AR2018PDF

Harvey Mudd College January 2019
Chemistry

Annual Report

Message From Our Chair

Dear friends,
We are not a retiring group in the Department of Chemistry. To date, only four faculty have retired from the department:
Art Campbell, Bill Sly, Phil Myhre, and Mits Kubota. Even after their retirements, Mits and Phil kept laboratories in the
department and were fixtures on campus for a number of years. Within the past year, both Phil and Mits have passed
on.
Between the two, Mits and Phil had eighty years of service to HMC. Both were passionately dedicated to the idea that
research was a significant, defining pillar of undergraduate chemistry education. They each won the relatively new
American Chemical Society Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution sponsored by The Research
Corporation in back-to-back years.
For someone like me who joined the department after the College was well established, I knew Phil and Mits as
department chairs and senior colleagues. When I meet alumni from before my time, I treasure the stories I hear about
Mits and Phil in their earlier days. I picture them as they appear in a pair of photos in our student lounge, showing the
two young teacher/scholars circa 1962 wearing a tie and lab coat in the laboratory with students by their sides, imparting
chemical wisdom. With markedly different personalities and in their own styles, they nonetheless shared their
philosophies, outlooks, and consistently interesting stories. The marks of their efforts surround us. (In fact, after two
subsequent renovations to Jacobs Hall of Science, there are still chunks of concrete missing in the stairwells where Mits
wrestled gas cylinders up to his lab when the elevator did not work…) Their legacy is carried into the future by our
alumni and by the alternating Mits Kubota and Philip Myhre Fellows, current students who are awarded research
stipends for two successive summers and the intervening academic year, supporting strong, continuous research on
difficult problems with an HMC Chemistry faculty mentor.
We are working to further honor what Phil and Mits built, to cherish what they accomplished, and to celebrate the spirit
with which they lived their lives. You can expect to hear more about these efforts in the near future. In the meantime, if
you have a story or an anecdote about Mits or Phil, would you please share it with me? We would love to share these
with our wider family.
This edition of our departmental newsletter is dedicated to Philip C. Myhre and Mitsuru Kubota.
Warmly,
Hal Van Ryswyk
John Stauffer Professor and Chair of Chemistry

In This Issue

 Department News
 Events
 Semester Abroad
 Summer Research

2

Table of Contents

Message from Our Chair ..................................................................................................... 1
In Memoriam………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Myhre Fellowship…………………………………………………………………………………...6
Chemistry Courses...……….………………………………………………………………………7
Seminar Series………………………………………………………………………….………...11
Celebration and Award Luncheon…………….……………………………………….………..12
Study Abroad Highlights………….………………………………………………………….…..15
Student Recognition………………….……..…..……………….………….……….………...…18
Halloween..…….……………………………………………………….………………………….20
Karukstis ACS Fellow……………………………………………………………………………..22
Department News…………………………………………….…………………………………...24
ISKPPA Symposium…………………………………………………………………….………..28
ACS National Meeting....................................................................................................... 29
Class of 2018 .................................................................................................................... 33
Alumni Happenings..……….………………………………………………….…………………37
Publications……..………………………………………………………………………….…..…39
Presentations…………………………………………………………………………….…….…41
Safety …………………………………………………………………………………….……….43
Summer Research Activities……………….…..…………………………………...…….…....45
Faculty and Staff……………………………………………………………….………………...49
Collage…………………………………………………………………………………………….62

3

In Memoriam

Professor Philip C. Myhre

Philip C. Myhre, Harvey Mudd College professor of chemistry emeritus, passed
away at home in Tennessee August 26 following a short illness.
Myhre was an important presence at the College, serving from 1960 to
1999. He earned a B.A. in chemistry from Pacific Lutheran College and a PhD at
the University of Washington. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Nobel Institute
of Chemistry in Stockholm prior to joining the Harvey Mudd faculty in 1960 as the
new College’s second organic chemist. He served as the second chair of the HMC
Department of Chemistry for 10 years, during which he designed and oversaw the
construction of the Keck Laboratory.
Myhre’s research in physical organic chemistry of reactive species spanned many
systems, but he was particularly proud—in his characteristic, quiet fashion—of his
decade-long quest with IBM Almaden’s Nino Yannoni to provide concrete
evidence for the elusive structure of the 2-norbornyl cation at 6 Kelvin using
doubly labeled compounds created at HMC with student coworkers. Myhre was
known to highly value the mentor-undergraduate relationship, seeing it as a highly
effective way to communicate the nuances and excitement of original research. He
taught courses in first-year chemistry, organic chemistry and advanced organic
chemistry, and was senior thesis advisor for numerous students, many of whom
went on to earn PhD degrees in chemistry and to hold academic posts in colleges
and universities.
The HMC Alumni Association named Myhre an Honorary Alumnus when he retired
in 1999.
Myhre took sabbatical leaves at Caltech, the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology (ETH-Zurich), the University of Exeter, the University of Victoria, IBM
Research Laboratory in San Jose, California, and was an Erskine Fellow at
Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand. In 1991, he was the
recipient of the newly established American Chemical Society (ACS) Award for
Research at an Undergraduate Institution. The ACS commended Myhre for his
“fundamental research on the structure and reactivity of carbocationic reaction
intermediates, distinctive for its ingenuity and breadth, and for his tireless devotion
to the education of undergraduate students through chemical research.”

4

In Memoriam

Professor Mitsuru Kubota

Longtime Harvey Mudd College Professor of Chemistry Mits Kubota passed away November 11.
Kubota served on the faculty of the College between 1959 and 2000 and was chair of the Department
of Chemistry from 1989 to 1995.
An inorganic chemist and beloved professor, Kubota had an impressive professional career that
included research fellowships at the University of Sussex (1973), Chevron Research Co. (1981) and
the University of Venice (1988).
Born on Sept. 25, 1932 in Eleele, Kauai, Hawaii, Kubota was educated in the public school system of
Hawaii. After graduation from the University of Hawaii and completion of the R.O.T.C. program in June
1954, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served a tour of active duty from July
1954 to June 1956 as a battalion communications officer with the 61st Infantry Regiment. In September
1956, he attended the graduate school of the University of Illinois, Urbana, where he was a graduate
teaching assistant and a research fellow. His thesis was directed by Professor Theodore L. Brown.
Kubota received his PhD in 1960.
Kubota began teaching at Harvey Mudd in 1959. While his primary teaching responsibility was in the
area of advanced inorganic chemistry, he taught courses in quantitative analysis, advanced analytical
chemistry and instrumental analysis, and recitation and laboratory sections in physical chemistry.
During the academic years and summers, he maintained a program of research supported by the
Research Corporation, the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society, and the
National Science Foundation. He published many papers on organometallic chemistry, and dozens of
HMC chemistry students who studied with Kubota went on to earn PhDs or lead research teams at
corporations, hold tenure-track professorships at universities or serve in other leadership positions.
It was his influence and inspiration of students that led Kubota to receive the 1992 American Chemical
Society Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution. Kubota’s leadership in undergraduate
research and his exemplary research mentorship of undergraduates at the College were honored in
2015 by an endowed research fellowship. Kubota Fellows are Harvey Mudd students who take part in
a 10-week research project that begins in the summer following their sophomore year, continues
through their junior academic year and concludes at the end of the following summer. Each fellowship
provides summer stipends, academic year wages, research expenses, conference fees and travel
funds.
Other honors Kubota received during his career included a National Science Foundation Science
Faculty Fellowship (1966), a Fulbright Advanced Research Fellowship (1973), and a National
Institutes of Health Special Fellowship (1974).
For many years, Kubota was an avid swimmer and cyclist, and was often seen around The Claremont
Colleges doing both. He was also active in the Claremont community, including as a member of
Community Friends (of International Students). He and his wife, Jane, were founding members and
attended all of its major functions. They received its annual volunteer award in 2015.
In addition to chemistry, Kubota enjoyed following the stock market and growing orchids. He grew
many rare varieties of orchids and generously donated them for over 20 years to the Flower Booth at
Claremont’s International Festival, where he was a regular with the festival crew. He created and
named the hybrid Cymbidium Waimea High School in honor of his high school in 2011; the name is
recognized by the international orchid register.
Kubota is survived by his wife, Jane, a former substitute teacher in the Pomona Unified School District
to whom he was married for over 60 years, and by a son, Keith Kubota, (spouse, Karen), a daughter,
Lynne Hanamoto (spouse, Art) and grandchildren, Emily, Adam and Bryce.

5

Myhre Research Fellowship

This year’s Myhre Research Fellowship
was awarded to Brandon Wada ’20
in the lab of Professor Van Hecke.

Brandon’s project deals with isothermal compressibilities that are very useful
physical constants of pure materials. Few studies have focused on measuring
isothermal compressibilities for binary mixtures of simple liquids, alcohol and water
for example. Measuring isothermal compressibilities directly is very difficult but a
thermodynamic relationship will allow calculation of an isothermal compressibility
from independent measurements of constant pressure heat capacity, adiabatic
compressibility, temperature, and the coefficient of isothermal expansion. Recent
equipment acquisitions allows measurements of all the necessary independent
physical properties, each valuable in their own right, in the laboratory. From the
measurements on binary mixtures, it is hoped that simple mixing rules, formulas to

add pure properties together to describe the property of the mixture, will be
established.

6

Chem 23A Soap Making Demonstration

Professor Johnson leads a soap
making demonstration for the first-
year class as part of core chemistry.

7

Chem 24

We welcomed our frosh to chem lab (Chem 24) with a poster
reminding all students to come properly attired. Several of our
senior majors posed with proper lab attire such as long pants,
closed-toe shoes, hair tied back, lab coats and safety goggles.

8

Chem 103

Professor Van Ryswyk demonstrates Ira Remsen’s (1846-1927) Copper + Nitric
Acid for Chem 103 students.

9

Chem 109

Our chemical analysis laboratory is a cooperative, project-based application of chemical analysis in a
tropical marine ecosystem. Techniques include spectrophotometry, potentiometry, chromatography,

and redox and complexometric titrations.

Members of Chem 109 Chemical Analysis Lab
10

Seminar Series

September

Sarah Keller, University of Washington
Jack Sadowsky, Genentech

Anand Subramaniam, UC-Merced

October

Ann Marie Carlton, UC-Irvine
Susan Marquess, UC-Berkeley

Laura Ackerman, Princeton

November

Josh Vura-Weis, University of Illinois

December

Smaranda Marinescu, USC

January

Kerri Pratt, University of Michigan
Jackie Barton, Caltech

February

Lynette Cegelski, Stanford
Paull Weiss, UCLA

Allison Campbell (PNNL) Robbins Lecturer

March

Tehshik Yoon, University of Wisconsin
Geri Richmond, University of Oregon

April

Andrew Knappenberger, Yale
Stacey Bent, Stanford

Michael Gilson, UC-San Diego
Atul Parikh, UC-Davis

11

Annual Departmental Celebration and Awards Luncheon

The Chemistry Department holds an annual Awards Banquet each fall to recognize those chemistry and joint
chemistry/biology majors who have been selected for various department awards. As an additional and
traditional part of our program, several of our senior majors who studied abroad share highlights of
their experiences.

 

12

Annual Departmental Celebration and Awards Luncheon (continued)

Campbell Prize Sly Prize
Emily Shimizu ‘20
Leah Stevenson ‘19, Althea Hansel ‘19,
& Fanrui Sha ‘19

CRC Winners
Howard Deshong ‘21, Sophia Thomas ‘21

& Candice Chen ‘21

13

Annual Departmental Celebration and Awards Luncheon (continued)

American Chemical Society Divisional Awards are given for
outstanding performance in upper-division coursework

Analytical Division Chris Environmental Division
Ali Khan ‘19 Simone Griffith ‘19

Inorganic Division Organic Division & Polymer Division
Micaela Homer ‘19 Fanrui Sha ‘19 & Althea Hansel ‘19

14

Study Abroad Highlights

Chris Doering ‘19 in New Zealand

15

Study Abroad (continued)

Hannah Slocumb‘19 in China

16

Study Abroad (continued)

Fanrui Sha ‘19 in England

17

Student Recognition

Chemistry – High Distinction
Jason Casar, Rachael Kretsch, Bella Lee/May 2018
Chemistry – Distinction
Lakshmi Batachari, Zachary Evans, Kevin Huang, Kareesa Kron, Grant Murray, Omar Velazquez
May 2018
Chemistry Departmental Honors
Jason Casar, Zachary Evans, Rachael Kretsch, Karessa Kron, Grant Murray,
Omar Velazquez/May 2018
The Dotty and Art Campbell Prize was created by friends to honor Dorothy
C. and J. Arthur Campbell. Their commitment to Harvey Mudd College began at
its opening in 1957. This prize acknowledges the great contributions of the
Campbells, and honors a senior chemist for their achievement and promise.
Althea Hansel, Fanrui Sha, Leah Stevenson/October 2018
The William G. Sly Prize was donated by friends to honor Bill “The Snowman” Sly. Throughout his
34 years at HMC, Bill displayed a depth of understanding and love of learning that were an inspiration
to colleagues and students alike. This prize honors a junior chemist who exemplifies the curiosity,
intellectual integrity, and enthusiasm that Bill brought to his teaching and research.
Emily Shimizu/October 2018
Harald V. Johnson P70 Memorial Prize for Effective Communication of Chemistry recognizes a
student who has done an outstanding job of communicating chemistry to the general public or the world
outside Harvey Mudd College.
Kareesa Kron/May 2018
American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Award is to encourage a student’s
interest in analytical chemistry and to recognize students who display an aptitude for a career in this
field.
Ali Khan/October 2018
American Chemical Society Division of Environmental Chemistry Award recognizes outstanding
contributions to the field of environmental chemistry.
Simone Griffin/October 2018
American Chemical Society Division of Inorganic Chemistry Award recognizes a student that
has demonstrated excellence in inorganic chemistry at the undergraduate level and should have future
plans that include a ycareer in chemistry.
Micaela Homer/October 2018

American Chemical Society Division of Organic Chemistry Award recognizes outstanding
contributions to the field of organic chemistry.
Fanrui Sha/October 2018
American Chemical Society Division of Polymer Chemistry Award recognizes outstanding
contributions to the field of polymer chemistry.
Althea Hansel/October 2018
The American Institute of Chemists Foundation, Inc. honors outstanding seniors that
demonstrated a record of ability, leadership, and professional promise in chemistry.
Kareesa Kron and Bella Lee/May 2018

18

Student Recognition (continued)

Phi Lambda Upsilon (National Chemical Honor Society)
Jason Casar, Rachael Kretsch, Bella Lee, Grant Murray, Omar Velazquez//May 2018
Department Service Award recognizes senior chemists for extraordinary service to the
chemistry department, its students, and faculty.
Jason Casar, Zachary Evans, Kareesa Kron/May 2018
Chemical Rubber Company (CRC) Press Freshman Chemistry Achievement is based on
outstanding academic freshman achievement in chemistry.
Yuanzhou Chen, Howard Deshong, Sophia Thomas/October 2018

19

Halloween

Professor Daub/Micaela Homer ‘19 Professor Eleven

Professor Leslie Knopp Chemistry Cat/Toty Calvo ‘20
20

Halloween (continued)

Profs. Van Vleet, Johnson, Van Heuvelen & Hawkins/Althea Hansel ’19, Professor Hufflepuff
Hannah Slocumb ‘19, Fanrui Sha ‘19, Daphne Guo ‘19

Professor Dog & a Lady The REAL Professor Pikachu
21

Karukstis Named ACS Fellow

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellows Program was
created by the ACS Board of Directors in December 2008 to
recognize members of ACS for outstanding achievements in
and contributions to science, the profession, and the Society.

22

Karukstis Named ACS Fellow (continued)

Kerry Karukstis, the Ray and Mary Ingwersen Professor of Chemistry at Harvey Mudd College, has been
named to the 2018 class of American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellows for outstanding achievements in, and
contributions to, the science profession and service to the Society. She is the first Harvey Mudd College
chemistry faculty member to be selected for this honor.
The selection of ACS Fellows is based on contributions to the science profession and contributions to the ACS
community. ACS recognized Karukstis’s leadership in collaborative research with undergraduates, in externally
funded initiatives promoting undergraduate research at the national level and in strategies advancing women
STEM faculty at liberal arts institutions. Karukstis has contributed to the ACS community through her roles as
vice chair and member of the Committee on Professional Training, as feature editor of the Journal of Chemical
Education and as contributor to symposia mentoring younger chemists and women STEM faculty.
One of Karukstis’s nominators commented, “Professor Karukstis has played a transformative role in
institutionalizing undergraduate research in the nation.”
Another noted, “Professor Karukstis has added the scholarship of chemical education pedagogy, expanding
undergraduate research opportunities and mentorship of female chemists to her repertoire. … She has become
a national leader in these endeavors.”
The ACS citation reads:
“Contribution to the science/profession: Recognized for her leadership in collaborative research with
undergraduates, in externally funded initiatives promoting undergraduate research at the national level, and in
strategies advancing women STEM faculty at liberal arts institutions.
Contribution to the ACS community: Recognized for service as Vice Chair and member of the Committee on
Professional Training; Journal of Chemical Education feature editor; contributor to symposia mentoring younger
chemists and women STEM faculty.”
Karukstis will attended a ceremony honoring her and the other 2018 fellows, one of whom is Dan Savin ’95,
associate professor of chemistry at the University of Florida and a former research student in Karukstis’s lab.
Karukstis joined the faculty at Harvey Mudd College in 1984. Her research interests focus on using spectro-
scopic and light scattering techniques to characterize the structure and physical properties of surfactant
aggregates and macromolecular host-guest systems. She has conducted externally-funded research in
collaboration with more than 100 undergraduates at Harvey Mudd, and publishes with undergraduate
co-authors who regularly present their research results at national meetings of the American Chemical Society.
Professor Karukstis has co-authored more than 100 publications in scientific journals and two books: Lasers in
Chemistry and Chemistry Connections: The Chemistry of Everyday Phenomena. She is co-editor of four
volumes on issues related to undergraduate research and the advancement of women faculty. Karukstis has
served the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) in many capacities, including as a councilor for the
Chemistry Division since 1993, as president in 2007-08, and as co-principal investigator on three National
Science Foundation awards focused on institutionalizing undergraduate research. Among her many honors,
she received the 2003 Henry T. Mudd Prize for outstanding service to Harvey Mudd College, the CUR
Volunteer of the Year Award in 2004 and 2010, and the 2012 CUR Fellows Award.
The official list of 2018 ACS Fellows appears in the July 16 issue of Chemical & Engineering News.

23

Departmental News

Johnson Joins NSF-sponsored Inorganic
Chemistry Project

Harvey Mudd College chemistry professor Adam Johnson will participate in an
innovative study to develop, test, and refine a flexible, foundation-level inorganic
chemistry course. As one of the first 20 faculty (Virtual Inorganic Pedagogical
Electronic Resource [VIPEr] Fellows) selected for this ground-breaking project,
Johnson will join other inorganic chemists from across the country in a
community of practice dedicated to improving student learning.
Over the course of the project, the VIPEr Fellows will implement evidence-based
practices in their courses.
Johnson was one of the founding members of the team that initially developed
the Interactive Online Network of Inorganic Chemists (IONiC), which is carrying
out the project. “I am excited to join this study to show the efficacy of the
educational practices we have developed over the last decade with VIPEr,” he
says.
The study, titled “Improving Inorganic Chemistry Education,” is being led by
IONiC with support from the National Science Foundation’s Improving Under-
graduate STEM Education program. The project team will use classroom
observations, analysis of student work, student surveys and faculty interviews to
study how changes in the classroom affect student learning, interest and
motivation. IONiC’s web home, the Virtual Inorganic Pedagogical Electronic
Resource (VIPEr; www.ionicviper.org), is the hub for disseminating the course
goals, content and pedagogy. VIPEr Fellows will also investigate how IONiC may
encourage the adoption of evidence-based classroom practices.
”The project leaders are excited about the energy and commitment of the first
group of VIPEr Fellows,” said Professor Joanne Stewart of Hope College, a
principal investigator on the grant. “We celebrate the diverse approaches they
bring to teaching inorganic chemistry and the new insights into faculty
development they will enable.”

24

Departmental News (continued)

Leah Stevenson ’19 Receives NIST-SURF
Fellowship

Leah Stevenson ’19 is a junior majoring in chemistry. During her summer NIST Fellowship, she
will explore the development of novel alternative fuels with Thomas J. Bruno, group leader of
the Experimental Properties of Fluids Group of the Applied Chemicals and Materials Divi-
sion. She will study the phase properties of biofuels via NIST’s composition-explicit distillation
curve, a technique that provides an energy content channel in addition to the volatility of a fuel.
Stevenson will have the opportunity to become an expert at gas chromatography, mass
spectrometry and many other analytical techniques.
During summer 2017, Stevenson worked with Dr. John Cort at Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory to improve the characterization of complex bio-oil mixtures using heteronuclear
NMR spectroscopy. “The conversion of biomass into liquid fuels is of interest as a source of
sustainable energy, and it is important to understand the chemical composition of these
mixtures and the effects of their composition on properties relevant to their use as fuels,” says
Stevenson. “NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for elucidation of the components of bio-oils
and their chemical structures. I collected, processed and analyzed HSQC NMR spectra of
bio-oils as well as possible components. I developed and implemented an algorithm in Python
to match the spectra of the components with features in the bio-oil spectra so that individual
molecular components could be distinguished.”
Her research at Harvey Mudd with professors Gerald Van Hecke ’61 and Kerry Karukstis
involves studying the self-assembly process of chromonic molecules, a class of soluble
aromatic compounds that stack via intermolecular interactions to form column-like aggregates
in solution. Stevenson uses static light scattering in conjunction with refractive index measure-
ments and fluorescence spectroscopy to learn more about this stacking process in chromonic
systems.
At Harvey Mudd, Stevenson is a chemistry tutor for Academic Excellence, a musician in The
Claremont Colleges Orchestra, and is part of The Claremont Colleges Library Board of
Student Stakeholders. She’s also a recipient of the Department of Chemistry’s William G. Sly
Prize, which recognizes her curiosity, intellectual integrity and enthusiasm for chemistry.
Stevenson says her goal is to obtain a PhD in physical chemistry and pursue a career in basic
chemical research.

25

Departmental News (continued)

Althea Hansel ‘19 Wins Cancer
Research Award

Althea Hansel, a chemistry major, has won the 2018–2019 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Undergraduate Scholar Award.
Hansel is one of 10 college students chosen from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico to win the award. She
receives complimentary registration and a $1,500 stipend each year to support her participation this year and next
in AACR Annual Meetings, one of the largest conferences for cancer researchers. The remainder of the award
can be used for related school projects or science events.
Established by AACR member Thomas J. Bardos, the award for full-time, third-year undergraduate students
majoring in science aims to inspire science students to enter the field of cancer research.
Hansel’s interest in the field is personal: She was diagnosed with cancer at age 3.
“I had stage four neuroblastoma, which is termed high-risk neuroblastoma,” she says. “At that time, the five-year
survival rate was 30 to 40 percent. It’s been almost 17 years for me with no evidence of disease now, and the long
-term survival rate is about 40 to 50 percent. So, we really haven’t made as much of an improvement in the two
decades since I was sick as we might hope. My personal goal after Mudd is to do an M.D./PhD and then become
a pediatric oncologist and a physician/scientist, then use my experiences as a cancer survivor to help children
who are still fighting cancer.”

Althea Hansel ’19 and Dr. Yael Mossé

Hansel has been focused on this goal since high school when she began working in the research lab of Dr. Yael
Mossé, one of her doctors. “She really inspired my passion for research and love of science and my desire to
really train myself as a scientist, in addition to wanting to become a doctor,” she says. At Harvey Mudd, she’s
done research on campus with chemistry professor Mary Van Vleet ’12, learning the fundamental physics of
intermolecular interactions and the tools of scientific computing and molecular modeling. During summers at the
University of California San Francisco, she’s tested different treatments for neuroblastoma with Dr. Clay
Gustafson and studied “cancer more generally” with Dr. William A. Weiss. She’ll return to Gustafson’s lab this
summer on a grant from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
Being able to attend AACR conferences that are now supported by her award is icing on the cake for Hansel. At
the conference in April, she met up again with Mossé, whom she hadn’t seen in three years, and got a sense of
what is happening in the field of cancer research, “what the really cutting-edge research is in pediatric oncology,
which is what I’m most interested in.”
In addition to her scholarly activities, Hansel is a student leader on campus. She’s a Drinkward Residence Hall
mentor and proctor, a member of the Honor Code Committee, a tenor in the Claremont Chamber choir and
membership vice president of Science Bus. Hansel received the HMC chemistry department’s William G. Sly
Prize, which honors a junior chemist who exemplifies curiosity, intellectual integrity and enthusiasm.

26

Departmental News (continued)

Leah Stevenson ‘19 Named Goldwater Scholar

Leah Stevenson ’19 is the recipient of a Barry Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious
national award for undergraduate STEM researchers. The award for undergraduate U.S.
sophomores and juniors covers the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to
$7,500 per year.
Stevenson is both an active researcher and leader at Harvey Mudd. She is a chemistry tutor
for Academic Excellence, a musician in The Claremont Colleges Orchestra and is part of
The Claremont Colleges Library Board of Student Stakeholders. She’s also a recipient of the
Department of Chemistry’s William G. Sly Prize, which recognizes her curiosity, intellectual
integrity and enthusiasm for chemistry.
This year, Stevenson received the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship granting her the opportunity to explore the
development of novel alternative fuels with Thomas J. Bruno, group leader of the
Experimental Properties of Fluids Group of the Applied Chemicals and Materials
Division. She will study the phase properties of biofuels via NIST’s composition-explicit
distillation curve, a technique that provides an energy content channel in addition to the
volatility of a fuel. Stevenson will have the opportunity to become an expert at gas
chromatography, mass spectrometry and many other analytical techniques.
During summer 2017, Stevenson worked with Dr. John Cort at Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory to improve the characterization of complex bio-oil mixtures using heteronuclear
NMR spectroscopy.
“The conversion of biomass into liquid fuels is of interest as a source of sustainable energy,
and it is important to understand the chemical composition of these mixtures and the effects
of their composition on properties relevant to their use as fuels,” says Stevenson. “NMR
spectroscopy is a powerful tool for elucidation of the components of bio-oils and their
chemical structures. I collected, processed and analyzed HSQC NMR spectra of bio-oils as
well as possible components. I developed and implemented an algorithm in Python to match
the spectra of the components with features in the bio-oil spectra so that individual
molecular components could be distinguished.”
Her research at Harvey Mudd with professors Gerald Van Hecke ’61 and Kerry Karukstis
involves studying the self-assembly process of chromonic molecules, a class of soluble
aromatic compounds that stack via intermolecular interactions to form column-like
aggregates in solution. Stevenson uses static light scattering in conjunction with refractive
index measurements and fluorescence spectroscopy to learn more about this stacking
process in chromonic systems.
Stevenson says her goal is to obtain a PhD in physical chemistry and pursue a career in
basic chemical research.

27

35th Informal Symposium on Kinetics and Photochemical Processes
in the Atmosphere (ISKPPA)

(l/r) Stephanie Kong ‘15, Professor Lelia Hawkins, and Elyse Pennington ‘17
Stephanie Kong ‘15 and Elyse Pennington ‘17, both graduate students in John Seinfeld’s

lab, met up with Professor Hawkins at the 35th Informal Symposium on Kinetics and
Photochemical Processes in the Atmosphere (ISKPPA) held at Caltech.

28

American Chemical Society
National Meeting & Exposition in New Orleans

Ben Mitchell ‘18 (Pitzer) and Professor Adam Johnson

Althea Hansel ‘19

29

American Chemical Society
National Meeting & Exposition in New Orleans (continued)

Rilke Griffin ‘18

Daphne Guo ‘19

30

American Chemical Society
National Meeting & Exposition in New Orleans (continued)

Professor Karukstis with the Moles

Professor Van Hecke & the Wizard

(l-r) Gabriel Phun ‘18, Zachary Evans ‘18, Kareesa Kron ‘18,
Jason Casar ‘18, and Althea Hansel ‘19

31

American Chemical Society
National Meeting & Exposition in New Orleans (continued)

HMC Brunch
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant

32

Class of 2018

First row (l/r): Rilke Griffin, Jason Casar, Kareesa Kron, Bella Lee, Lakshmi Batachari, and
Gabriel Phun
Second row (l/r): Kevin Huang, Omar Velazquez, Grant Murray, Geneva Miller, Rachael
Kretsch, Zachary Evans, and Paul Sonner. Not shown: Carla Becker, Hana Schiff, Ailin Zhang

33

Senior Theses

Senior research (Chemistry 151-152) is the capstone experience of the chemistry degree, including Biology 193/194 and
Engineering 112/113 (Clinic Team). Students participate in research with faculty, some starting in their first year; all
chemistry majors pursue research and write a senior thesis.

Senior Thesis Advisor

Lakshmi Batachari Investigating the Role of Specific Regulators in D. Stoebel
Determining RpoS-dependent Gene Expression
Carla Becker Patterns in Escherichia coli K-12
Jason Casar
Zachary Evans A Model and Simulation Framework for Cross-point M. Spencer
Rilke Griffin 1D1R Phase Change Memory
Kevin Huang
Improving Pollution Mapping with Semi-Autonomous L. Hawkins
Rachael Kretsch Vehicles C. Clark.
Kareesa Kron
Bella Lee Building a Controlled Redox Oscillation Batch Reactor M. Los Huertos
to Study Preferential Metal Adsorption in Soil
Geneva Miller
Grant Murray Development of Energy Recovery Technology for Large O. Furuya
Gabriel Phun Class 8 Truck
Hana Schiff
Paul Sonner Increasing Absorption and Decreasing Interception in H. Van Ryswyk
Omar Velazquez Electrodeposited Dual-Layer Zinc Oxide Dye-Sensitized
Ailin Zhang Solar Cells

In Silico Study of Reductive Dehalogenase Activity K. Van Heuvelen
of Nickel Cyclam Complexes

Computational Study of Pericyclic Reactions R. Cave, G.W. Daub
Involving Regio- and Diastereo- Selective Processes & D. Vosburg

An Exploration of the Differential Regulation of D. Stoebel
RpoS in E. coli K-12 and Phylogenetically Related
Strains in Response to Low Temperature

Pursuit of a Stepwise, Controlled Synthesis of the D. Vosburg
Bridged Tetracycle Isocryptobeilic Acid D

The Role of Ligands at the PbS/ZnO Bulk Nano- H. Van Ryswyk
Heterojunction in Reducing Open-Circuit Voltage Deficit

Comparing Density Functional Theory with R. Cave &
Experimental Results of Claisen Rearrangements G.W. Daub

Characterizing Chitosan Nanoparticles & Their T. Donnelly &
Antibacterial Effectiveness E. Orwin

Inkjet Bronzing and Accelerated Sedimentation G. Van Hecke
in Multiple-Specie Pigment Suspensions

Catalytic Model Diels-Alder Reactions Towards D. Vosburg
The Synthesis of Isocryptobeilic Acid D

Experimental Analysis of Heavy Metal Uptake T. Srebotnjak &
in Soil and Mandarin Plants from Irrigation Water H. Van Ryswyk

34

Commencement

Geneva Miller ‘18

Grantt Murray ‘18

35

Commencement (continued)

Zachary Evans ‘18

Carla Becker ‘18

Gabriel Phun ‘18
36

Alumni Happenings

Robyn Low Randall ‘14 is finishing up at USC and applying to family medicine residencies after taking a year
off from medical school. She took that year to conducted research at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado in

the department of plastic surgery. Her research focused on the use of 3D photography in craniofacial
surgery, specifically craniosynostosis. She married Dylan (another Mudder) and recently had
beautiful baby Aurora.
37

Alumni Happenings

Alison Lim ‘16 is in the materials science program at the Colorado School of Mines. She was awarded the National
Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and says she will be working with more polymers and organic
synthesis in the future.
Now the Environmental Health and Safety officer for Pomona College, Katherine Muller ‘14 is excited to be back on the
5Cs. She really loves working in the labs and using her chemistry knowledge and also enjoys using her HSA writing
skills. Katherine earned her masters in 2016 from the University of California-Riverside.
Ryan Pakula ‘09 defended in May at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Naomi Epstein ‘16 was accepted into the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine program. She will
spend her first two years on the campus in Tampa and the last two years doing clinical rotations in the Lehigh Health
Network in Allentown, Pa.
Zara Seibel ‘11 is now a scientist at Codexis in their process chemistry department.. She says she’s very happy to be
back on the west coast.
Christine Kalcic ‘06 wrapped up her PhD research in 2012 and took a leap into self-employment. She splits her time
between private academic tutoring for college-level math/science courses and high-end event planning. Christine jets to
charity galas and events where she manages the local staff and volunteers. She says even though each event has its
own unique challenges, she has also enjoyed event highlights which include meeting Jeff Daniels, attending a private
concert by Trace Adkins, and helping with a Make-A-Wish event in upstate New York where the local chapter hooked a
kid up with an insane gaming system because Minecraft kept him distracted through his cancer treatments.

38

Publications (*denotes HMC undergraduate coauthor)

“A non-adiabatic investigation of the electronic spectroscopy of trans-1, 3-butadiene,” Cave, R.J.; Rabidouz,

S.M.; Stanton, J.F. J. Phys. Chem. B, 2018 (accepted).

“Divergent Diels-Alder Reactions in the Biosynthesis and Synthesis of Endiandric-Type Tetracycles: A Com-
putational Study,” Kron, K.J. *; Kosic, M.*; Cave, R.J.; Vosburg, D.A. J. Org. Chem., 2018, 83 (18), pp 10941–

10947 DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.8b01594

“Brown carbon production in ammonium- or amine-containing aerosol particles by reactive uptake of methyl-
glyoxal and photolytic cloud cycling,” De Haan, D.O., Hawkins, L.N., Welsh, H.G.*, Pednekar, R.*, Casar,
J.*, Pennington, E.A.*, et al. Environmental Science and Technology, 2017 (submitted).
“Organometallic Chemistry,” and “Bioinorganic Chemistry,” for the forthcoming textbook entitled “Advanced
Inorganic Chemistry,” by Odom, A.L., McCusker, J.K. and Johnson, A.R. (book chapters).

“Reinvigorating general chemistry by emphasizing connections between chemistry and society,” Van
Heuvelen, K.M., Daub, G.W., Hawkins, L.N., Johnson, A.R., Van Ryswyk, H., Vosburg, D.A., J.
Chem. Educ., in preparation.

“Pivotal Moments that Shaped My Career,” Karukstis, K.K.; CUR Chemistry Newsletter, 2018, https://
www.cur.org/assets/1/7/CUR_Chem_Div_NL-fall18 (Invited retrospective).
“Evolution of Undergraduate Research and Emerging as well as Pervasive Challenges that Undergraduate
Research Faces in Higher Education,” Karukstis, K.K.; Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate
Research (SPUR), 2018.
“A Fluorescence Characterization of the Aggregation of Chromonic Dyes in the Isotropic Phase,” Karukstis,
K.K.; Evans, Z.*; Zhang, A.*, Stevenson, L.* Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2018.
“Prevalence of ordered mesophases of alkyl glucosides in aprotic ionic liquids as detected by fluorescence,”
Karukstis, K.K.; Van Hecke, G.R.; Crompton, J.C.; Kirkegaard, M.C.* Journal of Physical Chemistry,
2018.
“Fluorescence Detection of Aggregation of Chromonic Dyes in the Isotropic Phase” Zhu, L.*; Van Hecke,
G.R.; Karukstis, K.K. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2018 (draft).
“Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research on a Grand Scale: Helping Systems and Consortia Comprehen-
sively Adopt Undergraduate Research”, Karukstis, K.K. National Science Foundation Symposium En-
visioning the Future of Undergraduate STEM Education: Research and Practice, 2017.
“Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research and Scaffolding Undergraduate Research Experiences in the
STEM Curriculum, ” in Best Practices for Supporting and Expanding Undergraduate Research in Chemistry
Malachowski, M.: Osborn, J.M; Karukstis, K.K.; Kinzie, J.: E. Ambos, L.; , Gourley, B.L.; Jones, R.M.
eds., ACS Symposium Series, American Chemical Society( Washington, D.C.), ( in press).
“Excess volumes, refractive index increments, viscosity increments and adiabatic compressibilities of binary
mixtures of methanol/anisole and methanol/toluene,” Slocumb, H.*; Van Hecke, G.R. J. Chem. Eng. Data,
2018 (submitted).
“Isothermal compressibilites, adiabatic compressibilites, and isobaric heat capacities for binary mixtures of
alcohols and water,” Schiff, H.*; Van Hecke, G.R. Chem Eng. Data, 2018 (submitted).
“Determination of the binary phase diagram of lyotropic phases formed by alkil maltoside and galactoside
surfactants in water,” Audesirk, H.A.*; Kossarian, M.M.*; Karukstis, K.K.; Van Hecke, G.R. J Phys Chem,
2018 (submitted).

39

Publications (*denotes HMC undergraduate coauthor)

“Prevalence of ordered mesophases of alkyl glucosides in aprotic ionic liquids as detected by flurorescence,”
Karukstis, K.K.; Van Hecke, G.R. Crompton, J.C.*; Kirkegaard, M.C.*: J Phys Chem, (submitted).
“Mononuclear Nickel(II) and Copper(II) Coordination Complexes Supported by Bispicen Ligand Derivatives:
Experimental and Computational Studies,” Singh, N.; Niklas, J.; Poluektov, O.; Van Heuvelen, K.M.; Mukherjee, A.
Inorganica Chimica Acta, 2017, 455, 221-230, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ica. 2016.09.001
“Divergent Diels-Alder reactions in the biosynthesis and synthesis of endiandric-type tetracycles: A computational
study,” Kron, K.J.*; Kosich, M.*; Cave, R.J.; Vosburg, D.A. J. Org. Chem. 2018, 83, 10941-1094.
“Canvass: A crowd-sourced, natural-product screening library for exploring biological space,” Kearney, S.E.;
Zahoránszky-Kőhalmi, G.; Brimacombe, K.R.; Henderson, M.J.; Lynch, C.; Zhao, T.; Wan, K.K.; Itkin, Z.; Dillon, C.;
Shen, M.; Cheff, D.M.; Lee, T.D.; Bougie, D.; Cheng, K.; Coussens, N.P.; Dorjsuren, D.; Eastman, R.T.; Huang, R.;
Iannotti, M.J.; Karavadhi, S.; Klumpp-Thomas, C.; Roth, J.S.; Sakamuru, S.; Sun, W.; Titus, S.A.; Yasgar, A.; Zhang,
Y.-Q.; Zhao, J.; Andrade, R.B.; Brown, M.K.; Burns, N.Z.; Cha, J.K.; Mevers, E.E.; Clardy, J.; Clement,
J.A.; Crooks, P.A.; Cuny, G.D.; Ganor, J.; Moreno, J.; Morrill, L.A.; Picazo, E.; Vosburg, D.A.; Susick, R.B.; Garg,
N.K.; Goess, B.C.; Grossman, R.B.; Hughes, C.C.; Johnston, J.N.; Joullie, M.M.; Kinghorn, A.D.; Kingston, D.G.I.;
Krische, M.J.; Kwon, O.; Maimone, T.J.; Majumdar, S.; Maloney, K.N.; Mohamed, E.; Murphy, B.T.; Nagorny, P.; Ol-
son, D.E.; Overman, L.E.; Brown, L.E.; Snyder, J.K.; Porco, J.A. Jr.; Rivas, F.; Ross, S.A.; Sarpong, R.; Sharma, I.;
Shaw, J.T.; Xu, Z.; Shen, B.; Shi, W.; Stephenson, C.R.J.; Verano, A.L.; Tan, D.S.; Tang, Y.; Taylor, R.E.; Thomson,
R.J.; Vosburg, D.A.; Wu, J.; Wuest, W.M.; Zakarian, A.; Zhang, Y.; Ren, T.; Zuo, Z.; Inglese, J.; Michael, S.; Sime-
onov, A.; Zheng, W.; Shinn, P.; Jadhav, A.; Boxer, M.B.; Hall, M.D.; Xia, M.; Guha, R.; Rohde, J.M. ACS Cent. Sci.
2018, 4, 1727-1741.
“Jesus, Beginnings, and Science: A Guide for Group Conversation,” Vosburg, D.A.; Vosburg, K. Pier Press, 2017.

40

Presentations and Talks (*denotes HMC undergraduate coauthor)

“Electron Donor-Acceptor Interactions,” Cave, R.J. Gordon Conference, Newport, August 2018 (session chair).

“Spectroscopy and Diabatization Turning the GMH Method Upside Down,” Cave, R.J. University of Pittsburgh Seminar Series, Pittsburgh,
February 2018 (invited talk).

“Butadiene: Why is such a “simple” molecule a huge pain in the neck?” Cave, R.J. Pacific Conference on Spectroscopy and Dynamics, San
Diego, January 2018 (invited talk).

“Computational Study of Regioselective Diels-Alder and Stereoselective Claisen Rearrangement Transition States” Kron, K.*; Vosburg, D.A ;
Daub, G.W.; Cave, R.J. American Chemical Society National Meeting, New Orleans, March 2018 (poster).

“Comparing Density Functional Theory with Experimental Results of Claisen Rearrangements,” Phun, G.S.*; Daub, G.W.; Cave, R.J. American
Chemical Society National Meeting, New Orleans, March 2018 (poster).

“Stimulation of human 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase by AP endonuclease: Effect of polymorphisms,” Klein, E.* and Haushalter, K.A. American
Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco, April 2017 (presentation).

“Early Metal Complexes of Chiral, Tridentate, Imine-diol Ligands,” Johnson, A.R., Abelson, C.S.*, Mitchell, B.S.*, Ramirez, K.*, Sha, F.* and
Slocumb, H.S.* SoCal Organometallics Meeting, Los Angeles, May 2018 (poster).

“Contamination: The effect of the 1%,” Johnson, A.R. Hixon Forum, “Science and the Senses: Bodies and Practice,” Harvey Mudd College,
February 2017 (presentation).

"Creating Collaborative Connections in and through Undergraduate Research,” Karukstis, K.K. Council on Undergraduate Research Biennial
Conference, Arlington, July 2018 (panel and poster).

“Using undergraduate Research to Enhance STEM Education at the Departmental and Institutional Level,” Karukstis, K.K.; Malachowski, M.
American Chemical Society National Meeting, New Orleans, March 2018 (talk).

“Fluorescence Detection of Aggregation of Chromonic Dyes in the Isotropic Phase,” Karukstis, K.K.; Zhu, L.* American Chemical Society
National Meeting, New Orleans, March 2018 (poster).

“Integrating Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum,” Karukstis, K.K.; Workshop, The College of New Jersey, Ewing Township, October
2017.

“Integrating Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum,” Karukstis, K.K. CUR Transformation plenaries workshop, University of Maryland,
College Park, September 2017 (facilitator).

“Static light scattering studies of the aggregation process in the isotropic phase of chromonic surfactants in water,” Stevenson, L*; Van Hecke,
G.R.; Karukstis, K.K. American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco, April 2017 (poster).

“Using undergraduate research to enhance STEM education at the institutional and system-wide level,” Malachowski, M; Karukstis, K.K.;
Osborn, J.M.; Ambos, E. American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco, April 2017 (talk).

“Systematic binary isobaric solid-liquid phase diagrams of straight-chained carboxylic acids,: Guo, G.*, Van Hecke, G.R. American Chemical
Society National Meeting, New Orleans, March 2018 (poster).

“Excess volumes, refractive index increments, viscosity increments, speed or sound, heat capacity measurements of binary mixtures,” Wada, B.*’
Baldwin, F.*’, Van Hecke, G.R. American Chemical Society National Meeting, New Orleans, March 2018 (poster).

“Fluorescence detection of aggregation of chromonic dyes in the isotropic phase,” Zhu, L.*, Van Hecke, G.R. American Chemical society National
Meeting, New Orleans, March 2018 (poster).

“Systematic binary isobaric solid-liquid phase diagrams of straight chained carboxylic acids,” Adams, C.*; Van Hecke, G.R. American Chemical
Society National Meeting, San Francisco, April 2017 (poster).

“Excess volumes, refractive index increments, and viscosity increments of selected alcohol/alkane mixtures,” Slocumb, H.*; Van Hecke, G.R.
American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco, April 2017 (poster).

“Static light scattering studies of the aggregation process in the isotropic phase of chromonic surfactants in water,” Stevenson,L*; Van Hecke, G.R.
Karukstis, K.K. American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco, April 2017 (poster).

“Assessing Introductory Courses: Creating Conversation about Learning through Student Surveys,” Van Heuvelen, K., Palucki Blake, L. HEDS
Conference, Washington, June 2018 (joint presentation).

“Investigating Dechlorination using Bio-Inspired Nickel Compounds,” Gund, E*; Van Heuvelen, K.M. American Chemical Society National Meeting,
San Francisco, April 2017 (poster).

“Dechlorination Abilities of Biomimetic Compounds,” Ye, C.*; Van Heuvelen, K.M. American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco,
April 2017 (poster).

“Hybrid dual-layer zinc oxide dye-sensitized solar cells,” Tan, C.*; Huang, K.; Van Ryswyk. H. American Chemical Society National Meeting, San
Francisco, April 2017 (poster).

41

Presentations and Talks (contined)

“Monolayer deposition of colloidal quantum dots by spray-coating,” Abrams, A* (POM ’16); Mow, R*; Murray, G.*; Tan, S.* (POM ’16); and
Van Ryswyk. H. American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco, April 2017, San Francisco (poster).
“Characterizing heavy metal sequestration in a bioswale at Pomona College,” Evans, Z*; Van Ryswyk, H.; Los Huertos, M. American Chemical
Society National Meeting, San Francisco, April 2017 (poster).
“Jesus, beginnings, and science: A guide for group conversation,” Vosburg, D.A. Urbana 18 InterVarsity Student Conference, St. Louis,
December 2018 (invited talk).
“Ciencia y fe: ¿son la fe y la ciencia incompatibles?” Vosburg, D.A. University of Guanajuato, Mexico, November 2018 (invited talk).
“Ciencia y fe, sal y luz” Vosburg, D.A. Compa Encuentro Nacional de Profesionales, Tlaxcala, Mexico, November 2018 (invited talk).
“¿Quién creó el mundo?” Vosburg, D.A. Una Iglesia Cristiana en Guanajuato, Mexico, November 2018 (invited talk).
“Green chemistry in the laboratory,” Vosburg, D.A. University of Guanajuato, Mexico, October 2018 (invited talk).
“Ciencia y fe: ¿conflicto o compatibilidad?” Vosburg, D.A. Compa student group meeting at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico,
September 2018 (invited talk).
“Biomimetic cyclizations in the synthesis of medicinal natural products,” Vosburg, D.A. University of Guanajuato, Mexico, September 2018
(invited talk).
“Science and faith: conflict or compatibility?” Vosburg, D.A. 5C InterVarsity Christian Fellowship meeting, April 2018 (invited talk).
“Biomimetic syntheses of medicinal natural products” Vosburg, D.A. Western University of Health Sciences, March 2017 (talk).
“Concise shynthesis of endiandric-type tetracycles using iterative cross-coupling,” Kim, L.J.*; Miller, G.E.*; Kron, K.J.*; Velazquez, O*.; Castro, G.*;
Vosburg, D.A. Young Generation Technical and Leadership Conference, Philadelphia, January 2017 (poster).

42

Student Lab Safety Officers

l-r: Student Safety Officers Rogelio Aguilar, Emma Cuddy, Chris
Thompson, Sydney Towell, Daphne Guo, Celeste Cerna, and
Chemical Hygiene Safety Officer, Penny Manisco

The laboratory safety program at Harvey Mudd College includes comprehensive training for
employees, students, and volunteers who work with chemicals. Summer research groups may select
a Student Lab Safety Officer (SLSO) who receives more intensive safety training and acts as liaison

between the Chemical Hygiene Officer and research labs. A highlight of the SLSO program is an
annual “Safety Day” where researchers gain hands-on experience in the use of safety equipment such

as spill kits and safety showers.

43

Safety Day

The Student Lab Safety Officers hosted the fifth
annual "Safety Day.” Research students

participated in hands-on safety demos including
spill clean up, protective eye-wear, glove removal

and hand washing technique, and hands-only
CPR.

44

Summer Research Activities

Undergraduate chemistry and chemistry/biology joint majors and underclassmen strongly considering
a major in either discipline were invited to participate in the Summer Research program of 2018. Our
summer program ran for 10 weeks under the direction of Professor Bill Daub. We had students
conducting research, learning about the chemistry profession, and honing their presentation skills.

Daub & Van Ryswyk Lab

(l/r) Professor Van Ryswyk, Guilherme Missaka ‘21, John Lentfer ‘21, Rogelio Aguilar ‘21,
and Professor Bill Daub. Not shown: Kareesa Kron ‘18 and Sasha Bridger ‘21

45

Johnson Lab

(l/r) Fanrui Sha ‘19, Hannah Slocumb ‘19, Professor Johnson, Jeni Zhu ‘20,
and Sydney Towell ‘21. Not shown: Chris Ye ‘19

The Johnson group studies the asymmetric hydroamination of aminoallenes
with chiral titanium and tantalum catalysts.

Van Hecke Lab

The general theme of the research in the Van Hecke lab is the study of liquids, the
physical chemistry of liquids, particularly liquid crystals and binary mixtures of alcohols

and hydrocarbons.
Summer students include Oliver Baldwin ‘21, Daphne Guo ‘19, and Brandon Wada ‘20

46

Van Ryswyk Lab

(l/r) Professor Van Rsywyk, Guilherme Missaka ‘21, and
Rogelio Aguilar ‘21

The Van Ryswyk lab does fundamental materials chemistry research on photovoltaics,
aiming to improve the efficiency of cells constructed from low-cost materials that can be

applied to large-area surfaces.

47

Fire Life Safety Evacuation Exercise

The Harvey Mudd College Emergency Preparedness and Employee Safety office
schedules an annual evacuation exercise. During this exercise we practice

shutting down experiments, procedures, and processes that cannot be unattend-
ed, extinguish open flames, and close noxious gas valves. We practice advising

others the need to evacuate, and calmly leave the building. We meet in our
designated emergency assembly location, check in with Evacuation
Coordinators, and help identify anyone that may be missing.

Advanced planning and preparation are the most effective ways in responding
calmly and effectively during an emergency.

Jacobs Evacuation Coordinators Penny Manisco and Daniel Guerra
48

Faculty and Staff

Robert J. Cave
B.S., Michigan State University
PhD, California Institute of Technology

Physical Chemistry

49

Faculty and Staff (continued)

We are nearly finished with the 20-teens! Yet another G. William Daub
Chemistry Annual Report must be in the offing!
B.S., Pomona College
The 2018-2019 academic year found me teaching the PhD, Stanford University
entire organic sequence on my own (Dave Vosburg is on
sabbatical). Fortunately for the students, nobody had me Organic Chemistry
twice in one year for the entire sequence. The
experiments are still fun for me to teach, and it is great to
see students engage with a very different form of
“science” than they are used to. My research efforts
continue as a collaborative effort with Bob Cave into
computational chemistry on Claisen rearrangement
transition states for reactions my group has been study-
ing for many years. Density Functional Theory
techniques allow us to make a stab at calculating the free
energy of the actual chair and boat transition states in
various types of acid catalyzed Claisen rearrangements,
and we have had some significant success in modeling
our experimental results from past years. We are learn-
ing a lot, and Professor Cave and I try to keep each other
honest about our lack of knowledge in organic and com-
putational chemistry respectively! Lately, we have been
using Chem 40, a first year one-credit immersion elective
in which student teams rotate through three different labs
to get a taste of research, as a platform for doing DFT
computations on Claisen transition states. We are quite
happy with the experience on our end.

On a more personal side, our first grandchild
(Matthew) is growing up and is quite a fun fellow. We
continue to travel to the Seattle area to see him and our
son Michael and his wife Taryn and be a part of their
lives as best we can. Our daughter, Mary Beth, is
currently a first year faculty member teaching organic
chemistry at Furman University. On top of the changes
that brings, she is also planning her wedding for June,
which will mean that all of our children will be employed
and married. Our eldest son, Eric, recently moved to
London (joining his wife Camille) where he works at the
Alan Turing Institute doing data science with people in
both industry and academia. Our third son, Brian,
continues his work at the National Lab in Livermore
where he lives with his wife Ginger. And my wife, Sandy,
and I continue to work here in Claremont where we talk
regularly with our cats about retiring someday …..

I still ride my bike, play golf, and cook, but I have
added an activity I enjoy very much, I roast my own
coffee now …… in a popcorn popper! Why do I do it you
ask? Because I can! Lovin’ the espresso every morning
with “Dr. D.’s Fresh Roasted Coffee Beans”®

Here’s hoping that 2019 is a good year for all things in
HMC Chemistry!

50