SPRING 2020

Thursday, January 9 

Graduate Students, Emerald Ellis (DuBois Lab), Danica Walsh (Livinghouse Lab), Alexandra Cheney (Copié Lab) and Sarah Hopfner (Cloninger Lab) will compete in the Department's first "Three Minute Thesis" competition.  The winner will represent the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the CLS competition to be held in the early spring.  2 pm in the Byker Auditorium.    

The Three Minute Thesis is a competition developed by The University of Queensland in which students present their thesis research in 3 minutes to a general audience. For more information about the event, eligibility, and resources go to http://www.montana.edu/clstmt/.

Friday, January 24 -

Dr. Joshua Heinemann (Research Scientist/Engineer, Computer and Electrical Engineering, Montana State University
Affiliate, Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
President, Cascade Fluidics LLC.) will present "Innovating Synthetic Biology and XFEL Sample Delivery Using Programmable Microfluidics." 3:10 pm in the Byker.  Dr. Heinemann completed his PhD at MSU in the lab of Professor Brian Bothner.

Abstract

Enzymatic pathway engineering often requires expensive reagents, tedious manipulations, and significant time
commitment. These shortcomings can be overcome using digitally operated microfluidic devices that require
reduced sample volumes to automate biochemical reactions and can be conducted at significantly higher speeds
than humans or conventional robotics can undertake. One particular challenge is integrating bioassays with
expensive scientific instrumentation. Towards this goal I have developed programmable, high-speed microfluidic
devices, a highly sensitive and high throughput technique that integrates droplet microfluidics with nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS) and XFEL crystallography. Enzymatic reactions are carried out in droplets that can be arrayed into discrete elements at defined time intervals for subsequent analysis, enabling time resolved enzyme activity assay. I apply the platform for kinetic characterization of a glycoside hydrolase enzyme (CelE-CMB3A), a chimeric enzyme capable of deconstructing plant hemicellulose into monosaccharides and for mapping electron transfer in photosystem II.

 

Friday, February 14 

Prof. Christian Melander from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame. Tom Livinghouse host.

Monday, February 24

Faculty Candidate Seminarfor the cryo-EM position. Dr. Shabih Shakeel - Cambridge,  The title of his seminar is DNA Damage Repair and the Fanconi Anaemia Monoubiquitin Ligase Complex."  4 pm Byker

Friday, February 28

Graduate Recruiting Day

Tuesday, March 3 - PhD Defense in Chemistry

Ms. Märtha Welander will defend her PhD in Chemistry beginning with a seminar titled "Operando Optical Studies of Next Generation Anode Materials in High Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells."  12:30 pm Byker Auditorium.  Märtha works in the laboratory of Prof. Rob Walker.

Wednesday, March 11 - Ph.D Defense in Chemistry

Ms. Danica Walsh will defend her PhD in Chemistry beginning with a seminar titled "Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel Antimicrobials for the Eradication of Biofilms."  2 pm in the Byker Auditorium.  Danica works in the laboratory of Prof. Tom Livinghouse.

Thursday, March 12 

Dr. Jean-Hubert Olivier from the Department of Chemistry, University of Miami will present "Expanding the Toolbox to Modulate the (Opto)electronic Properties of π-Conjugated Superstructures."  3:30 pm Byker Auditorium.  Prof. Erik Grumstrup host.

Friday, March 13 

Dr. Stephen Sprang (Director at the Center for Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, University of Montana) will present “How Ric-8 wrangles G proteins.”   3:10 pm in the Byker Auditorium.  Prof. Martin Lawrence host

Monday, March 30 - PhD Defense in Chemistry

Ms. Casey Hickey will defend her PhD in Chemistry beginning with a seminar titled “Characterizing Excited State Transport and Charge Carrier Dynamics in Lead Halide Perovskites.”12 noon Byker Auditorium.  Casey works in the laboratory of Professor Erik Grumstrup.

Monday, March 30 - MS Defense in Biochemistry

Mr. Alex Charbonneau will defend his MS in Biochemistry beginning with a seminar titled (TBD).  Alex works in the lab of Prof. Martin Lawrence.  4:10 pm in the Byker Auditorium. 

Thursday, April 9 - PhD Defense in Biochemistry

Ms. Natsha Pence will defend her PhD in Biochemistry beginning with a seminar.  11 am in the Byker Auditorium Natsha is co-advised by Drs. Peters and DuBois.

Friday, May 8

Graduate Student Seminar Katie Steward (Brian Bothner lab)

Seminar Archives