Updated Fall 2008

The department of chemistry, through the efforts of Dr. Caryl L. Fish, Matthew A. Fisher, and Steven J. Gravelle, received a National Science Foundation grant for $148,373 to support the project entitled "Using Project- and Inquiry-Based Strategies to Enhance Student Understanding of Chromatography and Mass Spectral Concepts." These funds enabled the purchase of a new Gas Chromatograph (GC) and a new Gas-Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS).

Dr. Bettie Davis attended POGIL workshops at Washington University in MD, and at Saint Vincent College this past summer.

Dr. Steven Gravelle received a Faculty Development Grant for 2008-2009 and gave a number of presentations over the past year including:

“Impact of instructor variations on the use of the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) in the laboratory,” Gravelle, S.J.  Presented at the National American Chemical Society Conference, New Orleans, LA, April 8, 2008.

“What Visualization Techniques are used in the Undergraduate Laboratory?” Presented at the MAALACT (Middle Atlantic Association of Liberal Arts Chemistry Teachers) meeting at Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA, November 3, 2007.

“The Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) Approach to Lab Instruction and Guided Inquiry Laboratory Experiments,” Gravelle, S.J., Creegan, F. (Washington College) Presented at the Middle Atlantic Discovery Chemistry Project, Washington College, Chestertown, MD, June 4, 2007.

Dr. Caryl Fish is currently involved with the ANA-POGIL project which encourages and supports the use of the POGIL model of learning in analytical chemistry. Students are actively engaged in worksheet activities that are based on the learning cycle, which is based on constructivist theories: concept exploration, concept development, and concept application.

Dr. Daryle Fish supervised four summer research students, Robert Akscyn, Jeannine King, Mike Novak, and Judy Spelz, working on the removal of aqueous phosphate, organic compounds, and organic phosphates using iron oxide produced from abandoned coal mine drainage.

Dr. Matthew Fisher had two book reviews published - one on the second edition of The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom in The National Teaching and Learning Forum, and the second a review of The Way of the Teacher in the International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. In addition, Dr. Fisher led a workshop on Integrative Learning at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in February 2008 and gave an invited talk “What do you mean that you teach _________ and citizenship at the same time?” (focusing on his recent work on revising the biochemistry courses to include public health themes) at the 2008 Teaching Professor Conference in May. Dr. Fisher also served as a senior faculty member at the annual SENCER Summer Institute for the third consecutive year. In addition, he led a workshop on the scholarship of teaching and learning and presented in two sessions, one on food and public health issues and the second on assessment of student learning. Finally, Dr. Fisher served as meeting program co-chair for the American Chemical Society’s Division of Chemical Education technical program at the fall national ACS meeting held in Philadelphia in August. In that role he helped coordinate a program of 24 different symposia and poster sessions that involved 431 submissions.

Mallory Freeberg (Bioinformatics major, Biochem minor) completed a summer internship at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University, working on the Tomato Genome project.

Dr. Michael Sierk attended the ISMB 2008 meeting in Toronto, July 17-23, and presented a poster titled "Structural Classification Databases and Automated Structure Alignment Programs: Can’t We All Just Get Along?". Dr. Sierk also attended the 2008 Bienniel Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) and participated in a panel discussion on careers for the Bioinformatics and Bioengineering Summer Institute. He also reviewed chapters for a new Bioinformatics textbook from Jones & Bartlett publishers, and manuscripts for the journals Bioinformatics and Protein Journal.

Dr. Sierk was an advisor, with Dr. Mandy Raab and Dr. Cynthia Martincic, for a summer project involving students from Biology, CIS, and Bioinformatics that is developing an interactive web-based presentation system that will allow pediatric orthopedic surgeons to produce customized tutorials for their patients and patient's families. The goal is to describe their condition and treatment, and to produce better compliance with treatment regimens. This project was done in collaboration with Dr. Mark Sangimino from Allegheny General Hospital.

Dr. Jason Vohs continues to serve as the advisor to the Chemistry Club, which received an Honorable Mention Award for the 2006-2007 academic year. Dr. Vohs also organized a symposium on Advances in Teaching Inorganic Chemistry at the fall national ACS meeting held in Philadelphia in August. In addition, Dr. Vohs also taught a course entitled "Chemistry of Cooking" during Saint Vincent College's 2008 summer Challenge Program for middle and high school students. Finally, Dr. Vohs received a faculty development grant for 2008-2009 to research the use of adamantyl-based ligands in synthetic organometallic chemistry.