Chemistry Professor, Dr. Benny Chan, Receives Research Grant

Dr. Chan has been awarded a $50,000 grant, which will fund salaries and supplies for two years of an undergraduate research program in solid state chemistry and will lead to publications with undergraduate authors. The future of this work is to apply synthetic strategies to composition space that could have potential thermoelectric materials, which directly supports the overall missions of the Petroleum Research Fund.

Materials design is the ultimate goal of the solid state chemist. A ternary compound with a desired chalcophosphate building block will be reacted with a metal chloride to form a quaternary compound that still retains the initial moiety. Solvothermal synthetic methods will be used to solve the diffusion issues of traditional solid state synthesis and to allow the covalently bound building blocks to remain intact during the reaction. This work will initially target known compounds, KLaP_2 Se_6 , K_3 La(PSe_4 )_2 , and K_2 La(P_2 Se_6 )_0.5 (PSe_4 ), in an attempt to compare solvothermal synthetic methods with well known molten flux methods. A novel building block that contains a polymer-like chalcophosphate, K_2 P_2 Se_6 , has been found to have strong second harmonic generation. Using the building block approach we will attempt to synthesize a quaternary compound that retains the linear chain building block that could be similar to a high pressure polymorph of KTbP_2 Se_6 . The materials will be characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance. The speciation of the building blocks in various solvents will be studied by MALDI mass spectrometry and electrospray mass spectrometry.

Congratulations Chemistry Class of 2008!

On May 16th 2008, Thirty Chemistry Majors graduated from the department:

David Adams, Joanne Bertonazzi, Luke Boralsky, Jenna Bowe, Steven Carbone, Arthur Carminucci, Keith Chomsky, Monica DeFalco, Margaret Duffy, Alysse Hanlon, Jennifer Hickey, Jenna Klubnick, Robert Kutz, Benjamin libert, Thank Le, Alexander Mazella, Alison McQuilken, James Melnyk, Jennifer Miller, Kerri Moloughney, Megan Montgomery, Katelyn Nagy, Ryan Oesterle, Scott Radwin, Michael Rosana, Alexander Sanchez, Valerie Scheck, Joseph Stathius, Cassie Tilley, Karim Velasquez

Chemistry Student Receives Award from Society for Applied Sectroscopy

Kaitlin Papson, a 2007 TCNJ graduate majoring in chemistry, has been recognized for her research at TCNJ with an award from the Society for Applied Spectroscopy.  Kaitlin was nominated through the New York Section of the Society, with supporting letters from Professor Hunt, Professor Soto, and her research advisor, Professor Allison.  The New York Section of the Society will hold an award ceremony at the US Millitary Academy in West Point NY, on a USMA cruise boat that will take the group on a trip along the Hudson River.  The award dinner will be held on Father's Day, and student awardees' families are invited to participate.  The Award includes a plaque and membership in the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. 

Outstanding College Sophmore/Junior

Luke Boralsky received the "Outstanding College Sophmore/Junior" award presented by the Trenton Section of the American Chemical Society at the Annual Awards Banquet on May 8, 2007

Merck and AAAS Recognize TCNJ Bio & Chem as Outstanding Undergraduate Research Programs

The College of New Jersey was selected as one of fifteen colleges and universities nationwide as a winner of the 2007 award for the Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program (USRP), sponsored by the Merck Institute for Science Education (MISE) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Each award provides up to $60,000, paid over three years, for joint use by the biology and chemistry departments at each recipient institution.

TCNJ is in the company of institutions such as Truman State University, University of Richmond, Wellesley College and the University of Wisconsin in receiving this award.

USRP is a competitive program available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Up to 15 awards are made annually. Launched in 2000 as a national competition, the 10-year, $9 million initiative is funded by MISE and administered by AAAS. The program is open to qualified institutions in the United States and Puerto Rico that offer an American Chemical Society-approved program in chemistry and confer 10 or fewer graduate degrees annually in biology and chemistry combined.

Its goals are to:

• enhance undergraduate education through research experiences that emphasize the interrelationship between chemistry and biology;
• encourage students to pursue graduate education in chemistry and life sciences; and
• foster undergraduate programs and activities that bridge chemistry and biology.

The winners were announced during the 2007 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Francisco, February 15-19. For more information, visit http://www.merckaaasusrp.org.