News
8/2009
Cizdziel awarded NSF MRIProfessor Jim Cizdziel and his co-PI's have been awarded a National Science Foundation Major Research Infrastructure Award to acquire a new High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (HR-ICP-MS). HR-ICP-MS is the premier method for measuring trace levels of elements and isotopes in environmental and biological samples. Stay tuned to the department webpage for more information and a link to the new Mid-South Center for Trace Element Research website.
8/2009
Dass Publishes JACS article on Au nanoclusterNew assistant professor Amal Dass has taken the world of gold nanoclusters by storm. Just before the first anniversary of his hire the article entitled, "Mass Spectrometric Identification of Au68(SR)34 Molecular Gold Nanoclusters with 34-Electron Shell Closing," has appeared in the world's most prestigious chemistry journal. This new class of gold nanoclusters has been demonstrated to fit a new explanation of gold nanocluster stability.
Read full details at this link
7/2009
Bill Scott Retires after 30 yearsAssociate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry William D. Scott retires after 30 years of experimentation as an educator and scientist.
Read this news on Ole Miss website
5/2009
Tschumper wets the cover of J Phys Chem AImages of two newly described low energy molecular clusters of water discovered by the Tschumper research group appeared on the cover of the April 16, 2009 issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry A. A thin layer of water covers the surface of all exposed surfaces. Improving our understanding of these fundamental structures improve our ability to protect surfaces from corrosion, for instance.
4/2009
Wadkins Gets Cover of "Biophysical Journal"Associate Professor Randy Wadkins and his research team recently had their work chosen for the cover artwork for the March 4, 2009 issue of the Biophysical Journal. Their work entitled, "DNA Hairpins Containing the Cytidine Analog Pyrrolo-dC: Structural, Thermodynamic, and Spectroscopic Studies," has implications for further study of the stability of secondary structure in DNA, which has implications for DNA replication, cancer and the development of anti-cancer drugs.
5/2009
Tschumper Named Outstanding Freshman TeacherAssociate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Greg Tschumper was awarded the prestigious 2008-09 Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teacher of Freshmen in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi during the May 9, 2009 commencement ceremony. He joins other winners of the award from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry: inaugural winner, Jon Parcher (1987), Kwang-Sik Yun (1989), William D. Scott (1993), Walter Cleland (1997), and Jason Ritchie (2007). The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has won the award 6 of the 23 times it has been awarded, which is double the closest other department.
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1/2009
Ole Miss Chemistry breaks into TOP 40The December 15, 2008 issue of Chemical and Engineering News reported data from 642 undergraduate chemistry degree programs nationwide for 2006 - 2007. The Ole Miss Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry reported the award of 48 undergraduate degrees for that time period. According to Chair Charles L. Hussey this number put the department in the TOP 40 nationwide and second only to the University of Florida (93 graduates) in the SEC. It also was more bachelor's degrees than the other 4 reporting Mississippi universities combined. Other notables in Mississippi were Mississippi College with 23 graduates.
Read this news on Ole Miss website
11/2008
Research Experience for UndergraduatesThe Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry invites applicants for the Summer 2009 REU class at Ole Miss. The program includes a 10 week research project, group activities and a stipend for support of living expenses and salary. Students will work in state-of-the-art laboratories and collaborate daily with researchers. The program will run June 8 - August 14, 2009. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit materials by March 31, 2009. Application materials may be found by following the REU APPLICATION link or by emailing the department to request an electronic or paper copy (chemistry@olemiss.edu). Applicants from all ethnic and educational backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
10/2008
Instructional Assistant Professors AppointedThe Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Safo Aboaku and Dr. Kerri Scott as instructional assistant professors. We welcome Dr. Aboaku from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he completed his Ph.D., and our very own Dr. Kerri Scott who has stepped into this important new role. Instructional assistant professors are primarily engaged in teaching and the research of teaching methods.
10/2008
NSF Grant AwardedProfessor T. Keith Hollis is the department's latest recipient of an NSF grant award. His project entitled, "Next Generation Ligand Architectures," will focus on developing new structures for application in C-H bond activation, N2 bond activation, C-N, C-C, and C-B bond forming catalysis, and green chemistry. Support began this fall and continues through 2011.
Other current NSF grant recipients in the department include Professors Greg Tschumper, Jason Ritchie and Jon Parcher. An NSF EPSCoR award supports the research of Professors Greg Tschumper, Steven Davis, Jason Ritchie and Randy Wadkins.
10/2008
Analytical Faculty WelcomedProfessor Amal Dass and Jim Cizdziel arrived in August to start their research programs at Ole Miss. Dr. Dass arrived from a postdoctoral position at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Dr. Cizdziel arrived from the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he was an associate research professor. Both are developing research programs in analytical chemistry.
Dr. Cizdziel's work is focused on environmental fate of molecules, elements and materials such as mercury and nanotubes. Dr. Dass' work focuses on the synthesis and characterization of new classes of gold nanoparticles and their electrochemistry. See their webpages under Faculty and Research for more information.
8/2007
Physical Chemist WelcomedThe Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Ole Miss is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Nathan Hammer. Professor Hammer joins us from his most recent appointment as an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Hammer is an expert in single molecule spectroscopy and small clusters.
