Chemistry Department Seminar Schedule
Join us on Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. in SB 110 for our weekly seminar series.
Students Face the Heat at the Chili Cook-Off and Habanero Eating Contest
Over 90 students attended our recent Student/Faculty Chili Cook-Off, where Professor Louters won the prize for the best chili. 16 students faced the heat at the Habanero Eating Contest and went home with a prized capsaicin t-shirt.
Professor Roger DeKock receives Calvin's first Student-Faculty Research Award
Calvin selected Roger DeKock as its first recipient of the Student-Faculty Research Award, which recognizes a Calvin faculty member with an outstanding record of working with student collaborators in his professional research and scholarship. During his career, DeKock has supervised and mentored over 40 students in his research lab and has had over 30 papers published with student co-authors. Throughout his tenure at Calvin, DeKock has inspired several students to pursue research careers in chemistry.
"Cooking with Chemistry" Interim Course Ends with Cooking Competition
Students in our "Cooking with Chemistry" interim course explored the science behind basic cooking techniques and discovered how chemical properties change through the process of cooking breads, eggs, meats and sauces. At the end of the course, students displayed their mastery of these concepts to a panel of judges at a Top Chef Calvin competition.
"Fluorescence and Applications" Interim Photo Spotlight
A student in the "Fluorescence and Applications" interim course experiments with different colors of glowing liquid in a lab session. The course, taught by professor Mark Muyskens, explored the wide use of fluorescent materials in chemistry, biology, geology, physics, medicine, engineering and technology.
Research Student Susanna Lynch Wins Prestigious McKnight Award
Congratulations to biochemistry major Susanna Lynch for being selected as the winner of the 2009 Frank and Sarah McKnight Prize competition. Susanna presented her research work in the area of biophysics and computational biology in Texas in November and was awarded the top $2,000 cash prize. Susanna was selected from a group of very accomplished research students from a number of universities across the country. Learn more »
Beckman Scholars Travel to Washington D.C.
Our three Beckman scholars, Cheri Ackerman, Alexandra Cok, and Sarah Tasker recently traveled with Professor Ron Blankespoor to Washington D.C. to learn more about science policy. They met with an AAAS Fellow at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, as well as Congressman Vern Ehlers and one of his senior staff members, a recent Ph. D. in polymer chemistry. Through these meetings, Ackerman noted that she learned “the importance of having well-educated scientists involved directly in the legislative process, as well as having expertise about the two most pressing science policy issues that Congress is considering right now: healthcare reform and energy.” Cheri commented that “this trip helped me to realize the importance of making scientific information accessible to voters and politicians and promoting the advancement of science in the broader community.” Learn more »
Summer Research Poster Fair
During the summer of 2009 over 80 students and 40 professors from Calvin's Science Division were involved in a wide variety of research projects, including 31 students in the Chemistry Department.
This research was showcased at the annual Science Division Summer Research Poster Fair in October.
Students Volunteer at National Chemistry Week
In October a group of our chemistry and biochemistry majors volunteered for the American Chemical Society's National Chemistry Week at Lakes Mall in Muskegon. Our students introduced several chemical concepts to children and adults through several hands-on experiments.
Chemistry Students Named Prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Fellows
Chemistry Students Sarah Tasker and Alexandra Cok received the prestigious honor of being named Barry M. Goldwater Fellows for 2009-2010. This year, 278 Fellows were named nationwide and Calvin had all four of our nominees selected, a first for our institution! Each Goldwater Scholar is awarded $7,500 for each of two successive years to help with tuition, fees, books and room and board. The fact that the Calvin’s Goldwater winners represent four different disciplines—physics, chemistry, biochemistry and mathematics—is a great compliment to Calvin’s overall excellence in the sciences.
Professors Recently Awarded Grants for over $1,800,000
Our department recently received local news coverage due to the number of grants we have been awarded.
-
Professors Kumar Sinniah, David Benson and Amy Wilstermann were awarded a $208,645 grant from the National Science Foundation for the project "Acquisition of Biophysical Instruments for Interdisciplinary Faculty and Student Research"
-
Kumar Sinniah received a $44,915 grant award from the National Institutes of Health Senior Research Fellowship for his project “Biophysical Analysis of Folic Acid-Folate Binding Protein Interaction”.
-
Professors David Benson and Chad Tatko and professors John Wertz, Amy Wilstermann, and Randy DeJong from the biology department received an NSF Major Research Instrumentation grant of $270,000 for a highly sophisticated piece of scientific instrumentation, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer.
-
Professor Larry Louters was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health for $223,050 to further his research on The Mechanism for the Acute Activation of GLUT1.
-
Calvin professor of geography Deanna van Dijk and professor of chemistry Crystal Bruxvoort have received a National Science Foundation grant of $185,003 for "First-Year Research in Earth Sciences (FYRES): Dunes."
-
The National Institutes of Health awarded a $55,077 grant to Kumar Sinniah for his project "Biophysical Analysis of Enzyme Inhibitor Interactions".
-
Professors Chad Tatko, Amy Wilstermann, David E. Benson and Eric J. Arnoys received a $487,470 National Science Foundation Grant to fund the Acquisition of a 500 MHz NMR Spectrometer to Enhance Faculty and Student Research.
-
Professor Carolyn Anderson was awarded a $170,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to support her project Synthesis of N-Alkyl Pyridones: Mechanism, Methodology and Application to Organic Materials
-
Professor Doug Vander Griend was recently awarded a $126,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for his work with undergraduate researchers on building with"'molecular tinker toys". In addition to supramolecular structures and nanomachines, this money will fund research into thermochromic materials. Such materials change color with temperature and have application in windows that tint in direct sunlight.
-
Professor Doug Vander Griend received a $65,000 grant from the American Chemical Society to support his work "In Situ Thermodynamic Characterization of Supramolecular Assembly Processes that Lead to Discrete Nanosize Structures."
Professor Carolyn Anderson Faculty Profile
Despite being accustomed to larger secular universities before coming to Calvin, Anderson has been very impressed both by the camaraderie of her department and the diligence of her students.
"I have grown a lot in my faith and am figuring out how to express that and how to work in that ...,” said Anderson. “My students work hard, they are diligent, and they are getting a ton done. They are just really impressive, so it has been a lot of fun.”
Learn more about what led Professor Carolyn Anderson to Calvin College.
Muyskens, Blankespoor honored by alma maters
Professor Mark Muyskens, was inducted into the Central College Athletics Hall of Honor as part of the college's Homecoming festivities in September. A 1982 graduate of Central, Muyskens (right) was a team captain, conference MVP and league champion in cross country and track. Muyskens has taught at Calvin in the chemistry department since 1989 and continues to be a regular recreational runner. The Karen Muyskens Family Fun Run is an annual event on Calvin's campus, named in honor of his wife Karen who died suddenly in January 2008.
Professor Ronald Blankespoor was honored by his alma mater, Dordt College, as a winner of its 2009 Distinguished Alumni awards. Blankespoor has taught at Calvin since 1977 and in 1996 was named the winner of Calvin's Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching.
Beckman Scholars Announced
Cheri Ackerman and Alexandra Cok were selected as our department's 2009-2010 Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Scholars.They join Sarah Tasker, who was selected as our department's first Beckman Scholar in 2008. Each scholar will make a research proposal, work independently to complete the research project and, eventually, publish the results in a peer-reviewed journal. The culmination of the project for each scholar is a special summer gathering in California where the Beckman Scholars will make presentations of their work.
