chem news/summer 97 - ndsudepartment of chemistry volume 4 number 2 summer 1997 department chair...

CHEM-NEWSNorth Dakota State University

Department of ChemistryVolume 4 Number 2 Summer 1997

Department Chair Greg McCarthy withJolin Jegier holding his award

Jegier named outstanding graduateJolin Jegier has received this year’sOutstanding Graduate Award fromthe American Institute of ChemistsFoundation. Jolin received his Ph.D.in synthetic organometallic chemistryduring NDSU’s commencementceremonies May 10. Jolin earned hisPh.D. in just under four years, havingworked with Dr. David Atwood sincecoming to NDSU in the fall of 1993.

Jolin received his B.S. in chemistryfrom the University of Wisconsin-EauClaire, where he was named to the PhiEta Sigma Honor Society as a fresh-man. He met his wife, Andrea, whileattending UW-Eau Claire, and theywere married in 1995 while he workedtoward his graduate degree at NDSU.

The focus of his doctoral research wasthe synthesis of novel cationic aluminumcomplexes and an exploration of theuse of these complexes in Lewis acidcatalysis. Preliminary studies haveshown that these complexes are morecatalytically active than their neutralcounterparts and suggest that the use ofthese charged complexes may greatlyimpact the area of Lewis acid catalysis.His work was funded by the NationalScience Foundation, the PetroleumResearch Fund and Union Carbide.

Department Chair Greg McCarthyinitially nominated Jolin for the Out-standing Graduate Award, given to thegraduate with the top career perfor-mance. According to McCarthy, “Jolinfinished his Ph.D. in record time. I

don’t remember anyone else in thedepartment going from a bachelor’sto a Ph.D. in such a short time.”

Following graduation, Jolin took apostdoctoral position with Dr. WayneGladfelter at the University ofMinnesota. He is working in thearea of main group materials science.After completing the two years of hispostdoctoral appointment, he plansto find a job in industry.

[Editor’s Note: Jolin wrote the “AtwoodGroup News” for each issue of Chem-News.He provided readers with an entertaining andinformative column and offered a fresh and funtwist to each edition of the newsletter. We’llmiss his regular contributions, and we wishhim well with his future endeavors.]

Mukund Sibi, associate professorof chemistry, has been awarded theCollege of Science and MathematicsResearch Award. The honor is pre-sented annually to a person whomakes significant contributions totheir scientific discipline and to thefulfillment of the mission or furtherdevelopment of the person’s depart-ment, the college or NDSU.

Professor Sibi receives research awardSibi has quickly developed an interna-tional reputation for his work in thefield of synthetic organic chemistry,most notably his recent discovery of amethod to control the stereochemistryof radical reactions. During the pasttwo years, he has published 17 articleson free-radical additions in high-profile journals. Sibi has been awardeda four-year National Institutes ofHealth grant in excess of $750,000to carry his work forward.

“The award is a nice recognition of mywork and my group’s efforts. This isnot an individual thing,” Sibi said.

“Sibi award” continued on page 12

“Nothing beats thethrill of discovery.”

—Mukund Sibi

2Chem-News Summer 1997

Ph.D. graduates Jolin Jegier and Drew Rutherford (second and third from left) withProfessors Dennis Tallman, Greg McCarthy, and Philip Boudjouk

Chemistrygraduates socializeduring the College

of Science andMath luncheon

held in theMemorial Union

Ballroom followingcommencement.

Master’s degree recipient Michael Edwardsand his family (Ceazon, April, and Rhajaan)

Bachelor’s degrees were presented to Michael Monger (inset),David Nale, Ned Lindholm, Jaime Grunlan, Claire Pearson,Jason Barron, and Chelsy Talbacka (below).

Commencement ceremonies forNDSU graduates were held atthe Fargodome May 10, 1997.Some of the chemistry majorswho participated in the cer-emony are pictured on this page.Below is a complete list of thisyear’s chemistry graduates:

Ph.D.Drew RutherfordJianliang LuJolin Jegier

M.S.Michael EdwardsDawn KardashLiang MaGreg SchmitzDuane Simonson

B.S.Jason BarronJaime GrunlanMichael KawlewskiNed LindholmMichael MongerDave NaleClaire PearsonMichelle ReslerTate RothChelsy Talbacka

Graduation ’97


Chem-Newsis published by

Department of ChemistryNorth Dakota State University

PO Box 5516Fargo, ND 58105

Faculty AdvisorDr. David Atwood

EditorJill Retzer

To obtain a copy of this newsletter, or to submityour comments, call (701)231-9405

Fax: (701)231-1057e-mail: [email protected]

© Copyright 1997

A member of the Boudjouk group hasrecently graduated and secured aposition in industry.

Greg Schmitz received his master’sdegree May 10 and has taken aposition as a photolithography engi-neer at Honeywell’s Solid StateElectronics Center in Plymouth, Minn.

Following his 1989 graduation fromPrinceton (Minn.) High School, Gregattended the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) and majored inchemistry. He earned his B.S. in 1994.“Along with learning a few thingsabout chemistry, I also learned aboutfly-fishing while in Duluth and havebecome quite an avid fly-fisherman.”

In addition to fly-fishing, Greg’s otherhobbies include hunting, camping, andmost recently, trapping and fly tying.

Greg met his wife, Patty, at UMD, andthey were married July 21, 1994, inAndover, Minn. She is currentlyteaching 7–12th grade history andpolitical science—and coaching tennisand softball—at Mora High School.

Greg’s job at Honeywell entails thedevelopment of new processes, as wellas sustaining old processes for the

Schmitz earns master’s; hired by Honeywell

Boudjouk Group Newsby Michael Remington

Departures

Greg Schmitz has successfullycompleted his master’s degree andobtained employment with theHoneywell corporation in the lithogra-phy division (see story below).

Wayne Triebold has also left thebuilding and is heading for Oregonwhere his wife-to-be, Angela, will bepursuing her Doctorof Optometrydegree. They willbe married August16 in Hannaford,ND. Wayneenjoyed manyinteresting resultsduring his two-yeartenure in theBoudjouk group.His future plans involve writing hismaster’s degree while in Oregon andreturning to defend as soon as possible.We all wish Wayne and Angela thebest of luck.

Wayne Triebold

New Faces

With the departure of two graduatestudents must come a flux ofpostdoctoral associates. Husbandand wife team, Drs. Bhanu and MoniChauhan have come to Fargo to workin the Boudjouk lab. They bothcompleted their Ph.D. work with R.J.P.Corriu at the University of Montpellierin France.

Bhanu’s thesis focused on the stabili-zation of silylene transition metalcomplexes and their reactivity, whileMoni studied hypervalent silicon andphosphorus complexes as well as thestabilization of very reactive siliconand phosphorus species.

Bhanu graduated in 1995, then did apostdoctoral stint with Masato Tanakain Tsukuba, Japan. Moni completedher degree in 1996 and also was apostdoctoral fellow with Tanaka.

They arrived in Fargo on June 15, andare enjoying Fargo thus far. (Of coursethey haven’t experienced a Fargowinter yet.) Their experiences and

Dr. Boudjouk with Drs. Bhanu and Moni Chauhan

knowledge are warmly welcomed bythe rest of the Boudjouk group.

Other News

Mike Remington seems to havesurvived the first year of parenthood.Hannah Renee turned one year old onJune 21.

She’s already taking an early interestin the chemical sciences. She can beseen whipping through her father’sjournal articles while he is trying todiligently read. Plans are on the way to

“Boudjouk group” continued on page 4…

manufacture of SRAMs, DRAMs andMRAMs used for navigation control inmissiles, satellites and space shuttles.

The company is currently a specialtysemiconductor manufacturer, withtheir main customers being NASA andDoD. After his first month on the job,Greg had these observations: “The jobis both challenging and rewarding, andI enjoy it a great deal.”

Boudjouk Group alumnusGreg Schmitz


Students from NDSU’sChemClub traveled to SanFrancisco for the annual ACS

meeting held in April. At the meetingthey were able to explore graduateschool options, attend seminars, talkwith chemists from other states andcountries, and present posters on theirresearch.

Perhaps ChemClub member JosephWegner summed it up best with hiscomment: “I didn’t leave my heart inSan Francisco, but I did leave with theknowledge and comfort of having a

ChemClub attends San Francisco ACS meetingbetter idea of what I am going to dowith my degree in chemistry.”

According to junior Scott Peterson,“I found the trip very interesting andbeneficial. I was able to attend severallectures in the division of inorganicchemistry. Morton Hoffman’s (BostonUniversity) workshop on graduateschool preparation was very helpful.I will definitely pull out his handoutwhen I start searching for the rightgrad school for me.”

“The meeting was entertaining, as wellas informative,”said senior JasonBarron. “I wassurprised most bythe breadth oftopics covered atthe meeting. Thenumber of areasACS covers isincredible. I sawposters rangingfrom ‘Chemistryand the Law’ to‘ChemicalEducation’ toTheoreticalChemistry.’

and Reactions of 1,1-Dilithio-(&Disodio-)Benzo- and Dibenzo-siloleDianions” and “Variant SyntheticPrecursors to 1,1-Dilithio-Silole andBenzosilole Dianions.”

Kim presented his poster entitled“Reaction of Chlorosilanes with Tri-and Tetramines: Synthesis of CationicHexacoordinate Silanes.”

Attending the symposium gave thesethree researchers an opportunity toengage intellectually with some of themost notable organosilicon chemists inthe world.

Several manuscripts based on the workof Choi, Kim, Schmitz, Triebold andRemington are ready to be submittedto journals or are in preparation. In

addition, Kim and Boudjouk have apatent pending in collaboration withDow Corning based on a new synthe-sis of cyclopolysilanes.

Ph. D. Candidates

Some other successes were realizedby both Kim and Choi. They havesuccessfully passed their written andoral comprehensive exams (the Maxi-Proposal). Kim defended his idea,“New Synthetic Methods and Applica-tions of Heteroatom ContainingSilacrowns” in early July.

Choi’s proposal, “Aromatic Stabiliza-tion of Silylium Cations” was de-fended in late May. Congratulationson their achievement of obtainingcandidacy for the Ph.D. degree.

recruit her into the Boudjouk group,with Phil promising to buy her theFisher-Price vacuum line in orderto hone her skills early.

The group as a whole has enjoyedsuccess the first few months of thesummer season. Dr. Boudjouk, SeokBong Choi and Beon Kyu Kimattended the 30th AnnualOrganosilicon Symposium in London,Ontario, Canada May 30–31.

Boudjouk presented a lecture on thechemistry of “Benzannulated SiloleAnions and Dianions.”

Choi had the opportunity to presenttwo posters at the symposium. Histitles were “Synthesis, Characterization

“Boudjouk group” continued…

“I didn’t leave my heart in SanFrancisco, but I did leave

with…a better idea of what Iam going to do with my degreein chemistry.” —Joseph Wegner

“It seems very impressive to me thatindividuals in these diverse areas areable to come together and discuss theprogress being made.”

While in San Francisco, some studentsalso took time to explore the area anddo some sightseeing. Junior AmySinger toured one of the Napa Valleywineries (see photo below).

ChemClub members Scott Peterson, Marcia Guetter, Shawn Cassatt,Bryan Jarabek, Jason Barron, Joseph Wegner and Kyle Allen

await their flight at the airport in San Francisco.


News from the McCarthy Lab by Ryan Winburn

General News and New Additions

The group has had a few recentadditions: Matthew Winburn, RaquelVilhauer, and Bryan Bortnem haveall joined the group (in one form oranother). A new powder X-ray diffrac-tion instrument was also recentlydelivered and installed.

Matthew Ryan Winburn “joined” thegroup on April 8, 1997 at 11:18 P.M. Heweighed in at 7 pounds 13 ounces and

was 201/4inches long.Matthewhas beenseen aroundthe depart-mentrecently,helping hisfather outwith hisresearch andteachingload.

Matthew is growing like a weed,weighing a whopping 13 pounds 10ounces at his two-month checkup.After seeing his dad at work, Matthewthinks chemistry is okay, but is goingto keep his options open.

Two new undergraduates have joinedthe group. Raquel Vilhauer will be afreshman at NDSU in the fall, and issplitting her time between research inDr. McCarthy’s and Dr. Boudjouk’slabs. She attended Governor’s Schoolin the science program in 1995 and didsome research in Dr. McCarthy’s lab.Since then she has been active in many

highschoolactivities.

The pasttwo yearsshe hasused theequipmentin theMaterialsCharacter-izationLab forRaquel Vilhauer

science fair projects involving mineral-ogical analysis of geological cores forthe North Dakota Geological Society.

Raquel is a chemistry major and choseNDSU because of its many researchopportunities. After graduating fromhigh school in Jamestown, she startedworking in the chemistry departmenthere. She now lives on campus and islearning how to use all of the instru-ments in Dr. McCarthy’s lab. Theother half of her time is spent withDr. Boudjouk’s group, learning thesynthetic chemistry of organometallicprecursors. So far, she is enjoying hernewly acquired chemistry languageand is trying to learn as much aspossible.

Also new to the Materials Character-ization Lab is Bryan Bortnem. Bryanjoined Dr. McCarthy’s lab in June andis a “fourth-year freshman chemistrymajor.” This prestigious title wasacquired by attending the Universityof Minnesota for three and a halfyears as a biology student beforetaking a three-and-a-half-year hiatusfrom higher learning.

Bryan brings a potpourri of scientificflavors to the McCarthy lab, dueprimarily to his multi-pronged attackon a B.S. at the U of M. Bryan trans-ferred to NDSU in January of 1997with a newfound desire to complete aB.S. and continue on to medical school,hopefully before the turn of the century.

Bryan is 27 years old and has beenmarried to his wife, Gina, for threeyears. They have a 20-month old son,Brock. Bryan is a native of the FMregion, attending high school in

Hawley, Minn. He has lived andworked in Fargo for the past four years.

The last recent addition to the MCL isa Phillips X’Pert MPD (multi-purposediffractometer) powder X-raydiffractometer.

The new instrument arrived in ourcountry, following waterborne trans-port from Holland, during the lastweek of June, with setup during thesecond week of July. Following initialcalibration and testing, the instrumentwill upgrade the existing conventionalXRPD capabilities of the lab, as wellas additional features such as depth-profiled phase identification of multi-layered thin films.

The McCarthy group continuesresearch of the long-term behavior ofdisposed coal combustion by-products,with several presentations scheduledthroughout the remainder of the year.

Departures

Becca Parnham defected from thegroup for the summer. She took asummer position working throughoutMinnesota, performing sampling andenvironmental analysis of groundwa-ter. She will return to the group nextfall, and in the meantime, says “hi” tothe chemistry crew.

Matthew with his dad,Ryan Winburn

Bryan Bortnem

Materials Characterization Lab Manager,Dean Grier, and the new diffractometer


Finding the right chemistry…The month of June is typically knownfor its wedding bells and blushingbrides. The NDSU Chemistry Depart-ment has two of its very own Junebrides to boast about…

Vicki Johnston and Jason Gelling weremarried June 14 at the White House inKragnes, Minnesota.

Vicki, a graduate student working inDr. Dennis Tallman’s lab, recalls herwedding day with fond memories: “Itwas perfect. Everything went asplanned—except the wedding cakewas four-and-a-half hours late!”

Jason, who is originally from Ply-mouth, Minn., received his B.S. inenvironmental geology from UND.

Vicki and Jason met when he crasheda party at her sorority. “My datewouldn’t dance,” says Vicki, “so Iasked Jason.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

NDSU junior Amy Singer marriedAaron Garman June 28 in Williston.

Aaron and Amy are both originallyfrom Williston, and they met while

Aaron was coordinating asummer camp for high schooltennis players.

“He was my tennis coach forthree years while I was in highschool, and we started dating thesummer after I graduated,” saysAmy.

Aaron received his B.S. fromMinot State University, where hewas a member of the tennis team. Hewent on to attend medical school atUND, and is currently a resident at theUND Family Practice Center. Amy isan active member of Dr. DavidAtwood’s research team, and servedas last year’s ChemClub president.

“I was very nervous at the wedding,”Amy remembers. “The one thing thatlightened the mood was the fact that

Aaron’s niece, Brekka, was in the frontpew. She’s almost two years old and isjust beginning to speak. The one wordshe knows well is ‘Amy,’ and since wewere the center of attention during theceremony, she continued calling myname numerous times. It is now myone bit of advice for all soon-to-bebrides…Stick a kid who knows yourname in the front row. It’s a hugetension breaker.”

Amy and Aaron Garman

Vicki and Jason Gelling

Governor’s School students experience chemistry labsGovernor’s School students experience chemistry labs

Three NDSU chemistry professorsserved as mentors to high schoolstudents during the eighth annualNorth Dakota Governor’s School inScience and Mathematics. The schoolwas held June 8 through July 19 onthe campus of NDSU.

Drs. David Atwood, Andres Campigliaand Greg Cook hosted four Governor’sSchool students. One of the main goalsin mentoring the students was toexpose them to the world of researchand laboratories.

“These students are like informationsponges,” said Cook. “It’s great tosee how fast they learn. I think it’sbeneficial for them to see how scienceis actually done, as opposed to readingabout it in a book.”

The Governor’s Schoolstudents working withchemistry professorswere: Krista Fisher,Dickinson, and JoeMathern, Solen (bothworking with Atwood);John Schulz, New Leipzig,

(Campiglia); andDeepti Agarwal,Fargo (Cook).

Campiglia feelsthe program notonly helps thestudents, but alsothe professorsinvolved: “I thinkit’s important for the mentors and thestudents. The mentor gets a good ideaof the quality of students we have herein North Dakota. John did a great job,and I was very impressed with hislearning abilities.”

Governor’s School is designed toprovide students with the chance towork with concepts and technologies

that are not taught oravailable at theirhome school districts.Half of the studentsfocused on science,the other half onmathematics. Thisyear, 20 youngwomen and 20 youngmen took part.

Krista Fisher works on XRDdata analysis in the Materials

Characterization Lab

Deepti Agarwal

K i Fi h


NDSU assists in Fargo’sfight against the Red

Mr. Sandman, bring me a…nightmare.Chemistry Professor John Hershberger (center) during the Fargo flood fight.

Photo taken from the book Fighting Back: Blizzards and Floods in the Red River Valley, published by The Forum

This dike was constructed in Psychology Professor MarkMcCourt’s backyard. On the other side of the sandbagsand lumber, you can see the record-breaking river level.

destination of several NDSU volunteers.Dr. Dennis Tallman, chemistry, wasamong those who helped save theBierwagen home from the Red River.

In a similar situation, ChemistryProfessor Kent Rodgers assistedresidents in the Woodland Driveneighborhood when Woodland residentand Psychology Professor MarkMcCourt’s home was threatened.

As the situation in Grand Forksbecame critical, professors fromUND’s chemistry department wereamong the residents forced to evacuate.Professors David Tilotta and SankuMallik took the NDSU chemistrydepartment’s offer to stay at localhomes or set up shop in Fargo whilethey waited to return to their offices. InApril, three weeks before the sched-uled end of the school year, UNDclosed for the semester.

During the many weeks of the flood, itwas remarkable to see so many peoplewho were willing to pitch in. Volun-teers came from all over…Fargo,Moorhead, and many other nearby(and not so nearby) towns.

For all of the devastation it caused, theflood certainly seemed to bring out theconcern and compassion in everyone.The battle still continues for somehome owners and others affected bythe flood…and it was definitely aspring to remember.

[Some portions of this article were takenfrom The Forum’s daily flood coverage.]

In a coordinated effort,area colleges closed onsuccessive days tobolster the ranks ofvolunteers fighting morewater than the cities hadever seen.

NDSU pledged to keepFargo sandbag centersstaffed around the clock,and the university ranbuses on a regular basis,shuttling volunteers to work sites.Concordia and MSU coordinatedsimilar volunteer efforts.

Many chemistry faculty, staff andstudents contributed time, effort andmuscle to the fight, often assistingfriends or colleagues whose propertyhad been affected by the rising water.

According to Department Chair GregMcCarthy, “It wasn’t uncommon tofind yourself filling sandbags next toNDSU vice presidents, departmentchairs, their wives and students. Whenit came to the flood, everyone wasinvolved.”

Polymers & Coatings ProfessorGordon Bierwagen’s home was the

It was definitely a spring to remember.

Just past midnight, on April 17, theflood of 1997 officially became theworst in Fargo-Moorhead’s history. Areading taken by The National WeatherService measured the Red River inFargo at 39.12 feet—0.02 over therecord-setting flood of 1897. It meantFargo had hit the 500-year flood level.

After what seemed like a never-endingwinter, people in the Red River Valleywere looking forward to the upcomingsummer, along with its promise ofwarmer weather. Before summerwould arrive, however, the springthaw made its mark.

Some of the most memorable sightsfrom this year’s flood were images ofvolunteers, National Guard personneland city engineers tirelessly fightingback the water in what looked like awar zone.

Local TV and radio stations extendedtheir news broadcasts to cover all ofthe flood-related announcements andinformation. Businesses and schoolsclosed to allow their people to volun-teer, and residents of some rural areaswere airlifted from their homes.


News from the “Cookies”An update from Professor Greg Cook’s research group

Dad and Spencer relax after a grueling day of research

In addition to writing proposals and doing research, Cookhas redesigned the Chemistry Department’s web page.Check it out at:http://quantum.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndsuchem/

You can also find the Cook Group on the Web at:http://quantum.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/~cook/group/

Late-breaking News:

The newest member of the Cook Group,Spencer Murray Cook, made his debut at5:07 A.M. July 31. Spencer weighed 8pounds, 1 ounce and was 20 inches long.

Congratulations to new parentsGreg and Lisa Cook!

Cook Group members Keith Parajasingham,P. “Shanker” Sathyashanker, Greg Cook, Barry Leeks

New Arrivals:

A new graduate student, Barry Leeks, has joined the group.Leeks is originally from Weyburn, Saskachewan, Canada,and received his B.S. in chemistry from UND in May.

Also new to the group is postdoc Dr. P. Sathyashanker(“Shanker”) from Bangalore, India. He arrived in May, afterearning his Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Science, Banga-lore. His research centers on synthetic organic chemistry,especially catalytic reactions and asymmetric synthesis.

Sathyashanker became interested in synthetic chemistrybecause it “has had a tremendous impact on industrialprocesses of pharmaceutical products.”

Departure:

In August, Dilinie Fernando, who received her B.S. thissummer, will enter the chemistry graduate program atWashington State University in Pullman.

Fernando is originally from Sri-Lanka and attended Pasadena CityCollege in California beforecoming to NDSU in August 1995.She has worked with the Cookgroup since last fall.

She is excited about experiencinganother part of the United States,but will miss Fargo. “Dr. Cook isa nice person to work for; he wasvery influential,” said Fernando.

“Because the student population at NDSU is smaller, youcan ask your professors questions. I was able to get to knowa lot of professors in the chemistry program, and I havebeen given many opportunities because of it.”

Other News:

Deepti Agarwal from Fargo, a Governor’s School student,worked in the Cook Lab for a few weeks during thesummer. (See story on page 6.)

Grad student Keith P. Parajasingham, who is originally fromSri-Lanka, continued his work on palladium-catalyzedannulations during the summer months.

The group is happy to have some funding from Grant-In-Aid and EPSCoR for research projects. According toProfessor Greg Cook, “Projects are beginning to roll; we’vebeen getting some teasing results. The momentum isbuilding and we hope to have one—maybe two—papersout by the end of the year.”

Dilinie Fernando


The North Dakota Science Teacher Enhancement Project(ND-STEP) has allowed four local high school teachers tospend part of the summer observing chemistry research upclose and personal.

During the six-week program, secondary science teacherswork with scientists on research projects and learn aboutteaching by inquiry methods. According to ProgramDirector Deb Tomanek: “ND-STEP gives teachers theopportunity to refamiliarize themselves with science as aninquiry process. This, in turn, affects how teachers thinkabout teaching science to junior and senior high schoolstudents.”

Secondary science teachers Pat Rieder (Dilworth/Glyndon/Felton, MN) and Kevin Munns (West Fargo) spent their

research hoursin one of thechemistry labs atNDSU. Dr.Philip Boudjoukmentored thetwo secondaryteachers in hisorganosiliconchemistry lab.

Munns, whospent his timeworking with

High school teachers get involved in chemistry research

ND-STEP has given Kevin Munns theopportunity to work in an NDSU chemistry lab

Professor Greg McCarthy discusses the structure of garnet and YAG withhigh school chemistry teachers Vicki Welke (Detroit Lakes, MN), Harvey

Kruckenberg (South High, Fargo), Kathy Melaas (Maddock, ND),Carol Wheeler (Lakota, ND) and DeWitt Mack (Mandan, ND).

semi-conducting materials, said he enjoyed the time hespent at NDSU and has given the program high marks: “Itwas a lot of fun; it’s much more stimulating to work in the labs.I also think it’s important to do ‘real’ science if you’re goingto teach it. These are real scientists doing real chemistry.”

Two other program participants, Kathy Besette (Verona, ND)and Ken Tinquist (Discovery Junior High, Fargo), spenttheir six weeks working at Dakota Technologies Inc. (DTI),a company started by Chemistry Professor Greg Gillispie.

Roxane Meidinger (former teaching lab coordinator),Mike Dvorak (a former postdoc at NDSU), Steve Adamek(NDSU geology graduate) and Gillispie assisted Besetteand Tinquist with their projects at DTI.

During their visit, the two science teachers concentrated onmineral fluorescence projects. Using a fiber optic probe andfluorimeter, they measured the fluorescence of variousmineral samples found in the region.

Each year, 20 teachers are selected to participate in ND-STEP. The teachers earn graduate credits for their work,as well as a stipend from the National Science Foundation.

The program has been well-received and praised by manyof its participants. According to co-mentor Meidinger, “As aformer teacher, I know how hard it is to find science classesin the summer, and it’s unheard of to be able to do somescience research at the same time.”

Chemistry Professors David Atwood and Greg McCarthyspent six weeks of the summer instructing North Dakotahigh school chemistry teachers in graduate-level courses.

The participatingteachers areworking towardtheir Master ofEducation inScience Educa-tion degrees.

The degreeprogram isdirected byBiology Profes-sor DebraTomanek and issupported by the U.S. Department of Education’sEisenhower Program. Its objective is to offer graduatecoursework in an accelerated six-week format. It is consid-ered to be “teacher friendly” because it fits well into asecondary teacher’s schedule.

Atwood offered Chemistry 791, Materials Chemistry, whileMcCarthy taught a course in Crystal Chemistry.

Professor David Atwood answers a questionduring his materials chemistry class.

Department faculty instruct high school teachers


Two join Tallman labMembers of Professor Dennis Tallman’s research grouprecently welcomed two new people to their lab.

Vicki (Johnston) Gelling is a first-year graduate student and beganworking in the lab in May. Vicki isfrom Forest River, North Dakota, asmall town 30 miles northwest ofGrand Forks.

Vicki’s interest in chemistry startedwhile she was attending high schoolin Forest River. “A high school teacher, Mr. Kachena,encouraged me,” said Vicki. “My senior year of highschool, I decided to get our stockroom clean. This was along process, and it forced me to learn more aboutchemistry.”

During the summer of 1991, she attended NDSU forGovernor’s School. “It helped me get interested inchemistry and NDSU,” says Vicki. She received herB.S. degree from UND in December.

Vicki plans to complete her master’s degree at NDSUand eventually work in industry.

She was recently married to Jason Gelling (see story onpage 8) and enjoys reading science fiction novels in herspare time.

Also joining the Tallman groupthis summer is Xiaofan Yang, apostdoctoral associate from China.She received her B.S. degree inChina in 1982 and earned her Ph.D.in materials science and engineer-ing at the University of Surrey inEngland. She then held apostdoctoral position at the

University of Wales, Cardiff for one year.

“My Ph.D. project was using electrochemistry atomicforce microscopy to study the corrosion on stainlesssteels,” said Xiaofan. This summer she is concentratingon the research of corrosion of aluminum underpolymer coating by atomic force microscopy.

Xiaofan’s eight-year-old son, Ray Liu, moved to Fargowith her this summer. Her husband, who holds anengineering position in Singapore, will join the familyin North Dakota this fall.

“I am lucky to be here. The people here are wonderful,”she said.

In her spare time, Xiaofan enjoys reading novels,swimming, aerobics and badminton.

Vicki Gelling

“Theoretically” speaking…News from Dr. Page’s Quantum Chemistry LabSubmitted by Matt Alm

The Page Group, minus undergraduate student RobNapora, travelled to the National ACS Meeting inSan Francisco in April. Graduate students Dave

Thweatt and Doug Linder and undergraduate Matt Almpresented posters at the conference.

Contrary to popular belief, not all time was spent intentlylistening to seminars. Doug and Matt biked across theGolden Gate Bridge to the trails and hills of Sausalito—spending as much time riding the bikes down the hills asthey did pushing them up the hills.

Dave was married on March 21 toTatyana Shevchenko. In May,Tatyana earned her masters ineducation administration at NDSUand is now working in theEPSCoR office.

After graduating this summer,Matt will attend dental school atthe University of Minnesota.

Tatyana and Dave

Sheri Anderson

Sheri Anderson joins EPSCoR staffThe EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competi-tive Research) staff recently welcomed Sheri Anderson, theoffice’s new administrative assistant.

Sheri, who is originally from Niagara, North Dakota, earnedher bachelor’s degree in business administration at UND.

“My husband, Darren, andI—and our cat—recentlymoved back to NorthDakota after living inCorona, California, forthree-and-a-half years,”said Sheri. “I was workingon a base redevelopmentproject in San Bernardino,and he was working forthe Orange County Airportin Santa Ana.” TheAndersons moved toFargo when Darrenaccepted a position asassistant airport directorfor Fargo’s Hector International Airport.

Sheri’s interests include biking, camping, and reading. Inaddition, she and Darren are both pilots. “We hope to startflying again soon,” said Sheri.

“We have enjoyed being back in the state—however, wemay have a different answer come December!”

Xiaofan Yang


News from the Sibi GroupTwo members of Dr. MukundSibi’s research team have movedon, while others have joined the group this summer….

In May, Jianliang Lu received his Ph.D. at NDSU. He nowholds a postdoctoral position with Professor Kay Brummondat West Virginia University, Morgantown.

Jianguo Ji, a postdoc with the Sibi group for the past threeyears, has moved to the Chicago area, where he has ac-cepted a position in Abbott Labs’ processing department.

New to the group is Dr. Minoru Nagato, a postdoc fromJapan. Nagato arrived this spring and concentrates hisresearch in the area of radical reactions.

Moorhead State University graduate Tara Ternes will startgraduate school at NDSU in the fall. She has worked in theSibi lab since last fall andcontinued her work withdiastereo-selective radicalreactions during thesummer months.

Dana Haagenson, a UNDalumnus, earned hismaster’s degree at Wash-ington State University in1996. He arrived in FargoJune 1 and is workingtoward his Ph.D.

In other news, graduatestudent Justin Sauskercontinues his work ondiostereoselective radicaladditions. He received hisB.S. in chemistry from theUniversity of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the spring of

1996 and has been with the Sibigroup since last summer.

Dr. Craig Jasperse, a chemistry professor at Moorhead StateUniversity, is back in the Sibi lab for the summer. It is histhird summer working with the group.

Postdoc S. “Mouli” Chandramouli and hiswife, Jay, had a baby boy earlier in theyear. Pranav Santosh Chandramouli wasborn November 23. After arriving 13weeks early, Mouli and Jay are grateful toreport that Pranav has grown into ahealthy, happy eight-month-old.

New graduate student Mei Liu will startschool in the fall and is currently workingin the lab with Dr. Jasperse. She received her master’s

degree at Eastern NewMexico Universitythis spring.

Dr. Sibi has beendoing a great deal oftraveling this summer.He was an invitedspeaker at a Gordonconference in NewHampshire, where hespoke about hisresearch on freeradicals.

In August, Dr. Sibiwas also invited tospeak at the 16thInternational Congressof HeterocyclicChemistry Conferencein Bozeman, Montana.

Gonnella to teach at Mayville StateNDSU chemistry graduate and Rochester, Minnesota nativeTom Gonnella has accepted an assistant professor positionat Mayville State University. Gonnella, who will begin hisnew job in mid-August, will teach chemistry and physics.

After receiving his B.S. at Southwest State University(Marshall, MN) Gonnella came to NDSU in 1989 andstarted on his master’s degree. During his time with theNDSU Chemistry Department, he worked with ProfessorsPat Hoggard, Bruce Hrnjez, John Hershberger and DenleyJacobson. Gonnella earned his M.S. in 1996 and will finishhis Ph.D. this fall.

In addition to attending graduate school and teachingorganic labs at NDSU, Gonnella taught at Winona State

University and ConcordiaCollege.

Although he will be offi-cially employed at MayvilleState, Gonnella still plans tolive in Fargo and finishprojects here in the depart-ment. He would also like toget some of his researchpublished.

When he’s not busy teachingor researching chemistry, Gonnella enjoys racquetball,archery, “medieval sword fighting” and cooking.

Front: John Shay, Mukund Sibi, Jianguo Ji, S. Chandramouli, Tara Ternes, DanaHaagenson; Back: Craig Jasperse, Justin Sausker, Michael Johnson, Minoru Nagato

Tom Gonnella

Pranav SantoshChandramouli


The NDSU Research andConsulting Committee hasannounced the 1996-97 Grant-

in-Aid awards. Nineteen applicationswere received, resulting in 14 awardsfor a total of $46,950.

Awards were made in three catego-ries: new investigator, establishedinvestigator bridging awards andcollaborative venture awards.

Among those receiving awards fornew investigator were chemistryprofessors Andres Campiglia andGregory Cook.

Campiglia’s project is “Room-Temperature Phosphorescence ofPCBs on Solid-Phase Extraction

Membranes,” whileCook will concen-trate on “PalladiumCatalyzed Aza-TrimethylenemethaneCycloadditions forthe Synthesis ofAlkaloids.”

The NDSUResearch andConsultingCommitteeannually sponsorsthis program toassist faculty in obtaining externalfunding by providing financialsupport for activities such as collect-ing preliminary data. Awardees areexpected to submit a proposal to an

Campiglia and Cook receive Grant-in-Aid awards

Andres Campiglia Greg Cook

external agency by the conclusion oftheir Grant-in-Aid project.

—It’s Happening at StateJune 25, 1997

“My students and co-workers deserve the recognition. It’simportant for the group, and we are proud of the award.”

Sibi’s research puts him on the leading edge of his highlycompetitive field. “I very much enjoy what I do,” he said.“There’s nothing better than hearing something in the labhas worked. Nothing beats the thrill of discovery.”

In his letter nominating Sibi for the award, KentonRodgers, assistant professor of chemistry, wrote, “Mukundis ‘the whole package’ when it comes to being an academicresearcher. He sets a quality example for both students andcolleagues from the standpoint of science and citizenship.”

Philip Boudjouk, professor ofchemistry, wrote in a letter ofsupport, “His reputation hasreached national and interna-tional prominence veryquickly. His invited lecturelist is most impressive. Iwould be surprised if anyoneat NDSU has been invited togive lectures at more top-notch universities in the lasttwo years than Mukund Sibi.”

—It’s Happening at StateMay 14, 1997

“Sibi award” continued…

McCarthy ends term asjournal editorDr. Greg McCarthy has completed a 10-year term asEditor for New Diffraction Data for the journal“Powder Diffraction.”

McCarthy edited about 40 percent of papers in thejournal, which is published four times a year by theAmerican Institute of Physics.

Dean Grier, Manager of the Materials Characteriza-tion Lab, was an editorialassistant in 1994–96.

“It’s been fun to grow thejournal from its start andsee how respected it hasbecome,” said McCarthy.

McCarthy will be recog-nized at the plenarysession of the DenverX-Ray Conference inAugust for his work withthe journal.Professor Mukund Sibi


New Arrival at the Atwood’sAlexander Atwood, 2, welcomed a new baby sisterto the family on June 3, 1997. Ashley Elizabeth

weighed 7 pounds 11ounces and was 203/

4inches long. She wasnamed after David’sgrandmother, whosemiddle name isElizabeth.

Drs. Vicki and DavidAtwood (Alex andAshley’s mom and dad)are quite excited abouttheir growing family.

David, Alex, Vickiand Ashley Atwood

Alex and Ashley

This spring Dr. Atwood was invited to visit the ChemistryDepartment at the University of Oulu, Finland. ProfessorRisto Laitinen was his host during his stay.

Atwood said, “Professor Laitinen is a widely recognizedauthority in polychalcogenide chemistry (dealing withcompounds containing multiple group 16 elements). Hecombines a very thorough blend of experimental andtheoretical chemistry. This is an ideal way to explore novelstructure and bonding in the main group elements—but veryunusual to find in one laboratory.

“You normally find such an arrangement in a collaborationof individuals from different groups. Some of the com-pounds that he is interested in includes mixed Group 15/16clusters such as (SeN)x and (TeN)x which are expected tohave improved semi- and superconducting properties whencompared to sulfur nitride (SN)x.”

Atwood has been working toward creating precursors to 13/15, 13/16 and 14/16 materials. The overlap of Laitinen’s andAtwood’s interests occurs in the area of solid state materialsincorporating the group 16 elements. Of most relevance isthe project dealing with the formation and subsequentdecomposition of per-hydro precursors of the sort,[H3MEH] and [H2ME] (where M and E = group 14 and 16elements, respectively). These molecules are viewed asideal precursors to the 14/16 materials since they do notcontain carbon-based ligands; carbon contamination fromsuch ligands is currently a problem in single-source ap-proaches to these materials. Furthermore, their structuresmay more closely resemble the structure of the targetedsolid state material and may thus provide a unique studyinto how a precursor’s molecular structure may predeter-mine the solid-state structure of the material.

In a potential collaboration with Atwood, Laitinen wouldperform calculations to determine what types of structures

Professor Risto Laitinen (University of Oulu, Finland)and NDSU’s David Atwood at the Arctic Circle

are most likely for these compounds. This would be com-pared with experimental results obtained from the Atwoodlaboratory and would complement Laitinen’s current interestin elemental clusters incorporating the group 16 elements.

Funding for this collaboration would ideally be obtainedfrom the European Community or from NATO sources. Thework would be performed as part of Atwood’s current grant(along with Professor Philip Boudjouk) from the Depart-ment of Defense.

“Professor Laitinen and his wife were ideal hosts during mystay in Finland. Their hospitality stretched over the courseof three days and included visits to the department, theArctic Circle (see photo) and an Oulu production of Verdi’sReqium (Laitinen sings Tenor in the choir).”

Crowning the visit was a pre-Easter dinner with Laitinen’sfamily comprising several courses, one of which was aspecial type of lamb dish prepared from a homemade recipe.Overall, Atwood found Finland to be “an exceptionallycivilized country” both in its science and in the country’s

natural beauty. “I am lookingforward to further opportunities tovisit in the future. However, I willtry to go later in the year.

“During my three days in Oulu itwas windy, snowy and belowfreezing. Looking out of thewindow on my first morning thethought did cross my mind that Ihad just spent a great deal of time,money and effort to see weatherthat I could more easily observe onmy front doorstep at home. Thesefeelings, however, were quicklyerased by the excellent andproductive visit that ensued.”

Atwood visits Finland


In June, Greg accompanied his wife, Denise, toWashington, D.C., where she received the NationalScience Foundation (NSF) Presidential Award asthe 1996 outstanding secondary science teacher inNorth Dakota. Denise teaches 9th grade physicalscience at Ben Franklin Junior High in Fargo.

While in Washington, Greg also visited NSF divi-sion and program directors in chemistry, materialsand education to explore grant opportunities.

This photo was taken at a formal reception for theteacher awardees at the State Department. He issitting at the desk on which the Treaty of Paris—ending the Revolutionary War—was signed in1783. The original treaty sits on the desk.

What is Department ChairGreg McCarthy doing in a tux?

Postdoc joins Atwood GroupThe Atwood group recently welcomed postdoctoral re-searcher Miguel Munoz-Hernandez to their Dunbar Halllaboratory. Miguel is originally from Mexico City, where hereceived his bachelor’s degree (1992) and Ph.D. (1997) inchemistry at the National Autonomous University ofMexico (UNAM).

Miguel, his wife, Maria Guadalupe Vazquez, and their three-year-old daughter, Carla, arrived in North Dakota in April,“just in time for spring.”

Coming to Fargo from one of the biggest cities in the worldhas been quite an experience for Miguel. Mexico City’spopulation (approximately 20 million) and diversity arevery different from that of Fargo and NDSU.

According to Miguel, “At UNAM, there are 4,000 chemistrystudents, and the department spans five buildings—with twomore buildings located outside campus.”

Not surprisingly, one of the biggest differences Miguelnoticed about our culture was the weather. Not necessarily

the climate itself, but ratherour society’s obsession withit. Because Mexico’stemperatures are moreconsistent and unchanging,the weather is rarely a topicof discussion.

“In Mexico, you just don’ttalk about the weather theway people do here. Wedon’t even have a weathersegment on the televisionnewscasts.”

Americans are not onlyconcerned about the weather…but also with the value oftime. “It’s more relaxed in Mexico,” Miguel says.

And although folks around here are somewhat consumedwith their watches, they also take the time to make othersfeel welcome: “The people of Fargo are very kind. That’snice for someone like me who has lived almost all his lifein a big city.”

Miguel’s research is focused on main group materialsscience. His initial work has involved the preparation ofprecursor systems to Group 13 nitrides. The first of theseon aluminum nitride formation is now in the final stagesof work.

If the Atwood researchers successfully make aluminumnitride, the results will be sent to the Chemistry of Materialsjournal. If it doesn’t, they will send it to Organometallics.

Miguel is also working with Amy (Singer) Garman on thesynthesis and characterization of potential precursors toaluminum selenide materials. It should be finished by theend of the summer.

Miguel plans to return to Mexico in 1999 and find a job atUNAM or another university, and continue doing research.

Miguel Munoz-Hernandez


Alumns Visit Department

Chair Greg McCarthy was delighted to meet thefollowing graduates of NDSU (NDAC) chemistryprograms when they dropped by the departmentrecently:

Fred (’49) and Jinny Bristol on 16 November, justbefore Blizzard #1 of the past winter. Fred and Jinnyare retired in Orchard Park, New York.

Dr. Jack (’53) and Judy Gilmore on 17 June. Jack andJudy live in the San Francisco Bay area. Jack is retiredfrom Chevron, and was in town to visit family.

Dr. George Maher (’41) on 10 July. George is retiredfrom the USDA and lives in Dunlap, Illinois.

Dr. Bob (’57) and Mary Ann (’61) Tucker visit familyin Fargo several times a year. Bob is a corporate fellowin his company’s firm, Praxair Surface Technologies,which is supporting a research project in Dr. DavidAtwood’s group. Mary Ann is Vice President andAssociate General Counsel at B.F. Goodrich.

“I encourage any alumni who are in the area to drop by.I love to hear about their careers after NDSU, and toshow them the great strides made by their old depart-ment. I’m especially pleased to show our scholarshipcontributors—and all of last year’s visitors werecontributors—how their dollars are being put to workhelping students,” said Dr. McCarthy.

I will officially graduate in August with a MA in Kinesiology

(Exercise Physiololgy). My research was in the area of human

metabolism, specifically fat metabolism in endurance trained

cyclists.

We fed the subjects three different diets (2%, 22% or 32% fat,

carbohydrate and protein were constant) for a week each in

random order and measured the responses during two hours of

exercise following a standardized last meal.

We found the subjects oxidized more fat during exercise if they ate

more fat during the preceding week, however this did not improve

their performance as we (and M&M Mars) had expected. We used

several cutting-edge techniques including the infusion of stable

isotopic tracers (labeled glucose, palmitate, and glycerol) in order

to calculate turnover rates in the plasma in addition to concentra-

tion.

Overall Texas is a nice place to live, especially in the winter. I think

the North Dakota winters are colder than the Texas summers are

hot if that makes sense. The Tex-Mex food is wonderful and after a

few years I acclimated to the spice level. Austin is on the edge of

Texas Hill Country so the terrain is quite different from the Red

River Valley. We went fossil collecting at a shale bed near the

Colorado River. We found a few small shells, but not a great yield. I

still race bikes and also tie fly fishing flies in my spare time.

I am applying to medical school, but also talking to other labs for a

possible Ph.D. instead. I always thought a career in medicine

would be fascinating, but didn’t seriously consider it until working

on physiology research here. It’s a tough decision, I’ll k

eep you

posted.

—Matt

Alumni NewsChemistry Department alumnus MatthewOseto (B.S. ’93) recently sent us this e-mailmessage. He is attending graduate school atthe University of Texas at Austin.

If you’re a graduate of the NDSU Chemis-try program, we’d love to hear from you!Let us know what you’ve been up to bydropping us a line…

Chem-NewsDepartment of ChemistryBox 5516NDSUFargo, ND 58105e-mail: [email protected]

North Dakota State UniversityDepartment of Chemistry104 Ladd HallFargo, ND 58105-5516

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