ChemNotes

Weston Kitley ’13

The last two years I have done research in Dr. Wysocki’s Lab Group.  While researching fluorescent probes, the group has had some success. Consequently, we were able to participate in the national American Chemical Society Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. Here some 20,000 scientists and students come to one central location to share ideas, help each other and present their research in hopes to educate and collaborate with others.  Our group and Dr. Porters group both were funded to join in the convention, and were able to participate in such a grand opportunity of learning.

Even the ACS mascot mole had a great time in New Orleans!

We arrived, the nine of us, on Saturday evening and settled into our hotel in downtown New Orleans. The next day, I briefly walked around New Orleans before heading to one of many talks I would attend while in New Orleans. Also, we as a group, were able to attend Wabash College Alum Geoffrey Coates talk. In the evening, we gave our presentation for the Organic Chemistry section, which lasted until around Ten o’clock at night. On Monday morning I attended a few talks on medicinal Chemistry, and at noon gave a presentation for the Undergraduate portion of the convention. That afternoon was also the exposition, where many scientific companies gather to demonstrate new products, and attempt to sell their product to the many chemists. Basically, they give out various free trinkets to gather attention. That evening, we were lucky enough to present one more time in the SciMix section of the convention. The SciMix section is a huge poster section in which people of all chemical disciplines gather to “check-out” other fields.

Why was this a good opportunity? It gave my fellow students and me an opportunity to view research in some fields we find ourselves interested. It was fascinating, and in many ways grounding due to some of the complex research being conducted. I have attended many talks since attending Wabash College, and many sadly had research above my head. Now, having completed, or nearly completed, my time here at Wabash College I am able to follow the presentations and research. I have gained an ability to understand complex concepts and analyze others findings for myself. Attending the New Orleans conference gave us all this opportunity, as well as an opportunity to meet people who some of us may work with some day. Finally, it gives us invaluable experience at presenting our research to those more advanced and less advanced in their chemical knowledge. I am extremely grateful to the funding granted to us, which allows students to attend such conferences. It provides opportunities that many students do not get, but drastically need. Attending a school that funds these endeavors makes all the difference in students making the next step to Graduate Schools. To all those who made this possible, I thank you.

David Wintczak ’14

This year’s Chemistry Department ACS trip was an excellent experience.  First of all, I had a great opportunity to present the research I conducted alongside Ronnie Sullivan last summer.  It was something that I really enjoyed at the time and also enjoyed sharing with others.  The best part of this, to me, was when a researcher who was conducting similar research came up to my poster.  She was fascinated by the work that we had done and was actually going to use some of the ideas we used in her future research.  It was an excellent feeling having graduate students and professionals in the field be so interested in the research I conducted as an undergrad.

In addition to presenting, I was able to sit in on several presentations that allowed me to learn a lot about some very interesting topics.  I hope to attend pharmacy school after Wabash and was able to sit on several talks regarding new methods on drug manufacturing and applications.  My favorite talk was entitled “Teaching a Gold Drug New Tricks.”  In addition to a clever play on words, it was a fascinating talk on how gold catalysts were beginning to be used in this field.

All presentations aside, New Orleans was a very interesting city.  If you walked around Bourbon Street for five minutes, you were guaranteed to see something you’ve never seen before.  The city has a unique culture and a plethera of great food.  I am thankful for presenting, learning, and all the great food that I was able to enjoy thanks to our Chemistry Department.  Trips like these are just another reason why Wabash is great.

Edward Evans ’13

World famous for its cafe’ au lait, beignets…Cafe Du Monde!!! Edward’s favorite!

The trip to 245^th ACS National Meeting in New Orleans was very enlightening and helped me put many aspects of research into perspective. I listened to chemists, physicists, and engineers provide presentations on solar cell, CO₂ sequestration, and nanomaterials research. For the solar cell research, some graduate students showcased experimental and theoretical work pertaining to the use of quantum dots in thin films to induce better electron excitation, how different crystalline structure can result in a significant difference in current flow, and different materials that are more compatible with the photons from the sun. I witnessed discussions on CO₂ sequestration that sought to preserve the reactivity of amines and that provided more efficient CO₂ capture with the use of copper. Despite how intrigued I am by the above research, the most exciting presentation I attended was by Dr. Halas from Rice University on steam generation by nanoparticles using solar energy. She had the full experience of chemically and also following it through by applying it to the real-world, seeking to implement her findings in countries that do not have clean water readily accessible. Her presentation summed up many of my motivations in conducting research in order to make the world better. Furthermore, I appreciate all the different approaches to attack very similar issues. The world is in the midst of environmental and energy crises. Each presentation I attended provided a completely different approach to tackling this issue. This enabled great discussion after the presentations and allowed the researchers to exchange constructive criticism and enlightening feedback that will help them progress further in their respective projects. The quality and quantity of idea-sharing I witnessed was great to see and resonated with my Wabash experience.

Moreover, I was able to attend a networking event in which I was able to talk to current graduate students and fellow undergraduate researchers. I met people in an array of disciplines, talking to chemists, physicists, engineers, lawyers, councilors, etc. They all gave insightful advice that I hope to incorporate as I head into graduate school. Most significantly, I learned the importance of branding myself and keeping my ideas fresh. This will help me retain interest in whatever discipline I pursue. Furthermore, I caught up to a professor that I may be working with in graduate school and initiated a summer opportunity, so I can start before the fall semester. Although I have attended other conferences, my experience at the ACS conference was truly eye-opening. The knowledge I gained from it is invaluable, and I am excited to network and to encourage idea-sharing and discussion on research in graduate school.

Join the Wabash crew in Indy for the next ACS meeting this fall!

Austin Althoff ’14  

I am very thankful for having the opportunity to attend my second trip to the American Chemical Society’s spring conference.  This year was an amazing trip to New Orleans.  On Saturday after arriving and getting settled into our hotel rooms, the entire group walked around the city and had a delicious seafood dinner.  Dinner was followed up with a visit to Café du Monde and an excellent dessert of beignets.  For the rest of the evening we did some sight seeing through the rest of the French Quarter.

After registering for the meeting, the Wabash folks had a great dinner at the Crazy Lobster!

On Sunday the conference started and I went to a couple different talks throughout the morning over nanoparticles.  This was very interesting as I have just learned about nanoparticles and their uses in my Materials Chemistry Course during the first half of this semester.  After I had lunch with Weston, Peter, and Ryan at nice restaurant on Bourbon Street, we went to a talk over green chemistry by alumnus Geoff Coates.  It was very exciting to see an alumnus who is performing very important research in this new and progressing field of chemistry.  After the talk by Dr. Coates I went to two more lectures on the use of nanoparticles in oncology treatments.  Both of these talks were very interesting, as I am interested in going to medical school.  Seeing and learning about how the nano-field of chemistry is doing research that will be used in the medical field for treatments was very exciting. Sunday evening Adam, Taylor, Dr. Porter, and myself presented our research over porous silicon.  It was very rewarding having the opportunity to present our research to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professors.

With the presentation out of the way Monday, was filled with attending more lectures and presentations.  I went to the poster presentations to support my fellow Wallies who performed research with Dr. Wysocki.  It was very cool to see them present their work to others and even learn more about their research.  I am very thankful that I have been able to go on two of these trips.  I believe these types of trips are very beneficial for the student learning experience here at Wabash.  It is a great honor to be able to present your research to others from around the country and learn more about important research that is being performed in the vast fields of chemistry.

Adam Pagryzinski ’14

On our first day attending the conference, my peers and I tried to attend as many presentations as we could.  With more than thirty or forty research talks going on at any given time, it was always possible to find something interesting to sit in on.  At first we tried to identify work that pertained to our individual research projects, but before long, we found ourselves just wandering from room to room whenever something intriguing caught our attention.  By far my favorite talk was one given by Dr. Geoffrey Coates, a Wabash alum (’89) who now teaches and conducts research at Cornell University.  In his talk, Dr. Coates described some of his recent work which has allowed factories to take greenhouse gasses, and instead of dumping them into the atmosphere, recycle them for use in making consumer plastic products.  It was incredible to meet a Wabash alum who is making such an impact at the forefront of chemical research, giving credence to the benefits of a Wabash education.

Although hearing about other people’s research was a great learning experience, the highlight of the conference was being able to present my own summer research to the scientific community.  At first, it was slightly intimidating seeing the rows upon rows of posters and presenters filling the conference floor, but the quality and caliber of our work quickly allowed us to stand out from the crowd.  Being able to see a project through from conception to completion by presenting it to the world was amazing, and has been definitely been one of the highpoints of my college career.

Even though the conference was our primary focus, it is impossible to travel to the Big Easy without experiencing the local culture.  I had been to the area once before, so I knew roughly what to expect, but even so, New Orleans is the type of place that you could explore every day for a year and see something new every time.  Everywhere you look in the French Quarter you can find amazing food, great live jazz music, extravert street performers, and some of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet.  New Orleans is definitely one of the most unique places I have ever been, and must be seen firsthand to be believed.

Taylor Neal ‘14

While traveling with our research group to New Orleans for the ACS conference, I had the incomparable experience of exploring a new city and getting a glimpse of the modern professional world of chemistry. I had an amazing opportunity to present our research alongside hundreds of other undergraduates, as well as accomplished chemists from all conceivable fields. My experience at the ACS conference has given me valuable insight in my post-Wabash considerations as I move ever closer to graduate school in chemistry.

The most valuable experience by far was the poster session. Conducting the research over the summer gave me a good feel for the sorts of problems that chemists solve, but presenting our findings to the chemical community allowed me to connect with many people of vastly different backgrounds. We presented to professors and students alike, and we learned many things just from speaking with the people at the conference.

Adam, Austin, & Taylor presented their poster Sunday evening.

Another great experience was the ability to attend some of the presentations at the conference. I particularly enjoyed one presentation over a new intuitive way to work with gold nanoparticles; because of my recent classes in materials chemistry and analytical chemistry, I was able to understand the content to a much fuller content compared to last year’s conference. It was incredible to be among the men and women who were leading their respective fields towards new groundbreaking discoveries.

Aside from the conference, our exploration of New Orleans was an adventure in itself. The food was amazing; we were lucky enough to sample some of New Orleans’s finest seafood on our first day in the city, and we tried out the world-famous Café Du Monte. One experience I’ll never forget was walking down Bourbon Street at night; the sights were borderline disturbing at times, but it was a culture utterly unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

All in all, this trip was a major highlight of my time at Wabash, and I was very fortunate to be able to attend. This trip, along with my experience working with Dr. Porter over the summer in 2011 and also throughout this past semester, will prove to be an influential factor in my graduate school search, and I strongly encourage any prospective chemists to give it a try. I guarantee that it will be more than worthwhile.

Drs. Wysocki and Porter recently led a group of outstanding chemistry students (Ryan Cloyd ’14, Taylor Neal ’14, Austin Althoff ’14, David Wintczak ’14, Adam Pagryzinski ’14, Weston Kitley ’13, Edward Evans ’13 & Peter Santa Maria ’13) on an exciting trip to the Spring Meeting of the American Chemical Society!  This year, the meeting was held in New Orleans.  Participating in a National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) is an exciting opportunity to present research findings and immerse yourself in the community and culture of science.  Each year, the meeting attracts an estimated 11,000 to 13,000 chemists, chemical engineers, educators, graduate and undergraduate students, and other related professionals.  During the meeting, scientists present new multidisciplinary research, hear the latest information in their areas of professional interest, and network with colleagues. During this trip, the students and faculty met with conference presenters that are leaders in their fields and travel from across the globe to participate and discuss latest research developments.

Check out the first of a number of blog entries, contributed by the Wabash chemists that attended the meeting!

ACS Exposition Hall

Ryan Cloyd ’14

Our trip to New Orleans to attend the ACS conference was memorable for many reasons.  The city offered so many opportunities to expand one’s cultural horizon while enjoying great food.  At the same time, the conference itself had many talented speakers giving presentations on interesting research.  It was impossible to find time to do everything I wanted, but I managed to see as much of New Orleans and the ACS conference as possible.

Even without setting foot in the convention center, I could have made a great time out of the city.  I spent some time exploring the French Quarter, looking for good food and interesting sights.  While in New Orleans I had vowed to try some fresh seafood.  I’ve never liked the seafood in Indiana but everyone I know from a coastal state claims it’s different on the coast.  So I tried it. And they were right.  I was blown away by the great taste.  I started with shrimp, which I was already somewhat comfortable with, and eventually branched out to catfish, calamari, crawfish and even alligator.  The good food there made me regret having to leave, but all good things must come to an end.

The whole purpose of the trip, of course, was attending and presenting at the 245^th ACS national conference.  On the Sunday of the trip I went to several talks.  As is the case with these types of meetings, there was no way to attend all the talks that seemed interesting as many were booked at the same time or simply located too far away to make it possible to attend both.  Furthermore, not all talks that seem interesting live up to the title.  Despite this, I attended several talks that I felt were well worth the time.  The best talk I attended was about the possibility of using silicon derivatives of medications to increase efficiency of treatments.  The example given was a derivative of Haloperidol in which one carbon atom had been replaced with a silicon atom.  This derivative was found to work more effectively.  Furthermore, the substation prevented the drug from being processed along the pathways that produce neurotoxic effects so that the drug has fewer negative side effects.  As promising as this research is, however, the talk also included an example of a depression medication (SSRI) in which the silicon derivative is actually less efficient.   The substation concept needs more research to be worked out more fully, but it offers strong potential for the future of pharmaceuticals.

I spent much of Monday (in between two poster sessions) exploring the conference’s expo.  While there I learned about some new lab instruments.  There were also some chemistry related trivia games and many things to see.  I wish I could have spent more time really looking around at the expo rather than just popping by booths for a few minutes to get a general description, but time was limited.

The main purpose of the trip was to present research I have been involved in over the past year.  We presented in three different poster session.  By far the busiest was the last, the Sci-mix on Monday evening.  The organic session on Sunday also had some good traffic.  Presenting was a good review of earlier parts of the project in preparation for moving onto to new work in the summer.

Peter, Wes, & Ryan present their research

Overall, the conference was an experience that I found very valuable.  It is something that will definitely stay with me for years to come.  My only regret about the trip was that it had to end so soon. It is strong motivation to try to get into another conference in the future.

David A. Phillips H’83

Prof. Scott Feller

One of the perquisites of Scott Feller’s Howell Professorship of Chemistry is the custody of a chemistry text published in 1906. Alexander Smith, the author of Introduction to General Inorganic Chemistry, had served the College as Professor of Chemistry for four years in the 1890s. The text links Professor Feller not only to Smith, but also to the College’s two greatest chemistry professors from the first half of the twentieth century: James Bert Garner (W1893) and Lloyd B. “Doc” Howell (W1909). So, how are Smith, Garner and Howell connected? And how did Smith’s text end up in Professor Feller’s hands?

Alexander Smith

Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, Alexander Smith did his undergraduate work at the University of Edinburgh and in 1889 earned his Ph.D. at the University of Munich. Because jobs at British universities were in short supply, in 1890 Smith decided to seek employment in the United States. Fortuitously, at that moment Wabash was looking for a chemistry professor, and Smith was introduced to John Merle Coulter, the college’s brilliant Rose Professor of Biology and Geology (1879-91). Coulter was impressed by Smith and arranged for an interview with the Wabash trustees. The trustees were also impressed, and they immediately appointed Smith as Peck Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy.

From the beginning, Smith proved to be a charismatic and inspirational teacher, adopting a student-centered approach which anticipated pedagogical methods that would be widely adopted a century later. Deemphasizing lectures, Smith sent the students into the lab to make their own observations, and he pushed them to develop the ability to make logical connections between facts and ideas and ultimately to reach their own conclusions. Rather than indoctrinating his students, Smith was training them to think and act as scientists.

After four years Smith left Wabash for the University of Chicago, later moving to Columbia University. Famous for his teaching style and his popular texts, in the first two decades of the twentieth century Smith was widely regarded as the outstanding American chemical educator – the Ed Haenisch of his time. Following three years of poor health, Smith died in 1922.

James Bert Garner

Born and raised in Lebanon, Indiana, James Bert Garner enrolled at Wabash in 1889 with plans to concentrate in Latin. With his father out of work, Garner was obliged to withdraw from the College after his freshman year. Returning in 1891, Garner fell under the spell of Professor Smith, and this was the beginning of a life-long love affair with chemistry. So great was Garner’s enthusiasm that he managed to complete his sophomore and junior studies in a single academic year. Graduating in 1893, he stayed on at Wabash for two years as an assistant in chemistry, earning his master’s degree in the process. He then followed Smith to the University of Chicago, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1897.

After a brief stint as an instructor in chemistry at Bradley University, in 1901 Garner was appointed Peck Professor of Chemistry at Wabash College. From the beginning he was a dynamic teacher. As Osborne and Gronert tell it, “But especially he radiated energy in his laboratory and his lecture room. His standards of performance were high. He expected much from his men, and, by wheedling and by driving, but especially by automatically infecting them with something of his own furious interest in chemistry, he got much from them.” Many of Garner’s students went on to successful careers in chemistry.

With a growing family – eventually amounting to twelve children by four wives – Garner found it increasingly difficult to get by on a Wabash professor’s salary. In 1914, when he accepted a position as Director of Research at the Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh, his annual salary increased from $1,900 to $7,500.

Garner enjoyed a spectacular career at the Mellon institute. In 1915 he invented the gas mask. He was supported by fellowships from a number of companies and eventually held 23 patents in the U.S. and Canada. Recognizing his many accomplishments, in 1950 Wabash College awarded Garner the honorary degree Doctor of Science. He died on November 28, 1960, having just celebrated his 90th birthday the previous September.

Lloyd Brelsford Howell

Born and raised in Pequod, Ohio, Lloyd Brelsford Howell came to Wabash in 1905. In his sophomore year he took general chemistry and was immediately infected by Professor Garner’s enthusiasm for chemistry. Following graduation, Howell taught high school for a few years, returned to teach at his alma mater for a year, and then earned his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois. After 5 years on the faculty of Rice University, in 1924 Howell returned to Wabash as Professor of Chemistry, a position he would hold for 35 years.

In a very short time, “Doc” Howell, as he was affectionately known to his students, established himself as a force to be reckoned with on campus. Howell’s courses were not for the faint of heart. One of “Garner’s men” to the core, for him nothing was as important as chemistry, and he made heavy demands on his students. Byron Trippet tells us that Howell was a “ruthless grader”, even flunking his own son!

Despite the demands he made on his students, the chemistry majors were absolutely devoted to Howell. Many of them went on to graduate school – usually obeying Doc’s orders to earn a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois. “Doc’s boys” went on to have spectacular careers as industrial and academic chemists, often rising to senior executive positions in their companies. Their gratitude to Doc is manifested in the Howell prizes and Howell professorship they established in his name. In recognition of his accomplishments, Wabash awarded Howell the honorary degree Doctor of Science in 1970, only a few months before his death.

In 1906, Professor Garner adopted Alexander Smith’s newly-published book as the text for his general chemistry course. It is Lloyd Howell’s annotated copy of that text that resides in Professor Feller’s office. After Howell’s death the text came into the possession of Ed Haenisch, and after Ed’s death John Zimmerman became its custodian. In 1987 John transferred custody of the book to Roy Miller, the holder of the newly-established Howell professorship. The text was passed from Roy to Richard Dallinger to Scott Feller as the professorship changed hands.

Born and raised in Oregon, Scott Feller earned his bachelor’s degree at Willamette University (Oregon) and his Ph.D. from the University of California Davis. Following post-doctoral study at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland) and an appointment as visiting assistant professor of chemistry at Whitman College (Walla Walla, Washington), Feller came to Wabash in 1998. At the College he has compiled an impressive record of teaching, scholarship, leadership, and service. Feller won the McLain-McTurnan-Arnold Excellence in Teaching Award in 2009. Recipient of numerous research grants and a frequent member of panels charged with evaluating NSF grant proposals, he enjoys an international reputation for his research in molecular modeling. Currently Feller serves as Chair of Division I and is a member of the Trustee Strategy Committee. He has been Lloyd B. Howell Professor of Chemistry since 2011.

The author is indebted to Garner’s daughter Sally Gustafson for providing information about her father’s life.

The newest edition of Wabash Magazine is hot off the press and packed full of chemistry connections! Special thanks to Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, David Phillips for compiling the list below!

Link to Wabash Magazine

A large number of people associated with the chemistry department are mentioned and/or pictured in the latest edition of Wabash Magazine. The numbers of the pages on which the Wabash chemists appear are given in parentheses.

Faculty:

Greg Dallinger (97)
Rich Dallinger (97)
Ann Taylor (94)
Laura Wysocki (95)

Emeritus Faculty:

David Phillips (11, 20, 61, 87)
John Zimmerman (7). John is also listed as a contributing photographer on the masthead.

Students:

Wes Kitley (95)
Peter Santa Maria (95)

Alumni:

Mauri Ditzler ’75 (in picture of Jean Williams on p. 11)
Paul McKinney ‘52 (63)
Derek Nelson ‘99 (22)
David Ong ’65 (18)
Tom Roberts ‘70 (9)
Jeremy Wright ’96 (20)
Dave Bromund ’85 (73)
Mark Lee ’86 (73)
Ted Goodson ’91 (74)
Pablo Bukata ’92 (74)
Andrew Alexander ’12 (76)

Laura Wysocki took several of her research students to the HHMI Janelia Farm Research Center to do some trouble shooting on their project.  The students, Weston Kitley and Peter Santa Maria, worked with Dr. Wysocki during the school year, and this trip allowed them to use some advanced instrumentation to analyze their project.  Here is their experience:

Day 1

            We arrived at Janelia Farm Research Campus today. The facilities here are extremely impressive and advanced. It is clear that this is a serious research institution with a lot of money to spare. Whereas Wabash College has great facilities for undergraduate research, Janelia Farm Research Campus has high tech instrumentation, and spares no expense.  The conversations that occur in passing between employees are generally scientific in nature and interdisciplinary.  Before our Wabash education they would sound like gibberish, but they now makes some sense to us. It is rewarding to be capable of understanding the current research and discoveries that occur here.  We also took a tour of the building today, which was interesting because of the expensive and innovative instrumentation for biological and chemical research. We were able to view Cornelius and Jane, robots designed to empty fly vials and place the flies into another clean prepared vial. The robots are named after the kids that grew up on the property and Janelia is a hybrid of their two names.  The Lavis lab, where we will be working, is very innovative and productive. Their lab is very organized and the instrumentation that is provided is state of the art, it includes an automated chromatography system and an LCMS. These are the two instruments that we plan to take full advantage of while here. We set up a reaction that has been giving us trouble, to monitor it with the LCMS to determine if the correct product was being formed. By doing this we determined that the THF we were using had too many impurities and by using the higher grade, anhydrous THF the reaction seems to be proceeding quite well.  To finish the day we went to eat at the restaurant in the lobby of Janelia. We participated in a trivia game, in which the majority of the questions were about politics and musicals. The rooms here have huge windows, overlooking a lake, and instead of watching television we watched fish and spiders in their natural environment.

Day 2            A nerve-racking day, today we had to present our research from our entire year of research with Wysocki. At Janelia different group leaders meet with their entire group and everyone recaps what they have accomplished so far and any problems they may have encountered. Dr. Lavis suggested that we discuss our research with at his group meeting today during lunch. This was quite intimidating because our research on fluorescent dyes is a subject that everyone in the meeting knew a lot about. Of course we knew our research very well and thanks to help from Dr. Wysocki we were able to answer any questions they had. After the presentation we were able to listen to everyone else in Dr. Lavis’ group talk about their research, some of which was way over our heads.  After some work on the big toys (LC-MS) at the Janelia labs and the presentation we decided we earned a break. The Janelia campus is located along the Potomac River and there are several trails available to hike along. We hiked out to the Potomac and spent some time along the river. Unfortunately on the way back we trusted Dr. Wysocki to get us home. Consequently we got lost along the trails for a short amount of time. Luckily we were able to find are way back to campus. After the hike we went to dinner with other employees at Janelia and learned about life working at a research institute and then called it a night.

Day 3            Our second full day at the Janelia campus started with Brunch at the restaurant in the building. The building has almost anything you can imagine, including a restaurant, ping-pong, pool table, movie theater, day care. It is designed so people will enjoy coming to work and therefore spend more time there. Weston and I enjoyed the amenities and the free meals provided by Dr. Lavis and Janelia. After Brunch we continued with our research. We worked up a reaction we had started on Friday morning, purified it with the automated column chromatography (an extremely expensive but useful instrument). We then set up our next reaction and let it run overnight. Dr. Wysocki had gotten us tickets to a Nationals v. Orioles game that evening so the three of us rode the Metro for about 40 minutes to the Nationals Ballpark. The two teams are currently doing very well and they rarely play each other. Because Baltimore and D.C. are so close the game was sold out and the metro system was packed with Nationals and Orioles jerseys. When we arrived at the game we found the tickets were right alone the first base foul line, great seats! We enjoyed some ballpark dogs and pretzels. It was the first Major League game I had ever attended and it didn’t disappoint when it ended in a nail biter in the ninth.

Day 4            This morning we awoke after sleeping in until 9, ate breakfast for free (thanks Uncle Howard), and then hit the lab hard. It was our last day to get everything done that we needed to, so we worked up another reaction, purified it, and prepared all samples to be sent back. We also collected valuable data using the LCMS to help determine how our reactions had proceeded. Once we were done in the lab we prepared to say goodbye to Janelia. This trip was extremely valuable, in that we learned much about primary research facilities, and we were granted the chance to use instrumentation that we otherwise could not. This trip also helped us further our research and troubleshoot our reactions. Janelia has roughly 150 full time scientists, and another 200 visiting scientists, including Dr. Wysocki, and does important and innovative research. This was a great opportunity to come visit and witness the progress made here first hand. Peter and I just want to thank all those who granted this opportunity and gave us the chance to come out here.

Wishing you the best in 2012:

Back row: Lon Porter, Rich Dallinger, Wally Novak, John Zimmerman, Rochella Endicott, Ransal Moxley
Front row: Laura Wysocki, Scott Feller, Michael Hoops, Ann Taylor
Not pictured: Bob Olsen, David Phillips