Banita White Brown
Associate Professor
Organic Chemistry
B.A.: Furman University
Ph.D.: University of Miami
Post-doc: Georgia Institute of Technology

Syntheses of macrocyclic "lariat" polyethers containing various amino acid or dipeptide sidearms and use of circular dichroism measurements to determine formation constants of complexes between these polyethers and various cations.

Brian T. Cooper
Associate Professor
Bioanalytical Chemistry
B.S.: Purdue University
Ph.D.: University of Arizona
Post-doc: (NIH Fellow) Iowa State University

ORAU Junior Faculty Enhancement Award
NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award

Bioanalytical Chemistry—protein analysis by:
capillary/channel electrophoresis;
ultrasensitive fluorescence detection and imaging;
electrospray and MALDI mass spectrometry.

Bernadette T. Donovan-Merkert
Professor
Analytical Chemistry
B.S.: Duke University
Ph.D.: The University of Vermont
Post-doc: Dartmouth College; The University of Texas at Austin

National Science Foundation
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Petroleum Research Foundation
Research Corporation

My group focuses on electron-transfer reactions of organometallic complexes. By oxidizing or reducing these compounds we often generate species that undergo interesting reactions or form complexes in unusual oxidation states. In many cases redox activation of organometallic complexes accelerates known reactions of these compounds, activates otherwise inert complexes, or allows reactions to occur under milder conditions. We study the reactions and their products using electrochemical methods and other instrumental techniques including, but not limited to, NMR, IR, ESR and GC/MS.

Tom DuBois
Charles H. Stone Professor of Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry
B.S.: McMurry College, Abilene, Texas
Ph.D.: The Ohio State University

Computational chemistry, computational materials and Supercomputing.
Lewis acid-base reaction chemistry and inorganic cluster compounds.
Photopolymers, photochemistry and lithography.
Materials processing and plasma chemistry.
Inorganic polymers and materials having unusual electronic properties.
Homogeneous and heterogeneous transition metal catalysts.
Microelectronic and Micromechanical Systems.

Markus Etzkorn
Assistant Professor
Organic Chemistry
Pre-diploma: University of Freiburg (Germany)
Diploma: University of Feriburg (Germany)
Dr. rer. nat. (Ph. D.): University of Freiburg (Germany)
Postdoc: USC – Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute Unusual structures (fullerenes, dodecahedrane, fluorinated graphite…) display often extraordinary properties that reward organic chemists for all the effort taken to achieve a challenging synthetic goal. Using contemporary tools of synthetic organic chemistry my group explores the potential of new (functionalized) hydrofluorocarbons as precursors to applied materials. In addition photochemical conversions of suitable hydrofluorocarbons could ultimately lead to highly strained cage systems with unique physicochemical properties.

Kenneth Gonsalves
Distinguished Professor
Polymer/Materials/Organic Chemistry
B.S.: Delhi University
M.S.: Boston College>
Ph.D.: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Post-doc: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Gonsalves' research focuses on the molecular design, synthesis, processing and characterization of novel materials. It draws on the fundamental knowledge of organic, inorganic/ organo-metallic chemistry for the synthesis of polymers and precursors for various materials.

Daniel S. Jones
Associate Professor
Physical Chemistry
B.S.: Wake Forest University
Ph.D.: Harvard University
Post-doc: State University of New York at Buffalo; Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.

X-ray Crystallography: Determination of molecular structures by X-ray crystallographic methods.
Structure determinations are carried out on compounds of interest in a variety of research endeavors; the particular compounds studied often depend on the immediate research interests of faculty colleagues here and elsewhere. Compounds recently studied include those of interest in 1) thin-film microelectronics technology, 2) image enhancement in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and 3) the search for cancer therapy agents.

Marcus Jones
Assistant Professor
Physical Chemistry
B.A.: Oxford University
Ph.D.: Cambridge University
Post-doc: University of Toronto

Joanna K. Krueger
Associate Professor
Biochemistry
B.A.(ACS): Kalamazoo College
Ph.D.: Princeton University
Post-doc: (NIH/NRSA Fellow)
U. T. Southwestern Medical Center
Los Alamos National Laboratory

NSF CAREER Award
Research Corporation- Cottrell College Science Award
ORAU Junior Faculty Enhancement Award
North Carolina Biotechnology Award

Biophysical Chemistry
My laboratory is interested in obtaining structural information on biomolecular associations using the techniques of small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering, chemical cross-linking with peptide analysis by Mass Spec, selected-site mutagenesis and spectroscopy (FTIR, CD, UV-VIS). We will use these data to build molecular models of protein:protein complexes and thus, to provide new insights into the molecular basis of protein interactions.
Currently, we are looking at a protein, gelsolin, that when activated, through increases in intracellular calcium, binds to the cytoskeletal actin and regulates actins’ ability to self-associate. This regulation results in cell shape changes essential to the proper functioning of the cell. By studying the structure of the molecular complex between actin and gelsolin, we will provide key insights into molecular basis for several disease states related to improper functioning of the cell, such as cancer.

Inorganic materials chemistry: properties of metallic and semiconductor nanostructured composites; catalysis; chemical sensing; mechanisms of multi-electron transfer; nanoscale materials for environmental remediation.

Craig A. Ogle
Professor
Organic Chemistry
Director
Regional Analytical Chemistry Laboratory
B.S.: Otterbein College
M.S.: University of Arizona
Ph.D.: University of Arizona
Post-doc: University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

My research has centered on the preparation, reaction and structure of carbanionic species. We are currently preparing organometallic reagents as chiral auxiliaries for organic synthesis. We are preparing functional monomers for preparing functional polymers. We are using the rapid injection NMR technique to help understand the mechanisms for organometallic conjugate addition reactions.

Jordan C. Poler
Associate Professor
Physical Chemistry
B.S.: State University of NY at Brockport
Ph.D.: University of NC at Chapel Hill
Post-doc: Princeton University

Materials: Fundamental studies of complex systems at the nanoscale with regard to applications of materials at the macroscale. Complex systems exist at surfaces, interfaces and thin films. The experimental techniques that I use to study these systems are both optically and electronically based. Scanning probe microscopies are the work-horses of my research. In particular, the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and the newly developed scanning thermopower microscope (STPM) are central in my studies of surfaces and interfaces. The complex systems that are of most interest to me are in the areas of both; "hard" materials (e.g. semiconductors and metals) and "soft" materials (e.g. self-assembled monolayers, biologically interesting molecules and Langmuir films).

Daniel Rabinovich
Professor
Inorganic Chemistry
B.S.: Catholic University
Ph.D.: Columbia University
Post-doc: Los Alamos National Laboratory

The challenge and the excitement of making new compounds and discovering unusual reactivities—the ultimate goal of any synthetic chemist—is incomparable. Within the mainframe of synthetic, structural, and mechanistic inorganic and organometallic chemistry, areas of research currently considered in my group include: stabilization of copper(I) alkyls , dicarbollide complexes of the actinides, and aqueous organometallic chemistry.

John M. Risley
Professor
Biochemistry
B.S.: Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
Ph.D.: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Post-doc: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

I. Studies of Glycosylasparaginase, the Enzyme Involved in the Most Common Disorder of Glycoprotein Degradation
II. The ¹⁸ O Isotope Shift in NMR.

Tom Schmedake
Associate Professor
Inorganic Chemistry
B.S.: Knox College
Ph.D.: University of Wisconsin
Post-doc: UC San Diego

My research interests ultimately seek to use synthetic chemistry to modify the properties of advanced materials and to study systems in which advanced porous materials incorporating photonic confinement effects are used to alter the chemical properties and reactivity of intercalated molecules.