Alumnus returns to give talk on industrial chemistry

Dr. David Keller, a chemistry graduate from IU South Bend decades ago, gave a talk today on Overcoming obstacles in formulation analysis through analytical chemistry-vehicle issues from the perspective of an industrial chemist. Keller is an analytical chemist with expertise in chromatography and electroanalytical chemistry who works as a director at Charles River Laboratories, the Michigan branch of a world-wide pharmaceutical company that started in Virginia in the 1950s. Keller is pictured next to our old atomic absorption spectrometer which was an instrument he used in his upper-level chemistry courses. It was replaced in 2013 with our microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometer which has similar capabilities. Keller's talk was planned for the senior seminar course (of just 12 students), so it was amazing to have an extra 44 students attend. You can find out more about the company visit at https://www.criver.com/ 

Professor Rizk receives grant for scientific literacy

Professor Rizk was just awarded a generous grant from the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund to promote science literacy through the arts. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund supports education and research in biomedical sciences to improve human health. This grant will support Rizk's efforts in bringing public awareness to climate change and human health through the art and science of protein structures. Rizk, along with IU South Bend graduate Maggie Fink (currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Notre Dame), will plan and hold a series of talks and workshops this summer and fall to increase public awareness and restore trust in science. This work is a continuation of the outreach efforts started by Rizk and Fink through their science communication blog: www.foldingmoonlight.com (Instagram @foldingmoonlight).  Congratulations Professor Rizk! 

Professor Clear Publishes Research

Professor Clear just published research this month in the peer-reviewed journal Free Radial Biology and Medicine.  This work is the result of a massive collaborative effort across three states (Indiana, Arkansas, Texas) and multiple institutions. The article title may look intimidating, but biochemistry majors have seen Coenzyme Q in the electron transport chain where it shuttles electrons in the inner mitochondrial membrane after they are dumped there by NADH or FADH2. And oxidation of H2S essentially means that hydrogen atoms are being removed and/or oxygen atoms are being added to change H2S into something else. Clear has bustling research group, especially this past summer where he mentored three students each supported by a different agency: SMART grant, LSAMP grant, and the Carolyn & Lawrence Garber Research Fellowship. If you are interested in research in organic chemistry, Clear is the one to talk to.