This summer, six faculty and ten students are conducting research projects on exciting topics in the areas of organic synthesis, photochemistry, biochemistry, atmospheric analysis, and materials chemistry. This has been made possible through the financial support of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Nebraska Research Initiative program, the American Chemical Society's Petroleum Research Fund, and the UNK Summer Student Research Program. Through this support, our students are able to receive full-time summer salaries while they gain tremendous experience that deepens their understanding of chemistry and teaches them to apply the scientific process as professional scientists do.
Such summer research experience has been integral for our students in gaining admission to top-quality graduate schools and health professional schools, as well as obtaining employment in industry as professional chemists. Below is a summary of this summer's projects, faculty mentors, and research students. Learn more about the faculty and projects by clicking on their names.
Development of Thin-Film Solar Cell Materials
Faculty Mentors: Christopher Exstrom and Scott Darveau
Research Student: Pete Longo, Andrea Martinez-Skinner
Preparation and Characterization of Novel Solvatochromic "Grid" Molecules
Faculty Mentor: Christopher Exstrom
Research Student: Brad Miller
Cloning and Characterization of Cool, Crafty Enzymes from Switchgrass
Faculty Mentor: Frank Kovacs
Research Student: Courtney Johnson
A Novel Route to Highly Functional Isoxazoles
Faculty Mentor: Michael Mosher
Research Students: Amber Norman, Khreisto Shurrush
Mechanisms of Alkene Ozonolysis Reactions
Faculty Mentor: Michael Mosher
Research Student: Scott Vincent
Advanced Methods of Detecting Aerosol Particles in the Atmosphere
Faculty Mentor: Jonathan Thompson
Research Student: Kyle Myers
Mechanisms of Nucleophilic Aromatic Photosubstitution Reactions
Faculty Mentor: Gene Wubbels
Research Students: Travis Babcock, Toby Brown