Dr. Anderson “Andy” Marsh, Vernon and Doris Bishop Professor of Chemistry and director of engineering (chemistry), recently completed a term as a member of the committee that produced the 2021 ACS Physical Chemistry exam.

Dr. Barbara Prince, assistant professor of sociology, will serve as director of CETL and Faculty Professional Development in 2021–22. Dr. Michelle Rasmussen, assistant professor of chemistry, will assume the role as director of Constellation for 2021–22. And, Terri Rosenberg, assistant professor of English, will oversee the First-Year Experience as director for 2021–22.

Dr. Mukunda Ghimire, visiting assisting professor of chemistry, co-authored Brightly phosphorescent tetranuclear copper(l) pyrazolates in Dalton Transactions. The article discussed the synthesis and photophysics of tetranuclear copper complexes, {[3,5-(Prⁱ)₂,4-(Br)Pz]Cu}₄ and {[3-(CF₃),5-(Bu^t)Pz]Cu}₄ tailor-designed by manipulating the pyrazolyl ring substituents. Unlike their trinuclear analogues, the luminescence of the tetranuclear species is molecular (not supramolecular) in nature with extremely high solid-state quantum yields of ∼80% at room temperature.

Dr. Mukunda Ghimire, visiting assisting professor of chemistry, published Binary Donor-Acceptor Adducts of Tetrathiafulvalene Donors with Cyclic Trimetallic Monovalent Coinage Metal Acceptors in Inorganic Chemistry. In this collaborative research work with colleagues from Italy, Jordan, and Morocco, the authors have reported the comprehensive, both experimental and theoretical, investigations of monovalent coinage metal-based donor-acceptor integrated stacks as new class of supramolecular binary donor−acceptor adducts with potential applications in molecular electronic devices, including solar cells, magnetic switching devices, and field-effect transistors.

Dr. Stephanie Blanda, assistant professor of mathematical sciences, Dr. Ashley McFalls, assistant professor of neuroscience, Dr. Liz Sterner, assistant professor of chemistry, and Dr. Jenna Marx, assistant professor of psychology, attended an event at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion to honor Women in STEM Oct. 17. The event was sponsored by the STEM-UP Network, whose goal is to “deliver strategies, relationships, and a strong community to women so they can flourish, prosper, and advance personally and in their STEM careers.”

Dr. Elizabeth Sterner, as sole author, was published in the Journal of Chemical Education for her organic lab exercise that incorporates aspects of polymer synthesis and characterization to show students a practical example of how the choice of a particular reaction has consequences for how to perform that reaction and the quality of the resulting product.  The project, “Three Ways to Polyamides: The Impact of Polymerization Mechanism on Polymer Properties,” was published Aug. 2, 2019.

Alyssa Smale ’18, chemistry, spent more than a year compiling a database to help criminologists use nail polish as an investigatory tool. When Fox 43 came to do a story on her work Smale had 14 brands of polish, each with seven colors, in the database, and had “learned how to transfer the data from machine to machine so data shared across the country can be examined accurately.” This fall, Smale will enroll in Penn State’s master’s in forensic science program.

Dr. Si Pham, chemistry, shared his story of coming to the U.S. as a Vietnamese refugee in the 1960s, and of becoming a world-renowned surgeon. Dr. Pham had returned to campus to receive the College’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Dr. Mukunda M. Ghimire, visiting assistant professor of chemistry, co-authored “Mechanistic Investigations of Photo-induced Oxygenation of Ru(II) Bis-bipyridyl Flavonolate Complexes,” in Inorganic Chemistry, an American Chemical Society publication. Dr. Ghimire, with his co-authors from Baylor University, Stephen F. Austin State University, and University of North Texas concluded:

A series of Ru(II) bis-bipyridyl flavonolate complexes undergo oxidative cleavage of the Ru-bound flavonol dependent on both light and oxygen. The complexes’ structures, photophysical and electrochemical properties, as well as their reactivity with oxygen were investigated in detail. Two distinct reaction product mixtures from 1,2- and 1,3-additions of oxygen are produced by illumination into distinct excitation/emission manifolds. The two manifolds are attributed to tautomeric biradicals, which predict the observed reactivity patterns.

Dr. Michelle Rasmussen, assistant professor of chemistry, and six science students presented at the 21st annual Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences last fall in Baltimore Student presenters and posters include:

Andrew Brown ’18 (biochemistry & molecular biology, Bear, Del.)—“A Novel Method for Staining of the Prolamin Family of Proteins”

Bobby Tesoriero ’18 (biochemistry & molecular biology, music minor, Ridgewood, N.J.)— “The Effect of PEG: Salt Aqueous Two-Phase Systems on Protein Aggregation and Fibril Formation”

Patrick McMullen ’19 (biology, chemistry minor, Tamaqua, Pa.)—“The Effect of Common Chickweed on Garlic Mustard Growth”

Julia Rutherford ’18 (biochemistry & molecular biology, minors in economics and Spanish, Willow Street, Pa.)—“Self-Powered Enzymatic Biosensor for Simultaneous Detection of Two Biomarkers of Parkinson’s Disease”

Rebecca Drain ’18 (ACS chemistry, environmental studies minor, Lebanon, Pa.)—“Plant-Biofuel Cell Hybrid for Energy Production”

Brandon Roy ’19 (biochemistry & molecular biology and global studies, Spanish minor, Lebanon, Pa.)—“Expression and Purification of Phenylalanine for Sensor Validation”