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December 2005

  • Congratulations to Chemistry students who received degrees in the December Commencement ceremony.
    • PhD Degrees
      • Qiaoli Liang - Solution Structure Determination for Pseudomonas Cytochrome Mutant H46A and NMR Evidence for the Domain Structure of Zoocin A, an Antibacterial Exoenzyme.
        Advisor: Dr. Russell Timkovich.
    • M.S. Degrees
    • B.S. Degrees
      • Christopher Paul Roth - summa cum laude
  • The Shelby Hall Christmas pot luck lunch was held December 13th. Drs. Bing Blewitt and Wolfgang Bertsch, who retired this year, were honored for their service to the University. Pictures

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November 2005

  • The following members were elected to the University of Alabama chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. The new members will be inducted on December 7th.
    • Aymara Albury
    • Abby C. Fields
    • Anna M. Fields
    • Jennifer E. Gremse
    • Margaret Mae Hendrix
    • Jonathan P. Keenum
    • Timothy John Kucharski
    • Cody J. Locke
    • Mallory Leanne Niemzak
    • William Alexander Shaffer
    • Hunter H. Snyder
    • Joshua Tray Taylor
    • Rachel Whitney Thomas
  • BASF and UA have announced an agreement to license technology developed by Dr. Robin Rogers. The Rogers group had developed an efficient process to dissolve cellulose in ionic liquids, such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride. The agreement will allow BASF to market the solvent systems to companies interested in the technology. UA would receive a portion of the profits on these sales, which BASF estimates to be in the $10 - $100 million range.
  • John Phillips, a senior Biochemistry major, has been named a finalist in the Marshall Scholarship competition.
  • Dr. Luyi Sun was chosen as a winner of the Outstanding Dissertation Award in the College of Arts and Sciences for his dissertation entitled, "Part I: Modification and Characterization of Nafion for fuel cell applications; Part II: Hazards Evaluation of Reactive Compounds with an Accelerating Rate Calorimeter (ARC)." Dr. Sun's work was done under the directly of Dr. Joe Thrasher. Dr. Sun's dissertation will now be considered for the University-wide award.

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October 2005

  • The chemistry department held its annual undergraduate pizza luncheon on October 18th. See pictures.
  • Chemistry Major Jacob Batson was one of three UA undergraduates to win the prestigious National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship. Winners receive $8,000 per academic year plus a $6,500 stipend to do summer research at an NOAA facility. UA Press release.
  • A paper entitled, "The Generation of a Metallocene-Fused Imidazol-2-ylidene and its Mercury Complex," by Dr. Arduengo and co-workers Daniela Tapu and William Marshall has been recognized by Angewandte Chemie as a "Hot Paper."
  • A paper entitled, "The Initial Synthesis of the Long Sought After Compound Pentafluoronitrosulfane, SF5NO2," by Dr. Thrasher and co-workers Norman Lu, H.P. Sampath Kumar, James L. Fye, Jian Sun Blanks, Helge Willner, and Heinz Oberhammer has been chosen as a Very Important Paper by Angewandte Chemie.

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September 2005

  • John Phillips, a senior Biochemistry major, has been awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship. John was cited by the Truman Foundation for his role in building a patient information database for the Good Samaritan Clinic, a free Tuscaloosa health clinic that provides services to the medically uninsured. UA Press release.
  • The Tuscaloosa News featured the effort by Drs. Joe Thrasher, Anthony Arduengo, and Dave Dixon to develop hydrogen storage materials as part of the Department of Energy's billion dollar hydrogen fuel challenge in the Sept. 25th edition.
  • A paper by Dr. Robin Rogers and co-workers on the use of ionic liquids in liquid/liquid extractions (Chem. Commun. 1998, 1765) is #22 on the list of the top 40 most cited papers in the 40 year history of Chemical Communications. The paper has been cited over 300 times since its publication in 1998.
  • Dr. Joe Thrasher has been elected to the governing board of the Council for Chemical Research. The mission of the CCR is to benefit society by advancing research in chemistry, chemical engineering, and related disciplines through leadership collaboration across discipline, institution, and sector boundaries.
  • Dr. Woo-Baeg Choi, who earned a PhD in 1989 under the direction of Dr. McKenzie, was one of three individuals who will receive part of the record $525 million payment made to Emory University Gilead Sciences and Royal Pharma for the rights to emtricitabine, an HIV treatment marketed as Emtriva. Dr. Choi was part of the Emory team that developed emtricitabine. Dr. Choi is now President and CEO of FOB Synthesis, Inc., a custom synthesis company in Atlanta that he founded.

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August 2005

  • The Birmingham News featured the effort by Drs. Joe Thrasher, Anthony Arduengo, and Dave Dixon to develop hydrogen storage materials as part of the Department of Energy's billion dollar hydrogen fuel challenge in the Aug 28th edition.
  • The chemistry department is pleased to welcome its new class of graduate students.
    • Jesse Carrick - University of Indiana (MS)
    • Oana Cojocaru - Al. I. Cuza University, Romania
    • Nikolaus Cordes - University of Montevallo, Alabama
    • David Drab - University of Iowa (MS)
    • Vincent Franco - Rose Hulman Institute, Indiana
    • Christopher "Corey" Hines - Tennessee Tech. University
    • Virgil Jackson - Southern University of New Orleans
    • Mirela Maxim - Gh. Asachi Technical University
    • Changqung Pan - Zhejiang University
    • Jeremy Pritchett - Jacksonville State University
    • Ning Sun - Institute of Process Engineering, China
    • Ying Wang - Beijing University of Chemical Technology
  • Congratulations to the chemistry students who graduated in August.
    • PhD Degrees
      • FeiFei Gu - Dr. Kevin Redding
      • Rongcai Huang - Dr. Kevin Shaughnessy
      • Matthew Reichert - Dr. Robin Rogers
      • Pete Shumate - Dr. Robert Metzger
      • Daniela Tapu - Dr. Anthony Arduengo
      • Elizabeth Western - Dr. Kevin Shaughnessy
    • M.S. Degrees
      • Rick Duncan - Dr. Silas Blackstock
    • B.S. Degrees
      • Amy Lauren Swiney
      • Kelley Suzann Whaley

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July 2005

  • Dr. Dave Dixon was featured in a Tuscaloosa News story on the UA System's efforts to join the next generation advanced high speed computer network devoted specifically to moving large amounts of research data between universities and other research labs.
  • Lucas Moore and Meghna Dilip will attend the ACS-PRF Summer Graduate School in Green Chemistry at McGill University this month. The Green Chemistry Summer School brings together about 100 students and faculty from all over the world to discuss the concepts of green chemistry and how they can be applied in our world. Lucas works for Dr. Shaughnessy on the development of environmentally friendly catalytic processes. Meghna works for Dr. Rogers on the development of environmentally benign separations.


Chem. Eng. News, August 22nd, 2005, pg 50.

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June 2005

  • Keith Gutowski will attend the 2005 Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau Germany June 27th - July 2nd. Keith is one of 25 graduate students from across the US chosen to attend this meeting. 400 students from around the world will have the chance to meet Nobel laureates in chemistry, physics, physiology, and medicine. Keith is a joint member of Dr. Rogers' and Dr. Dixon's groups.
  • We are pleased to welcome the 2005 participants in the Summer Undergraduate Research Participation (SURP) Program.

    REU Participants

Ashley Baena Georgia College & State University Dr. Bakker Nanoparticles in Mesoporous Matrices for Photooxidation of Pollutants
Jason Robert Batson University of Alabama Dr. Vincent Modeling Cr Biochemistry: towards Drugs for Type 2 Diabetes
John Broberg Winona State University (MN) Dr. Snowden Organic Synthesis: New Reagents
Alissa Carey Birmingham Southern College Dr. Rogers Applications of X-ray Diffraction Techniques
Rozlyn Chambliss Tuskegee University Dr. Cassady Expert Systems in Analytical Chemistry
Sarah Higgins Georgia Southern University Dr. Jennings New Reagents in Organic Synthesis
Timothy Lovely University of Montevallo (AL) Dr. Nikles Magnetic Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy
Tonya Morgan Georgetown College (KY) Dr. Rogers Environmental Chemistry
Kevin O'Halloran University of Kansas Dr. Shaughnessy Novel Ligands for Palladium-Catalyzed Reactions
Jerry Oxsher Middle Tennessee State University Dr. Blackstock Materials Chemistry
Kiera Reifschneider Trinity Western University Dr. Redding Bioremediation/GC-Mass Spectrometry
Hector Adam Velzquez University of South Alabama Dr. Dixon Computational Environmental Chemistry

RET Participants

Virginia Cole

Central High School
Tuscaloosa, AL

 Dr. Dixon Applications of Computers in Chemistry
Shari E. Jones A.L. Johnson HS
Greensboro, AL		 Dr. Nikles Magnetic Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy
Janis Mabry Tuscaloosa County HS Dr. Nikles Magnetic Nanoparticles
Jacqueline White Arkon HS Dr. Kispert Separation of Carotenoids

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May 2005

  • Congratulations to all Chemistry students who received degrees in the 174th Commencement on May 6th and 7th, 2005.
    • PhD - Pictures of May and August PhD degree candidates.
      • Bryan M. Gullick - Characterizing the Potential Therapeutic Agent [Cr3O(O2CCH2CH3)6(H2O)3]+: Its Uptake and Subcellular Distribution and the Effects of Its Oral Administration on Blood Variables. Dr. John Vincent
      • Marc A. Klingshirn - Relating Ionic Liquids and Polyethylene Glycols to Green Chemistry, Organometallic Catalysis, and Materials Science. Dr. Robin Rogers
      • Jia Sun - Scanning Probe Microscopy of Arylamine Thin Films - Dr. Greg Szulczewski
      • Richard P. Swatloski - Ionic Liquids as Green Solvents: Enabling New Materials and Technologies. - Dr. Robin Rogers
      • Megan B. Turner - Ionic Liquids in the Life Sciences: Are Ionic Liquids Useful for Manipulations of Biomolecules - Dr. Robin Rogers
    • MS
      • Dipali Chaudhari
      • Dominic F. Qualley
    • BS
      • Christopher M. Alldredge - cum laude
      • Jeannette N. Browning
      • Gregory R. Culpepper
      • Phillip J. Dean - summa cum laude
      • Leila Deravi
      • Nneka M. Egbe
      • Brandon W. Evans - cum laude, ACS-certified
      • Abby C. Fields - magna cum laude
      • Anna M. Fields - magna cum laude
      • Rebecca M. McGrain - magna cum laude
      • Alison M. Pickering - magna cum laude
      • Jason M. Spruell - summa cum laude, ACS-certified
      • Jason B. Wilson - magna cum laude, ACS-certified

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April 2005:

  • President Witt has approved Provost Bonner's recommendation to promote Dr. Kevin Shaughnessy to associate professor with tenure effective August, 2005.
  • Honors Week 2005
  • Jacob Batson won second place in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division of the College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Competition. Jacob's project entitled, "High level computational approaches to the prediction of the thermodynamics of chemical hydrogen storage," was performed under the direct of Dr. Dave Dixon. Jacob was one of 15 presentations by students doing undergraduate research in the chemistry department, which was the more than twice as many presentations as any department in the college.
  • Lauren Cafiero has been awarded a Alumni Association fellowship for the 2005-2006 academic year. Lauren is a first year graduate student in Dr. Tim Snowden's group.
  • Keith Gutowski has been chosen to attend the 2005 Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany. Selection to this meeting is highly competitive. The Nobel Laureate Meeting allows young scientists to meet and talk with Nobel Laureates in both scientific and social settings.
  • Nick Bridges has been awarded a NASA Space Grant Fellowship by the Alabama Space Grant Consortium for the 2005-2006 academic year. Nick is a third year graduate student in Dr. Rogers group.
  • Dr. Si Blackstock has been elected to the UA Graduate Council.
  • Lucas Moore and Meghna Dilip have been selected to attend the ACS-PRF Summer Graduate School in Green Chemistry at McGill University this summer. Lucas works for Dr. Shaughnessy on the development of environmentally friendly catalytic processes. Meghna works for Dr. Rogers on the development of environmentally benign separations.

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March 2005:

  • Dr. Joe Thrasher hosted the Southeast Chemistry Chairs meeting at Shelby Hall March March 26th-28th. Chairs from chemistry departments throughout the southeast region met to talk about issues in teaching and research.
  • Dr. Dave Dixon hosted a GAUSSIAN workshop with presentations on using the GAUSSIAN suite of programs attended by 34 students from all over the US as well as some international visitors.
  • Dr. John Vincent has been elected Vice President of the UA Faculty Senate. Dr. Vincent is currently Secretary for the Senate. He will begin serving as Vice President in April.
  • Chemistry major Benjamin Hinton was elected Executive Vice President in the Student Government Association Elections.

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February 2005:

  • On February 26th, the chemistry department hosted the 3rd annual Advanced Instrumental Techniques Colloquium (AITC). Over 80 students and faculty from six colleges and two high schools spent the day learning about the advanced instrumentation available in the chemistry department and seeing hands-on demonstrations of these techniques.
  • Jason Spruell, a senior Chemistry major, was named to the USA Today All USA College Academic Third Team. Jason is one of 5 UA undergraduates named to the USA Today All Academic Team, which is the highest total of any college in the nation. Jason was honored in part for his work with Drs. David Dixon and Kevin Shaughnessy on developing methods to determine catalyst properties using computational methods. This work will play an important role in understanding how to design more efficient, environmentally friendly catalysts. Jason is also president of the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society chapter at UA. Jason will be graduating in May and intends to begin graduate study in chemistry in the fall. He has already been accepted to the graduate programs at Columbia, Harvard, UCLA and Northwestern.
  • The Chemistry Department's use of technology to enhance student participation in freshman chemistry was highlighted in a Tuscaloosa News article that featured Dr. Shane Street's freshman chemistry class.

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January 2005:

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