Department of Chemistry Gettysburg College

ALUMNI NEWSLETTER FALL 2011

Sally L. Abma

Mary Jo Boylan

Deepali Butani

Koren Holland Deckman

Shelli L. Frey

Timothy W. Funk

Robert R. Garrity

Lisa I. Gregory

Joseph J. Grzybowski

Donald L. Jameson

Jeremy J. Kuhar

Matthew P. Nelson

William E. Parker

Anthony J. Thoman

Lucas B. Thompson

Michael R. Wedlock, Chair

Donna Rae Plank

Office Administrator

The Year in the Chemistry Department The 2010-2011 academic year was an excellent year for the Chemistry Department as well as a year of change. We graduated seven Chemistry majors six of whom are ACS certified. Eleven Biochemistry and Molecular Biology majors graduated last year, as well. A total of ten Chemistry and BMB majors graduated cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude. The Department continues its strong research tradition. Gettysburg research was on display at conferences in both the U. S. and Canada and our faculty and students published several papers this year. Fourteen students did research in the department this summer. We also welcomed two new faculty members to the Department, Dr. Lucas Thompson is our new tenure-track materials chemist and Dr. Deepali Butani is visiting Gettysburg this year while Shelli Frey and Tim Funk each have a semester of pre-tenure leave. Mary Jo Boylan has returned to the department as a lab instructor. Another change around the department is the big smile on Don Jameson’s face now that he has concluded his term as Department Chair. Mike Wedlock has assumed the Chair for the next few years. Professor Tom Meade from Northwestern University was the 32nd Musselman Visiting Scientist. He delivered an outstanding series of lectures. The upcoming Musselman speaker is Dr. Steven Boxer from Stanford University. He will be visiting on November 10 and 11. You are welcome to join us for what promises to be an interesting series of lectures. You can now follow the “goings-on” of the Sceptical Chymists on Facebook!! The link is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116881711693573&ref=ts We hope you enjoy the 2011 Chemistry Newsletter. A downloadable PDF version of the newsletter is available at www.gettysburg.edu/academics/chemistry/. As always, we enjoy hearing from you by e-mail, phone, or better yet, drop by for a visit.

On Saturday, October 22 the Chemistry and Biology Departments will be hosting a coffee hour from 10:30 to 11:30 in the lobby of the Science Center. Several Chemistry faculty will be hanging around the building so stop by and chat!

Keep  those  cards,  letters  and  e-­‐mails  coming  -­‐  we  enjoy  hearing  from  you!    If  you  can  provide  information  about  your  classmates,  we  like  that,  too.    For  those  who  prefer  to  correspond  electronically,  you  can  find  

our  email  addresses  through  the  departmental  web  page:  http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/chemistry/  

Class of 2011    Seven senior chemistry majors and eleven senior biochemistry/molecular (BMB) majors completed study at Gettysburg College this year. All eighteen received the B.S. degree and six chemistry majors are ACS certified. Eight seniors were awarded Honors in their major, four were elected to Phi Beta Kappa, five graduated Summa Cum Laude, two Magna Cum Laude, and three Cum Laude. Four are pursuing graduate work this fall, two are attending medical school, and one is enrolled in veterinary school. Megan L. Doerfler (Sarver, PA) is working in the medical field to gain experience while applying to Physician’s Assistant School and Jessica L. Drake (Dillsburg, PA), a Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate and the Chemistry Banner Carrier at Commencement is attending graduate school at Boston College. Jenna M. Korsan (Dallas, GA), a Cum Laude graduate, is enrolled in the optometry program at Ohio State, while Joel B. Musser (Mountville, PA) is working in pharmacies and hoping to attend pharmacy school next fall. Kylie L. Schleicher (Rockaway, NJ) has taken a position with a cosmetics firm, Mane USA and Monica R. Schmidt (Morris Plains, NJ) is seeking work and hopes to eventually apply to dental school. Christopher J. Stiteler (Quakertown, PA), a Summa Cum Laude graduate in December, 2010, is working and planning his future. BMB graduate Matthew P. Brady (Tranquility, NJ), a Cum Laude graduate, is enrolled at the University of Minnesota Veterinary School and Katrina A. Dempster (Keene, NH), a Cum Laude graduate, is seeking to enter osteopathic medical school next year. Christina M. Kelliher (Belmont, MA), a Summa Cum Laude (third in the class) and Phi Beta Kappa graduate and the BMB Banner Carrier at Commencement, is attending graduate school at Duke University. Amrit Khalsa (Newtown, PA), a Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate is enrolled at Penn State Hershey medical school and Julie A. Kobie (Collegeville, PA), a Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate, is attending the University of Pennsylvania. Nicole A. Meredyth (South Burlington, VT), a Magna Cum Laude graduate, is enrolled at the University of Vermont medical school, while Axia Navia (Summit., NJ) is planning her future. Christopher T. Nguyen (Harrisburg, PA) is seeking employment and Kyla R. Rodgers (Wolfeboro, NH) is also planning her future. Rebecca K. Stevens (Timonium, MD) is seeking employment and Stacy R. Taylor (Redding, CT), a Magna Cum Laude graduate, is gaining experience in the veterinary field while applying to veterinary medicine schools. Departmental Honors in Chemistry were awarded to Jessica Drake and Chris Stiteler. Matt Brady, Tina Kelliher, Amrit Khalsa, Julie Kobie, Nicole Meredyth, and Stacy Taylor received BMB Honors. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Section of the American Chemical Society honored Jessica Drake this past spring as the outstanding senior chemistry major. Jessica also earned the Stine Chemistry Prize, the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh Award, the 2010 Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry, and the 2008 Chemical Rubber Company Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award. Chris Stiteler received the 2009 ACS Polymer Division Award for Achievement in Organic Chemistry. Monica Schmidt was one of six seniors to receive the college-wide Linnaean Award. Tina Kelliher, Amrit Khalsa, and Julie Kobie shared the Biochemistry/Molecular Biology Award. Amrit and Nicole Meredyth shared the John B. Zinn Chemistry Research Award. Amrit also held the 2010 Glenn S. Weiland Summer Research Scholarship and earned the 2009 Organic Chemistry Award. Julie Kobie received the 2008 Sceptical Chymists Achievement Award.

Staff Update We have two new additions to our staff this year. Dr. Lucas Thompson has joined the Department as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry. He comes to us following graduate and post-doctoral work at the University of Illinois. His research program will focus on materials chemistry, a new area for the Department, and he is developing a new class on materials chemistry for the Spring semester.

Dr. Deepali Butani comes to Gettysburg from Texas Tech. This year she will be teaching physical chemistry labs and introductory chemistry.

We would also like to thank Pam Higgins for her wonderful work last year teaching introductory and biochemistry. Pam has moved on to a position at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and will also do some teaching at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.

Promotion Koren Deckman is no longer an Associate Professor. Last year she was promoted to Professor. Congratulations, Koren!

32nd Musselman Visiting Scientist

Professor Tom Meade from Northwestern University was our 32nd Musselman Visiting Scientist this past Fall. Meade is currently the Eileen M. Foell Chair in Cancer Research and Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular & Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Physiology, and Radiology, as well as the Director of the Center for Advanced Molecular Imaging at Northwestern University. Professor Meade's research focuses on bioinorganic coordination chemistry and its applications including biological molecular imaging, electron transfer processes and the development of electronic biosensors for the detection of DNA and proteins. He has won numerous awards, including the Society for Molecular Imaging Annual prize for Scientific Achievement in 2010. Professor Meade has successfully commercialized several sensor and imaging technologies developed in his labs at both Caltech and Northwestern. He has founded four successful start-up companies based on his research at Caltech and Northwestern University: Clinical Micro Sensors (CMS) which is developing electrochemical sensors for the detection of nucleic acids, Metaprobe which has focused on in vivo biochemically-activated magnetic resonance contrast agents, PreDx, a company also focused on imaging technologies and Ohmx, which has developed a

handheld medical monitoring device that is bioelectronic, low-cost, and targeted for use by chronic disease patients (e.g. cardiovascular, oncology, renal failure patients and Type II diabetics). Clinical Micro Sensors was acquired by Motorola in 2000 for $300 million. Professor Meade holds over 100 patents based on his research. Professor Meade is an avid Civil War historian with a particular passion for the Gettysburg Battlefield. He is a frequent visitor to Gettysburg and his Battlefield tours are widely acclaimed. Professor Meade’s Thursday general lecture "Heart Attack or Heart Burn: A Peek at 21st Century Diagnostics" was delivered to an SRO crowd in Bowen Auditorium. The lecture gave an overview of the frontiers of diagnostic technology and the challenges and rewards of bringing these technologies to market. The three technical lectures, "Modulating Transcription in Development and Cancer: Targeted Cobalt-DNA Conjugates for the Inhibition of Zinc-Finger Transcription Factors", "Reorganization Energy and Ligand Receptor Binding Events: A New Class of Electronic Protein Biosensors?" and "Molecular Imaging and Gene Expression: Unrolling the Blueprints in Whole Animals" provided the scientific details behind these emerging technologies.

Sceptical Chymists

The Sceptical Chymists, under the leadership of President Dan Kim, organized another year of lively activities that culminated with the initiation of new members and recognition of student awards at the end-of-the-year meeting. The Fall semester started with an ice cream social in Glatfelter Lodge where students could mingle with current Scep Chym members and faculty. Our first speaker was Tobias Baumgart from the University of

Pennyslvania who spoke about using cell membrane curvature and composition gradients as a means to sort proteins and lipids. Later in September, David Goldberg of Johns Hopkins University gave a lecture about constructing functional analogs of metalloenzyme active sites and synthesizing inspired transitional metal complexes to exhibit key functions of these systems. Bradley Arnold from University of Maryland Baltimore County presented a seminar on his research into using laser-induced processes for the detection of hazardous materials. In November, Scott Phillips visited from Penn State to talk about how his research lab uses organic chemistry to develop reagents that provide amplified responses to applied chemical signals in pursuit of inexpensive medical diagnostics. Visiting biochemistry professor Pam Higgins wrapped up the semester with a seminar about a novel lysine-ferrocene compound that selectively cleaves nucleic acid molecules. The Spring semester proved to be an active one with four seminars, initiation of more than twenty new Sceptical Chymists, and a barbeque by Stine Lake. In February, a group from The Glatfelter Paper Company spoke about career opportunities in industry and invited students to apply for their co-op internship program. Justin Legleiter from West Virginia University gave a talk about work in his lab to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie neurodegenerative disorders associated with protein misfolding and aggregation, with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Traveling from Franklin and Marshall College, Professor Ken Hess (Gettysburg ‘82) spoke about his career trajectory following Gettysburg and his current research program applying liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques to biological and clinical problems. Elizabeth Papish from Drexel University finished out the speaker series for the academic year with a seminar on her work to mimic the structure and function of important metalloenzymes.

Happy Summer Chemistry Researchers!

Staff and Student Research

Don Jameson’s research focused on the synthesis, reactivity and properties of variously substituted Troger’s bases. Monica Schmidt (’11) prepared two new Troger’s base (TB) derivatives, performed the initial resolution of three other TB derivatives and began studying the kinetics of the acid-catalyzed racemization of Troger’s base. Chris Stiteler (’11) successfully prepared a chiral “molecular clip” formed by coupling two Troger’s base molecules. Hannah Loch (’12) prepared a new Troger’s base alkyne derivative, a polyarylated TB derivative

and made progress towards a Troger’s base macrocycle. Tom Field (’12) probed the mechanism of Troger’s base racemization by studying the effect of substituents on the rate of racemization. In order to study the self-assembly of macrocycles using ion-pairing, Amanda Pellowe (BMB’12) prepared two new carbazole derivatives. In collaboration with both Tim Funk and Jameson, Andrew Cinderella (’12) studied the “green” methylation of phenols using dimethyl carbonate, focusing particularly on the observed induction period in the DABCO catalyzed reaction. In the lab, Shelli Frey continued work with students revolving around the theme of structure and dynamics of cell membranes. Nicole Meredyth (BMB’11) worked through the academic year to explore how membrane structure and stability is affected by nanoparticle exposure, concentrating on the role of various surfactants on nanoparticle-lipid membrane interactions. Karlina Kauffman (BMB’12) worked to determine the role of molecular shape and charge (of phospholipids and glycolipids) on the formation of lipid rafts, or ordered cell membrane regions which control various biological functions. Karlina also began a project to determine the role of the cell membrane in the protein aggregation that causes Huntington’s disease. During this past summer, Karlina continued her projects and began development of a new model system for the lab, using small unilamellar vesicles as cell models that can be used to quantitatively measure membrane leakage. Luke Cuculis (’12) joined the lab and picked up the nanoparticle project, determining the role of surfactants on nanoparticle-cell membrane interactions with a focus on non-ionic detergents. Additionally, Luke developed a protocol to assemble giant unilamellar vesicles that will be utilized to determine how well lipid monolayer experiments correlate to a more physiologically relevant bilayer system. Iron-based catalysis was the hot topic in Tim Funk’s lab during the last year. After making some progress on the synthesis of substituted 2,6-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane rings in the fall semester, Jessica Drake (’11) changed directions and synthesized a series of ten nitrile-ligated iron compounds and preliminarily explored their reactivity in transfer oxidations and reductions during the spring. Taylor Plank (’12) took over where Jessica left off and developed an efficient, iron-catalyzed process to reduce carbonyl compounds using isopropanol as the reducing agent. Dan Kim (’12) spent the academic year on a challenging project involving palladium catalysis. During the summer he switched over to the iron project and has been applying the nitrile-ligated compounds to alcohol oxidations using acetone as the terminal oxidant. In a collaboration with Josef Brandauer in the Health Sciences department, Funk synthesized the Nampt inhibitor FK866 and, with the help of Aly Annis (HS’12) synthesized resveratrol. Josef Brandauer and his students are exploring how these compounds affect the molecular physiology of diabetic mice. Over the academic year, Koren Holland Deckman worked with five BMB majors. Katie Dempster (BMB’11) and Amrit Khalsa (BMB’11) continued their work to understand the mechanism of pathology for the Rdy CRX gene mutation that causes blindness in a pedigree of cats. Their work focused on determining whether the truncated protein (from the mutated CRX gene) interfered with the normal protein activity. Kyla Rodgers (BMB’11) studied taurine concentrations from a pedigree of cats with pectis excavatum, a skeletal anomaly similar to Marfan's Syndrome. Matt Brady (BMB‘11) sequenced the FGF5 gene, a fibroblast growth factor, in Scottish Highland cattle to determine whether this gene was responsible for their abnormally long hair length. Chris Nguyen (BMB’11) focused on the PITXI and LIX1 genes of a horse with symptoms similar to muscular atrophy. Over the summer, Brian Lauderback (BMB’12) continued the work on cloning the mutated and wild-type CRX gene into vectors for protein over-expression and to develop an assay to measure the transcription transactivation activity of each protein. Shelby Lutz (BMB’12) used preliminary work of Katie to demonstrate that the mutant protein (and somewhat the wild-type) binds to the Rhodopsin promoter-binding domain. The Wedlock lab continued its work in the field of resonance Raman spectroscopy. Over the summer Kathleen Hillery (’11) and Jon Adams (’11) worked on optimizing a liquid sample delivery system for the laser lab. They obtained nice pure solvent spectra, but spectra of the dimethyl disufide sample proved elusive. However, this work is being taken up by Lexi Kelly ('11) and Matt McMurray ('11) who will be working in the laser lab during the school year. Students in Joe Grzybowski’s lab worked on a wide variety of projects. Megan Doerfler (’11) developed a teaching lab experiment that measured the amount of nicotine in tobacco products using capillary

electrophoresis. Kylie Schleicher (’11) worked on designing ligands that stabilize the cobalt(I) oxidation state and examining how well the resultant complexes catalyze the product of hydrogen gas from hydrogen ions. This project was continued by Minh An Nguyen (’12). Molly Rincavage (’13) explored the interaction of cobalt clathrochelate complexes with DNA via cyclic voltammetry. Publications, Presentations, and Talks

Shelli Frey kept busy with presentations and publications! Her paper titled “A stripe-to-droplet transition driven by conformational transitions in a binary lipid-lipopolymer mixture at the air-water interface” was published in Langmuir [27, 1900-1906 (2011)]. Karlina Kauffman (’12) was a co-author along with colleagues R. El-Khouri, A. Szmodis, E. Hall, T.E. Patten, K.Y.C. Lee, and A. Parikh. At Haverford College, Dr. Frey presented “Structure and dynamics in model cell membranes,” for the Department of Chemistry Seminar Series. Professor Frey was also invited to present a lecture for the Family College Lecture Series at Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA. Her talk was titled “Chemistry of radioactivity: From cancer treatment to nuclear bombs.” At the American Chemistry Society Colloid and Surface Science Symposium (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Dr. Frey presented a seminar titled “Quantifying the effect of detergent on interactions between nanoparticles and a model cell membrane.” Karlina Kauffman (BMB’12) and Nicole Meredyth (BMB’11) presented their work with Dr. Frey at the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD. Their posters were titled “Phospholipid headgroup charge modifies condensing effects of gangliosides on lipid films,” and “Quantifying the effect of detergent on interactions between nanoparticles and a model cell membrane,” respectively. Tim Funk published two papers with three student co-authors. Daniel Ziegler ('09) and Andrew Steffens ('10) were co-authors of"Synthesis of α-methyl ketones by a selective, iridium-catalyzed cyclopropanol ring-opening reaction" in Tetrahedron Letters [51, 6726-6729 (2010)]. His second paper with co-author Sara Moyer ('10) was also published in Tetrahedron Letters [51, 5430-5433 (2010)]. This work was titled "Air-stable iron catalyst for the Oppenauer-type oxidation of alcohols." Professor Funk presented a seminar titled "Synthesis of α-methyl ketones by an iridium-catalyzed ring-opening of cyclopropanols" at the 241st American Chemical Society National Meeting in Anaheim, CA. Daniel Ziegler and Andrew Steffens were co-authors. Koren Holland Deckman had two publications. Professor Deckman with co-authors M. Menotti-Raymond (NCI), K. Narfstrom (U. Missouri) published “The domestic cat as a large animal model for characterization of disease and therapeutic intervention in hereditary retinal blindness” in Journal of Ophthalmology [2011:906943. Epub 2011 Apr 14]. Professor Deckman’s second publication has three student co-authors. “Detection of Heteroplasmic Mitochondrial DNA in Single Mitochondria” was published in PLoS ONE [(2010), 5(12):e14359. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014359.] with student co-authors Tom Albanetti (’06), Nick Boire (’07), and Ashley Knipe (’07), and NIST colleagues J. Reiner, R. Kishore, B. Levin, and K. Helmerson. Professor Deckman had three poster presentations with several co-authors. Amrit Khalsa (’11) presented “Analysis of the CRX Protein Profile in the Rdy Cat Model Suggests Molecular Mechanism of Pathology” at the Fifth International Conference: Advances in Canine and Feline Genomics and Inherited Diseases, Baltimore, MD, September, 2010. Jackie Lin (’10) was a second student co-author along with NCI and U. Missouri colleagues V. David, S. O’Brien, M. Menotti-Raymond, and K. Narfström. At the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Experimental Biology 2011 Annual Conference in Washington D.C. Dr. Deckman presented “Analysis of the CRX Protein Profile in the Rdy Cat Model Suggests Molecular Mechanism of Pathology” with student co-authors Katie Dempster (’11), Khalsa and Lin, also with NCI and U. Missouri colleagues V. David, S. O’Brien, K. Narfström, and M. Menotti-Raymond. Finally, Professor Deckman presented "Mutation to Molecular Mechanism of Pathology: A Biochemistry Laboratory Centered Around CRX, A Vision Transcription Factor" at the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Conference for Student-Centered Education in the Molecular Life Sciences, Richmond, VA. Student co-authors are Khalsa, Dempster, Brian Lauderback (’12) and Shelby Lutz (’12).

Luke Thompson has three publications. He published "Tuning of size and shape of Au–Pt nanocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells" in Journal of Nanoparticle Research with colleagues S.E. Hunyadi, C. J. Murphy, H. R. Colon-Mercado, R. D. Torres, K. J. Heroux, E. B. Fox, and R. T. Haasch [2011 DOI: 10.1007/s11051-011-0449-1]. A second paper titled "Polyelectrolyte Coating Provides a Facile Route to Suspend Gold Nanorods in Polar Organic Solvents and Hydrophobic Polymers" was published in American Chemical Society Applied Materials & Interfaces [2, 3417-3421 (2010)] with A. M. Alkilany, and C. J. Murphy. He also published "The Many Faces of Gold Nanorods" in Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters [1, 2867-2875 (2010)] with colleagues C. J. Murphy, A. M. Alkilany, P.N. Sisco, S. N. Boulos, S. Sivapalan, J. A. Yang, D. J. Chernak, and J. Huang. Karlina Kauffman presented a talk at the Undergraduate Science Research Symposium “Condensing and fluidizing effects of gangliosides on lipid films,” at Haverford College, Haverford, PA, while Nicole Meredyth presented a poster titled “Quantifying interactions between nanoparticles and a model cell membrane” at the same conference. Nicole Meredyth , Karlina Kauffman, Katie Dempster, Amrit Khalsa, Chris Nguyen, Kyla Rodgers, Monica Schmidt presented research posters at Celebration 2011. Celebration is the College’s festival of student research and happens in May. If you go to www.youtube.com and search for Gettysburg Chemistry you can find videos of recent students discussing their research at Celebration. Gifts to the College Many Chemistry Department alumni and friends have made gifts to the College through the Gettysburg Fund over the past year. Donors to the Gettysburg Fund include: Albert Accettola, Jr. ’67, Frank ’75 and Wendy Patterson ’76 Barr, Mildred Daub Barrick ’45, H. Richard Basso, Jr., ’62, Jennifer Becker ’97, Sarah Levinson Bernard ’82, Mary Botterbusch, Martin Brechbiel ’79, Ronald Castellano ’95, Benjamin Chaloner-Gill ’86, Robert Clontz II, ’04, Owen Coble ’51, Katrina Dempster ’11, Jessica Drake ’11, Albert G. ’74 and Iris K. Driver, John Glass ’55, Dale Gordon ’61, Judith Keyes Guss-Nelson ’60, Joanne Hill Heller ’55, David and Robin Hibshman, Molly Hoke ’95, Conrad Hummel’88 and Margaret Makous Hummel ’88, Angela Mendel Hunter ’96, Amy Dickerson Johnson ’98, Craig P. Johnson’98, David Jones ’67, Richard Keeports ’62, Darby Kiley ’97, Jack Kline ’59, M. Anne Heckler Kline ’60, Robert Knopf ’54, George Krone ’59, Beth and George Lauderback, Michael Lawlor ’92, Constance Hedland Lee ’64, Edward Lis, Jr ’02, Keith F. McDaniel ’80, Marilyn Orner Miller ’85, Maureen C. Miller ’99, Debra Shinsky Mongomery ’80, Timothy E. Montgomery ’80, Jeffrey A. and Lisa M. Moss, Joel Musser ’11, Ronald Myers ’69, David Naser, Jr. ’83, James O’Brien ’59, Margaret Kilpatrick O’Brien ’59, Donald Oakley ’61, R. Scott Owens ’83, Pauline Dale Platt ’53, Holger ’47 and Linda Rasmussen, Jeanne Scott Robinson ’57, Robert Roxby ’62, Justin Rubbo ’10, Doris Pickel Schumacher ’69, John Socey ’63, John Stahl, Robert Stevens, Stacy Taylor ’11, Fred G. Villaume ’50, Alison Kranitz Walsh ’93, William Wunner ’60, Kenneth C. and Lenore H. Wurtzel, and John Young ‘03

If you designate your gift for the Chemistry Department – Special Gifts Fund, it will directly support the Department and help pay student stipends for summer research. Alexandria L. Craig ’07 and Elizabeth C. Krueger ’11 generously supported the Special Gifts Fund this year. Alumni/Alumnae News Homecoming: Alums who made visited the Department during Homecoming included: John Zinn, Jr. ’41, Fred Schumacher ’69, Loren Buhle ’80, Mike Palazzolo ’80, Peter Drake ’80, John Badger ’97, Matt Denholtz ’05, Jeremy Ross ’05, Greg Grover ’06, Meghan Molloy ’06, Jamie Myrkalo ’09, Ashley Kenworthy ’10, Kathleen McGuinn ’10, Paul Smith ’10, and Andrew Steffens ’10. 1960’s Last fall TOM GEORGE ’67 was the commencement speaker at Gulf University of Science and Technology in Kuwait. In addition to speaking at commencement Tom presented a research seminar and a jazz piano concert.

1980’s KEITH MCDANIEL ’80 wrote to tell us of a reunion canoe trip that he and his wife Linda took in Maine during the summer of 2010. They were joined by BOB NIEGISCH ’80, CAROL (GOSNELL) NIEGISCH ’80, and KATHY (BEALS) NIMMO ’81 as well as non-chemistry Gettysburgians Steve James ’80, Laura James ’80, Steve Nimmo ’80, and Charlie Kishpaugh ’80. Keith is currently a group leader in the AntiViral Research Department at Abbott Laboratories in Chicago. In 2008 DAVE OWENS ’81 and an associate opened a law firm, Owens Tarabichi LLP, which focuses on intellectual property cases. Dave currently lives in the San Jose, CA area. KEN HESS ’82 returned to campus to speak to the Sceptical Chymists last spring. Ken continues to teach at Franklin and Marshall College. CYNTHIA LECOMPTE SALISBURY ’84 and DAVE SALISBURY ’85 returned to campus last spring with their daughter Keelin for Get Acquainted Day. Keelin is a member of Gettysburg’s class of 2015. BILL SHAKESPEARE ’85 dropped us a note saying that he enjoys working for ARIAD Pharmaceuticals and still thinks about “chemistry and science 24/7.” Bill, his wife (a physician), and their three children live in Massachusetts. JUDY BELINSKI WOLFE ’88 stopped by the Department last spring for a visit. Judy’s daughter Lauren was visiting campus as a prospective student. 1990’s MAUREEN MILLER ’99 spent two weeks as an Earthwatch volunteer in the Andes Mountains studying the flora and fauna of the rainforest. Maureen continues to teach high school in Atlanta, GA. MOLLY HOKE ’95 was featured in an article in Chemical and Engineering News dealing with job survival skills. The article followed Molly’s transition from synthetic organic chemist at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to a full-time position as an associate consultant with Defined Health, a business development strategy consulting firm which serves the pharmaceutical, biotech, and health care investment industries. JOHN KESSLER ’98 co-authored an article in Science that was featured in the “Science and Technology Concentrates” section of Chemical and Engineering News (January 10, 2011). The work monitored how rapidly methane from the BP oil spill was being consumed by bacteria. John is a Professor of Oceanography at Texas A&M University. JACQUELYN KLUG MCCLEOD ’98 wrote to say that she is still working at Pfizer (having survived numerous reorganizations). Jacquelyn lives in Connecticut with her husband and three children. 2000’s BORIS POTSKOV ’02 received an MBA from Mannheim Business School, Mannheim, Germany in September 2010. KATHRYN HAAS ’04 received her PhD from Duke University and is currently a postdoc in the Comparative Genomics Group at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. ELIZA LEE ’04 completed medical school at Columbia University last year and is currently a surgical resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Last summer BECCA GORODETZER ’05 attended the adult soccer camp at McDaniel College and stopped by the department for a visit. Becca is a sales rep for Pfizer in the Phoenix, AZ area. MICHELLE RUEFFER BOND ’05 completed her PhD at Stanford in the summer of 2010. Michelle has moved back to the East (Great Falls, VA) and is currently a post-doc at the National Institutes of Health. TINA TAO ’05 and Jeff Maynes ‘05 were married last April 30 in Lancaster. PA. MEGAN CAMPBELL ’06 and MICHELLE RUEFFER BOND ’05 attended the wedding. Tina continues to teach at York College of PA. GREG GROVER ’06 completed his Ph.D. at UCLA last year. Greg is currently a postdoc at the University of California at San Diego. ERIN PODLESNY ’07 was awarded an NIH NRSA Fellowship last year. Erin is a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. JENNA STOKES ’07 received her D.O. from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine last spring. Jenna is doing her residency in Altoona, PA. CHRIS KOTYK ’08 has returned to academia and is attending graduate school at UC Irvine. TED GRIMM ’09 has been taking Geoscience courses at Bloomsburg University with the hopes of eventually earning an MS degree in Geoscience. MICHELLE HARPSTER ’09 is teaching chemistry and math at the Pine School in Hobe Sound, FL. JAIMIE MYRKALO '09 married Chris Testai '09 this past summer at Christ Chapel on campus. DAVE NEAGLEY '09 attended the wedding. After spending a year as an eldercare aide and a volunteer EMT, JENNIFER COOPER ’10 has decided to attend the University of Virginia School of Medicine. SARAH FRITZ ‘10 returned to Gettysburg in September to give a Biology department seminar (“A Casanova of Biology: RNA helicase A’s romance with a multitude of cellular proteins regulates expression of HIV-1 and the junB proto-oncogene”) and speak to the majors about graduate school; she is currently at Ohio State. SARA MOYER ’10 was awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship. Sara is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin. PAUL SMITH ’10 received a grant to study thin film solar cells at the University of Wollongong in Australia last summer. When not travelling the globe Paul is a graduate student at Rutgers. ZACH TRAVIS ’10 paid a visit to campus last spring that just happened to correspond with Springfest Weekend. Zach lives in NYC and works while studying for his MS degree in media management.