Welcome Professor Gopeekrishnan Sreenilayam

Our department gladly welcomes Professor Gopeekrishnan Sreenilayam as a one-year visiting professor to teach our sophomore organic chemistry sequence. He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Iowa in 2011. While Sreenilayam is no greenhorn at teaching, having served as an adjunct lecturer position at the College at Brockport (State University of New York), he brings to us vast research experience from postdoctoral fellowships at both Temple University and the University of Rochester. Sreenilayam’s most recent work investigates an unusual type of organic synthesis where rather than make use of typical organic reagents, he and his colleagues rely on a biochemical approach in which they use the heme center of hemoglobin essentially as a chiral complex ion to catalyze organic reactions to produce chiral products. We have only one concern regarding Sreenilayam: will he be able to refill that bowl of candy on his desk fast enough to accommodate the horde of organic students that will be visiting him? 

Solar Eclipse on the First Day of Class

There was a great turnout at IU South Bend for the solar eclipse.  Even though there was only 87% occlusion at South Bend, it was still a memorable sight. Gretchen Anderson's freshman nanotechnology class made pinhole viewers which were quite a popular way to indirectly view the eclipse to avoid eye injuries. But even more impressive were the thousands of pinhole viewers made by light filtering through the trees (bottom left). Even colanders (bottom right) and kitchen strainers were used to view the eclipse. Special thanks to the Physics Club and the Department of Physics and Astronomy for setting up telescopes and to-scale models. And don't worry if you missed the eclipse because you'll get another chance in 2024 which should be even more impressive with almost 97% occlusion!

Anderson and Feighery take on new roles

While it may seem like there is a power struggle in the department, that couldn't be further from the truth; Professors Anderson and Feighery both personify collegiality and have taken up the role of chair when it was necessary to do so. But now Anderson has once again taken the helm of the ship that is called the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry - and based on her previous tenure as department chair we know she won't be sitting down on the job.  And to top it off, Anderson will also chair the search committee this fall for our new organic chemist.  On the other hand, Feighery, who was chair, has moved his office from Northside Hall to Weikamp so he can better serve the campus in his new position as Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  Fortunately, Feighery will continue teaching as our department's inorganic chemist.   We wish success for both Anderson and Feighery in their new roles.

LSAMP at South Bend

The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) is an NSF-funded initiative designed to increase the number of under-represented minorities (URM) in the STEM workforce. IU South Bend began participating in this program for the first time this spring with college students visiting local high school classes to speak about their academic experiences and hopefully attract potential future students. This summer then saw two students engage in research: biology major Keon Jones (left) working with chemistry professor Grace Muna to coat electrodes with nanoparticles to improve electrochemical detection of lead in water and soil; and physics student E-Lexus Thornton (right) researching nuclear reactions with physics professor Jerry Hinnefeld.

Visitation of high schools is planned to continue this fall. Additionally the university will recruit advanced URM students to provide peer-mentoring and tutoring to beginning URM in STEM disciplines. As the university begins the search for next summer's LSAMP research scholars, both Thornton and Jones plan to present this summer's research results at the Louis Stokes Midwest Center for Excellence annual conference in Indianapolis.

Outreach of the Biology and Chemistry Club

This evening the IU South Bend Biology and Chemistry Club reached out to the community at the River Park Library at the northeast corner of the campus.  Our students helped over 100 children make bags of ice cream.  Both children and students were then entertained by the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man (an aspiring biochemistry major) who swung by later in the evening.  We are thankful that our students are willing to devote their time and energy to the community to inspire children who may one day take their place as students at IU South Bend.