Student Recognition
DJ Eichenberger, Biological Sciences graduate student, Ron Coleman, Biological Sciences, and Linda Roberts, Chemistry, were awarded a $10,000 grant from the Water Forum to work on the biochemistry of salmon eggs. The project is being funded as part of the CREST, Center for Regional Environmental Science and Technology, initiative.
The work of our Chemistry club has received national honors from the American Chemical Society. Students do a variety of outreach activities, including hands-on activities for children at Sunrise Mall during National Chemistry Week, presentations at SCATS (Schools and Colleges for Advancing the Teaching of Science) meetings, hands on activities for elementary schools, demonstrations at River City Days, and helped with undergraduate activities which enhance students' ability to provide service to the community.
McNair Scholars:
Low income and first generation and/or under-representation in academic area
Completion of at least 45 units upon entrance into the program
Enrollment at CSUS on a full-time basis
3.0 GPA or above
U.S. citizenship or permanent residency
Willingness to commit to the program requirements
Desire and motivation to earn a doctoral degree
In the last couple of years, three of the McNair Scholars have been awarded to Chemistry majors:
David Gray
He was born in Ohio and is the first in his family to attend college. He eventually plans to attend UC Irvine and receive his master's degree in Organic Chemistry. He enjoys many activities such as tennis and bowling, but his true hobby is assembling and flying model airplanes. David found that the McNair Scholars Program has encouraged him in every way possible and has, overall, given him more exposure to the graduate program.
Chemistry student DAVID GRAY had two abstracts selected for poster presentations at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Orlando , Fla. Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. The presentations were on “Protonation or Electrophilic Substitution of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons” and “Identification of Thioesterified Fatty Acids in the Membrane Anchorage Region for Keratinocyte Transglutamins by MALDITOF Mass Spectrometry.”
Edgar Vidrio
Title: Study of the Kinetics of the Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis of Levoglucosan
Abstract: The acid-catalyzed hydrolysis reaction of levoglucosan was observed in order to determine the rate constant for this reaction as a function of [H+] and temperature. During the combustion phase of wood, levoglucosan is released in large quantities to the environment. Because levoglucosan is a source specific to wood, it is an effective candidate to trace biomass source emissions in the atmosphere. One impediment to its usage is the possible atmospheric chemical reaction that levoglucosan undergoes: hydrolysis with water droplets found in the atmosphere. The hydrolysis reaction was monitored for a period of 10 days by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) connected to an aerosol charge detector (ACD) system. Using HPLC, the concentrations of glucose and levoglucosan can be determined and correlated to pinpoint the conditions at which levoglucosan undergoes the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis to produce glucose. The rate constant for a hydrolysis reaction with a [H+] of 0.9 stored at 50°C was determined to be (2.61 +/- 0.09) X 10-6 s-1. The overall activation energy for the hydrolysis reaction of levoglucosan was determined to be 97 kJ/mol. From this data, this researcher determined that the loss of levoglucosan is significant only at high [H+] and temperatures (e.g. [H+] = 4 at 50°C). Otherwise, the rate of the hydrolysis of levoglucosan is negligible at normal atmospheric conditions.
Andro Rios
Title: Methodology for Carbohydrate Analysis in Atmospheric Aerosols
