In our classrooms and teaching labs, students learn directly from faculty committed to undergraduate education. In our research labs, students and faculty work together on groundbreaking scientific problems. Our department is certified by the American Chemical Society.
"Quantitation of autoinhibitory defects in pathogenic SHP2 mutants by differential scanning fluorimetry"
"Leveraging Student−Faculty−Staff Partnerships to Implement Inclusive Curricular Reform in Chemistry Education" by Ji Chung, Sarah L. Bunnell, Alberto M. Lopez, and Jacob H. Olshansky. Most of the credit goes to Ji Chung '22 who was supported by the department as a post-bac last summer while she wrote the article. Alberto Lopez (co-corresponding author) also did much of the heavy lifting in putting this together and CARAC owes a lot to his hard work. We also want to thank Sarah Bunnell for her invaluable insights and editing prowess, and Professor Ren Wiscons for helping us think through and edit the CHEM-260 section.
Mark D. Marshall, Helen O. Leung, Sérgio R. Domingos, Anna Krin, Melanie Schnell, Nathan A. Seifert, Yunjie Xu, and Wolfgang Jäger, "Examining the gas-phase homodimers of 3,3,3-trifluoro-1,2-epoxypropane using quantum chemistry and microwave spectroscopy," Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 24, 28495 (2022) doi: 10.1039/d2cp04663f
Helen O. Leung, Mark D. Marshall, Seohyun Hong, and Laboni Hoque, "The microwave spectra and molecular structures of (Z)-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene and its gas-phase heterodimer with the argon atom," J. Mol. Spectrosc. 394, 111779 (2023) doi:10.1016/j.jms.2023.111779
"Deep eutectic solvent-based electromembrane hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction for determining Pb in water and food samples.
Professor Durr is among the 25 recently awarded Cottrell Scholars for 2023. His award proposal, Exploring the Synthesis and Mechanism of Single-site and Cationic Group V Catalysts for the Production of Biodegradable Polymers incorporates both research and science education.
“The future of science depends on innovation, diversity, and commitment to student success,” said RCSA President & CEO Daniel Linzer. “These new awardees have been selected as much for their research and teaching excellence as for their potential to become change-makers at their institutions, in science, and society at large.”
"Destabilization of the SHP2 and SHP1 protein tyrosine phosphatase domains by a non-conserved “backdoor” cysteine" appears in Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports. The article is co-authored with Matthew Yarnall '20, Sean Kim '23, and Samuel Korntner '17, with Anthony Bishop as PI.
Professor O'Hara recently published an article in the Herald Scholarly Open Access Journal of Food Science and Nuitrition. "Transforming Food with Acid: Lessons from the Dairy." Published on July 28, 2022. J Food Sci Nutr 2022, 8: 139; DOI: 10.24966/FSN-1076/100139.
Professors Helen O. Leung, Mark D. Marshall, and SURF '21 co-authors Taha Z. Ahmad, David W. Borden, Caitlin A. Hoffman, and Navie A. Kim, recently published an article in the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy. "The microwave spectra and molecular structures of the chiral and achiral rotamers of 2,3,3-trifluoropropene and their gas-phase heterodimers with the argon
atom," J. Mol. Spectrosc. 387, 111656 (2022). doi: 10.1016/j.jms.2022.111656.
The paper is part of a Virtual Special Issue (VSI) of the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy in memory of Norman C. Craig, who passed away in March 2021. Norm Craig was a faculty member at Oberlin College, where he collaborated with dozens of undergraduate researchers during a career spanning over five decades. His infrared and microwave spectroscopic studies revolved around precise molecular structure determinations.
co-authored with Sara Buck '19 and Bailey Plaman '18. The publication's title is "Inhibition of SHP2 and SHP1 Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Activity by Chemically Induced Dimerization."
Authors: Nejc Nagelj '21, Alexandra Brumberg (Northwestern University), Shoshanna Peifer '23, Richard D. Schaller (Northwestern University), and Jacob H. Olshansky*. "Compositionally Tuning Electron Transfer from Photoexcited Core/Shell Quantum Dots via Cation Exchange"
student co-authors Maxwell P. Hoffman '22, Autumn Y. Lee '23, and Nejc Nagelj '21. "Mapping the effect of geometry on the radiative rate in core/shell QDs: core size dictates the conduction band offset"
The grant will fund efforts in the Bishop lab toward the design and discovery of compounds that selectively modulate the activities of PTPs, a family of enzymes that control protein-phosphorylation pathways in human cells. Please visit Professor Bishop’s web page for more information on his research.
Namita Khajanchi '19, currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Controlling CRISPR with small molecule regulation for somatic cell genome editing NamitaKhajanchi1 KrishanuSaha12
Congratulations to Lena Treiber '22 and Hyery Yoo '22, who have been selected as 2021 #GoldwaterScholars!
The scholarship is awarded to sophomores and juniors with outstanding potential and an intent to pursue careers in mathematics, natural sciences or engineering.
A physics and astronomy major, Lena hopes to teach broad astrophysics concepts as a professor while becoming an expert in her ultimate area of specialization. Hyery, a chemistry major, plans to conduct molecular biology research using mathematical and computational tools.
for his research on “tunable quantum dots as sensitizers for photocatalytic CO2 reduction.” Olshansky’s lab is now exploring how quantum dots might convert the thing we have far too much of—carbon dioxide—into a carbon-neutral fuel.
Seminar: February 24, 2021; 12 - 1PM. Associate Professor of Chemistry, Sheila Jaswal; Organic Chemistry Instructor, Dr. Lauren Reutenaurer; Chemistry and Education Studies Major, Nicole Chung '22.
Workshop: March 3, 2021; 12 - 2PM. Dr. Jamiella Brooks, Associate Director of Penn's Center for Teaching and Learning.
Catalyzed by a 4-day student protest highlighting the impact of systemic racism on student experience, the “Being Human in STEM” (HSTEM) course started as a student-faculty collaboration to investigate the academic literature and lived experiences of marginalized students in STEM at Amherst College and beyond. Offered since Spring 2016, the course is an engine for student-led inquiry and action that has reshaped the STEM culture at Amherst, and has been adopted by over a dozen institutions. Join members of the HSTEM team to learn about HSTEM, how the Amherst College Chemistry department has adapted its curricular practices to better support inclusion and equity for all students, beginning in the introductory sequence, and how YOU can pilot simple practices that make a BIG difference for students.
The Carl Brändén Award, sponsored by Rigaku Corporation, honors an outstanding protein scientist who has also made exceptional contributions in the areas of education and/or service to the field. The 2021 recipient of this award is Professor Sheila Jaswal (Amherst College). Professor Jaswal is an expert on kinetic and thermodynamic mechanisms for protein stabilization and an award-winning teacher. With a team of undergraduates, she has developed tools to better understand the diversity of protein folding kinetics and provided a theoretical framework for mapping energy landscapes under native conditions using hydrogen-exchange mass spectrometry. In response to a 2015 campus-wide Black Lives Matter protest, she collaborated with students to develop “Being Human in STEM” (HSTEM). In this moment of unprecedented recognition of racism in science, the HSTEM model offers a structure that welcomes participants in their complex intersecting identities, educates them about racism, and gives them practice with having difficult conversations, collaborating across differences, and making realistic and effective change.
each including two student co-authors. Jonah Horowitz and Devon J. Stuart are Class of 2022, and Alexandra Gomez and Olivia Febles are Class of 2020.
Helen O. Leung, Mark D. Marshall, Jonah R. Horowitz, and Devon J. Stuart, "The microwave spectrum and molecular structure of the gas-phase heterodimer formed between argon and glycidol," J. Mol. Spectrosc., 375, 111407 (2021). doi: 10.1016/j.jms.2020.111407
Mark D. Marshall, Helen O. Leung, Olivia Febles, and Alexandra Gomez, "The microwave spectra and molecular structures of (E)-1,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene and its complex with the argon atom," J. Mol. Spectrosc., 374, 111379, (2020). doi: 10.1016/j.jms.2020.111379
Dr. Richmond Ampiah-Bonney co-authored an Elsevier journal article in the Microchemical Journal, titled: "Air-assisted solvent terminated dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (AA-ST-DLLME) for the determination of lead in water and beverage samples by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry."
The ACS Student Association of Wayne State University nominated Professor Lopez for the November 2020 Scientist of the Month.
and their collaborators in Germany: Dr. Sérgio R. Domingos, Dr. Cristóbal Pérez, and Professor Melanie Schnell.
"Assessing the performance of rotational spectroscopy in chiral analysis." The paper is an invited mini-review in the journal Chemical Science, which is published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
with co-authors Jenny Kim '19 and Bailey Plaman '18. Please read the recently published article in Biochemistry: “Targeting a Pathogenic Cysteine Mutation: Discovery of a Specific Inhibitor of Y279C SHP2.”
Amy C. Rosenzweig '88, currently at Northwestern University recently received the ACS Alfred Bader Award in Bioinorganic or Bioorganic Chemistry, sponsored by the Alfred R. Bader Fund and the George and Christine Sosnovsky Endowment Fund. Click here for her bio/research information.
Summer 2020 Amherst Magazine. Stories of Care, Courage, Practice and Progress. https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/magazine/issues/2020-summer/stories-of-care
"I See People on the Worst Day of Their Lives." As told to Geoffrey Giller '10 by Anna Meyendorff '09 https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/biochemistry-biophysics/bcbpcourses/table
Amherst chemistry majors learn to define and solve chemical problems, to design and execute experiments, and to apply the highest scientific standards to contemporary problems.
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Students have direct access to professors working at the forefront of their research fields, and also to first-rate facilities, equipment and support staff.
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During their undergraduate summers, many chemistry students take part in paid research internships with Amherst faculty.
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Chemistry students have the opportunity to present their research to the Amherst community each spring and fall.
In our seminar program, both Amherst chemistry majors and outside experts present on new research and breakthroughs in chemistry.
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Amherst chemistry majors go on to careers in fields ranging from chemical research to medicine to secondary school teaching.
Chemistry faculty are also members of the Biochemistry & Biophysics Program, as well as contributing faculty in the Biology Department.
Our Academic Departments & ProgramsThrough a thorough treatment of the laws of thermodynamics, we will develop a quantitative understanding of the factors which determine the extent to which chemical reactions can occur before reaching the state of equilibrium.
We will consider the detailed balance sheet that shows how living things harvest energy from their environment to fuel metabolic processes and to reproduce and grow.
How do the physical laws that dominate our lives change at the small length and energy scales of individual molecules? We will answer this question by looking at bio-molecules, cellular substructures, and control mechanisms that work effectively in the microscopic world.
We offer multiple prizes and awards for Amherst chemistry students.