1.      Joe Chiang has returned to Oneonta after a very successful sabbatical leave in Beijing, China. Joe was also recently named a founding member of the American Academy of Nanomedicine, selected as a consultant to the Nanotechnology Center at Tunghai University in Taiwan, and contributed a chapter for a book on "Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems." Dr. Chiang returned to the College this fall after a spring-semester sabbatical during which he served as a distinguished visiting professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. While there, he continued his nanotechnology research with an emphasis on nanoparticles, nanospheres, and nano-therapeutic devices. During his time at Tsinghua University, Chiang was named a founding member of the American Academy of Nanomedicine in Washington, DC, a professional, academic, and medical society dedicated to advancing research in nanomedicine. Its members are experts in the fields of nanotechnology, engineering, biochemistry, molecular biology, and medicine. The academy provides a forum for scientific investigation, communicates new findings, and encourages collaboration among the diverse disciplines represented in nanomedicine. In June, Dr. Chiang spent a week in Taiwan, conducting a workshop on nanotechnology-nanocomposites at Tunghai University, which is his alma mater. He was invited to serve as a consultant to the Nanotechnology Center at the university, which honored him in 1998 as the first recipient of its Distinguished Alumni Lectureship. Dr. Chiang was also invited to contribute a chapter to a book on "Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems: Current Trends and Emerging Technologies." He recently completed the chapter, which is entitled "Biological Requirements for Nano-therapeutic Systems." In addition to his work in the field of nanotechnology, Dr. Chiang is an expert in materials science. He is well known in the scientific community for his patented process to convert the fly ash produced by coal-fired plants into useful, unbreakable ceramic glass. His research has included work in gas phase electron diffraction and x-ray crystallography, laser spectroscopy studies of molecular structures, corrosion studies of metal matrix composite alloys, waste utilization and treatment, and carbon dioxide laser studies of gas phase kinetics.

2.      Bruce Knauer and Jack Kotz, two long-time members of the department have retired as of May 2005. (Both joined the department in 1970.) Bruce will continue to live nearby and be involved with the College and community. Jack Kotz will be consulting on technology issues with the College in the fall of 2005, writing another edition of his textbook, working with the American Chemical Society, teaching overseas, and volunteering in various projects. Both are still available through the College email system. (See the Faculty page for email addresses.) Before retiring in May, Jack Kotz also received the SUNY Award for Research and Scholarship.

3.      Bill Vining, an Oneonta alumnus (class of 1982) has returned to Oneonta to take up Jack Kotz's duties. Bill has his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. After working in industry for two years he joined the faculty of Hartwick College where he taught for 8 years before going to the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He was on the Chemistry faculty of UMass-Amherst until returning to Oneonta. Bill will continue his work on the development of teaching and learning software for chemistry and other areas.

4.  Dr. Jason Pontrello joined the department in August, 2005, as Lecturer. He is a recent graduate of University of Wisconsin- Madison in (Bio)organic chemistry and will help fill the void left by Dr. Knauer's retirement.

5. Jack Kotz was recently named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). (This organization serves scientists in all fields and publishes the weekly journal Science.) He was nominated by Professor R. Glaser of the University of Missouri and was honored for "sustained and distinguished contributions to the communication of chemistry to university and secondary students using the written words and classroom, online, and computer-based technologies."

6.      The NSF-funded PR2EPS camp for science students was held again this summer. The camp was led by five faculty members in the sciences: John Schaumloffel, Hugh Gallagher, Sunil Labroo, Paul Bischoff, and Nancy Bachman.  The intention of the camp is to attract Central New York high school students to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

Grant for a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer of $250,000 from the National Science Foundation

The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department was awarded a grant of $117,515 from the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education. The grant has purchased a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer which will be used to introduce NMR techniques to students throughout the curriculum, beginning with General Chemistry. Funds from the grant and matching funds from the College were used to purchase a JOEL 300 MHz ECX spectrometer, replacing the department's old Bruker and Varian instruments. The grant proposal was prepared by a group of department faculty including Larry Armstrong, Bruce Knauer, Jeremy Miller, and John Schaumloffel. The department plans to use the instrument in General Chemistry II, Organic Chemistry II, Analytical Chemistry II, Physical Chemistry II, and in student research. In General Chemistry students will obtain proton spectra of their organic unknowns to assist them in compound identification. Organic chemistry students will use the instrument in the qualitative organic analysis portion of the course to obtain proton, C-13, DEPT, and two types of 2D correlation spectra, using these spectra to determine the structures of unknown compounds. Students in Analytical Chemistry will use NMR spectra to identify compounds in an environmental chemistry experiments. Physical chemistry students will use the spectrometer to study the internal rotation of N,N-dimethylacetamide.

$800,000 Grant in Science Education

Five faculty members in chemistry (John Schaumloffel, Jeremy Miller), in physics (Hugh Gallagher, Sunil Labroo), and science education (Paul Bischoff) were awarded a grant of $807,000 from the National Science Foundation to attract Central New York high school students to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The program is titled "PR2EPS" (Preparation, Recruitment, Retention, and Excellence in the Physical Sciences). It is aimed at high school students in Otsego, Delaware, Schoharie, Chenango, and Herkimer counties.

Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectrometer

John Schaumloffel has acquired an inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) and microwave digestion system with a recent award of $88,764 from the Division of Earth Sciences of the National Science Foundation. The research carried out with these instruments, both at SUNY-Oneonta and at nearby Hartwick College, involves a wide array of geological, environmental, and chemical studies. These include studies of the elemental composition of metamorphic rock formations in New York and Montana, studies of the cycling of trace elements in environmenteal systems, and specific studies of the accumulation and cycling of mercury in the Adirondack region of New York. A major component of the project is the involvement of undergraduate students in laboratory-based research linked with field work and the analysis of geological features in the field. The acquisition of this instrument greatly enchances our suite of shared analytical instrumentation at SUNY Oneonta, benefitting the research of a number of faculty members and improving undergraduate education.

New Edition of General Chemistry Text

John Kotz has published the 6th edition of his general chemistry textbook, Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity. Thomson-Brooks/Cole of San Francisco published the 1145-page book. The coauthor was again Professor Paul Treichel of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but Professor Gabriela Weaver of Purdue University also participated. Charles Winters of the Oneonta Art Department was again responsible for a number of new photographs. Although this is the 6th edition, the book was almost completely rewritten and great attention was given to the illustrations. New content on energy, biochemistry, materials chemistry, and environmental chemistry was added in the form of magazine-style articles. A feature unique to this edition, and to the market, is that over 400 of the 2500 end-of-chapter questions are available as interactive and parameterized questions, with tutorials, in the Brooks-Cole ChemistryNow online system and in the widely used OWL online homework system. Professor William Vining of the University of Massachusetts, and an Oneonta alumnus, largely developed this aspect of the book. Finally, Kotz has developed over 100 MB of Powerpoint slides as well as several hundred questions that can be used in the classroom with a Personal Response System. Finally, for the first time the book is available as a single volume or in a 2-volume set. The publisher estimates that over one million students have used the first five editions of the book.