Chemistry Commons^™

Does Faceted Ice Growth Follow A Characteristic Pattern, Spencer Racca-Gwozdzik

Summer Research

Under certain heat conditions, ice crystals can form differently from the snowflakes that generally grow. Instead of attaching on the boundaries of a plane of ice, under these conditions, new water molecules will permeate a quasi-liquid layer above the ice that causes them to attach closer to the center of the plane and build up from there. These ice formations are close to cylindrical with patterns of roughness on the sides and top at the micrometer scale. The growth can be modeled with a system of partial differential equations that is similar to a reaction diffusion system. This project tries …

Some Papal Bull: 16th Century Alum Trade And English Royal Autonomy, Kyra Zapf

Summer Research

The early 16^th century saw the rise of a wealthy middle class fueled by a new and expanding global textile industry. With this expansion came opportunities for exploitation fueling the rise of a new economic nationalism at odds with the ideals of a unified Christian church. In this essay, I shall be looking at the popular alum trade in Italy, Spain, and England from the 14^th to the 17^th centuries and explore how the lucrative trade profoundly shaped early modern economies, social hierarchies, governance, and law.

Alum, a dye fixative was one of the first and most …

Magnetic Exploration Of The Crescent Formation, Washington: The Search For A Hidden Fault Near Dusk Point, Samuel G. Furmanski

Summer Research

The mafic rocks of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, are part of an accreted terrane known as Siletzia which experienced transpressional stresses as far as 50 Ma ago in the early Eocene. The Peninsula has an accretion-thrust marine sedimentary interior and a mafic volcanic periphery juxtaposed along the Hurricane Ridge fault; a terrane-scale thrust fault. The mafic Crescent Formation (CF) can be subdivided into two units: The Lower Crescent member (LC) and the Upper Crescent member (UC) as defined by Tabor and Cady (1978). The LC consists of submarine basalt flows that have composition similar to mid-oceanic ridges with zircon fission-track …

Development Of Bifunctional Thiourea Catalysts For Effective Direct Amidation Reactions, Alex Guzman

Summer Research

This research synthesized and analyzed novel catalysts that can effectively form amides. An amide is a chemical group commonly found in many pharmaceuticals and biochemicals, such as proteins. In fact, about 30% of pharmaceuticals contain an amide, and the formation of amides leads to corrosive and toxic by-products which are especially problematic on the large industrial scale. Green Chemistry has proven to be a critical tool in providing innovative solutions by making the industrial production of chemicals more sustainable and safe. The pharmaceutical industry has some of the most inefficient reactions in the chemical industry mainly due to the complexity …

Quantitative Three-Dimensional Basal Ice Roughness From Scanning Electron Microscopy (Sem), Katie Gray, Shreeti Patel

Summer Research

A method for analyzing the three-dimensional surface roughness on the basal facets of polar ice crystals is presented. A functional form of backscattered electron intensity as a function of ice facet orientation is adapted for the use of the basal facet. Using the Gauss-Newton inversion within a Bayesian framework a three dimensional representation of rough surfaces are retrieved at roughly micrometer resolution. Following the development of new statistical measures allow for higher statistical confidence and the connection to a scaling growth mechanism for crystal development. In a collection of results from temperatures ranging from -29 degrees celsius to -35 degrees …

Progress Towards The Synthesis Of Iron-Based Hydrogenation Catalysts Using Hydroxypyridine Bidentate And Tetradentate Ligands, Sara Rockow

Summer Research

This project aimed to develop tools to increase the sustainability of the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the largest global markets; and one of the most wasteful. Catalysis has been identified as a key tool in sustainable chemistry. One of the most important catalytic reactions in the pharmaceutical industry is the hydrogenation of carbonyl groups, which traditionally relies on transition metal complexes. These metals are environmentally harmful; this project focuses on synthesizing iron-based hydrogenation catalysts as benign alternatives. In order to form the catalysts, organic ligands need to be attached to iron precursors. Simpler model ligands were …

Comparison Of The Chemical And Isotopic Composition Of Groundwater And Surface Water In The South Sound Region, Andrew H. Oberhelman

Summer Research

This project seeks to characterize the chemical and isotopic compositions of groundwater and surface water in portions of Pierce and King Counties, with the goal of using these results to determine the water sources of local lakes. Specifically of interest are lakes studied by Puget Sound students over the past ~10 years where water analyses appear to define a mixing line, likely between surface runoff and the shallow groundwater (Figures 1, 2, and 3). Existing data pertain only to surface water from the lakes while data pertaining to groundwater is patchy or nonexistent and includes only a few of the …

Characterization Of The Mala Enzyme From Bdellovibrio Bacteriovorus Through The Synthesis And Analysis Of Maltose Derivatives, Joey R. Jepson

Summer Research

MalA is an α-glucosidase found in the bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, a predatory bacteria that preys on gram-negative bacteria, including several plant and human pathogens. The gene for MalA was discovered while sequencing the genome of Bdellovibrio and was predicted to be a maltase based on homology. Maltase enzymes are characterized by their role in the catalysis of maltose into two glucose subunits. MalA will bind to several different disaccharides composed of a glucose α-linked to a variety of sugars (isomaltose, trehalose, turanose, sucrose, etc.), but it does not cleave them. The objective of our research was to investigate how the …

Synthesis Of A Lysozyme Substrate: Exploring The Use Of The (2,6-Dichloro-4-Methoxyphenyl)(2,4-Dichlorophenyl)) Methyl (Mdpm) Protecting Group In Glycoside Coupling, Vladimir Yelkhimov

Summer Research

Hen egg white lysozyme and T4 lysozyme are two well-studied enzymes that have played an important role in helping us understand the structure and function of proteins. Both of these lysozymes function by breaking down cell walls. Although numerous studies on lysozyme catalysis have been conducted, detailed information on their substrate specificity has been lacking due to the heterogeneous nature of cell walls. The information we do have suggests that the T4 lysozyme cleaves only those oligosaccharides with an attached peptide chain while hen egg white lysozyme is less selective and will cleave oligosaccharides without peptide chains. I plan to …

Synthesis Of Pyridone Ligands And Iron Precursors For The Development Of Iron-Based Hydrogenation Catalysts, Becky Hanscam

Summer Research

Green chemistry is concerned with the development of safer, more efficient, and more environmentally acceptable chemical products and processes. An important aspect of green chemistry is the reduction of chemical waste. Catalysis is essential to achieving such a transformation. Hydrogenation is an example of an industrially important catalytic process. Hydrogenation reactions are common in the pharmaceutical industry as they provide a cost-effective and reliable approach to a wide range of compounds. However common hydrogenation catalysts are composed of expensive and toxic metals. The goal this research is to develop hydrogenation catalysts, based on iron, that will be less expensive and …

Developing Catalysts For Improving Direct Amide Formation, Courtney Carley

Summer Research

The widespread occurrence of the amide functional group in the pharmaceutical industry and its prevalence in biological structures such as proteins illustrate the huge impact that amides have on our daily lives. Current methods of forming amides are expensive and harmful to the environment, so there is a need for the development of greener processes for the formation of amides. The first objective of this research is to synthesize catalysts for the direct formation of amides from carboxylic acids and amines. Previously developed catalysts for this transformation are not active enough, and are thus rarely used. The new catalysts to …

Vp-Sem Investigation Of 3-D Surface Morphology In Cirrus-Like Ice Crystals, Nick Butterfield

Summer Research

It has been well documented that the reflective and diffusive properties of cirrus clouds influence the radiative budget of the earth; in turn, the surface morphology of cirrus ice crystals affects those properties. This summer work aimed to quantify the surface morphology of cirrus-like ice crystals grown in a Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope (VP-SEM). The implementation of this goal occurred in two stages: crystals were first grown and imaged in the VP-SEM, then a Python code was developed to reconstruct a 3-dimensional model of the surface from the images. Crystals were grown at pressures between 50 and 100 Pa …

Molecular Dynamics Determination Of Edge-Sticking Parameters Of Vicinal Ice Crystals, Sam Naatz

Summer Research

I will be investigating the key processes associated with the vicinal growth of ice crystals and how they are manifested at a molecular dynamics level. I will be attempting to find a vicinal edge within the quasi-liquid layer of ice crystals and assigning values to the atomistic edge-sticking parameters k+/-. My research will consist of converting code for vicinal slabs to usable Gromacs files, running MD simulations with these slabs, and analyzing the trajectories. This research will provide valuable insight to the mechanisms behind ice crystal growth and morphology.

The Construction Of A Viscinal Ice Slab For Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Alicia Burns

Summer Research

An ice-vapor viscinal surface that satisfies Pauling's ice rules within the periodic boundary conditions was constructed for use in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. An existing code, created by Buch et al., which produces flat ice slabs in MD, was used as the platform from which new code was written. Computational methods within Python were used to apply a viscinal shift to the existing coordinates, identify the donor and acceptor defects, propagate these defects through the ice crystal, and produce new coordinates for the residues. The result of this process was the creation of a viscinal ice slab that can be …

Synthesis Of Bipyridine-Derived Iron Catalysts For Hydrogenation, Jack Elder

Summer Research

Industrially, alkene and carbonyl hydrogenation reactions are catalyzed by iridium, rhodium and ruthenium-centered catalysts. These highly toxic metals are very expensive, both to attain and to dispose of after degradation. This ongoing research seeks to investigate cleaner and more economical alternative catalysts by synthesizing and testing a bipyridine-derived iron catalyst utilizing the unconventional ligand-assisted heterolytic cleavage of hydrogen mechanism to facilitate double bond hydrogenation. In the time allotted, this segment of research sought to synthesize the two catalyst ligands 6-hydroxy-2,2’-bipyrdine and 6,6’-dihydroxy-2,2’-bipyridine, and to model ligand-iron attachment using commercially available iron complexes. The former of the two ligands was synthesized …

Development Of New Arsenic Based Amidation Catalysts, Cameron Chrisman

Summer Research

The formation of amides is a reaction that is contucted on a multi-ton scale annually in the pharmaceutical industry. Because the reaction requires the use of toxic and expensive reagents and because a substantial ammount of waste is generated, much effort is being devoted to eliminating both of these limitations. Current research is aimed at finding an efficient catalyst for this reaction that will significantly reduce waste and can be recycled. While some catalysts have been developed for this reaction, currently there are no catalysts that are efficient enough to be used on a large scale. Studies in the Boisvert …

Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus Glacialis) As Bio-Indicators Of Endocrine Disrupting Plasticizers In The Marine Surface Environment., Olivia Feinstein

Summer Research

The plastics that make up over 10% of human waste are synthesized with phthalate plasticizers which are utilized in plastics as an additive to improve durability and flexibility. Many phthalates have been identified as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and studies have shown dramatic deleterious effects as a result of species exposure to growing numbers of EDCs in the environment. Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) are a northern hemisphere seabird species that forages opportunistically, meaning that they take advantage of a wide variety of different food sources, including inadvertent consumption of plastic. In addition to occupying space in the individuals’ …

In-Use Measurement Of Locomotive Emissions, Matt Breuer

Summer Research

The Environmental Protection Agency’s newest emissions standards set into law in 2004, which took effect in 2010, limited the level of emissions that locomotives are allowed to produce. For the most part, these standards have been verified in the laboratory and not while the locomotives were in actual use. My research looked at the emissions from these locomotives in-use, under normal operating conditions. The measurements took place on two Pierce County bridges that are above operating train tracks. A remote sensing device (the FEAT) was used to look at locomotive emissions of CO, HC, NO, NO_2, SO₂, …

Anisotropic Diffusivity Of The Prismatic Surface Of Ice Is Model Independent, Natalie D. Bowens

Summer Research

In simulations reported by Gladich et al., the surface diffusion on the prismatic surface of ice was found to be anisotropic at low temperatures and isotropic at high temperatures in the NE6 model. Our research investigated whether this effect is a true property of ice, or an artifact of NE6 model, by using the TIP4P/2005 and the TIP5P-EW representations. It was found that anisotropy of surface diffusion on the Prismatic facet at low temperatures is model independent. An Arrhenius analysis was also preformed to find the activation energies of diffusion in both models.

Behavioral And Chemical Analysis Of Deposited Chemical Cues In Striped Plateau Lizards, Jay Goldberg

Summer Research

Many pheromones are produced by glands and deposited on substrates throughout the environment. Lizards possess an array of glands that secrete chemical cue. During mating seasons the glandular secretions of many lizards contain elevated levels of lipophilic compounds including: free-fatty acids, sterols, and long-chain fatty alcohols. This study examines the effect of season and hydrophobicity of chemicals on male response to female deposited chemical cues in the Striped Plateau Lizard (Sceloporous virgatus). Cues were collected and then scraped into a vial containing hexane and water in order to separate hydrophilic and lipophilic molecules. Chemical cue fractions were then …

Enantioselectivity In Modified Quinine Derivatives, Daniel Guilak

Summer Research

The main focus of this research was on derivatizing cinchonidine's secondary hydroxyl group with various ester functional groups 2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, and 4-hydroxyphenyl acetic acid in order for them to be used as chiral catalysts, which are important in the production of pharmaceuticals. Simple synthesis methods were shown to accurately create each derivatized catalyst compound for testing in asymmetric Micheal reactions to determine each compound's feasibility as an effective chiral catalyst.

Observation And Characterization Of Cirrus-Like Ice Crystals Using Esem, Mitch Benning

Summer Research

Research was aimed at better understanding the mesoscopic properties of cirrus ice crystals, in particular on the prismatic facet, pyramidal and basal facets were disregarded. Ice crystals were grown inside of an ESEM at atmospheric pressure that most closely approximates cirrus clouds and were analyzed to extract a value for ν_max (the characteristic frequency of the growth front). Using a Fourier transform technique, values for ν_max for 50Pa and 100Pa were able to be extracted, showing a trend of decreasing frequency with increasing pressure. Ablation onset temperature was also studied over various pressures, showing a decrease in ablation …

Exploration Of The Active Site Specificity Of Mala, A Glucosidase From The Predatory Bacterium Bdellovibrio Bacteriovorus, Christine Isabella

Summer Research

Sequencing of the HD100 genome of Bdellovibrio Bacteriovorus in 2005 revealed a gene for the putative maltase, MalA. However, given the bacterium’s observed disuse of prey carbohydrates as an energy source, this enzyme is seemingly out of place. In this study, the specificity and activity of MalA were explored through various enzymatic assays. Using p-nitrophenol-α-D-glucopyranoside (p-NPG) as a colorimetric substrate to allow for rapid and accurate detection of enzymatic activity through spectrophotometry, enzyme stability inhibition of p-NPG cleavage were explored. While numerous alpha-linked disaccharides were shown to inhibit MalA, only maltose was shown to be cleaved into glucose.

On-Road Measurments Of Transit Bus Emissions, Matt Breuer

Summer Research

Emissions were monitored from transit buses to determine the difference in emissions between engine technologies and model years. The Environmental Protection Agency’s newest emissions standards set into law in 2007 and 2010 limited the level of emissions transit buses and other heavy-duty vehicles are able to produce. For the most part, these standards have been regulated in lab. My research looked at the emissions from these buses on-road, under normal operating conditions. At the Federal Way Transit Center, four types of bus engines were analyzed: conventional diesel, diesel with catalytic emission control, compressed natural gas, and diesel-electric hybrid. A remote …