Graduate Program
Faculty Research Overview
Below is a sample of current faculty research areas in the Department of Chemistry. Long-standing departmental strengths in physical, polymer, and computational chemistry have roots in the work of three former faculty who did Nobel Prize work here: Paul Flory (1974, physical chemistry of macromolecules), John Pople (1998, computational methods in quantum chemistry), and Paul Lauterbur (2003, magnetic resonance imaging). Recent recognition and awards demonstrate leadership in organic, polymer, green, and bioinorganic chemistry.
Nanowire assembly of a block copolymer (rr-PH3T and 57 percent PMA) on an OTS-8-treated silicon dioxide surface. (McCullough)
Polymer & Materials Chemistry
- Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and controlled radical polymerization (Matyjaszewski)
- Synthesis of highly conductive polymers and self-assembly as a route to advanced nanostructured materials (McCullough)
- Light scattering studies of amorphous materials such as thermodynamically reversible gels (Patterson)
- Rational design of biointeractive materials for tissue repair (Washburn)
- Hyaluronate-based biomaterials (Washburn, Walker, Weiss)
Branched DNA nanostructures serve as templates for assembly of bright fluorescent intercalator dye arrays. (Armitage)
Organic & Bioorganic Chemistry
- Synthesis of small molecules that activate, repress or report biological functions (Armitage, Das)
- Synthesis and screening of large libraries of nucleic and protein molecules for uses as biosensors (Ly, Das)
- Chemo-genetic analyses of ribozyme and riboswitch function (Das)
- Fluorescent biosensors (Armitage, Waggoner, Bruchez)
- Cytokine-Binding Aptamer-Polymer Hybrids (Matyjaszewski, Washburn)
Fe(IV)-oxo complex with a thiolate ligand. (Münck)
Bioinorganic & Physical Inorganic Chemistry
- Mössbauer and EPR spectroscopy of metalloproteins and transition metals associated with fundamental processes of living systems such as respiration, nitrogen fixation, detoxification, and photosynthesis (Münck, Hendrich)
- Controlled supramolecular assembly of arrays of transition metal ions for materials and medical applications (Achim)
- Theory of the electronic structure of transition metal complexes (Bominaar)
- Elucidation of the structure and function of metalloproteins (Münck, Hendrich)
Proton density of a methyl-protonated, deuterated protein. (Llinás)
Biophysical Chemistry
- NMR characterization of solution structure, dynamics and function of domains in multi-modular proteins involved in blood clotting (Llinás)
- Computational models of ligand binding ion channels (Kurnikova)
- Micro-reactors mass spectrometry (Bier)
- Structural analysis of modified peptide nucleic acid by multinuclear and multidimentional NMR spectroscopy (Gil, Ly)
Fe-TAML molecule. (Collins)
Green and Environmental Chemistry
Fluorescent microscope image of aggregates of electroluminescent molecules. (Peteanu)
Physical Chemistry of Single Molecules, Clusters, Nanoparticles and Macromolecules
- Optical spectroscopy applied to photochemistry, photobiology, charge-transfer and organic conductors (Peteanu)
- Femtomole level protein identification (Bier)
- Dynamics of signaling molecules in extracellular matrices (Washburn)
- Nanocluster and nanocrystal chemistry (Jin)
- Fluorescent nanoparticles for monitoring biological changes (Bruchez)
Electrostatic potential generated by the glutamate receptor ligand-binding domain is shown for the ligated state. Positive potential is blue and negative is red. The ligand is shown in green. (Kurnikova)
Theoretical and Computational Chemistry
- Modeling and computer simulations of complex biological processes and chemical process in condensed phases (Kim)
- Semi-empirical quantum chemical models of organic semiconductors, the applications of which range from flat-screen displays to printable transistors (Yaron)
- Computational chemistry and biophysics of membrane proteins, particularly ion channels (Kurnikova)