Chemistry was the first department at Ursinus College to have a summer research program.
As a charter member of the Intercollegiate Student Chemists Convention (ISC), the Chemistry Department has a long tradition of involving its undergraduates in research. For many years, ISC was the principal venue for student presentation of research work. However, in the past 20 years, our students have been presenting papers and posters in a wide variety of local, regional, and national meetings and have been co-authors on numerous publications.
The department offers one-, two-, and four-credit-hour research/independent study courses and actively encourages our majors to enroll in these offerings or in an off-campus internship. As a result, most of our majors graduate with some degree of research experience.
Quick Facts
$846,311
Of external grant funding awarded to the chemistry department in the last 6 years to support undergraduate research and teaching
Traditional Research Areas for Faculty
Eric Williamsen – High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is one of the most commonly used separation techniques in chemistry and biochemistry, but a complete, molecular level understanding of the separation process has not been obtained. For a separation to occur, analytes must interact with the stationary phase component of the HPLC separation medium. My students and I are contributing to this understanding by characterizing fluorinated and other stationary phases as a function of temperature, stationary phase, mobile phase, and analyte type. Because a large amount of data is acquired, we are analyzing the data with a variety of multivariate analysis techniques. These projects are of interest to students who want experience in troubleshooting and working with common scientific instruments, such as HPLC with diode array and mass spectrometric detectors, or want experience with increasingly used multivariate analysis techniques. Students in my lab also work on two other projects. The first is the analysis of various food materials, such as kombucha, coffee-based kombucha, and sourdough. The second project is a collaboration with Professor Tony Lobo’s group in Biology, where we study the degradation products of the breakdown of plastics by thermophilic organisms. In these projects, students will use various instrumental techniques, such as HPLC, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS), IR, and thermal techniques. Students who have interests in analytical, biological, and physical chemistry will find these projects interesting.
Amanda Reig – I seek to create protein-based structural, spectroscopic, and functional models of metalloenzymes to understand how nature activates dioxygen and catalyzes chemical transformations with such great specificity. We are currently interested in the design and characterization of simple, four-helix bundle protein models of oxygen-activating diiron enzymes. Students will use common molecular biology techniques to mutate and produce model proteins and/or characterize the structure and reactivity of a model protein using a wide range of spectroscopic techniques.
Samantha Wilner - Our group’s research is focused on the development of DNA-based tools to control vesicle assembly and membrane phase transitions. In particular, we are interested in using nucleic acids as building blocks to assemble delivery vehicles with programmable destabilization capabilities so that cargo can be unloaded at specific locations or in response to biologically-relevant triggers. We are also interested in studying structural transitions that occur in nucleic acid-amphiphile membranes with the ultimate goal of elucidating processes involved in membrane remodeling. Students working on these projects will bridge concepts from biochemistry, chemistry, biology, and biophysical chemistry while gaining experience in nucleic acid chemistry, HPLC, nanoparticle production, molecular biology, and microscopy.
Samantha Wilner - Our group’s research is focused on the development of DNA-based tools to control vesicle assembly and membrane phase transitions. In particular, we are interested in using nucleic acids as building blocks to assemble delivery vehicles with programmable destabilization capabilities so that cargo can be unloaded at specific locations or in response to biologically-relevant triggers. We are also interested in studying structural transitions that occur in nucleic acid-amphiphile membranes with the ultimate goal of elucidating processes involved in membrane remodeling. Students working on these projects will bridge concepts from biochemistry, chemistry, biology, and biophysical chemistry while gaining experience in nucleic acid chemistry, HPLC, nanoparticle production, molecular biology, and microscopy.
Ryan Walvoord - Our group’s research is focused on applying organic synthesis for the creation of chemical tools. In particular, we are interested in synthesizing color- and/or fluorescent-responsive small molecules for the detection of environmental toxins such as pesticides and disinfection byproducts. A related area of interest is the creation of custom fluorophores that may find application in other areas of science, including bioimaging, forensics, and as laser dyes.
Julianne Yost - Our interests lie at the intersection of organic and medicinal chemistry. Our group is focused on the design and synthesis of small molecule inhibitors of methyltransferases. Arginine and lysine methyltransferases are involved in a variety of human diseases, including cancer, but selective inhibitors are still needed to validate methyltransferases as potential drug targets. We also explore methodology projects to aid in our synthesis efforts. Students gain extensive hands-on experience with organic synthetic techniques, chemical instrumentation, and an overview of the drug discovery process.
Brian Pfennig - Our group is interested in photo-induced electron transfer processes occurring in mixed-valence compounds with more than two metal centers. In addition to addressing such basic science questions as how remote metal centers communicate electronically with each other, we are also interested in the design of molecular devices, such as a photochemical switch or molecular wires made out of coordination compounds. Students working on these projects will gain experience in classical inorganic synthesis, column chromatography, electrochemical methods, and electronic and vibrational spectroscopy.
Amanda Reig – I seek to create protein-based structural, spectroscopic, and functional models of metalloenzymes to understand how nature activates dioxygen and catalyzes chemical transformations with such great specificity. We are currently interested in the design and characterization of simple, four-helix bundle protein models of oxygen-activating diiron enzymes. Students will use common molecular biology techniques to mutate and produce model proteins and/or characterize the structure and reactivity of a model protein using a wide range of spectroscopic techniques.
Mark Ellison - I am currently working with Professor Michael Strano at MIT to study the motion of ions through single-walled carbon nanotubes. We are studying the motion of metal ions to determine whether nanotubes could be used to remove toxic ions from contaminated water. We are also studying the motion of amino acids as a step toward using carbon nanotubes to probe the contents of cells.
I also have research projects that involve functionalizing carbon nanotubes for applications in fields as varied as solar energy and nanomedicine. For solar energy, we are pursuing the functionalization of carbon nanotubes with molecular wires, which are organic molecules that conduct electricity. For nanomedicine applications, we are studying how carbon nanotubes enter cells and whether they can be used to deliver drugs to targeted cells. The research involves synthetic strategies to functionalize the nanotubes characterization using IR, UV-vis, and other spectroscopies, and study of their performance in simulated solar cells or their interaction with cells.
Mark Ellison - I am currently working with Professor Michael Strano at MIT to study the motion of ions through single-walled carbon nanotubes. We are studying the motion of metal ions to determine whether nanotubes could be used to remove toxic ions from contaminated water. We are also studying the motion of amino acids as a step toward using carbon nanotubes to probe the contents of cells.
I also have research projects that involve functionalizing carbon nanotubes for applications in fields as varied as solar energy and nanomedicine. For solar energy, we are pursuing the functionalization of carbon nanotubes with molecular wires, which are organic molecules that conduct electricity. For nanomedicine applications, we are studying how carbon nanotubes enter cells and whether they can be used to deliver drugs to targeted cells. The research involves synthetic strategies to functionalize the nanotubes characterization using IR, UV-vis, and other spectroscopies, and study of their performance in simulated solar cells or their interaction with cells.
The Celebration of Student Achievement (CoSA) is an all-day campus-wide event which engages the entire campus community in the presentation, discussion and celebration of all forms of intellectual and creative work done by our students at all levels of their college careers.
