National Science Foundation Grant Funds Purchase of State-of-the-Art NMR Spectrometer at Elizabethtown College

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Assistant Professors Jeff Rood and James MacKay with NMR

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (03/18/2010)(readMedia)-- Elizabethtown College assistant professors James MacKay and Jeff Rood recently were awarded more than $330,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation Program to purchase a state-of-the-art nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. The instrument -- one of the most widely used pieces of analytical equipment in the field of chemistry -- will support the College's dynamic and growing program of undergraduate research in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry and nurture collaborations with faculty at area colleges.

The 400-megahertz superconducting NMR spectrometer is an invaluable tool for analyzing molecular structure in the chemical and biological sciences. Elizabethtown's current NMR, which is more than 20 years old, is unable to reliably meet the growing needs of Elizabethtown's research-active faculty. In addition to supporting the faculty's scholarly work, the new instrument will enhance the learning experience for the College's undergraduates by providing students with additional opportunities for hands-on, inquiry-based learning.

Elizabethtown College President Theodore E. Long is enthusiastic about the opportunities the NSF funding will create for the College's faculty and students. "The National Science Foundation's award will provide the cutting-edge technology essential for sustaining Elizabethtown's ever-broadening spectrum of faculty and student research," says Long. "As a result, our students will have a more dynamic and exciting learning experience, and the faculty's research will contribute even more to the extension of scientific knowledge."

Today, Elizabethtown College faculty members are doing significant scientific research that is leading to innovations in science and technology. This research is supported by student research assistants, reinforcing the students' understanding of fundamental concepts taught in the classroom and helping them grow as scientists through problem solving, experimentation and discovery. The NMR spectrometer is essential for these research projects, which include:

• Assistant Professor of Chemistry James MacKay's research is investigating new methods of synthesizing biologically active molecules, especially heterocycles and carbocycles, which are important in the discovery of new pharmaceuticals. His current project involves the synthesis of beta-lactam heterocycles, which are common structural motifs for many antibiotics.
• Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jeff Rood is investigating fundamental inorganic and materials chemistry with research focused on the synthesis of a new class of porous materials, called metal-organic frameworks. These materials have a diverse range of applications, such as the storage of hydrogen gas for use as a low-polluting fuel source for vehicles. Another area of research involves the design of new catalysts, which speed up the rate of important reactions.
• Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kristi Kneas' research seeks to develop luminescence-based sensors, which emit measurable amounts of light or certain colors of light in relation to a particular substance or condition present in an environment or system. Currently, Kneas is investigating the use of these sensors in measuring blood glucose and lactate levels and environmental oxygen and humidity levels.
• A.C. Baugher Professor of Chemistry Emeritus Charles Schaeffer is researching the main group organometallic chemistry of silicon, germanium, and tin compounds containing one or more carbon-to-metal bonds.

In addition to benefiting research at Elizabethtown College, the new NMR will nurture collaborative efforts with two area colleges.

For many years, the College's current NMR has supported the 40-year collaboration between Schaeffer and Claude Yoder, Franklin & Marshall's Charles A. Dana Professor of Chemistry, into main group organometallic chemistry. The faculty members and their students are using NMR spectroscopy to explore structure and bonding in these compounds, many of which were previously unknown materials. Over the decades, this collaboration -- which has resulted in upwards of 50 publications and more than 30 scholarly presentations -- has enriched the academic experience for dozens of Elizabethtown students who served as research assistants for Schaeffer.

More recently, a similar collaboration has grown between MacKay and Timothy Peelen, assistant professor of chemistry at Lebanon Valley College. The pair will use the new instrument to characterize fluorine containing molecules.

Elizabethtown College, in southeastern Pennsylvania, is a private coed college with degrees in liberal arts, fine and performing arts, science and engineering, business, communications and education. The hallmarks of an Elizabethtown education are academic rigor, high expectations and intellectual curiosity. Our faculty members are teacher-scholars, pursuing their academic areas of expertise while sharing that expertise with students. For more information, please visit www.etown.edu.

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Caption: (Shown l – r) Elizabethtown College Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jeff Rood, chemistry major Greg Berends '13, biochemistry and pre-medicine major Morgan McKenney '13, and Assistant Professor of Chemistry James MacKay discuss a project they are conducting with the institution's current nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer.

Media Contact:

Lori H. Burke

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Elizabethtown College

burkel@etown.edu

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