Department of Chemistry
Events & Announcements
2017 Goldwater Awardee
Congratulations to Alyssa DeLucia '18 on winning a Goldwater Scholarship for her paper detailing microRNA function!
Dr. Marisa Fuse and collaborators awarded an ACS grant for STEM/pre-health mentoring program
In a collaboration with Hendrix College and Furman University, Rollins was awarded an ACS grant to initiate a STEM/Pre-Health mentoring program. The project is based upon the Increasing Retention and Inclusion in STEM (IRIS) program initiated at Hendrix College and is aimed at building community among students in STEM and pre-health professions. You can read more about the award here.Dr. Kasandra Riley and Science Faculty Awarded HHMI Inclusive Excellence Grant
Our science faculty, led by Dr. Kasandra Riley (Dept. Chair of Chemistry) have been awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inclusive Excellence grant to create an equitable and inclusive learning environment for STEM students. This initiative has created the "STEM Hub" in the Bush Science Center to provide opportunities for drop-in tutoring and assistance in first-year science courses. The group also started a Rollins STEM Instagram page (@rollinsstem) to highlight students and faculty within the STEM fields at Rollins.Congratulations to our chemistry alumni!
The Rollins Chemistry Department is exceedingly proud of our recent graduates, as they have placed into diverse post-graduate placements including...
- PhD in chemistry, University of Rochester
- PhD in chemistry, University of Texas at Austin
- PhD in physical chemistry, University of Utah
- Accel. BSN, University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Sciences
- PhD in chemistry, University of New Mexico
- PhD in Programs in Biomedical Sciences (PIBS), Univ. of Miami Miller School of Medicine
- PhD in medicinal chemistry, University of Michigan
- PhD in chemistry, University of California Davis
- PhD in chemistry, University of Florida
- Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
- PhD in chemistry, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- PhD in chemistry, University of Colorado
- MS in biomedical sciences/neuroscience track, University of Central Florida
- Certified Commercial Pilot
- PhD in chemistry (materials), Yale University
- DMD/PhD (dentistry/microbiology), University of Florida
- PhD in chemistry, Purdue University
- PhD in chemistry, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- MD, University of Central Florida
- PhD in chemistry, University of Virginia
- MD, New York University
- PhD in biochemistry, University of Colorado-Denver
- PhD at Virginia Tech
Dr. Ellane Park is Named Fulbright Scholar
Congratulations to Dr. Ellane Park for being named as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for South Africa!
Says Dr. Park:
"In spring of 2021, I will begin my Fulbright collaboration with the Department of Chemistry at University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa. At UKZN, I plan to guest lecture in general chemistry, integrate nanotechnology applications into their curriculum, and facilitate teaching workshops for faculty on microteaching and active learning pedagogy. In the context of the COVID19 pandemic, it is likely that this collaboration will yield greater use of innovative online learning platforms and make science education more accessible to South African students."
Congratulations to the 2020 Baker Prize Awardee - Ms. Alyssa Malto
Ms. Malto was awarded The Thomas R. Baker Memorial Prize. This prize was established in memory of Thomas R. Baker, former Professor of Chemistry and Head of the Department. It is awarded to the highest scholarship record in the study of Chemistry by a Junior major.Congratulations to American Chemical Society Scholar Eddy Cruz '21
Rollins chemistry major Eddy Cruz '21 has received an ACS Scholar Award. Eddy also serves as a Peer Supplemental Instructor (PSI) for the general chemistry (CHM120) class. Last summer, Eddy participated in the Baptist Health South Florida Observer Program. He shadowed mostly within the Anesthesia department as he aspires to go on to earn a DNP and become a CRNA.
Happy Halloween 2019!
The Chemistry Faculty dressed up like a Disney family for Halloween 2019!
Recent Rollins Chemistry Faculty Publications
- Dr. Laurel Habgood published two articles:
- Gu, S.; Chen, J.; Musgrave III, C. B.; Gehman, Z. M.; Habgood, L. G., Jia, X.; Dickie, D. A.; Goddard III, W. A.; Gunnoe, T. B. Functionalizatio of Rh(III)-Me Bonds: Use of “Capping Arene” Ligands to Facilitate Me-X Reductive Elimination. Organometallics, 2021, ASAP.
- Santiago-Narvaez B, Habgood LG. 2021. Assessing in vivo antimicrobial activity through the analysis of Galleria mellonella Kaplan-Meier plots. CourseSource. https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2021.20
- Dr. Marisa Fuse published an article with collaborators:
- Yang H, Kundra S, Chojnacki M, Liu K, Fuse MA, Abouelhassan Y, Kallifidas D, Zhang P, Huang G, Jin S, Ding Y, Luesch H, Rohde KH, Dunman PM, Lemos JA, Huigens RW 3rd. A Modular Synthetic Route Involving N-Aryl-2-nitrosoaniline Intermediates Leads to a New Series of 3-Substituted Halogenated Phenazine Antibacterial Agents. J Med Chem. 2021 Apr 21. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00168. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33881312.
- Dr. Brian Mosby published two articles with current students, E.J. Broker and Eddy Cruz:
- Broker, E.J.; Cruz, E.; Mosby, B.M. Ion exchange of Layered a-Zirconium Phosphates and Functionalized Derivatives: Determination of Thickness and Percent Functionalization by Exchange. Solvent Extraction & Ion Exchange, 2020, (in press, DOI: 10.1080/07366299.2020.1780701).
- Cruz, E.; Broker, E.J.; Mosby, B.M. Combination of intercalation and surface modification in layered zirconium phosphates: investigation of surface stability and reactivity. Dalton Transactions,2020, 49, 3841-3848.
- Dr. Ellane Park published an article for the Journal of Chemical Education, entitled "Nanotechnology Course Designed for Non-Science Majors To Promote Critical Thinking and Integrative Learning Skills." https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00490
- Dr. Ellane Park, along with collaborators at MIT (including Rollins graduate J. Grundler) published an article in Macromolecules entitled "Brush-First and ROMP-Out with Functional (Macro)monomers: Method Development, Structural Investigations, and Applications of an Expanded Brush-Arm Star Polymer Platform". https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.macromol.8b01966
- Dr. Pedro Bernal & Rollins student Luke Brown '17 published original research entitled "Partial Molar Volumes and Isentropic Compressions of Cyclic Ethers in Aqueous Solutions from 288.15 to 313.15 K at Atmospheric Pressure" in Journal of Solution Chemistry.
- Dr. Laurel Habgood, along with L. Ackermann and T.B. Gunnoe, co-edited a book entitled "Catalytic Hydroarylation of Carbon-Carbon Multiple Bonds." It is available on Amazon.
- Dr. Ellane Park, along with M. Kim, A. Garcia, and P. Malinowski, published "Mercury Uptake by Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in Oyster Restoration Project of the New York Harbor" in the International Journal of Environmental Science & Technology.
- Dr. Kasandra Riley, along Rollins students Kelsey Oonk '17 and Shelby Peres '20, published a peer-reviewed pedagogical article entitled "The Avocado Lab: An Inquiry-Driven Exploration of an Enzymatic Browning Reaction" in CourseSource.
Course Spotlights
Dr. Pedro Bernal's The Science and Culture of Chocolate will be offered in the Fall of 2021 and was recently featured in Rollins 360 (here). His course on Water, Sanitation, and Health in the Dominican Republic has also been published here. Dr. Kasandra Riley's Science of Sustenance class was also featured in Rollins 360 here.
Washington Post Article: Why pursuing STEM majors at liberal arts colleges is valuable?
Click here to read a recent article on the Washington Post that discusses the advantages of pursuing STEM majors in a liberal arts college like Rollins!
