Dr. Jason Azouley (Southern Miss) will present “Narrow Band Gap Conjugated Polymers for Emergent Optoelectronic Technologies” to the department.

Abstract:
Research in the field of organic semiconductors has allowed for the development of commercially relevant technologies such as organic thin-film transistors, light-emitting diodes, photovoltaics, sensors, molecular electronics, and biocompatible medical materials.  Research efforts in industry and academia remain unabated in areas where energy (in the form of light, electricity or heat) meet a wide variety of molecular and even biological systems. Despite the achievement of significant technological milestones, conformational disorder has complicated the identification of design guidelines to control the band gap at low energies. This precludes interactions  with  infrared  (IR)  light,  prevents  the  study  of  fundamental  physical  phenomena, and  constrains  the  design  and  realization  of  new  optoelectronic  and  device  functionalities. Through  the  development  of  modular  synthetic  approaches  and  the  extension  of  molecular conjugation  via  cross-conjugation,  we  have  demonstrated  the  capability  to  systematically control the frontier orbital energetics (separation, position, and alignment), co-planarity of the conjugated backbone, intermolecular interactions, electron density along the main chain, and aromatic  stabilization  of  the  constituent  copolymer  segments.  The utility  of  these  materials towards  developing  a  better  understanding  of  pertinent  loss  processes,  understanding  the nature  of  the  transient  species  in  light  harvesting  applications,  and  the  development  of  IR optoelectronic applications will be discussed. Such control has also resulted in novel physical properties, such as ground state electronics that can be manipulated, curie susceptibilities and conductivities  that are higher  than  other neutral  organic  solids,  novel  collective  phenomena, and unique electrical, optical, spin, and magnetic behavior. We anticipate that the combination of  these  unique  aspects:  modularity,  novel  physics,  and  easy  manipulation  will  enable  new optoelectronic  and  device  functionalities  that  cannot  be  realized  with  current  semiconductor technologies.

Seminar: Dr. Ted Burkey (Memphis) will present “The First 500 ps are Important: Optically Controlled Molecular Devices” to the department.

Seminar: Dr. David Colby (UM Pharmacy) will present “New Methods for the Synthesis of Fluorinated Organic Molecules” to the department.

Seminar: Prof. Randy Wadkins will present a seminar to the department.

Seminar: Graduate Student Sarah Glenn will present “Improvement and Development of  Analytical Forensic Methods:  Arson Investigation and Drug Detection” to the department.

Abstract:

Forensic science is a gradually evolving scientific discipline. This slow change is due to the need for stringent scientific testing and peer review of each technique or procedure before the new methods are added to a forensic scientist’s arsenal. Forensic scientists rely on the wider scientific research community to develop and test the latest techniques that make analyzing forensic evidence easier and more efficient. This talk will focus on three novel analytical improvements to assist in the analysis of arson and drug evidence.

Arson investigation is one of the slowest growing forensic disciplines as little research is preformed to improve existing methods. The first study uses internal standards to help determine the fuel grades, origin, and evaporation levels of potential gasoline accelerants. This study helped quantitatively track the changes that occur in the gas chromatogram of gasoline as it is evaporated.

Illicit drugs make up a large percentage of the evidence collected and analyzed at forensic laboratories. The development and improvement of existing methods is needed to cope with the volume of evidence collected across the United States. The second study investigates the development of a method to detect illicit drugs in fingerprints using MALDI (Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization) mass spectrometry. The third study looks into the improvement of existing methods for detecting THC in hair samples for faster and more efficient testing procedures

Dr. Kevin L. Shuford (Baylor) will present “Optical, Electronic, and Transport Properties of Nanomaterials” to the department.

Seminar: Graduate Student Michael Molnar will present “Chemistry and Physical Characteristics of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)” to the Department.

Graduate Student Katelyn Dreux will present a seminar to the department.

Hunter Dulaney will present his thesis research “Robust Nickel Catalysts Supported by Biaryl-Bridged Pyridyl-N-Heterocyclic Carbenes for Carbon Dioxide Reduction to Value-Added Products” to the department.

Current energy consumption worldwide is at more than 18 terawatts-hours per year. Of this energy, roughly 82% is derived from fossil fuels (i.e. coal, oil, and natural gas). Fossil fuel combustion releases greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, and other airborne pollutants, which contribute to climate change, ocean acidification, and human health concerns. Carbon dioxide also represents a readily accessible C1 feedstock for conversion to solar fuels and value-added chemicals. However, CO₂ is relatively inert and very negative voltages or strong chemical reductants are required for its conversion. An additional challenge lies in achieving these reactions in water where aqueous protons are utilized selectively for CO₂ reduction rather than hydrogen generation. Molecular nickel-based catalysts have shown promising results as earth-abundant systems for electro- and photocatalytic CO₂ reduction that hold an economic advantage over precious metal catalysts employing ruthenium, iridium, and rhenium. Design strategies and representative nickel catalysts will be discussed that focus on the activity, stability, and tunability of molecular systems for this critical half-reaction of artificial photosynthesis. On the backdrop of these examples, my research involves the development of new homogeneous nickel catalysts for selective carbon dioxide reduction with tunable geometries and polyaromatic frameworks with increased delocalization for catalysis.

Prof. Robert Compton (University of Tennessee) will present “On the Origin of the Universe and Life on Earth” to the Department.