Members of Dr. Dabrowski's and Dr. Clar's research teams present at the 255th meeting of the American Chemical Society
While most students were heading off to their spring break destinations, students in the Chemistry Department were busily preparing, traveling, presenting and engaging in sessions at the 255 National American Chemical Society (ACS) Conference in New Orleans March 18-20, 2018.
Two members of the research team of Jen Dabrowski, assistant professor of chemistry, presented their work at the conference.
Nicholas Ciolkowski ’19, a Lumen Scholar, presented his recent progress towards the development of vanadium analogs of antibiotics in a poster entitled, “Synthesis of Organometallic Vanadium Complexes as Antibiotic Analogues”. Ciolkowski’s research is in an effort to combat the growing resistance that bacteria have to current antibiotics through the development of alternatives. The hope is these advances will lead to new antibiotics that are less resistant or offer new mechanisms of action and ultimately will have therapeutic value.
“Nick is an exceptional scholar athlete in its fullest meaning, balancing the demands and rigor of both independent research and cross country and excelling at both,” says Dabrowski.
As a Sustainability Faculty Fellow, assistant professor Dabrowski admits, “I encourage my students to apply their interests in sustainability and their knowledge of chemistry to make a difference.”
Elon College Fellow Tucker Schweickart ’19 is doing just that. Building off the research of Jenny Kane ’18, who is participating in the Spring Undergraduate Research Experiences, Tucker presented his current progress towards developing methods of accessing pharmaceutically relevant molecules from renewable resources. His poster was titled, “Synthesis of Cyclized Pharmaceutical Precursors Via Activation of Renewable Sugars”.
According to Dabrowski, “Experiencing how science is disseminated firsthand and listening to leaders in the field of chemistry share their research is a rich learning environment for students. It not only provides an avenue for the generation of new ideas for their research projects, but is a tangible demonstration of the standards of the field that are practiced in the classroom at Elon. It was a pleasure to serve as a mentor in these transformative experiences for my students”
Dabrowski’s group was not the only members of the Elon community presenting work at conference. Annie Yang and Sarah Boggins, two members of the research group of Justin Clar, assistant professor of chemistry, were also in attendance. Clar’s research group focuses on both the potential uses and environmental implications of nanotechnology.
Yang, a rising senior and a SURE participant, has focused her work on the beneficial reuse of welding fumes for remediation of contaminated water. After returning from the conference, Yang said, “I was very encouraged by how friendly other participants at the conference were, especially to an undergraduate student without their level of experience or expertise.”
Boggins is conducting research that attempts to evaluate the environmental implications of nanoparticle additives in surface coatings like paints, stains, and sealants. For Sarah, traveling to New Orleans was an incredible experience, “Not only was I able to witness the rich culture of the city, but also the intriguing research of other students and scientists. It was enlightening to see concepts I had learned in chemistry applied to real-life experiments. I hope to travel to additional conferences in the future to gain more knowledge about the field of chemistry!”
Clar was excited to accompany his students, stating that “presenting at ACS pushes our students a little farther outside their comfort zone of the Elon bubble, allowing them to see they are a part of a much broader scientific community.”