. In this
role, she is working
on understanding the
mechanistic properties of
biological drug candidates
that may contribute and lead
to favorable clinical profiles.
Recently married, she and her
husband live in the Boston
metropolitan area.
Amanda Hoffman Ph.D. ’14,
received a full scholarship and
stipend to study intellectual
property law at St. John’s
University
Katie Headley B.S. ’13,
began graduate school in the
biological and biomedical
sciences department at the
University of North Carolina.
Nemal Gobalasingham B.S.
’11 is a Ph.D. candidate at
the University of Southern
California, working on polymer
solar cells.
Jingjing Li B.S. ’14 is studying
in the chemistry Ph.D.
program at the University of
Southern California.
Adam Rosenberg Ph.D. ’13 is
a postdoctoral researcher in
radiochemistry at Mallinckrodt
Institute of Radiology,
Washington University School
of Medicine in St. Louis.
Matthew R. Hudson (PhD
’10) has been promoted to
Chemist at the NIST/NCNR
National Institute of Science &
Technology Center for Neutron
Research.
Abe Jordan, a Research
Experience for
Undergraduates student in
2012, has started graduate
school in the chemistry
department at Georgia Tech.
Kin Yang B.S. ’10 is enrolled
in the Ph.D. chemistry
program at the University of
Chicago.
was assigned to
work at the Defense
Department’s
Joint Improvised
Explosive Device
Defeat Organization
(JIEDDO). Shortly
after graduation,
Witko and her
fiancé set off on
a multi-month backpacking
trip across the 48 contiguous
states before settling in
Arlington, Virginia. There, she
started her work at JIEDDO
and joined the Discovery
and Innovation Group. At her
current position, she provides
technical expertise and
manages efforts in the areas
of standoff detection, forensic
sciences, and chemical
methodologies and capabilities
in support of the warfighter.
Her attention to detail and skill
at successfully leading multiple
efforts resulted in recognition
and awards, and led her to be
handpicked in supporting other
divisions in test and evaluation
efforts.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Nischal Singh, a Ph.D.
candidate is doing an
internship with ZeroChaos/
GlaxoSmithKline.
Sean Delaney Ph.D. ’14 has
a postdoctoral position at
the University of Kentucky
in the Department of
Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Jennifer Elward Ph.D. ’14
is a computation materials
scientist with the U.S. Army
Research Labs.
Yuriko Takahashi Ph.D.
’14 is a senior development
engineer at Unifrax, LLC (in
Buffalo).
Kristen Hamner Ph.D. ’14
is a research associate with
Norwich Pharmaceuticals.
Theresa Williams B.S. ’14,
is currently a PhD graduate
student in the chemistry
department at the University
of Michigan.
4
OUR DEPARTMENT in the NEWS
Demonstrations at DeWitt
Community Library
In July, Gary Bonomo and Anne Dovciak
presented several demonstrations at
DeWitt Community Library designed to
inspire people of all ages to appreciate
the science of chemistry. Liquid nitrogen
ice cream was shared with the audience
as a summer treat. Events included
hands-on activities such as making
slime (borax, polyvinyl alcohol, and food
coloring), visual/auditory demonstrations
of the gas laws (collapsing soda can and
bottle), and thermochemistry (making a
hot pack and a cold pack).
GREEN CHEMISTRY
WORKSHOP
In March, 30 area high school teachers
attended a workshop at the Life Sciences
Complex sponsored by the New York
State Department of Environmental
Conservation to learn about the benefits
of sustainable science and how to
integrate the 12 Principles of Green
Chemistry into their classroom.
INSTRUMENTATION
Students use new
instrumentation
(a calorimeter and a
fluorimeter) in a physical
chemistry lab class.
NEW FACULTY CARLOS CASTAñEDA
Our newest faculty member
is Carlos Castañeda, who
has an appointment as
assistant professor of
biology and chemistry. As a
shared hire between the two
departments, Castañeda
will enhance our research and teaching
in biochemistry, particularly the jointly
run undergraduate B.S. program in
biochemistry, as well as the graduate
programs in both departments. He
envisions developing new courses
in structural biology and biophysical
chemistry. Castañeda completed
postdoctoral research in 2014 with David
Fushman at the University of Maryland at
College Park, after receiving his Ph.D. in
molecular biophysics in 2008 from Johns
Hopkins University, working with Bertrand
Garcia-Moreno, and his B.A. (magna cum
laude in chemistry and mathematics)
from La Salle University.
Castañeda’s research area is
experimental biochemistry and
biophysics, with a particular expertise in
the use of high-resolution biomolecular
nuclear magnetic resonance and other
spectroscopic techniques for studying
protein structure and function. He will
initially focus on how attachment of
certain chains of ubiquitin polymers
to proteins can cause them to interact
with a class of proteins called p97
adaptors. While ubiquitination typically
marks proteins for degradation, it has
been shown recently that these p97
adaptors instead bring them into key
biological pathways. These pathways
include transcription-factor activation,
mRNA stability, mitochondrial protein
regulation, and inflammation. Another
area of interest for Castañeda is in
understanding the behaviors of flexible
linker domains within multi-domain
proteins. These dynamical behaviors can
be addressed with recent substantial
advances in high-resolution NMR, small
angle neutron scattering, fluorescence,
and computational methods. His longterm interests are in deciphering roles
of post-translational modifications
(including ubiquitination) in proteins
associated with neurodegenerative and
neuromuscular diseases.
Long-Time Graduate Secretary
Joyce Lagoe Retires
Joyce Lagoe, graduate
secretary, retired
in October 2014
after 24 years in the
chemistry department
at Syracuse University.
She has worked under
five chairs (Laurence
Nafie, John Baldwin, Jon Zubieta, Karin
Ruhlandt/James Kallmerten). Although
she doesn’t have any concrete plans for
her retirement, she said she plans on
spending time with her grandchildren.
What did she enjoy the most? “Meeting
new students.” What will she miss the
most? “The staff, students, faculty–
everyone.” We wish her well.
5
CONGRATULATIONS TO PH.D.
RECIPIENTS whose degrees
were conferred:
Fall 2013: Steven Pellizzeri, Adam
Rosenberg, Tiffany Smith
Spring 2014: Sean Delaney
Summer 2014: Andrew Banyikwa,
Christopher Blanton, Jennifer Elward,
Kristen Hamner, Amanda Hoffman,
Amanda Lashua, Yuriko Takahashi,
Nisha Varghese
M.S. students: Valerie Lopez, Andrew
Schuchart
College of Arts and Sciences Opening Convocation
Elements of Success
The College of Arts and 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 Specific School or Program,
College of Arts and Sciences and then
Chemistry from the drop-down box).
Please consider making a tax-deductible
donation to the chemistry department
via this website.
Graduate students get to
meet the new chancellor
Kelly Henry and Caroline Rufo meet
Chancellor Kent Syverud at his residence
during a tea for WISE (Women in Science
and Engineering)
Caroline Rufo and Amanda Hoffman ran
with the Chancellor on his Inauguration
Day Run April 11, 2014
Pictured left to right chemistry faculty member Arindam Chakraborty, Karin
Ruhlandt (also interim Dean of Arts and Sciences), and Tara Kahan, with a
frame held by Rob Enslin, communications manager of the College
6
2014 Department of Chemistry Awards
April 30, 2014
Gershon Vincow Award for
Excellence in General Chemistry
Kathelyn Caza, Emily Kraus, and
Charles Ryan
Department Award for Exceptional
Performance in Honors Chemistry
Anniya Gu and Soleil Young
Department Award for Exceptional
Performance in Analytical Chemistry
Kewei Xu
George Wiley Award for Exceptional
Performance in Organic Chemistry
Alec Beaton and Anthony Schramm
2014 entering graduate class
Department Award for Exceptional
Performance in Inorganic Chemistry
Kewei Xu
Willem Prins Award for Exceptional
Performance in Physical Chemistry
Kewei Xu
Department Award for Exceptional
Performance in Biochemistry
Reed Kamyszek
Birge Award for Exceptional Performance
in Biochemistry Research
Kelsey Monteith
Clayton Spencer Award for Exceptional
Performance in Undergraduate
Research - Sponsored by Alpha Chi Sigma
Allison Ganze
ACS, Division of Organic Chemistry,
Award for Overall Excellence in
Organic Chemistry
Theresa Williams
Department Award for Overall
Excellence in Chemistry
Jingjing Li
William D. Johnson Award for
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant
Raghuvaran (Raghu) Iyer
First row: Christopher Saez, Seth Fillioe Back row: Yuetian Chen, Teresa Dierks, Sai Han Myo Tun, Adam Zaczek,
Christopher Wilhelmsen, Alexa Stathis, Kayla Ryan, Maria Campana, Marty Dolan, Otto Dungan, Alexandria Remillard
7
FACULTY
ACHIEVEMENTS
Arindam Chakraborty has been
awarded a National Science Foundation
CAREER grant to support his research
developing new quantum mechanical
methods for investigation of nanomaterial
optical properties. The grant, supported
by the Chemical Theory, Models and
Computational Methods program in the
chemistry division of the NSF, will focus
on understanding the electron-hole and
exciton-phonon interactions in quantum
dots. Using his method, Chakraborty
will be able to examine the effects that
physical and chemical transformations—
including shape, size, structural
strain, core/shell heterojunction, and
temperature—have on the photophysical
properties of the quantum dots. This will
allow researchers and engineers to have
better ideas on how to improve solar
cells, light emitting devices, and chemical
or biological sensors. As part of the grant,
his team will also mentor high school
students in the area, develop new and
innovative undergraduate computational
chemistry curriculum, and collaborate
with high school teachers to promote
STEM (science, technology, engineering,
and math) education.
Daniel Clark was awarded a National
Science Foundation CAREER grant to
support his research to develop new
catalytic methods for the silylvinylation of
alkynes by using ethylene as a coupling
partner, as well as exploring the use of
vinylboronates. Results of this proposed
research could positively impact many
industries. Another object of the grant will
be to provide access to lecture materials
and experiments for the creation of STEM
workshops in some area public schools.
Clark also was one of 16 recipients from
three countries to receive the American
Chemical Society Organic Young
Academic Investigator Award in 2014.
James Dabrowiak was honored
with the Henry J. Albert Award in
June in Orlando, Florida, a lifetime
achievement award sponsored by BASF
Corporation. Dabrowiak was honored
for his contributions to the science and
technology of precious metals, his work
on the platinum drugs for treating cancer,
and his textbook Metals in Medicine.
Robert Doyle was promoted to full
Professor of chemistry.
James Hougland was awarded a Basil
O’Connor Starter Scholar Research
Award from the March of Dimes. This
two-year award supports his research on
the role of the peptide hormone ghrelin
in controlling appetite in Prader-Willi
syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.
Ivan Korendovych received a Humboldt
Research Fellowship from the Alexander
von Humboldt Foundation and studied
protein engineering at two universities
in Germany. He also received a grant
to participate in the NIGMS Mentoring
Workshop for Early Career Faculty, held in
August 2104 in Dallas.
Timothy Korter was selected as a
Visiting Scholar to the University of
Cambridge, United Kingdom, and will
spend the spring of 2015 there studying
solid-state phase transformations in
pharmaceuticals.
Yan-Yeung Luk’s lab and the Wang
Lab at SUNY Upstate Medical University
have designed molecules for controlling
bacterial behavior. Their findings are the
subject of a forthcoming article in the
journal ChemBioChem.
FACULTY GRANTS
Robert Doyle and Carlos Castañeda
have been awarded a $100,000 grant
from Shimadzu Corporation of Japan.
The award will be used to aid in the
purchase of a new LC/MS/MS TripleQuad mass spectrometer.
Robert Doyle was awarded grants from
Albion minerals (Utah) and Xeregenx Inc.
(St. Louis) and entered into a preclincal
test agreement with Pfizer (Boston).
James Hougland received a Bridge
Funding Award from the American
Diabetes Association Research Program
for his study “Targeting ghrelin acylation
for control of glucose homeostasis.” He
also was selected to participate in the
National Science Foundation/American
Society for Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology Grant Writing Workshop for new
and early career faculty, held in June
2104 in Washington, D.C.
Tara Kahan received an Oak Ridge
Associated Universities Ralph E. Powe
Junior Faculty Enhancement Award for
her study “Effects of urban surface films
on air quality: Linking composition to
reactivity.”
Timothy Korter was awarded a threeyear National Science Foundation grant
to study polymorphism in complex
molecular crystals.
Mathew Maye awarded a three-year
National Science Foundation grant
to study the synthesis of stainless
nanoparticles.
FACULTY PATENTS
James Hougland and Joseph Darling:
“Fluorescence assay for ghrelin
O-acyltransferase activity”
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
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 web site and make sure to like
us on Facebook and Twitter
E-mail: chemistry@syr.edu
US. Mail:
CUSE News - Department of Chemistry
1-014 Center for Science & Technology
111 College Place
Syracuse, NY 13244-4100
Online:
chemistry.syr.edu/about/Alumni_connection.html