Faculty Kjirsten Wayman, Maralyn Renner, Alexander Wright, Aaron Floden, Jayne Lampley, Susan Farmer, Edward Schilling Chemistry Kjirsten Wayman (Chemistry Department), Maralyn Renner (M.S. Biology, 1980), Alexander Wright (Washington State U.), Aaron Floden (Missouri Botanical Garden), Jayne Lampley (U. Alabama), Susan Farmer, Edward Schilling (U. Tennessee, Knoxville) published a peer-reviewed article titled “New insights into systematics of the Trillium ovatum complex” in Madroño, a journal focusing on research of the Western American flora.  The article highlights Trillium oettingeri, an endemic plant to the Klamath Mountains and Cascade Range, and can be accessed at the following link: https://doi.org/10.3120/0024-9637-70.3.158

Faculty Kjirsten Wayman, Matthew Reilly, Alaina Petlewski Chemistry Kjirsten Wayman (Chemistry), Matthew Reilly (USDA Forest Service), and Alaina Petlewski (B.S. Botany, 2017) published a peer-reviewed article in the American Journal of Botany (2023) titled "Taxonomic insights from floral scents of western North American sessile-flowered Trillium".  The article can be found here:  https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16255

Faculty William Wood, David Largent Chemistry Faculty William Wood, Chemistry, and David Largent, Biological Science

Emeritus Professors William Wood and David Largent recently published an article in the Austrian Academy of Sciences journal Biosystematics and Ecology on the crustacean-like odor of the mushroom Russula xerampelina. This mushroom has a cooked shrimp odor that gives it the common name the “shrimp mushroom.” They and mycologist Darvin DeShazer of the Sonoma County Mycological Association, identified the chemicals that are responsible for this mushroom’s odor.

Contact Information

William.Wood@humboldt.edu

Phone 707 832 2931

Faculty Robert W. Zoellner, James M. Moore Chemistry Professor Emeritus Robert W. Zoellner and his former student, James M. Moore, have published a peer-reviewed article entitled, “A DFT computational investigation of mono-sila-substituted DNA nucleobases and their hydrogen-bonded Watson-Crick dimers with the parent purines and pyrimidines”:  J. M. Moore, R. W. Zoellner, Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research 2023, 22, 102–110.

Faculty William Wood Chemistry Emeritus Chemistry Professor William Wood recently published an article in the Austrian Academy of Sciences journal Biosystematics and Ecology on the oyster-like odor of the plant, Mertensia maritima.  This plant has a circumboreal oceanic distribution where it grows just above the high-tide mark, most often on exposed maritime shingle bars. Because of the smell of crushed plant leaves, it is called the oyster plant in Britain and Ireland, and oyster leaf in North America. Wood collected this plant in Homer, Alaska and is the first person to identify the chemical that gives this plant its common names.

Faculty Robert W. Zoellner, Tara S. Caso Chemistry Professor Emeritus Robert W. Zoellner and his former student, Tara S. Caso, have published their third peer-reviewed article, together, entitled "The DFT computational investigation of the β-sila-α-amino acids and their β-permethylsila-analogs:  Silicon-containing amino acids as a viable foundation for silicon-based life”:  T. S. Caso, R. W. Zoellner, Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research 2023, 22, 47–61.

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/

Student 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/

Faculty 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.

Faculty 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.

Faculty 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.

Student 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.

Faculty 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

Faculty 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.

Faculty 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.

Faculty 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/

Faculty Claire Till Chemistry

Selected as Cottrell Scholar Award Recipient

https://rescorp.org/news/2020/02/rcsa-names-25-new-cottrell-scholars-fo…

Faculty 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.