Undergraduate Research

The research program in the Chemistry Department is quite active. The faculty believes that hands-on research is an integral part of a student's education. Most work is done as part of the Senior Project, a culminating requirement for all Chemistry majors. Current research topics are listed below.

Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technology

• PEM Fuel Cell
• Reforming novel catalyst integration and system automation
• Stereoselective reactions using zeolite as nanoreactor

Chemistry of Natural Products:

• Peganum harmalla
• Eriodictyon californicum
• Cotonester sp.

Environmental Analysis:

• Heavy metal content in Puddingstone Reservoir sediment
• Lead content of local contaminated soils

Environmental Technology:

• Identification of byproducts formed during ozonation of natural waters
• Photocatalysis and degredation of organic contaminants

Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer Excited States:

• Boronamines and pyrimidine derivatives

Surface Chemistry:

• Deposition of various metals on various surfaces
• Study of vapor deposed metals using scanning tunneling microscopy
• Chemistry of organoholmium compounds

Cation Radical Chemistry

Dynamic NMR .