Introductory NMR workshop, Oct. 13-14, 2012

The NMR faciltiy is offering an Introductory Workshop for incoming Graduate Students and Outstanding Scholars on Thursday October 13 and Friday the 14th, 2011 from 1 until 4 pm each day. Please note that this is the week of the Thanksgiving Holiday and most lab sessions are cancelled that week.

This introductory workshop is geared toward undergraduate students and/or graduate students with limited (or no) NMR experience, but who are expected to make use of the NMR spectrometers as part of their research projects. The workshop is meant as a supplement to the "one on one" training that new students receive and will allow an opportunity to go into greater depth on many topics. The schedule will consist of a lecture to start each day followed by hands-on learning sessions where participants will get the opportunity to make NMR samples as well as to collect and process NMR data.

The topics covered include:

How an NMR spectrometer works

NMR Magnet Safety

Preparation of NMR Samples

Set up of 1D 1H and 13C NMR Experiments

Processing and Presentation of NMR Data

The link to register is on the NMR Facility Web site.

The workshop is free of charge to members of the Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry; however, enrollment is limited, so please register soon!

Matthew Revington

NMR Facility Coordinator,

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

University of Windsor

519-253-3000 Ext 3997

BioART CAMP to bring science and art together in Rocky Mountains

One is a biochemist who specializes in cell biology, vascular systems and blood platelet function. The other is an experimental artist who helped pioneer the conceptual art movement in Canada. They have a lot more in common than you might think.

Bulent Mutus, a professor in biochemistry, and professor emeritus Iain Baxter&, who’s been dubbed "the Marshall McLuhan of visual art," will both participate as leaders in a two-week BioARTCAMP, an art and science fair that begins on July 19 in Banff, Alberta. Dr. Mutus will be the senior scientist at the event and Baxter& will be the senior artist.

Jennifer Willet, a visual art professor and the mind behind the camp’s concept, said the event will bring together about 20 artists, scientists, theorists, filmmakers and students to build a portable lab and field research station that will demonstrate that art and the sciences are more alike than most people traditionally assume.

“We’re just going to put a whole bunch of artists and scientists together and see what comes out,” said Dr. Willet. “Art teaches people to construct meaning through representation and that’s what scientists do too, whether they realize it or not.”

Mutus, who likes to dabble in painting and photography in his spare time, agreed. He noted that when he’s conducting lab experiments he’s always thinking about how the data will appear visually.

“Science is all about how you present information,” he said. “Whether you know it or not, you use art almost daily in science.”

Besides helping construct the lab and assisting other artist and scientists with their projects, Mutus will work on a piece that uses silver nitrate filter paper, which operates as a sensor to detect hydrogen sulfide, a potentially dangerous gas. When the paper detects H2S, it leaves dark impressions that could be worked into artistic drawings or other pieces. He’ll set up an installation to do just that.

Meanwhile, Baxter& will spend his time stomping through the woods of his youth with a mannequin, photographing it in various settings in an attempt to conceptualize both the distances and connections between humanity and nature.

“Science and art both involve a great deal of technical dexterity and craftsmanship,” said Baxter&, who studied zoology before devoting his life to his art. “They’re both really conceptual. The whole idea of creating something artistic mimics experimental methodology.”
Willet said there will be two opportunities for members of the public to participate in the camp and view the work. She also suggested the camp may turn into an annual event.

Visit the camp's Web site for more information.

Annual Chemistry and Biochemistry Crystal Flask Golf Tournament

Annual Chemistry and Biochemistry Crystal Flask Golf Tournament

This year's Crystal Flask Golf Tournament will take place on Wednesday, August 17, with first tee time at 9:30am. Tournament will take place at Roseland Golf Club and we will play 18 holes. All skill levels are welcome, and Chemistry Club will be covering 1/2 of the green fee. For any additional information and to reserve a spot please contact me at djurdjes@uwindsor.ca no later than August 12.

Student chemist perfecting data transfer for electronic devices

Silicon-based integrated circuits currently used in cell phones and mp3 players are about as small as they’re going to get with current technology. Now, in response to consumer demand for even faster, more efficient electronic devices, chemists are racing to develop tiny molecular structures that would process data instead—and a UWindsor PhD student in chemistry has joined the race.

“Everyone knows that if we want data to be transferred faster we need to make things smaller, but we’ve almost reached the limit now with how small we can go,” said Mike Miller, who recently won a three-year post-graduate doctoral scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council worth $63,000.

Miller, who works under the supervision of associate professor Tricia Carmichael, said many scientists are trying to create molecular wires and resistors by linking together chains of functional molecules that could be lined up in such a way so that one day, data could be transferred through them and they could replace conventional circuits. Miller’s attention, meanwhile, is devoted to studying ways to smooth the surfaces those molecules would bond with, as a way of ensuring better conductivity and data transfer.

Specifically, he is analyzing an industrial process called chemical mechanical planarization, which involves polishing metal surfaces with a combination of abrasives and chemical etchants to control the surface roughness and grain structure of thin films of metals such as gold, copper, silver and palladium.

“We’re studying what we can change about the molecules, but also what we can change about the surfaces and how that might affect how those molecules will behave,” he said. “It’s not quite there yet. There’s a lot of fundamental work that needs to be done.”

But if breakthroughs are made, they’ll go a long way towards creating some amazing new technologies, such as low-cost flexible electronic devices. As an example, Miller points to the possibility of electronic wallpaper. Users would be able to change the look of their room with a few simple keystrokes instead of stripping and putting new paper up on their walls, he said.

Students take top honours at natural health products conference

The son of parents from Vietnam and grandparents from China, Dennis Ma grew up in house where traditional remedies and natural herbal products were commonplace. So using a derivative from a rare plant to try to find a cure for cancer doesn’t really surprise him all that much.~

“A lot of these natural products have been used as traditional medicines for a long time, but we’re starting to see a lot more of them being used in a scientific setting,” said Ma, a second year master’s student in biochemistry who tests the effectiveness of pancratistatin, a derivative of a Hawaiian spider lily which has proven to kill certain cancer cells without harming healthy ones.

Ma and lab partner Katie Facecchia, both students in the lab of professor Siyaram Pandey, recently returned from Montreal where they attended the Natural Health Products Research Society of Canada’s annual conference. Ma took first place in the student oral presentation category while Facecchia, who studies the effectiveness of a water soluble formula of the naturally occurring Coenzyme Q10 at halting the progression of Parkinson’s disease, placed second.

Another group of Dr. Pandey’s students recently garnered a considerable amount of attention for their work on a formula they developed from dandelion root extract, which also halted the spread of certain types of cancer cells.

Facecchia said attending the conference gave her a renewed sense of optimism that the scientific community is embracing the notion of looking to nature to test solutions for current medical challenges.

“People used these products back in the day for a reason and now we’re rediscovering them with modern science,” she said.

There were five presentations from Pandey’s lab made at the conference and three of them were dedicated to the memory of Kevin Couvillon, who died in 2010 at the age of 26 after a lengthy battle with cancer. His parents donated $20,000 to Pandey’s lab earlier this year. Pandey said Ma, Facecchia and fellow students Pamela Ovadje and Madona Chochkeh made high-impact presentations, which he believes contributed to the society’s decision to hold its 2013 here in Windsor.

“They responded to the panel’s questions very lucidly and defended the work very well,” he said. “We’re very grateful to Seeds 4 Hope, Joseph Sczesei and the Couvillons for generously supporting their research.”

Chem Prom 2011

Chem Prom!
All students, staff and faculty, please join us for this year's Chem Prom end of year banquet, which is taking place at the Caboto Club on April 28, 2011. Tickets are still available!

Doors open: 6:30 pm
Dinner: 7 pm
Dancing to follow
Where: Verdi Hall, Caboto Club
Students: $25/ticket
Faculty: $30/ticket

Please see Heather (EH 373-5), Chris (EH 367) or Marlene for tickets

Final presentations for Undergraduate Research in Chemistry and Biochemistry

Our honours students will be making their final presentations for their 59-410 research projects on April 27 and 28, 2011 in 186 Essex Hall from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The full schedule for presentations will be posted here on April 19, 2011:

http://mutuslab.cs.uwindsor.ca/schurko/59-410/schedules.html

Please come join us and see the fantastic work that our students have done over the past year!