Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Seminars

Spring 2021 

All Friday seminars will begin at 3:10 pm unless noted otherwise.

Wednesday, January 27 at 12:10 pm

Fourth Year Graduate Student seminar in BIochemistry with Ms. Alexandra Cheney.  The title of her talk is  "A Comprehensive and Integrative Analysis of Metabolic Dysfunction and Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis in Familial Dysautonomia.  Allie works in the labs of Profs. Valérie Copié and Frances Lefcourt.  

Friday, January 29 

Dr. David Heldebrant from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will present “How does Carbon Capture Work?”

Abstract: The world is undergoing a renewable energy revolution, though renewables cannot provide enough power for a fully carbon-free energy economy. The burning of fossil fuels will continue for the next two decades to meet our (still growing) energy demands, releasing gigatons of CO₂ into the environment. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ICPP) has concluded that the removal of 20 gigatons of CO₂ per year from the atmosphere by the year 2050 will limit catastrophic warming by the year 2100. Carbon capture is a process that removes CO₂ before or after a fuel is burned to make power.  This talk provides an overview of carbon capture, with an emphasis on the technical challenges, the energy burdens, equipment costs, and most importantly the scale of carbon capture infrastructure.

Prof. Mike Mock host

Friday, February 12

Dr. Erik van Kujik UMN.  Ed Dratz host

Friday, Feburary 19 

Dr. Teresa J. Bandosz, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The City College of New York

"Beyond Adsorption:  Exploring the Silent Aspect of Carbon Porosity"

Abstract:

In this talk we would like to provide an insight into our perspectives on the new applications of nanoporous carbons that were inspired by the graphene features and its presence in these carbonaceous materials. A significant advancement to the “new” science of the “old” nanoporous carbons is in their application as photocatalysts for water splitting, as gas sensors and  ORR and CO₂RR catalysts. In these applications both surface chemistry and porosity are crucial factors determining the specific performance. We will show an excellent gas sensing capability of carbons and their response selectivity. Photoactivity and  electron transfer reactions will also be addressed. The mechanism of the observed processes based on  an involvement of porosity will be proposed.

Our inspiration in the science of graphene combined with the comprehensive knowledge of activated carbons surface chemistry, texture, morphology and adsorptive/reactive adsorptive properties directed us to look at carbons from another perspective; from the perspective of nanotechnology. The results obtained by us and briefly addressed here are very new and many questions have arisen, and are left unanswered, and many approaches need improvements. One has to take into consideration that explaining the complex phenomena on nanoporous carbons is not easy owing to the combination of the porosity and surface chemistry effects. Practically either one cannot exist without another and they add up to that's specific and unique synergy provided only by these materials. One thing is certainly true:  “adventurous” graphene features can be found in nanoporous carbons and they deserve to be explored and used to their full extent.

Dr. Nick Stadie host

Friday, February 26

Graduate Student Seminar in Chemistry - Ms. Nida Shaikh

Rob Walker advisor

Friday, March 26

Dr. Mei-chen Chang 

Thursday, April 8 at 12 pm

Fourth Year Graduate Student Seminar with Ms. Erin Taylor.  Nicholas Stadie Advisor