Achievements
Publications and achievements submitted by our faculty, staff, and students.
Student Albert Ochoa Castillo and Dr. Joshua Smith Chemistry Albert Ochoa Castillo and Dr. Joshua Smith published the peer-reviewed paper “Design of Possible Organic Photovoltaic Compounds and Their Initial Computational Assessment” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Submitted: December 2, 2022Student Kodiak E. Miller, Caleb J. Strait, Jacob I. Begorre, Brittney L. Mitchell, and Dr. Claire P. Till Chemistry Kodiak E. Miller, Caleb J. Strait, Jacob I. Begorre, Brittney L. Mitchell, and Dr. Claire P. Till published the peer-reviewed paper “Concentration of Heavy Metals in Three Distinct Algae Families from Humboldt County, California” in the newly released ideaFest Journal. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/ideafest/
Submitted: December 2, 2022Faculty Brittany D. Light and Robert W. Zoellner Chemistry Professor Emeritus Robert W. Zoellner and his former student, Brittany D. Light, have published a "mini-review" entitled "Chemistry with a capital Z: The superheavy elements, Flerovium" in the Summer 2022 issue of The Hexagon of Alpha Chi Sigma: B. D. Light and R. W. Zoellner, The Hexagon of Alpha Chi Sigma, 2022, 113(2), 20-24.
Submitted: November 4, 2022Faculty Tara S. Caso, Robert W. Zoellner Chemistry Professor Emeritus Robert W. Zoellner and his former student, Tara S. Caso, have published a peer-reviewed article entitled "The effect of substituents on the hypothetical decomposition energies of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) derivatives: Structures and properties from density functional calculations": T. S Caso, R. W. Zoellner, Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research 2022, 21, 106-110.
Submitted: November 4, 2022Faculty Tara S. Caso and Robert W. Zoellner Chemistry Professor Emeritus Robert W. Zoellner and his former student, Tara S. Caso, have published a peer-reviewed article entitled "Thioacetone analogs of cyclic diacetone diperoxide (DADP), triacetone triperoxide (TATP), and tetraacetone tetraperoxide (4A4P): Structures and properties from density functional calculations" in the Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research 2022, 21, 54-59.
Submitted: September 15, 2022Student Robert Freiberger (HSU class '20) and Associate Professor Claire Till (Chemistry) Chemistry Robert Freiberger (HSU class '20) and Associate Professor Claire Till (Chemistry) are co-authors on a recent publication in the AGU journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles for their work measuring trace metal concentrations in the surface Pacific Ocean. Freiberger analyzed the samples as an undergraduate while doing summer research in the Till lab. The article is titled, "Does sea-spray aerosol contribute significantly to aerosol trace element loading? A case study from the U.S. GEOTRACES Pacific Meridional Transect (GP15)" and is available open access here: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2022GB007416.
Submitted: September 1, 2022Faculty Claire Till Chemistry Associate Professor of Chemistry Claire Till is a co-author on the recent article entitled "Diminished carbon and nitrate assimilation drive changes in diatom elemental stoichiometry independent of silicification in an iron-limited assemblage", which is published in the Springer Nature journal ISME communications. The open access article is available here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43705-022-00136-1
Submitted: September 1, 2022Faculty Kimberly N. White, Kimberly Vincent-Layton, Brandilynn Villarreal, Frank Cappuccio, Chris Harmon Chemistry Kimberly N. White, Kimberly Vincent-Layton, Brandilynn Villarreal, Frank Cappuccio, and Chris Harmon received a Student Success Network Equity in Action grant ($14,984) for their project, "Does the Use of an Interactive General Chemistry Textbook Improve Student Perceptions of and Use of the Textbook and Increase Equitable Outcomes?" This project seeks to understand the impact of interactive web-based learning on equity outcomes.
Submitted: June 8, 2022Faculty Matthew Hurst Chemistry Dr. Matthew Hurst received a $37,000 grant from the CSU Agricultural Research Institute to study the effectiveness of vegetative barriers on reducing agricultural runoff from lily bulb fields in the Smith River Plain. Research findings will be used to determine the best land management practices for lily bulb cultivation. The project will be carried out in direct collaboration with the California Water Board and Hastings Bulb Growers, Inc, and with the assistance of undergraduate student researchers. An additional $46,000 in matching funds will be provided by the Water Board for water quality monitoring in the stream tributaries.
Submitted: March 25, 2022Faculty Joshua Smith Chemistry
Dr. Joshua Smith, Chemistry, published a paper,"Strategies for Design of Potential Singlet Fission Chromophores Utilizing a Combination of Ground-State and Excited-State Aromaticity Rules" in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 12, 5602–5617
https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.9b12435
Faculty Joshua Smith Chemistry
Dr. Joshua Smith, Chemistry, published a paper, "Triplet State Baird Aromaticity in Macrocycles: Scope, Limitations, and Complications" as part of The Journal of Physical Chemistry virtual special issue “Josef Michl Festschrift”.
J. Phys. Chem. A 2021, 125, 2, 570–584
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpca.0c08926
Faculty Jenny Cappuccio Chemistry
Has been selected to join the Chemistry inter-institutional peer mentoring Alliance in the Northwest Regional Network, as part of the NSF ADVANCE Partnership ASCEND project (Advancing STEM Careers by Empowering Network Development). Her bio and photo will also be posted on the ASCEND website.https://wou.edu/ascend/
Submitted: February 14, 2020Faculty Claire Till Chemistry
Selected as Cottrell Scholar Award Recipient
https://rescorp.org/news/2020/02/rcsa-names-25-new-cottrell-scholars-fo…
Submitted: February 11, 2020Faculty Kjirsten Wayman Chemistry
Participated as a member of the review committee that met in October 2019 at the Mt Cuba Center in Delaware to review the taxonomic and conservation status of the North American Trillium species. This meeting was a combined effort of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), NatureServe, BioPark, and several Trillium experts and conservationists from across the country. Results from this meeting will be used for future conservation efforts and will be published by the IUCN for viewing by the general public.
Submitted: January 22, 2020Faculty Amelia G. McArthur (undergraduate researcher) and Robert W. Zoellner (Professor of Chemistry) Chemistry
Amelia G. McArthur (undergraduate researcher) and Robert W. Zoellner, Ph.D. (Professor Emeritus of Chemistry) have published a peer-reviewed article entitled “Chlorates and perchlorates as potential high-energy materials: Chlorate- and perchlorate-substituted methanes” in the peer-reviewed, open-source journal “Heliyon” 2019, volume 5, issue 10, e02686 (7 pp).
Submitted: November 2, 2019Faculty Kyle D. McNamara, B.S. (recent graduate) and Robert W. Zoellner, Ph.D. (Professor of Chemistry) Chemistry
Kyle D. McNamara, B.S., (recent HSU graduate) and Robert W. Zoellner, Ph.D. (Professor Emeritus of Chemistry) have published a peer-reviewed article entitled "The effects of substituent position and orientation on the structures and dipole moments of the cyanocyclohexanes using density functional theory calculations" in the journal "Computational and Theoretical Chemistry" volume 1170, 15 December 2019, 112622 (8 pp).
Submitted: November 1, 2019Student Shelbie Ann Christensen (student) and Robert W. Zoellner (faculty) Chemistry
Publication: Shelbie A. Christensen and Robert W. Zoellner; "Chemistry with a Capital Z: The superheavy elements. Oganesson: Superheavy element 118: A review"; The Hexagon of Alpha Chi Sigma 2018, 109(4), 51-53,61.
Submitted: January 24, 2019Faculty Claire Till (Chemistry faculty); Jessica Solomon (Environmental Sciences graduate) Chemistry
Publication in the journal Limnology and Oceanography.
https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lno.11022
Submitted: January 24, 2019Faculty Robert Zoellner Chemistry
Won the HSU Distinguished Faculty Award of Outstanding Professor. Dr. Zoellner will be giving a free lecture on Nov. 8, 2018 at 5:00pm in KBR.
https://aavp.humboldt.edu/current-faculty-award-recipients
Submitted: October 23, 2018Faculty Joshua Smith Chemistry
Dr. Smith received a Fulbright Scholar Award and an American-Scandinavian Award to study triplet ground state Baird aromatic compounds in Uppsala, Sweden during the 2018-19 AY.
Submitted: October 17, 2018