BLUE HEN CHEMIST

HELMSPERSONS

CHAIRS

William A. Mosher (1945-1969)
Robert H. Wood (1969-1971)
Luigi M. Venanzi (1971-1973)
M. S. Burnaby Munson (1973-1975)
Donald B. Wetlaufer (1975-1985)
Thomas B. Brill (1985-1986)
Jean H. Futrell (1986-1995, 1996-1997)
Douglas P. Ridge/Klaus H. Theopold (1995-1996)
Steven D. Brown (1997-2002)
Charles G. Riordan (2002- )

ASSOCIATE CHAIR:

John L. Burmeister (1974- )

ASSISTANT CHAIRS/DIRECTORS OF GRADUATE STUDIES

Henry N. Blount III (1983-1984)
Roger A. Murray (1984-1988)
Mary J. Wirth (1988-1989)
Conrad N. Trumbore (1989-1995)
Don Dennis (1995-1997)
Murray V. Johnston (1997-1999)
Charles G. Riordan (1999-2002)
Eugene G. Mueller (2002- )

ASSISTANTS TO THE CHAIR

Peter G. Sparks (1970-1974)
Joseph W. Camperson (1974-1980)
Charlotte F. Hoffmann (1980-1984)
Susan Dunn-Coleman (1984-1985)
J. Edward Cathell (1985-1998)
Catherine Q. Skelley (1998-2003)
Diane Quig (2004- )

CHEMISTRY-BIOLOGY INTERFACE GRADUATE PROGRAM - Roberta Colman

Renewed funding by the NIH of the University of Delaware Chemistry-Biology Interface Graduate Program launches the new academic year. This $1.3 million grant will extend for another five years this exciting multidisciplinary program, which was initiated in 1994, with Prof. Roberta F. Colman as Program Director. With the goal of providing cross-disciplinary education for a talented group of students to enable them to apply the mechanistic, synthetic and analytical approaches of chemistry to important biological problems, the program has now been broadened to include students working toward a Ph.D. in any of three departments: Chemistry and Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering or Biological Sciences.

When this "C.B.I." Program started 10 years ago, there were 13 participating faculty members. Now, it has grown to 35 faculty members from six academic units, each of which has an active research laboratory. Through laboratory rotations, students gain experience in three different research areas, such as biochemistry, analytical chemistry and cell biology, or bioengineering, organic chemistry and protein crystallography. The program also features a weekly multidisciplinary seminar and C.B.I. poster sessions. The Ph.D. advisor is selected by a student from all participating faculty members, regardless of department, and some of the students have two Ph.D. advisors from different departments. Thus far, 30 outstanding graduate students have been associated with the C.B.I. Program, and these students have chosen Ph.D. advisors in 19 different laboratories of faculty members in the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Marine Biochemistry, Animal and Food Sciences, Chemical Engineering and Biological Sciences. The students have often provided the "academic glue" which strengthens interdisciplinary collaborations. The C.B.I. Trainers include faculty from all five divisions of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry: Biochemistry (Colman, Bahnson, Chen, Mueller, Robinson, Thorpe); Organic Chemistry (Fox, Koh, Schneider, Taber, Zondlo); Analytical Chemistry (Beebe, Johnston, Neal); Inorganic Chemistry (Riordan); and Physical Chemistry (Duan).

NSF MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION PROGRAM GRANT - Joseph Fox

In June of 2004, the Department was awarded a grant from the Major Research Instrumentation Program at NSF. Joe Fox is the PI for the grant, and John Koh, Tatyana Polenova and Charles Riordan are co-PI's. This grant funds the acquisition of a 400 MHz spectrometer equipped with an auto-sampler and a computer server that will allow remote access to all of the modern spectrometers in the University of Delaware's NMR facility by researchers in the campus community and neighboring academic institutions. The demands on this broadly utilized facility have increased significantly during the past 5 years in response to expanded research efforts of recently hired faculty and the increased needs for modem NMR methods by researchers participating in multidisciplinary research initiatives across campus. The grant will increase infrastructure for undergraduate research and education at UD, and broadens the availability of NMR techniques to three partner institutions - Lincoln University, Delaware Technical and Community College (DTCC), and Delaware State University (DSU). The successful funding of the grant was supported by descriptions of research by 5 faculty from the partner institutions and by over 20 UD faculty across four departments (Chemistry and Biochemistry, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering), the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, and the Center for Composite Materials. The efforts of Dr. Steve Bai, Director of the Blue Hen NMR complex, and Mr. Pat McMahon, Departmental IT Associate, were also crucial to the success of the proposal.

The grant solidifies the state of the art status of the Blue Hen NMR complex, which is under the capable leadership of Dr. Bai. The new 400 is the 6^th common use NMR spectrometer in the facility, which already includes 600 (outfitted with an ultrasensitive cryoprobe), 400, 360 and 250 MHz instruments for liquid analysis and a 300 MHz instrument dedicated to solid state NMR.

REMEMBERING CARL VON FRANKENBERG

Prof. Carl A. von Frankenberg was born in Gera, Germany on November 22, 1932. He was educated in Puerto Rico and at the Mount Herman School in East Northfield, MA.

Carl began his chemical studies at Swarthmore College in 1950. However, they were interrupted by the Korean War, during which (1951-53) he served with the U. S. Navy. He then returned to Swarthmore and graduated with Honors with a B.A. in Chemistry in 1956. He received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1960. Following a year spent as an NSF post-doctoral fellow at Cornell, he joined our faculty in 1961 as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1969.

Carl's research studies involved the mathematical modeling of polymer structures. Measured by today's standards, which frequently involve megagrants and research groups the size of small businesses, his research output was modest: 8 Ph.D.'s mentored, 9 papers published. However, the average achievement level of these 8 doctorates compares favorably with that of any of our research groups, past or present. Three of his students rose to positions of considerable prominence at DuPont, including the Manager of Corporate Analytical Sciences. Two have had comparable careers at Armstrong, another at Exxon. Two are now Professors of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M and Rutgers. The former is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Unquestionably, however, teaching was Carl's passion, especially in the area of general chemistry. By his estimate, he taught over 20,000 students! At the U of D, he produced more student credit hours for the University's coffers than any other member of our CHEM/BIOC faculty in our Department's history. Although a goodly number of these students were in the CHEM/CHEG majors CHEM-111/112 General Chemistry course, the bulk of them were in our largest course - CHEM-103/104, General Chemistry for science and engineering majors, exclusive of CHEM, BlOC, and CHEG. He was the heart, body, and soul of this important course for 25 years, teaching two large sections of CHEM-103 every fall, two large sections of CHEM-104 every spring, a section of CHEM-104 every Winter Session, and sections of CHEM103 and104 for most of the Summer sessions during the entire period. For several years preceding his retirement in 1997, he shifted his Summer Session involvement to teaching CHEM-103 in our Summer College - a special program for gifted high school students. Not surprisingly, he received the University's Excellence-in-Teaching Award in 1978. He was a key member of the University's Health Sciences Advisory and Evaluation Committee for over a decade.

Carl died peacefully to the strains of his beloved Bach B-minor Mass on March 1, 2004. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Elizabeth Murphy von Frankenberg, two daughters, Kathryn Maneval and Audrey Brown, seven grandchildren, and his mother, Virginia, now 98.

On a more personal note, I shall always remember him as the personification of the Ideal Colleague: totally organized, incredibly knowledgeable, forever upbeat, and eternally patient. He may have taught thousands of students, but he was always concerned for their welfare on an individual basis. Thanks to his tutelage, I was finally able to part the veil of mystery surrounding chemical thermodynamics.

Rest in peace, Professor von Frankenbergerbits!

Carl A. von Frankenberg Undergraduate Award in Chemistry Education

An award given to the graduating senior in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry who best exemplifies scholarship in, and the practice of, chemistry education. The award consists of an honorarium of $200. The award honors Carl von Frankenberg, faculty member 1961-1997.

Background:

This award was originally proposed by Profs. Hal White, Burnaby Munson, and Kate Scantlebury. It enjoys the approval of Carl's widow, Bettie, and their two daughters, as well as the CHEM/BIOC faculty, and the University Committee on Awards.

It will be awarded annually to an outstanding senior majoring in chemistry education or a University of Delaware graduate seeking the University's endorsement to teach chemistry or a CHEM/BIOC major with a demonstrated commitment to a career in chemistry education The order of consideration will be in the order of eligible categories just cited, i.e., chemistry education majors will normally be the primary group considered. If circumstances dictate that more than one outstanding student is qualified to receive the Award, two Awards may be given in a single year. Similarly, the Award need not be given every year.

We discussed the meaning of "demonstrated commitment" beyond the simple declaration of an interest in teaching, and suggest the following as examples of tangible evidence:.

• Involvement in tutoring in schools
• Serving as a laboratory teaching assistant
• Serving as a Teacher's Assistant, PLTL leader, or PBL tutor
• Excelling in education courses

We feel that this Award will represent an appropriate memorial to the dedication to teaching excellence that characterized Carl throughout his career. It will produce the added benefit of creating an undergraduate award in our last remaining unrecognized sub-disciplinary area. (Existing awards recognize undergraduate achievement in analytical chemistry, biochemistry [Frank W. Collins Award], inorganic chemistry [C. Frank Shaw III Award], organic chemistry [James A. Moore Award], and physical chemistry [Joseph H. Noggle Award].)

Selection of the von Frankenberg Awardees will be made by the Department's Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, in consultation with the University Coordinator of Secondary Science Education (currently Prof. Kate Scantlebury). Our intent is for the inaugural award to be made on Honors Day, 2005. Instructions for making contributions to this Award will be found at the end of this Newsletter.

AUF WIEDERSEHEN!

Dr. Dennis H. Evans joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1986, following a 20-year distinguished career at the University of Wisonsin-Madison, where he was both the Associate Dean for Natural Sciences and the Meloche-Bascom Professor of Chemistry. He earned his B.S. degree in chemistry from Ottawa (KS) University, followed by M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. A world leader in the field of electroanalytical chemistry, he has published 143 research papers and monographs, and is the recipient of the C. N. Reilly Award, given by the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry in 1993, the Outstanding Scholar Award in the U of D's College of Arts and Sciences in 1995, and the 2004 Manual M. Baizer Award from the Division of Organic and Biological Electrochemistry of the Electrochemical Society. Although Dennis formally retired from the U of D in 2004, he is continuing his professorial career at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Dr. Mary J. Wirth joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1986 as an associate professor, having previously held positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from Northern Illinois University and her Ph.D. from Purdue University. Her research efforts in the area of surface science for chemical separations are at the forefront of the field. She has developed single-molecule spectroscopy to study the dynamics of partitioning processes at model interfaces, allowing for nanometer-scale design of new materials that will optimize fast protein separations/chromatography. She received a National Science Foundation Creativity Award in 1994. Promoted to full professor in 1990, she was recently named the C. Eugene Bennett Professor of Analytical Chemistry. Mary moved her professorial venue to the University of Arizona, Tucson, at the beginning of 2004.

FACULTY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE (1950-PRESENT)