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Are you interested in studying chemistry as a graduate student or undergraduate chemistry major? If so, please contact Dr. Mark Novak by email or phone (321-674-7735) to find out more about our undergraduate program. Future graduate students should contact Dr. Mike Babich by email or phone (321-674-8046). We look forward to talking with you.
Also check out our faculty webpages, research facilities and information for prospective students.
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We have created a website just for our alumni. It contains the current and previous Alumni Newsletters so that you can read the news from our department. Please let us know what you have been up to. You can also share your news with other alumni in our secure Alumni Connections site if you choose. The Connections website helps our alumni keep up with each other and the Chemistry faculty.
As Florida Tech celebrates its 50th anniversary, we hope that our alumni consider supporting the goals of our growing department through a contribution to the Golden Anniversary Campaign for Florida Tech. There are many ways you can support chemistry excellence at Florida Tech. Please contact Michelle Verkooy (email, 321-674-6852), Office of Advancement, to learn more. |
Department News
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Two Florida Tech students won awards at the Florida Inorganic & Materials Symposium held September 12 - 13 at the University of Florida. Sukesh Shekar (left), a senior working in Dr. Rudi Wehmschulte's lab, won the award for the best undergraduate presentation and Christa Simmers (right), a grad student working in Dr. Andrew Knight's research group, won the award for best graduate student poster.
Congratulations, Christa and Sukesh!
 
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Dr. and Mrs. Michael Babich hosted a celebration in honor of Dr. J. Clayton Baum. Sixty guests attended the evening reception and raised $7500 to bring the Baum Chemistry Award's endowment to over $25,000. A program for the event, listing other financial sponsors, can be viewed here. We wish to thank the many Florida Tech friends, faculty, staff and alumni who attended the event. We would especially like to thank Dr. Jonathan Zung for generously matching donations made by faculty and alumni. Dr. Zung will continue to match donations until June, 2009.
More guest photos can be viewed here.
The J. Clayton Baum Chemistry Award award recognizes an outstanding junior chemistry major based on his or her academic and research achievements (see this article in the Florida Tech Campus Observer) and has been established by friends, alumni, and colleagues of Dr. Baum in recognition of his continuing dedication, devotion and service to Florida Tech and the Department of Chemistry. Learn more about how you can honor Dr. Baum's commitment and support the outstanding achievement of a promising student by contacting Dr. Michael Babich today.
The first award recipient will be announced this fall.
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We are pleased to welcome Dr. Andrew Knight as our newest Chemistry Department faculty member. Dr. Knight's inorganic chemistry research touches on many other fields, including catalysis, organic synthesis, nanomaterials and materials science, medicinal chemistry and green chemistry.
Dr. Knight will be teaching inorganic and general chemistry, as well as serving as co-advisor to the ACS student affiliate group. Welcome, Andy!
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Oxford University Press has published "Ferrates: Synthesis, Properties and Applications in Water and Wastewater Treatment", edited by Dr. Virender Sharma. From the publisher's website, "Chapters of the book demonstrate development of new technology for removing emerging pollutants without forming toxic side reactions or by-products. Examples include endocrine disruptors (EDs) and pharmaceuticals, which are of a great concern because of their possible toxic effects on humans and the ecology of the environment."
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The ACS Student Affiliate Chapter selected Dr. Virender Sharma as its annual "Faculty of the Year" recipient. Students chose Dr. Sharma for his mentoring of undergraduate research students and the quality of his teaching in Analytical Chemistry.
Dr. Sharma also received the Faculty Excellence in Research Award from Florida Tech. This award recognizes the best researcher at Florida Tech based on publications, external funding and reputation within the scientific community. Congratulations, Virender!
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Chemistry faculty hosted a cookout at the beach for our graduate and undergraduate research students. At least for one day, research really was a "day at the beach".
 
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Chemical Research Funding |
Recent funding announcements
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation recently awarded Dr. Kurt Winkelmann a 3-year grant to develop new nanotechnology laboratory experiments for freshmen.
Dr. Rudi Wehmschulte received a 3-year, $400,000 NSF grant to synthesize and study novel, highly reactive cationic aluminum and gallium compounds. These materials can be applied as catalysts for important processes, including
C-H and C-F activation, arene functionalization, and carbonylation and hydrogenation. An outreach program to nearby colleges and high schools is also planned.
Dr. Virender Sharma received a 3-year, $70,000 NSF award to investigate the electrochemical synthesis of ferrate(VI) salts (Na2FeO4 and K2FeO4). This project is a collaboration with Dr. K. Bouzek of the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague. This research program seeks to reveal the mechanism of the processes occurring at the surfaces of silicon and carbidic cast iron anode materials. One practical goal is to enhance the formation of solid ferrate(VI) in electrochemical solution mixtures. Understanding the synthesis of ferrate(VI) is important because ferrate(VI) can be used as an environmentally friendly oxidant, disinfectant, and coagulant for treatment of emerging pollutants and toxins in aquatic systems. Other potential applications include industrial “green” processes for synthesizing environmentally more benign products. This international collaboration will facilitate scientific and educational interaction between US and Czech Republic research groups.
Dr. Clayton Baum was awarded an $18,500 grant "Light Weight Smart Materials for Exploration Applications" from ASRC Aerospace Corporation, a contractor for the NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center. The award is to provide both data and analysis for new materials developed by ASRC using departmental equipment, including DART mass spectrometry, FT-NMR spectrometry, FT-IR spectrometry, and thermal analysis.
Dr. Nasri Nesnas received a $15,000 research grant from the Florida Solar Energy Center to synthesize light absorbing molecules. Applications for such compounds include nanophoto-sensors and energy storage systems as well as medical applications relating to the treatment of visual ailments and understanding vision.
Dr. Rudi Wehmschulte received a $15,000 award from the Florida Solar Energy Center for the development of a low temperature synthesis of nitrogen doped titania.
This material is of interest for photocatalysis (e.g. destruction of
pollutants) with visible light as opposed to undoped titania, which requires UV light.
Dr. Joshua Rokach, Florida Tech Chemistry Professor and Director of the Claude Pepper Institute, has been awarded a four-year $1.3 million research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute will allow Dr. Rokach to continue his studies on chronic inflammatory diseases.
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