News Archive (2000-2009)
2009
Congratulations Scott:
- Scott Brown defended his PhD dissertation and graduated in the August commencement ceremony. Scott has accepted a position as assistant professor at Murray State University in Kentucky.
- Jordan Entrekin, Jackie Parks, Joseph Randall, and Austin Doss joined the group as undergraduate researchers this summer. They were joined by Cody Corbin who was an REU student from UAB. Jane Moore rejoined the group as an incoming graduate student after completing her degree at Tennessee Wesleyan University. Jane was an REU student in the group last summer.
- Dr. Lensey Hill received her PhD degree in the May Commencement ceremony. Undergraduate researchers Dana Suich, Denise Boykin, Jason Crowell, Joel Schoenberg, Sarabeth McLendon, and Tyler James received their degrees as well. Congratulations to all and good luck in the future.
- Emily Wayman took first place in the Physical Sciences division of the University System Honors Undergraduate Research Conference. Emily is working on a joint project with the Shaughnessy and Dixon groups.
- Group members took first and third place in the Natural Sciences division of the UA Undergraduate Research Conference Poster competition. Joel Schoenberg placed first with his poster entitled, "Palladium-Catalyzed Hydrodehalogenation of Aryl Bromides and Chlorides," and Duncan Harmon earned 3rd place with his poster entitled, "Synthesis and Characterization of Neopentyl Phosphine Palladium Complexes."
- Undergraduate researcher Duncan Harmon was one of 19 student inducted into Gamma Sigma Epsilon National Chemistry Honorary.
- Hannah Box placed first in the Chemistry division of the undergraduate poster competition at the AAS meeting. Hannah's poster was entitled, "Synthesis of Water-Soluble Phosphines and Their Application to Recyclable, Aqueous-Phase Palladium Catalyst."
- Undergraduate research student Emily Wayman has won an Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- Jane Moore received the Joseph and Bessie Mae Pryor Award for her presentation at the Alpha Chi National Honor Society National Meeting in Indianapolis. Jane presented her work from last summer while in the group as an SURP participant.
- An invited by review by Kevin Shaughnessy entitled, " Hydrophilic Ligands and Their Application in Aqueous-Phase Metal-Catalyzed Reactions," has been published online by Chemical Reviews.
- Nigel Welch and Dayne Fraser have officially joined the Shaughnessy group as graduate students. Nigel spent the summer with the group and came to UA from UT-Chattanooga. Dayne came to UA after earning his degree at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta. Also joining the group for the spring 2009 semester are undergraduate researchers Jared Carpenter, Duncan Harmon, and Dana Suich.
2008
Graduates:
- Undergraduate researchers Fallon Brown and Quentin Sonnier received degrees in the Winter Commencement ceremony. Congratulations to both and thanks for their contributions to the group.
- Zack Hawkins joined the group this fall. Zack is a freshman and a participant in the Emerging Scholars Program.
- Lensey Hill successfully defended her dissertation on November 10th. Lensey has turned in her dissertation and started a job with Georgia Pacific. She will officially graduate in May 2009.
- Lensey Hill was chosen to attend the NSF-sponsored 2008 CENTC Summer School on Organometallic Catalysis at the University of Washington.
- Two group papers recently appeared in print. A paper describing C-Se bond formation co-authored by Joon Cho and Fallon Brown was published recently in Main Group Chemistry. A paper on new water-soluble phosphines was published in a special issue of Synthesis focused on aqueous-phase catalysis. Co-authors on this paper were Scott Brown, Denise Boykin, Quentin Sonnier, William Clark, and Fallon Brown.
- Denise Boykin has recipient of a scholarship for the 2008-09 school year from the ACS Scholars Program. This American Chemical Society program provides scholarships for students from underrepresented minorities pursuing degrees in the chemical sciences or chemical technology.
- Joel Schoenberg, Tyler James, Jane Moore, and Nigel Welch joined the group this summer. Joel and Tyler are UA undergraduates. Jane is a participant in the UA SURP program from Tennessee Wesleyan, and Nigel is an incoming graduate student.
- Congratulations to the group members who earned degrees during the May commencement. Paul Guevara (cum laude), Ellie Killian, Nick Massie (summa cum laude), and Strud Tutwiler (magna cum laude) all earned BS degrees in chemistry.
- Undergraduate researchers Fallon Brown, Nick Massie, and Strud Tutwiler were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa during the 2007-2008 academic year. Congratulations for being inducted into the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society.
- Nick Massie was a recipient of the Distinguished A&S Undergraduate Scholar award presented during Honors Week.
- Denise Boykin was one of 18 students to receive the Randall Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award during Honors Week. Denise was one of 6 chemistry majors recognized for their outstanding contributions to research at UA.
- The Shaughnessy group presented 8 papers at the National ACS meeting in New Orleans. Presenting authors were, Scott Brown, Lensey Hill, Denise Boykin, Fallon Brown, Sarabeth McLendon, Ellie Killian, Quentin Sonnier, Strud Tutwiler, and Jason Crowell.
- Quentin Sonnier won the first prize in the Alabama Academy of Science undergraduate paper competition at the annual meeting at Samford University. Lensey Hill placed second in the poster competition.
- A paper co-authored by Lensey L. Hill, Joanna M. Smith, William S. Brown, Lucas R. Moore, Paul Guevera, Emily S. Pair, Jake Porter, Joe Chou, Christopher J. Wolterman, Raluca Craciun, David A. Dixon and Kevin H. Shaughnessy on the use of neopentylphosphines in cross-coupling reactions has been published online by Tetrahedron.
- A paper co-authored by Lucas Moore, Beth Western, Kevin O'Halloran, Raluca Craciun, Jason Spruell, and David Dixon on the catalytic application, properties, and coordination chemistry of the TXPTS ligand has been published in Organometallics.
- William Clark and Nick Massie have joined the group as undergraduate researchers.
2007
Graduation:
- Dr. Joon Cho formally earned his PhD degree in the December commencement ceremony. Former undergraduate reserach Jake Porter received a BS degree in chemistry.
- Kevin Shaughnessy has been named an Arts & Sciences Distinguished Teaching Fellow for the period 2007-2010 by Dean Olin.
- Undergraduate research Strud Tutwiler has been accepted to UA School of Dentistry for the fall 2008 semester. Congrats, Strud!
- Kevin Shaughnessy has been named a 2007 recipient of the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award, which is given each year by the National Alumni Association to four faculty members at UA. The OCTA award is the highest teaching award given to UA faculty.
- Sarabeth McLendon, Jason Crowell, and Ellie Killian joined the group this fall as undergraduate researchers.
- Caitlin has been accepted to the Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences at Philiadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) in Atlanta.
- Joon-Hyung Cho successfully defended his dissertation in July. His dissertationi has been approved by the Graduate School, and he will graduate in December. Joon has accepted a post-doctoral position with Dr. Jin Cha at Wayne State University in Detroit.
- Dr. Justin P'Pool (PhD 06) has recently accepted a joint post-doctoral position with Dr. Robert Minto at Indiana University-Purdue University and Dr. Daniel Silvo at the Cancer Research at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. He will work on the synthesis of biologically active natural products.
- Denise Boykin has joined the group this summer. She is working on the development of new water-soluble ligands for palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions.
- Caitlin Prickett who has been with the group since summer 2004 received her dual chemistry and biology degrees in the May commencement ceremony.
- Joanna Smith has been accepted to the Samford University School of Pharmacy.
- Dr. Michael Sliger (postdoc 02-04) has accepted a position with Duracell in Bethell, CT. Michael will work in the lithium battery development unit. Dr. Lucas Moore (PhD 06) has accepted a job with Ciba Specialty Chemicals in Mobile, AL. Lucas is a Senior Process Development Chemist for the Plastics and Adhesives division
- Caitlin Prickett and Fallon Brown were inducted into Gamma Sigma Epsilon national chemistry honorary.
- Beth Western's dissertation entitled, "Palladium-Catalyzed Modification of Halonucleosides: Methodology Development and Mechanism Determination," was chosen to receive The University of Alabama's Outstanding Dissertation Award. Beth's dissertation was chosen as the work that best exemplifies "research skill, independent thought, the ability to interpret information, and the ability to handle the topic in an intelligent and insightful way" from all dissertations submitted in the past year.
- Paul Guevara has joined the group as an undergraduate research student this spring. Paul is a chemistry major and a member of the track and cross country teams at UA. He will be working on the Sonogashira coupling using neopentylphosphines.
- Joanna Smith won an NSF-REU Chemistry Leadership Group Travel Award to attend the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Chicago in March. Lensey Hill and Scott Brown received travel awards from the Graduate School to attend the ACS meeting as well.
- Rongcai Huang's paper entitled, "Water-Soluble Palladacycles as Precursors to Highly Recyclable Catalysts for the Suzuki Coupling of Aryl Bromides in Aqueous Solvents," was the second most accessed article in Organometallics in the third quarter of 2006.
2006
Congratulations Graduates:
- Former undergraduate research students Emily Pair, Brent Graves, Maryam Khan earned degrees during the December Commencement ceremonies.
- Beth Western's dissertation entitled, "Palladium-Catalyzed Modification of Halonucleosides: Methodology Development and Mechanism Determination," was chosen by the College of Arts & Sciences as one of three dissertations to be nominated for the Graduate School's Outstanding Dissertation award.
- Lucas Moore's paper on water-soluble imidazol-2-ylidene complexes was published in Organometallics (2006, 25, 5151)
- Rongcai Huang's paper, "Water-Soluble Palladacycles as Precursors to Highly Recyclable Catalysts for the Suzuki Coupling of Aryl Bromides in Aqueous Solvents," was published in Organometallics (2006, 25, 4105).
- Falon Brown and Jake Porter have joined the group this fall as undergraduate researchers. Both Falon and Jake are chemistry majors.
- A paper entitled, "Bulky Alkylphosphines with Neopentyl Substituents as Ligands in the Amination of Aryl Bromides and Chlorides," was published in the Journal of Organic Chemistry (2006, 71, 5117). Group members who were co-authors on this paper were Lensey Hill, Lucas Moore, and Rongcai Huang.
- Joanna Smith and Quentin Sonnier joined the group this summer as undergraduate researchers. Joanna is a participant in the SURP program.
- Fatima Carmichael has accepted a position with Biocryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Birmingham.
- Lucas Moore and Justin P'Pool received their doctoral degrees in the May Commencement ceremony (picture). Fatima Carmichael and former group member Alan Allgood received their BS degrees.
- Dr. Michael Sliger (postdoc '02-'04) has accepted a position with Aerogel Composite in Connecticut. Aerogel makes carbon-based aerogels that can be used as high surface area supports for catalysts
- Two papers published by the Shaughnessy group were listed among the top 25 quarterly downloads by the Journal of Organometallic Chemistry in 2005. Michael Sligers paper on Di-t-butyl(ferrocenylmethyl)phosphine was the #7 most downloaded paper in the first quarter of 2005 and was one of the 25 most downloaded for all of 2005. Marc Klingshirn's paper on hydroesterification in ionic liquids was the #25 download in the third quarter of 2005.
- An invited review on aqueous-phase palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions by was published in the Europen Journal of Chemistry (2006, 1827) . The cover artwork for this issue was designed by Kevin Shaughnessy. This paper was among the top 10 most accessed EJOC papers in March and April 2006.
- The group presented 7 papers at the ACS meeting in Atlanta. Presenting authors were: Kevin Shaughnessy, Lucas Moore, Justin P'Pool, Lensey Hill, Caitlin Prickett, Fatima Carmichael, and Kevin O'Halloran. Lucas and Justin received travel grants from the UA Graduate School to attend this meeting. Kevin O'Halloran received an REU travel grant from NSF.
- Caitlin Prickett won first prize in the student poster competition at the AAS meeting in Troy. Congrats to Caitlin. Fatima Carmichael also presented a poser at the AAS meeting.
- Former undergraduate researcher Jason Spruell has been awarded an NSF Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. Jason is a first year graduate student at UCLA working for Fraser Stoddart.
- Lucas Moore has accepted a post-doctoral position with Dave Vicic at the University of Arkansas. Justin P'Pool has taken an position with Hans Schanz at Southern Mississippi. Both will start their new positions in mid-May.
- Justin successfully defended his dissertation on March 21st.
- Lucas Moore successfully defended his dissertation on January 20th.
- Brent Graves, Maryam Khan, and Emily Pair have joined the group this semester as undergraduate researchers.
2005
New Paper by Rongcai Huang:
- Rongcai's work on aqueous-phase, Rh-catalyzed coupling reactions entitled, "t-Bu-Amphos-RhCl3•3H3O: A Highly Recyclable Catalyst System for the Cross-Coupling of Aldehydes and Aryl- and Vinylboronic Acids in Aqueous Solvents," was published in Chemical Communications (2005, 4484-4486).
- Dr. Rongcai Huang accepted a post-doctoral position with with Brian Frost at the University of Nevada Reno.
- The Shaughnessy group has received a research contract from FMC Lithium Division to explore the utility of neopentyl phosphines in palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions.
- Elizabeth Western and Rongcai Huang officially received their PhD degrees in August. Due to construction in the coliseum, no ceremony was held. Beth and Rongcai walked in the May graduation ceremony.
- Beth's study on the inhibitory effect of guanosine on Suzuki couplings of nucleosides entitled, "Inhibitory Effects of the Guanine Moiety on Suzuki Couplings of Unprotected Halonucleosides in Aqueous Media," was published recently in the Journal of Organic Chemistry (2005, 70, 3678-3688).
- Fatima Carmichael and Benjamin Self have joined the group as undergraduate researchers.
- The Shaughnessy group had three papers in the recently published special issue of Journal of Organometallic Chemistrydevoted to ionic liquids:
"Palladium-Catalyzed Hydroesterification of Styrene Derivatives in the Presence of Ionic Liquids," Klingshirn, M. A.; Rogers, R. D.; Shaughnessy, K. H. J. Organomet. Chem. 2005, 690, 3620-3626.
"Kinetic Study of the Oxidative Addition of Methyl Iodide to Vaska's Complex in Ionic Liquids," P'Pool, S. J.; Klingshirn, M. A.; Rogers, R. D.; and Shaughnessy, K. H. J. Organomet. Chem. 2005, 690, 3522-3528.
"Promoting Effect of Ionic Liquids on Ligand Substitution Reactions." Sliger, M. D.; Traylor, R. K.; McNeill, J., III; Young, S. H.; Hoffman, N. W.; Klingshirn, M. A.; Rogers, R. D.; and Shaughnessy, K. H. J. Organomet. Chem. 2005, 690, 3540-3545..
- Elizabeth Western defended her disseration on June 14th. Beth has been accepted to the UA School of Medicine and will begin that program in July.
- Rongcai Huang successfully defended his dissertation on June 9th.
- An invited review by Kevin Shaughnessy and Rebecca DeVasher entitled, "Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling in Aqueous Media: Recent Progress and Current Applications," appeared in Curr. Org. Chem. (2005, 9(7), 585-604).
- Jason Spruell, a former undergraduate researcher, received his degree, magna cum laude, at the May Commencement Ceremony.
- The Provost has approved Kevin Shaughnessy's application for promotion to associate professor and tenured status effective for the 2005-2006 academic year.
- Michael Sliger's paper on a new ferrocenylphosphine ligand entitled, "Di-t-butyl(ferrocenylmethyl)phosphine: air-stability, structural characterization, coordination chemistry, and application to palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions," appeared in the Journal of Organometallic Chemistry (2005, 690, 1478-1486).
- "Experimental and Computational Study of Steric and Electronic Effects on the Coordination of Sterically Demanding, Water-Soluble Alkylphosphines to Palladium under Reducing Conditions: Correlation to Catalytic Activity," by Rebecca DeVasher, Jason Spruell, David Dixon, Scott Grifin, Grant Broker, Robin Rogers, and Kevin Shaughnessy was published in Organometallics ( 2005, 24, 962-971).
- Dr. Rebecca DeVasher (PhD, '04) accepted a tenure track Assistant Professor position at the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. Rebecca is currently a temporary assistant professor at Rose-Hulman.
2004
Rebecca graduates:
- Rebecca DeVasher received her PhD degree in the December Commencement Ceremony at UA. Rebecca is the first member of the Shaughnessy group to receive a PhD degree. Rebecca is currently a temporary assistant professor at the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology.
- A full paper on the Pd-catalyzed coupling chemistry of t-Bu-Amphos entitled, "Aqueous-Phase, Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Couplings of Aryl Bromides Under Mild Conditions Using Water-Soluble, Sterically Demanding Alkylphosphines," by Rebecca DeVasher, Lucas Moore, and Kevin Shaughnessy was published in the Journal of Organic Chemistry (2004, 69, 7919-7927).
- Scott Brown and Lensey Hill have joined the group. Scott recently earned a masters degree in chemistry at Western Kentucky University. Lensey comes to UA from UT-Chattanooga, where she did research with Prof. Greg Grant.
- Dr. Michael Sliger, who has been a post-doc in the group for the past two years, has accepted a position with Joseph Bruno at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
- Rebecca DeVasher successfully defended her dissertation on August 30th. Rebecca has accepted a temporary faculty position at theRose Hulman Institute of Technology.
- Marne Harris, who was an undergraduate researcher with the group, received her BS degree in chemistry in the August graduation ceremony.
- Beth Western's thesis entitled, "Efficient Modification of Halonucleosides Using Suzuki-Miyaura Coupling in Aqueous Media," was chosen as the Outstanding Thesis by the College of Arts & Sciences in the science area. Beth's thesis was forwarded to the Graduate School for the University-wide competition.
- A PRF award for $40,000 for one year was awarded for the study of "Fundamental Organometallic Reactions in Ionic Liquid Solvents."
- Lucas's work on the application of TXPTS in Pd-catalyzed coupling reactions entitled "Efficient aqueous-phase Heck and Suzuki couplings of aryl bromides using tri(4,6-dimethyl-3-sulfonatophenyl)phosphine trisodium salt (TXPTS)," was recently published in Organic Letters (2004, 6, 225-228).
2003
DNA conformation paper:
- Collaborative work with the Gannett group at West Virginia University was published in Chemical Research in Toxicology (2003,16, 1384-1395) . The paper is entitled “Synthesis, Properties and NMR Studies of a C8-Phenylguanine Modified Oligonucleotide that Preferentially Adopts the Z-DNA Conformation,” with coauthors Peter M. Gannett, Sue Heavner, Jonathan R. Daft, Kevin H. Shaughnessy, J. D. Epperson, and Nancy L. Greenbaum.
- NSF will fund a project entitled, “NMR Spectroscopy as a Cornerstone Technique in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum,” that was submitted by Kevin Shaughnessy and Russ Timkovich. This grant will partially fund the purchase of a new NMR spectrometer for the undergraduate teaching labs.
- Beth Western's work on the arylation of nucleosides using water soluble catalysts was published in the Journal of Organic Chemistry (2003, 68, 6767-6774). The paper entilted, “Efficient One-Step Suzuki Arylation of Unprotected Halonucleosides using Water-Soluble Palladium Catalysts,” was co-authored by Beth Western, Jonathan R. Daft, Edward M. Johnson, II, Peter M. Gannett, and Kevin H. Shaughnessy.
- Elizabeth Western successfully defended her master's thesis on June 17th. Beth will remain in the group to complete her PhD degree.
- A paper on olefin polymerization in ILs entitled, "Polar, Non-Coordinating Ionic Liquids as Solvents for Coordination Polymerization of Olefins," was published in the ACS Symposium Series book Ionic Liquid as Green Solvents: Progress and Prospects, Rogers, R. D.; Seddon, K. R. (Eds). Authors on the paper were Marc A. Klingshirn, Justin P'Pool, John Holbrey, Robin Rogers, and Kevin Shaughnessy.
2002
New Group Members:
- Lucas Moore and Joon-Hyung Cho have joined the group. Lucas received his BS degree at the University of West Alabama. Joon comes to the group from South Korea.
- "Acid-Mediated, Chromium-Catalyzed Allylation of Aldehydes," K. H. Shaughnessy and R. Huang, Synth. Comm., 2002,32, 1923-1928.
- Dr. Michael Sliger has joined the group as a postdoctoral associate. Dr. Sliger earned his PhD from the University of Iowa under the direction of Prof. Darrel Eyman.
- A paper entitled, "Polar, Non-Coordinating Ionic Liquids as Solvents for the Alternating Copolymerization of Styrene and CO Catalyzed by Cationic Palladium Catalysts." was published in Chemical Communications ( 2002, 1394-1395). The paper is part of a collaboration with the Robin Rogers group and was authored by: Marc Klingshirn, Grant Broker, John Holbrey, Robin Rogers, and Kevin Shaughnessy.
2001
NSF Grant:
- Kevin Shaughnessy has been awarded a 3 year NSF grant to develop sterically demanding, water-soluble ligands for metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions.
- Beth Western and Justin P'Pool have joined the group this fall. Beth comes from Middle Tennessee State where she earned a dual degree in chemistry and music (voice). Justin comes from the University of Kentucky.
- The Shaughnessy's group first paper entitled, "Sterically Demanding, Water-Soluble Alkylphosphines as Ligands for High Activity Suzuki Couplings in Aqueous Solvents" was published in Organic Letters (2001, 3 2757-2759). Student co-author on this paper was Rebecca Booth.
- Research Corporation has named Kevin Shaughnessy recipient of a Research Innovation Award. The $35,000 grant will fund a project entitled, “Development, and Application to Catalyst Discovery, of a Parallel, High Throughput Assay for Measuring Reaction Yield and Enantioselectivity.”
- The School of Mines and Energy Development at UA has awarded Kevin Shaughnessy a $20,000 grant for a proposal entitled, "Development of new catalysts for environmentally benign, aqueous-phase reactions."
2000
New group members:
- Rebecca Booth and Rongcai Huang have joined the group this fall. Rebecca was an undergraduate at UA. Rongcai comes to UA after completing his masters degree in China.
- DuPont has awarded Kevin Shaughnessy an Aid to Education grant of $10,000.
- A proposal entitled, "Development of a Fluorometric, High-Throughput Assay for Determination of Activity and Enantioselectivity in Metal-Catalyzed Reactions," was funded by the UA Research Activity Council.
