Chemistry

Dean Richardson has announced the appointment of Professor Brent Sumerlin to succeed Professor Ken Wagener as Butler Chair of Polymer Chemistry beginning with the fall semester, 2017. Brent joined the Department of Chemistry faculty in 2012 as Associate Professor, moving here from Southern Methodist University, where he had established a widely recognized research program involving the synthesis and investigation of stimuli-responsive polymeric materials. He was promoted to full professor in 2015 and has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the 2015 Biomacromolecules/Macromolecules Young Investigator Award (ACS) and the 2016 Hanwha-Total Young Scientist Award. He also was recently named an Associate Editor of the journal: ACS Macro Letters.

In view of the strong record of Brent’s professional accomplishments and contributions to the Department and to the Butler Polymer Research Laboratory since moving to the Department, Brent has been chosen to assume future leadership of the increasingly potent and internationally recognized UF Chemistry polymer program as Butler Chair.

In a recent paper in Chem (Cell Press), the Sumerlin Research Group reports a new polymerization strategy that leads to the highest molecular weight polymers ever prepared by a controlled radical polymerization (CRP) method. Developments in CRP have revolutionized polymer chemistry over the last two decades, allowing access to polymers with well-defined and predictable molecular weights, narrow molecular weight distributions, block copolymers, and complex macromolecular architectures. More than 30,000 papers have been published in this area since the mid 1990?s. However, applying CRP techniques for the synthesis of high molecular weight polymers has consistently proven to be challenging.

The recent work by Nick Carmean, Troy Becker, and Michael Sims in the Sumerlin Group has shown that ultra-high molecular weight polymers can be prepared by photopolymerization of vinyl monomers in the presence of thiocarbonylthio compounds. The polymerizations occur in water, employ simple and inexpensive photoreactors, and yield well-defined homopolymers and block copolymers with ultra-high molecular weights (more than 8 million g/mol). The polymerizations can even occur via irradiation with sunlight, as demonstrated by carrying out the reactions on the roof of Sisler Hall!

For more information, see the article (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2016.12.007)
or a commentary on the work by Kamigaito and Satoh (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451929416302753).

Congratulations to (pictured left to right) Steven LoCicero, Brooke Barnes, Nate Richey, Yunlu Zhang, Michael Sims, and Rebecca Olsen, who formed a committee and submitted a proposal to organize the Spring 2018 ACS National Meeting Graduate Student Symposium. The current working title of their symposium is, “Finding Our Place at the Bottom: A Symposium in Memory of Richard Feynman,” highlighting the impact that chemists have had on the field of nanoscience as a way to honor Richard Feynman who would turn 100 years old in 2018.

Distinguished Professor George Christou has been awarded the 2016 Southern Chemist Award of the ACS Southeastern Region. The award is administered by the ACS Memphis Section. He received a medal at the presentation ceremony in Memphis on December 8 and then gave a talk on his research. The award is given annually to “recognize distinguished service to the chemical profession in the southern USA…In addition, nominees must have actively participated in ACS events and have brought recognition to the South through their work…. The South consists of: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Prof. Christou’s research is in synthetic and physical-inorganic chemistry of the transition metals, and spans molecular nanoscience, bioinorganic chemistry, and molecular magnetism.

Professor Adam S. Veige has been named Associate Editor of Coordination Chemistry Reviews (CCR). CCR offers rapid publication of review articles on topics of current interest and importance in coordination chemistry. The term “coordination chemistry” is interpreted broadly, and includes aspects of organometallic, theoretical and bioinorganic chemistry. In general the reviews survey developments in a particular area during the last few years, or discuss the results obtained with a particular technique.

Special issues are published from time to time on topics of current interest and importance. These special issues may also focus on contributions from a specific country or area of the world, or contain the proceedings of invited lectures to major international conferences. The journal also incorporates special volumes containing annual reviews of main group chemistry, on transition metal group chemistry, and on organometallic chemistry. Good reviews are essential educational tools for those working in inorganic chemistry. Coordination Chemistry Reviews acts as a focal point for informative critical surveys of inorganic and physical inorganic chemistry. (Impact Factor: 12.994)

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00108545/

Daniel Seidel, currently Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University, will be joining the faculty of the Department of Chemistry in August, 2017, as Professor of Chemistry. Professor Seidel has an international reputation in the area of synthetic organic chemistry, his interests focusing mainly on synthesis and catalysis with an emphasis on nitrogen containing compounds. The broad interests of his research group are consistent with the Department’s initiative to increase visibility in the area of discovery chemistry. Dr. Seidel has published over 90 peer-reviewed papers. Among other honors, he has been an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, a Humboldt Research Fellow and a Fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science.

We welcome Professor Seidel as an esteemed new member of our faculty.