The JEOL JMS-700 MStation is a fully automated and computer controlled high resolution double-focusing magnetic sector mass spectrometer. It uses EI, CI and FAB as ion source and is coupled with an Agilent 6890N GC system. The MStation with linked-scan MS/MS capability supports a wide range of analytical applications and provides high sensitivity, high mass range and high resolution (exceeding 60,000) analysis.   The instrument is located within the Mass Spectrometry Facility in the Chemistry Building and is available to internal and external clients.  Please contact Dr. Yue Li, Director, Mass Spectrometry Facility, for more information on services and training.

The J. Robert Dorfman Prize for Undergraduate Research, named in honor of the former Provost and Dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, has been awarded to Katherine Manfred, a senior Chemistry and Physics major.  The prize of $1000 is awarded for the best research project conducted by a current CMNS undergraduate major. The candidates were judged by a small committee of CMNS faculty, which chose Katherine's project "Investigation of the Interfacial Organization of Acetonitrile and Benzene Using Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy" based on research conducted under the guidance of Dr. John Fourkas.  The J. Robert Dorfman Endowed Prize for Undergraduate Research was established in June 2005, and provides annual awards for research projects conducted by undergraduate students.  Katherine will receive her prize at the CMNS Undergraduate Honors Reception on Wednesday, May 2, 2012.

Katherine Manfred, a senior Chemistry and Physics major, has been named the 2012 Undergraduate Researcher of the Year by the Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research. A member of the John Fourkas group, Katherine works on "using ultrafast optical Kerr Effect (OKE) spectroscopy to relate the intermolecular dynamics of confined and bulk liquids."  Dr. Fourkas' nomination of Katherine was based on her accomplishments in the laboratory, her perfect grade point average, and her expected graduation this semester magna cum laude in Chemistry with high honors. Katherine has been an author on four journal publications from the Fourkas lab, one as the lead author. Among Katherine's many accomplishments and honors earned while an undergraduate are a Goldwater Fellowship, a Beckman Scholarship, and a Chemistry College Achievement Award.  Katherine was one of three finalists in the National Science, Engineering and Technology competition for Best Chemistry Student last year. Topping off this impressive list of achievements is Katherine's award of a Clarendon Scholarship to pursue her Ph.D at Oxford University in the fall.  A plaque and a $500 prize will be presented to Katherine on Wednesday, April 25, at 1:15 pm, in the Grand Ballroom of the Stamp Student Union, during the opening ceremonies for the annual Undergraduate Research Day.

The research team of Da Ma, Ben Zhang, James B. Wittenberg, Peter Y. Zavalij, and Lyle Isaacs (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) working with Gaya Hettiarachchi, Duc Nguyen, Volker Briken (Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics) "has designed a molecular container that can encapsulate drug molecules and increase their solubility - in one case by almost 3000 times. The new container appears to have low toxicity and can be built from readily available reagents. The finding opens the possibility of re-testing drug candidates that failed because they were insufficiently soluble or improving existing low-solubility drugs"  - from "Giving Drug Dropouts a New Lease of Life" RSC Chemistry World (4/15/2012).  Read original article "Acyclic cucurbit[n]uril molecular containers enhance the solubility and bioactivity of poorly soluble pharmaceuticals" Nature Chemistry (4/15/2012). 

(Image -  A model of a cucurbituril interacting with CF3CO2H. (C, grey; H, white; N, blue; O, red; F, green; hydrogen bond, red-yellow striped) © NPG)

Maria Teresa Perez Cardenas, a second year graduate student in the Ph.D Chemistry Program, has been awarded the highly competitive National Science Graduate Research Fellowship.  As a member of the Nie Research Group, Maria works with Dr. Zhihong Nie in the field of nanotechnology research.   The focus of Maria's current research is the design, synthesis and self-assembly of nanostructured materials with fine-tuned structural and compositional complexities, to possibly transform the way a new generation of nanomaterials for biosensing, nanoelectronics and energy generation and storage are produced.  Maria obtained her B.S.in Chemistry from Barry University in Miami, Florida, and plans to dedicate herself to a career in science.  The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program selects recipients who are anticipated to achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers and to contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. Fellows are awarded a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees; they also gain opportunities for international research, professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education.  Maria is "very grateful to the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program for recognizing my hard work and all my accomplishments.  This accomplishment would not have been possible without the great preparation and research advisor support that I am receiving from the Ph.D Chemistry Program at the University of Maryland, College Park."