2003–04 Organic Graduate Fellowships

The ACS Division of Organic Chemistry has announced its annual fellowship awards to outstanding third- and fourth-year graduate students in organic chemistry. Awardees are selected on the basis of their research accomplishments and a short original essay. The essays are on the Web at http://www.organicdivision.org/fellowships_previous.html.

The fellowship stipend this year is $20,000, and the fellows will travel to the 2005 National Organic Symposium, June 12–16, 2005, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, to present a poster on their work. Each fellowship is sponsored by a prominent company or organization. This year, the division is presenting the first endowed fellowship--the Emmanuil Troyansky Fellowship, awarded every other year.

Christopher T. Calderone received a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Chicago and an M.S. in chemistry from Cambridge University, in England. Calderone is a fourth-year graduate student in David R. Liu's laboratory at Harvard University. Calderone's studies include developing new approaches to small-molecule library synthesis using DNA-templated synthesis. Sponsor: Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. 

Kacey A. Claborn received a B.S. in crystallography from the University of Washington, Seattle. She is a third-year graduate student in of Bart Kahr's laboratory. Claborn's research has been directed toward measuring and interpreting the optical rotatory power of crystals. Her work has included the first determination of the optical rotatory power of an achiral molecule and the first optical rotation and circular images of crystals. Sponsor: Organic Reactions.

Kevin P. Cole received a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He is a fourth-year graduate student there, studying with Richard P. Hsung. Cole's research has been focused on the development of new synthetic methodologies and their application toward natural product synthesis. Cole has completed the synthesis of arisugacin A and is working on the synthesis of phomactin A. Sponsor: Schering-Plough Research Institute.

Benjamin L. Frankamp graduated with a B.S. in chemistry from George Fox University, Newberg, Ore. He is a fourth-year graduate student with Vincent M. Rotello at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he has synthesized a variety of nanoparticles, gold and -iron oxide, and synthesized functional nanoparticle ligands. He has investigated the directed self-assembly of these nanoparticles and quantified interparticle spacing and its effects on specific nanoparticle properties, specifically dipolar coupling of magnetic nanoparticles. Sponsor: Procter & Gamble.

Jeffrey B. Johnson graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn., with a B.A. in chemistry. He is completing his fourth year of graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, studying with Charles P. Casey. Johnson has been studying the reaction mechanism of ruthenium(II) hydrogenation catalysts containing acidic and hydridic hydrogens, primarily through kinetic studies and determination of deuterium isotope effects. In addition, he is preparing new analogs of known hydrogenation catalysts in order to increase catalytic activity and allow catalytic reduction of polar unsaturated compounds under mild conditions. Sponsor: Emmanuil Troyansky Graduate Fellowship.

Jeremy A. May graduated from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, with a B.S. in chemistry. He is a fourth-year graduate student with Brian M. Stoltz at California Institute of Technology. May's research includes progress toward the total synthesis of the antileukemic agent communesin B, gas-phase studies of the mechanism of the copper(II)-mediated Wolff rearrangement, and development of the rhodium-catalyzed tandem Bamford-Stevens Claisen rearrangement. In addition, in collaboration with Jack Beauchamp's group, he has been developing small molecular reagents for gas-phase protein sequencing. Sponsor: Merck Research Laboratories.

Jason A. Miller received a B.A. in chemistry from Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill. He is a fourth-year graduate student in the laboratory of SonBinh T. Nguyen at Northwestern University. Miller is studying the scope and applications of the asymmetric olefin cyclopropanation reaction. He is using new homogeneous catalysts for the stereoselective intermolecular transfer of carbenes to form highly enantioenriched cyclopropanes. Sponsor: Nelson J. Leonard ACS Division of Organic Graduate Fellowship, sponsored by Organic Syntheses.

Adam J. Morgan received his B.A. in chemistry from Boston University. He is a fourth-year graduate student there, studying with Scott J. Miller. Morgan is working on the use of peptide-based catalysts for the asymmetric phosphorylation of polyols. He has identified nonenantiomeric catalysts that exhibit high enantioselectivity for enantiotopic groups in a meso substrate. Sponsor: Organic Syntheses.

Carol A. Mulrooney received a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Connecticut, Storrs. She worked at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals for seven years, during which time she received her M.S. in chemistry from Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, Conn. She is a fourth-year graduate student working in the laboratory of Marisa C. Kozlowski at the University of Pennsylvania. Mulrooney has undertaken studies on the total synthesis of purpuromycin, an asymmetric oxidative biaryl coupling reaction, and an oxidative coupling of malonates with 2-naphthols. Sponsor: GlaxoSmithKline.

Emily A. Peterson received a B.S. in chemistry from Western Washington University, Bellingham. She is a fourth-year graduate student in the laboratory of Larry Overman at the University of California, Irvine. Peterson has worked on defining the scope of the Prins-pinacol synthesis of polycyclic ethers and has completed the total synthesis of the polypyrrolidinoindoline alkaloid idiospermuline. She is currently working on the total synthesis of the alkaloid communesin A. Sponsor: Pfizer.

Christina A. Risatti obtained a B.A. in chemistry from the University of New Hampshire, Durham. She is a fourth-year graduate student studying with Richard E. Taylor at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind. Risatti's studies involve the development of methodology toward the synthesis of enantioenriched cyclopropyl aldehydes via heteroatom stabilization of homoallylic cation rearrangements and investigation of the reaction mechanism and application toward the synthesis of structurally interesting polycyclopropane-containing natural products. In addition, she is working on the activation and nucleophilic trapping of enecarbamates toward the synthesis of structurally diverse cyclopropane scaffolds. Sponsor: Eli Lilly.

Elizabeth S. Sattely received her B.S. in chemistry from Boston College. She is a fourth-year graduate student there, studying with Amir H. Hoveyda. Sattely is working on asymmetric olefin metathesis. She has synthesized and examined the catalytic asymmetric ring-opening/cross-metathesis (AROM/CM) of several substrates, demonstrating that there is a significant influence by an internal Lewis base on the facility and enantioselectivity of these Mo-catalyzed AROM/CM reactions. Sponsor: Wyeth Research.

Matthew B. Soellner received a B.S. degree in biochemistry from Oberlin College, in Ohio. He is completing his fourth year as a graduate student with Ronald T. Raines at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Soellner's research includes mechanistic studies and synthetic applications of the Staudinger ligation reaction. His work is based on the adaptation of the Staudinger reaction to the coupling of two synthetic peptides and has been applied to the immobilization of enzymes on a solid surface. Sponsor: Abbott Laboratories.

Eric R. Strieter received a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a fourth-year graduate student with Stephen L. Buchwald at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Strieter's research involves studying the mechanisms of the following reactions: Pd(biaryl-dialkyphosphine)-catalyzed amination of aryl chlorides, the Cu(I)-diamine-catalyzed N-arylation of amides, and the Pd(BINAP)-catalyzed amination of aryl bromides. Sponsor: Albany Molecular Research.

Carissa J. Wiederholt received a B.A. in chemistry and biochemistry from Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is a fourth-year graduate student in Marc M. Greenberg's laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. She has carried out extensive studies on the effects of formamidopyrimidine DNA lesions and analogs. In addition to characterizing the physicochemical properties of these DNA lesions, Wiederholt is using shuttle vector technology Greenberg group to study the effects of these and other DNA lesions in Escherichia coli. Sponsor: Aventis Pharmaceuticals.

Griffith Honored For Eyeglass Process

Griffith's invention encompasses not only a cheap and efficient eyeglass-manufacturing setup, but also a more efficient method for diagnosing eyeglass prescriptions. Since automated prescription diagnosis is typically error-prone and needs supervision--increasing costs significantly--Griffith came up with a prototype device that looks like an oversized pair of goggles. After the goggles are put on, an electronic sensor monitors the lenses in the patient's eye and adjusts the goggle's lenses to cancel refractive errors, better determining the patient's prescription.

The manufacturing device uses a process known as programmable molding. In the machine--a portable apparatus similar to a desktop printer--Griffith can produce most prescription lenses in five to 10 minutes. The device works by casting lenses on a programmable membrane through a combination of pressure and constraints. The membrane then becomes the lenses' mold surface. Most typical eyeglass lenses can be cast from two such mold surfaces, alleviating the need for a large library of expensive molds. The result is a process that generates less waste and can be used efficiently even in less populated areas.

The Lemelson-MIT Student Prize is awarded annually to an MIT senior or graduate student who has demonstrated remarkable inventiveness.