Student Employee Spotlight -- Introducing Brooke Kuerzi

Hello out there, humans! My name is Brooke Kuerzi and I was born in Louisville, KY and grew up in Rowlett, Texas. I am working on a BS in Biology at UK, and I only have two semesters left (fingers crossed!). I chose UK for a couple very simple reasons; it was close to Louisville and my sister was already here. I began as a political science major, and I was convinced that I was going to become a politician, but I quickly realized that I was bored. Nothing felt challenging enough. Having never been a particularly exceptional science student, I obviously picked biology, and here I am today- stressed, miserable at times, but absolutely confident with my choice, and excited for the future.

Eighteenth Annual Dawson Lecture

----------

Dr. Geoffrey Coates of Cornell University will be presenting a seminar titled "New Polymers from Old Monomers: Advances Enabled through Catalyst Design."  He will also participate as a judge for this year's Regional Poster Competition held in CP-114 from 1-3 pm.

Abstract:  Although the chemical, physical, and mechanical properties of a polymer are the most vital factors in determining utility, another important constraint that must be considered is the cost of the material. The best way to create inexpensive new polymers is to start with large-scale commodity monomers, rather than rely on the development of new-to-the-world monomers. The focus of our work is the development of new synthetic methods for polymer synthesis, where known organic feedstocks are combined in alternative ways to make new macromolecular materials. We accomplish this through the development of metal-based catalysts that exhibit unique reactivity. In this presentation, the discovery, development and application of new catalysts for polymerization will be presented. The development of new methods for the synthesis of sustainable polymers will also be discussed. 

For more information about the Dawson Lecture Series, click here.

Faculty Host: Dr. Susan Odom

 

Date:
-
Location:
CP-139

Discourses, Discontinuities, and the Urban Episteme: The City in Latin American Cultural Thought

 
 
In 1984 Uruguayan writer, academic and literary critic Ángel Rama published La ciudad letrada (The Lettered City), an enormously influential work proposing that Latin America is a European ideal imposed on an unruly landscape and that this ideal, sometimes
maintained but more often modifi ed by the philosophies and literatures of the urban Latin American letrados, has been a powerful
current in Latin American history since the days of colonial construction. Dr. Liliana Gómez-Popescu argues that there is a need
to go beyond the conceptual model of the lettered city proposed by Rama to account for the new urban structures of power
inherent in the present-day Latin American megalopolis.  THIS LECTURE WILL BE GIVEN IN ENGLISH.
Date:
-
Location:
West End Room, 18th Floor Patterson Office Tower

Chemistry Department Seminar

----------

Etienne Garand will be presenting a seminar titled Probing catalytic reaction intermediates using cryogenic ion vibrational spectroscopy.

Abstract: Understanding reaction pathways and mechanisms is vitally important for the rational design of catalysts.  Toward that end, we developed a method based on mass spectrometry and cryogenic ion vibrational spectroscopy to capture and characterize the reaction complexes formed during homogeneous catalytic reactions.  In addition to experimental considerations, this talk will present recent work on model metal hydroxide complexes and the first application of our approach to study catalytic water oxidation.  We show that vibrational spectroscopy of the model M2+OH- (M=Mn-Zn) systems can be used to study the trends in the extent of charge transfer between ligand and the metal center.  Such systematic studies elucidate on the behaviors observed in the IR spectra of transition metal species and provide a framework for the analysis of more complex spectra.  To probe reaction intermediates, we coupled an in-line electrochemical flow cell to our electrospray ionization source, thereby allowing us to controllably reach each step in the catalytic cycle.  Using this source, we have successfully isolated the first few reaction intermediates in water oxidation catalyzed by the single metal center [Ru(tpy)(bpy)(H2O)]2+ catalyst.  Moreover, using vibrational predissociation spectroscopy, we characterized the structure of these species as well as their microsolvated clusters.  The results show that the solvent hydrogen-bond network around the active site can play an active role in the reaction. 

Faculty Host: Dr. Dong-Sheng Yang

 

 

Date:
-
Location:
CP-114A/B

Molecular mechanisms that control development and dysfunction of the mammalian cerebellum

Host: Brian Rymond, University of Kentucky

The College of Arts and Sciences in collaboration with the College of Agriculture & the Graduate School is sponsoring this graduate seminar course. Two of the seminars will be held in the Biology Department (TH Morgan Building) and two will be held in the Plant Sciences Building (College of Agriculture).

Date:
Location:
116 TH Morgan Biology Building
Tags/Keywords:
Subscribe to