Chemistry

Congratulations to Jordan Levi and Guancen Liu who have been named co-recipients of the 2019 Keaffaber Scholar Award. The award has been made possible through the generosity of Dr. Jeffrey Keaffaber, a longtime friend and supporter of the Department of Chemistry. Dr. Keaffaber received his Ph.D. from the Department in 1989 (with Prof. William Dolbier, Jr.) and has enjoyed a career in industry, entrepreneurship, consulting, and teaching. Within the Department of Chemistry he has served as a senior lecturer, undergraduate advisor, and pioneer of new teaching initiatives.

The Keaffaber Scholar Award recognizes the overall excellence in research and academic scholarship of our senior chemistry majors. To be eligible for the award, the undergraduate must be research active within the Department of Chemistry and committed to pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry.

One of this year’s co-recipients, Jordan Levi, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with a minor in Materials Science and Engineering. Since the fall of his junior year, he has been an undergraduate researcher under the advisement of Professor Brent S. Sumerlin, conducting research in synthetic, polymer chemistry. The specific aims of his research have been to investigate the synthesis of polymer-protein conjugates via improved PET-RAFT photocatalysts. In the summer of 2018, Jordan had the chance to intern with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to better understand intellectual property in the chemical arts. The following summer, Jordan had the opportunity to intern with Thermo Fisher Scientific where he utilized Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to investigate and mitigate the emergence of particulates within the assembly-line process for biomaterials. Outside of academics, Jordan enjoys traveling and playing the tuba for the university’s basketball pep band. After he graduates, Jordan plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Chemistry with a focus on materials chemistry or a related discipline.

The other recipient is Guancen Liu who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. He has been an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Professor Ronald K. Castellano for two years, conducting research in organic chemistry. His research involves the study of self-assembling [2.2]paracyclophanes driven by hydrogen bonds. The specific aim of his research is to synthesize and characterize chromophore conjugated [2.2]paracyclophane tetracarboxamides. Of particular interest is to explore how the self-assembly of [2.2]paracyclophane can organize the chromophores and ultimately improve the performance of organic electronics. In the spring of 2019, Guancen was selected for the prestigious University Scholars Program. Outside of academics, he enjoys watching documentaries. In the future, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry with a focus in synthetic organic chemistry. His goal after earning his Ph.D. is to become a research scientist in industry.

Congratulations to Carter Boelke for his excellent research achievements! Carter won 1st place at UF’s annual GRACE symposium and 2nd place in his division of Catalysis & Reaction Engineering at the 2019 Annual AIChE Student Conference. Carter is currently a third year chemical engineering major who has been working in Dr. Wei’s research group for over two years. His current work seeks to elucidate the stability, among other properties, of titanium dioxide nanoparticles to enhance HER. Carter has also successfully worked at Ames Laboratory where he researched the conversion of lignin to usable compounds using various heterogeneous catalysts under relatively mild conditions.

Congratulations to Dr. David Wei on receiving the University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) Professorship. 

Photo with our chair Dr. Lisa McElwee-White (left) and our dean Dr. David E. Richardson (right) at the 2019 Professorship Awards Luncheon.

Dr. Zhongwu Guo, UF Professor of Chemistry and Steven and Rebecca Scott Chair, recently received a UF Innovation of the Year Award for his creative work about the synthesis of glycosphingolipids, a research project supported by NSF.

Dr. Zhongwu Guo, UF Professor of Chemistry and Steven and Rebecca Scott Chair, recently received a Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) of more than 1.6 Million Dollars from NIH to support his research about glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchorage of proteins to the cell membrane.

Wei David Wei, Ph.D., was named University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) Professor for 2019-2022. The recognition goes to faculty who have a distinguished record of research and a strong research agenda that is likely to lead to continuing distinction in their fields.

“UF Professor of Chemistry, Adrian Roitberg is part of a team that was recently awarded an NSF grant of nearly $1 million.”