The 2009 Chemistry Department Newsletter is now online.

Winslow Professor of Chemistry George Shields presented a seminar to the chemistry department at Brown University on March 22. The title of his talk was "Working with Undergraduates on Research: Cancer Drug Design and Modeling Atmospheric Chemistry Processes with Computational Methods." His lecture highlighted the work that he and Karl Kirschner, co-director of the Center for Molecular Design, have carried out with Hamilton students over the past few years.

Shields discussed the work of Katrina Lexa '05, Amanda Salisburg '08, Katherine Alser '09, Damien Ellens '03, Lorena Hernandez '03, Sam Bono '00, Jenn Derby '01, Jaime Skiba '02, Karilyn Larkin '06, Amy Barrows '08, Becky Mackenzie '08, Alexa Schwarzman '09, Sarah Taylor '03, Abby Markeson '04, Valery Danilack '06, Sarah Felder '07, Frank Pickard '05, Chantelle Rein '03, Becky Shepherd '06, Amber Gillis
'06, Cecilia Disney '07, James McConnell '07, Emma Pokon '04, Meghan Dunn '06, Tim Evans '05, Mary Beth Day '07, Marco Allodi '08, Kristin Alongi '08, Jovan Livada '08, Ngoda Manongi '08, Greg Hartt '08, Alexa Ashworth '09. Andrew Beyler '10, and Tom Morrell '10. Brown is in the midst of a curricular review and is working on increasing the number of undergraduates working on research projects, and plans to
copy part of the successful Hamilton College model.

Discussed Research Conducted With Hamilton Students


George Shields

Winslow Professor of Chemistry George Shields presented a seminar, "Computational Design and Experimental Discovery of an Anti-estrogenic Peptide Derived from Alpha-Fetoprotein," to an audience of 60 faculty and students in the department of chemistry and biochemistry at Middlebury College on March 16. His lecture highlighted the work that he and Karl Kirschner, co-director of the Center for Molecular Design, have carried out with Hamilton students over the past few years.

Shields discussed the work of Katrina Lexa '05, Katherine Alser '09, Amanda Salisburg '05, Damien Ellens '03, Lorena Hernandez '03, Sam Bono '00, Jennifer Derby '01, and Jaime Skiba '02 in detail. In addition he talked about the research that Karilyn Larkin '06, Amy Barrows '08, Alexa Schwarzman '09, Sarah Taylor '03, Abby Markeson '04, Valery Danilack '06, and Sarah Felder '07 have done on developing a computational assay for the Estrogen Receptor. Shields also talked about the group's work on enediyne anticancer antibiotics, especially the work of Frank Pickard '05, Chantelle Rein '03, Becky Shepherd '06, and Amber Gillis '06.

Professor George Shields Has Taken 27 Undergraduates to the Conference Over 12 Years

Hamilton students, alumnae and faculty at St. Simon's Island.
Five current Hamilton students, two alumnae, and two professors attended the 47th Sanibel Symposium from February 22-27. The first Sanibel Symposium was held on Sanibel Island in 1960, and over the years moved across Florida and up the coast. This year's meeting was held on St. Simon's Island, Georgia, at the King & Prince Resort, and was devoted to theory and computation in quantum chemistry, condensed matter and chemical physics, nanoscience, and quantum biochemistry and biophysics. The students all presented posters co-authored with their professors. Each poster presentation consisted of a two-minute public advertisement followed by the traditional poster session. Faculty from all over the world talked with the Hamilton students, giving them feedback and ideas on their research projects and on their future plans after Hamilton.

Jovan Livada '08

Hamilton College is pleased to name Jovan Livada, a junior from Belgrade, Serbia, as its third GOLD Scholar.

To find Livada, you might search the chemistry laboratories, sports fields, ballroom dancing class, the stage, or the Writing and Oral Communications centers … unless, of course, you were looking for him this past fall, in which case he was on the water enrolled in Boston University's Semester at Sea program. Livada, a junior from Belgrade, Serbia, is the paradigmatic multi-talented Hamilton student.

Chemistry Instrumentation Scientist (Posted: 8/13/2006)

Full-time Instrumentation Scientist to support instructional and research activities in the Chemistry Department. Responsibilities include maintenance of the department\u2019s instrumentation used in the research and teaching laboratories and training student and faculty users. Maintenance duties include coordinating the installation of new instruments, upgrading software for existing instruments, maintaining computer data files, performing routine calibration and maintenance, and making recommendations for instrument upgrades. Training responsibilities include developing instructions for usage, becoming familiar with advanced applications of the instruments, and training of individual faculty and groups of students in use and care of the department\u2019s instrumentation.

Qualifications: MS/PhD in chemistry, engineering, or related field required. Extensive use/management of chemical instrumentation, experience in NMR, UV-VIS, FT-IR spectroscopy, and separations techniques (GC/MS and LC/MS). Excellent interpersonal and writing skills; ability to prioritize multiple tasks and deadlines, set goals, and work independently on short- and long-term projects. Opportunity to develop or initiate a research interest in conjunction with a faculty member consistent with the Department\u2019s educational mission.

Laboratory Instructor (Posted 8/13/06)

This is a temporary position for Fall 2006. Lab Instructors are responsible for all aspects of teaching the laboratory sections they are assigned, which may include Introductory Chemistry 120/125 Laboratory and/or Organic Chemistry 255 Laboratory. This includes lecturing on related material; overseeing student completion of lab work; holding office hours for students; grading lab reports; maintaining student grades and coordinating with professors teaching lecture sections of courses.