Undergraduate women empowering women in computational chemistry: Three perspectives

The undergraduate computational chemistry research group headed by Mauricio Cafiero at Rhodes College has a history of including, promoting, and supporting women in this predominantly male field. Alums of this research group from 2004 to 2019 include nine M.Ds, two science researchers, two Ph.D.s, one secondary teacher, two pharmacists, a physical therapist, two nurses, six current medical school students, and five current science graduate students. They have produced 18 peer-reviewed publications with female undergraduate first authors and over 100 conference presentations, including 9 international conference presentations. While Professor Cafiero does all he can to support these students, he attributes the continuous success of the group in recruiting, retaining, and supporting these women to the students themselves. The students' success and visibility on campus helps to recruit new students. The heavy presence of women in this group provides a strong support system for women who may otherwise feel isolated in a male-dominated field; and these support groups provide models and support for women to overcome common obstacles that women in science face. We will profile three recent graduates who will discuss how the above points affected them during their time in the research group and discuss their experience in the context of some literature on women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.     

Burnett—isochoric P—V—T measurements of a nominal 20 mol% hydrogen—80 mol% methane mixture at elevated temperatures and pressures

A new apparatus is described which has been developed to measure P—V—T relations for hydrogen—hdyrocarbon systems at elevated temperatures and pressures. The principal components are three heavy-walled spherical pressure cells with the same outer/internal diameter ratio, a fully submerged differential pressure cell, and measuring equipment including calibrated piston guages and a platinum resistance thermometer. This apparatus was used to measure densities of a 20.05±0.05 mol% hydrogen?79.95±0.05 mol% methane mixture from 273.15 to 600 K and pressures to 72 MPa. Two Burnett isotherms at 273.15 K established fluid densities without direct measurement of either mass or volume. Eight isochores, ranging in density from 1.62 to 14.91 mol dm^?3, were anchored to the Burnett isotherms at 273.15 K where their densities were firmly established. An analytic equation for the thermodynamic surface has been fitted to the resulting P—V—T data, giving a 0.01% root mean square deviation of calculated compressibility factors from experimental results.     

A spectroscopic and electrochemical study of some copper(II) tetraaza macrocyclic complexes

Infrared, electronic, electron spin resonance and d.c. polarographic data for some copper(II) tetraaza macrocyclic complexes, involving a novel cyclam type ligand, are reported and are interpreted in terms of the structure of the complexes and the influence ofJahn-Teller distortion effects and cation-anion interactions.

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Eine spektroskopische und elektrochemische Untersuchung einiger makrocyclischer Kupfer (II)-Komplexe

Zusammenfassung Es wird über Infrarot-, Elektronenanregungs-, Elektronenspinresonanz- und D.C. Polarographie-Daten einiger tetraaza-makrocyclischer Kupfer(II)-Komplexe einschließlich eines neuen Cyclam-Typs als Ligand berichtet. Die Befunde werden hinsichtlich der Strukturen der Komplexe, dem Einfluß vonJahn-Teller-Verdrillungseffekten und Kation-Anion-Wechselwirkungen interpretiert.

     

Spectrophotometric determination of molybdenum with 8-mercaptoquinoline

8-Mercaptoquinoline was found to be sensitive for the colorimetric determination of molybdenum. A procedure is outlined in which the complex formed, Mo(C₉H₆NS)₂, is extracted into chloroform and the extinction measured at 425 mμ. The effects and removal of interfering ions are discussed.     

Spectrophotometric determination of palladium after extraction of the chloro-stannous complex by tri-n-octylamine

The complex formed between palladium(II) and tin(II) in hydrochloric acid solutions, and its extractability by tri-n-octylamine were investigated. Two different species were obtained: one a brown-red complex and the other yellow. Both were extracted into tri-n-octylamine in benzene, but the yellow species which had a definite absorption maximum at 410 mμ was more suitable for the determination of palladium. A method is described for the spectrophotometric determination of palladium in the presence of many other elements. Both species are considered to be anionic and a mechanism for their extraction is proposed.     

STEM (scanning transmission electron microscopy) analysis of femtosecond laser pulse induced damage to bulk silicon

This work reports on the structural changes that take place in wafer grade silicon when it is micro-machined with ultra-short laser pulses of 150 fs duration. A Chirped Pulse Amplification (CPA) Ti:Sapphire laser was used, with an operating wavelength centered on 775 nm and a maximum repetition rate of 1 KHz. The laser induced damage was characterized over the fluence range 0.43–14 Jcm^-2, and for each fluence a progressively increasing number of pulses was used. The analytical tools used to characterize the samples were all based upon electron microscopy. A 30 KeV scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) imaging technique was developed to observe defects in the crystal lattice and the thermal-mechanical damage in the area surrounding the laser machined region. Mechanical cross sectioning (in conjunction with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) surface imaging) was also used to reveal the internal structure, composition, and dimensions of the laser machined structures. Based on this analysis, it will be shown that laser machining of silicon with femtosecond pulses can produce features with minimal thermal damage, although lattice damage created by mechanical stresses and the deposition of ablated material both limit the extent to which this can be achieved, particularly with high aspect ratios. A key feature of the work presented here is the high-resolution STEM images of the laser-machined structures. PACS  42.65.Re; 42.62.Cf; 61.80.Ba; 61.82.Fk; 68.37.Hk; 68.37.Lp     

The effect of dissolved water on the viscosities of hydrophobic room-temperature ionic liquids

Data for viscosity vs. water content for three hydrophobic room-temperature ionic liquids show that their viscosities are strongly dependent on the amount of dissolved water.