Tufts Chemistry at the Cutting Edge!

New Faculty Appointment:  The Chemistry Department is delighted to welcome Prof. Clay Bennett, who received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania. Prof. Bennett's research will focus on investigating the chemical biology of carbohydrates.

The first wet chemical analysis on Mars, lead by Prof. Sam Kounaves as mission Co-I and his Tufts research team, has revealed a soil with an alkaline pH and several soluble ionic species, including, Mg, K, Na, and Cl, elements essential for life. The 2007 Phoenix mission is investigating the Martian soil/ice to understand its potential to support life and the planet's history.  A record that may also hold clues & lessons for Earth's life & climate.  Kounaves is also using "extreme analytical chemistry" to unravel mysteries about Earth's environment and life in the Antarctic Dry Valleys, Death Valley, and deep ocean vents. See C&EN, NYTimes, and Science

 Prof. Charles Sykes, the Usen Family Career Development Assistant Professor, has received a 2008 Beckman Young Investigator Award for his research in the single-molecule approach for understanding and controlling ferroelectrics. The  award recognizes young faculty with great potential in the fields of chemistry & life sciences. Prof. Sykes’ research group focuses on imaging, characterizing and manipulating matter at the atomic scale with applications to catalysis, energy, molecular patterning, and electronics.

Prof. Arthur Utz and his group have accomplished the long-standing goal of exerting bond-selective control over heterogeneous catalysis. The work extends strategies for laser-based chemical control from the gas phase to surface reactions important in industrial catalysis and materials deposition. It also reveals the rates and pathways for energy flow during methane activation, which is rate limiting in the industrial production of H₂. For more see C&EN and Science.

The National Academy of Engineering has elected Prof. David Walt as one of its new members. The announcement cites Walt and his research group's extensive research in the development of revolutionary sensors and sensor-arrays that can simultaneously image and perform biochemical analyses.  See NEA announcement.

Giving proteins Teflon-like properties by inserting fluorinated amino acids into them has been one of Prof. Krishna Kumar's on going research goals. Recent studies by his research team have shown that fluorination of biologically active antimicrobial peptides is an effective strategy for improving their stability and antimicrobial therapeutic value.  In addition to antibiotics, Kumar's work includes the design of fluorinated drug delivery systems and potential cancer drugs. For more see C&EN and Drug Discovery News articles.