Summer Undergraduate Research

Martin Chin
Areas of Interest: Inorganic, Organometallic chemistry. We are investigating the reactivity of diruthenium complexes for the activation of small molecules such as dihydrogen, methane and dinitrogen. The primary instrument that will be used is the NMR spectrometer. The researcher will learn how to synthesize air-sensitive complexes and explore the reactivity of the resulting complexes.

Daniel Lee
Areas of Interest: The Lee lab is a synthetic organic chemistry group interested in developing new photochemical methodologies and synthesizing biologically relevant small molecules. Our research program focuses on advancing the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of chemical synthesis. The current research interest includes designing novel molecules possessing tunable electronic and physical properties that find applications in bioorthogonal and materials chemistry research.

Justin Peters
Areas of Interest: Biochemistry.  Studying subsurface microbial communities within Wind Cave National Park.  Using atomic force microscopy to examine protein-mediated DNA looping in the context of supercoiled DNA plasmids.  Elucidating the role of electrostatic charge and shape in determining the electrophoretic mobility of DNA.

Joshua Sebree 
Areas of Interest: Experimental and field studies relating to the early Earth, particular interest is the chemistry of conditions that will lead to the formation and sustaining of life.‌

Colin Weeks
Areas of Interest: 1.) A project that involves a combination of materials chemistry and analytical chemistry (it is a collaboration with Dr Hanson). This project has potential commercial applications and we have applied for a patent on our discoveries. This means that to preserve intellectual property rights the full details of the project can only be disclosed to the students who end up being involved on the project. If you are interested in this project, come and talk with me to get some general information about it.
2) Preparing nano-scale cellulose fibers and evaluating the properties of the fibers and mixtures made with the fibers. Materials with nanometer scale dimensions often have chemical and physical properties that differ in important ways from the bulk scale material. This research is a part of a large collaborative project with multiple research groups at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. The goal of the project is to investigate ways of making nanocellulose fibers, characterizing their properties and incorporating them into novel new materials with useful functions in order to expand the use and performance of cellulose, a cheap and abundant material. As well as preparing nanocellulose, student researchers will utilize characterization methods such as rotational viscometry and electron microscopy.