Research in Chemistry
All Xavier Chemistry Majors are required to perform research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Research is considered a critical component of the curriculum. Many of our students have presented their work at meetings and several have attended National Conference of Undergraduate Research meetings during the past five years. Each student is required to write a final thesis on their project. In addition to the final thesis, students are expected to meet regularly with their faculty mentor, to write an abstract and to deliver an oral presentation of 15 minutes in length to the faculty and students of the chemistry department each semester. They are also required to write a formal research report each semester. The department has been able to support approximately two summer research students per year and several of our students have attended summer internships at other institutions. All of our graduates also present the results of their research at the end of each academic year in an open university wide sponsored meeting called the Celebration of Student Research. Each year since the start of this program, at least one of our graduates has been chosen to represent the student body in the presentation of their research to the Xavier University Board of Trustees. Listed below are faculty who serve as research mentors. A description of their research projects can be found by visiting the links below.
Summary of Projects
Dr. Adam Bange (Analytical Chemistry)
Dr. Craig Davis (Inorganic Chemistry)
My group's research focuses on the interaction of borane clusters with transition-metal complexes. We have observed that a tungsten complex promoted the growth of triborane to pentaborane. Molybdenum sits above tungsten in Group 6, but the molybdenum complex does not promote cluster growth; perhaps the triborane is bonding to the complex. We are also exploring the reaction of sodium borohydride with molybdenum and tungsten complexes. (Will the complexes promote cluster growth, or will the borohydride anion bind to the metals?) Students will be introduced to inert-atmosphere synthesis and multi-nuclear NMR spectroscopy.
Dr. Barbara Hopkins (Physical Chemistry)
High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) can be performed together for the separation and detection of organometallic compounds that are potential hazards to humans. A series of compounds that lend themselves to analysis by HPLC-ICP are organotin compounds. The degree of toxicity varies among the compounds. The trisubstituted compounds in general are the most toxic followed be the di- and monoorganotins. These compounds have many practical applications that include being used as pesticides, fungicides, catalysts and stabilizers for polymers. Methods will be developed for a consistent analysis of these types of compounds.
Dr. Supaporn Kradtap Hartwell (Analytical Chemistry)
My research is in the area of green analytical chemistry. Mainly, I am interested in developing low cost alternative chemical analysis methods/systems using safe natural extracts and easily available materials in place of toxic reagents and high cost devices. Design and development of these green chemical analysis systems involve exploration of current topics in analytical chemistry such as microfluidics and paper based assay. In addition, I am interested in chemical education research and outreach projects.
Dr. Stephen Mills (Biochemistry)
The main research focus in the Mills lab is the study of how enzymes work, particularly enzymes that utilize metals or whose function has not been determined. Research in my lab addresses how to evaluate what an enzyme does, how do metals get into proteins and what do they do once they are there. We use a variety of techniques to evaluate protein function, including enzyme kinetics, UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopies, metal analysis, and gel-shift assays. Most of the proteins we are studying are not available for purchase, so we express and purify the proteins ourselves.