1. avila@chem.columbia.edu Room: Chandler 455 Phone #: (212)854-8587 Columbia University Department of Chemistry

3. What Does a Chemist Do? Studies the atomic composition and structural architecture of substances Investigates the varied interactions among substances Utilizes natural substances and creates artificial ones Comprehends the marvelous and complex chemistry of living organisms Provides a molecular interpretation of health and disease

4. Main Divisions of Chemistry Organic Chemistry Inorganic Chemistry Physical Chemistry Analytical Chemistry Industrial Chemistry (Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry) Biochemistry How Does S(He) do it? Materials Chemistry Environmental Chemistry Forensic Chemistry

5. What is Organic Chemistry? Physical Organic Chemistry Largest area of specialization among the various fields of chemistry Synthetic Organic Chemistry  Pharmaceutical Chemistry  Pulp and Paper Chemistry  Dye and Textile Chemistry  Formulation Chemistry (paint, food, petroleum products, adhesives, etc.)  Agricultural Chemistry  Polymer Chemistry Concerned with the correlation of the physical and chemical properties of compounds with their structural features.

6. We are primarily engaged in the invention and development of stereoselective catalytic reactions and the total synthesis of biologically active and structurally complex natural products Synthetic Organic Chemist: Professor James Leighton

7. Among our areas of current interest in the anticancer field are epothilone and eleutherobin. While structurally diverse, these two compounds seem to function by a taxol-like mechanism in their ability to inhibit microtubule disassembly. Several projects are addressed to goal systems with immunochemical implications. Here we are particularly concerned with the construction of a carbohydrate-based tumor antigen vaccine. Synthetic Organic Chemist / Bioorganic Chemist: Professor Samuel Danishefsky

8. In most cases this involves investigating the interaction of small molecules with their biopolymeric receptors. The recent dramatic advancement in isolation, purification and microspectroscopic methods has made it possible for chemists to become involved in such studies on a molecular structural basis Natural Products’ Chemist : Professor Koji Nakanishi We deal with structural aspects of bioactive compounds and elucidation of their mode of action.

9. We view the photon as a reagent for initiating photoreactions and as a product of the deactivation of electronically excited molecules. Physical Organic Chemist / Photochemist Material Chemist: Professor Nicholas Turro Our group is developing a novel field termed "supramolecular" photochemistry, or photochemistry beyond the conventional intellectual and scientific constraints implied by the term "molecule". In supramolecular processes non-covalent bonds between molecules play a role analogous to that of covalent bonds between atoms.

10. What is Inorganic Chemistry? Deals with the properties of elements ranging from metals to non metals Organometallic Chemistry Bioinorganic Chemistry Ceramics and Glass Semiconductors

11. Organometallic Chemist / X-ray Spectroscopist: Professor Gerard Parkin Zinc is a constituent of more than 300 enzymes. The active sites of these enzymes feature a zinc center attached to the protein backbone by three or four amino acid residues, the nature of which influences the specific function of the enzyme. In order to understand why different zinc enzymes utilize different amino acid residues at the active site, it is necessary to understand how and why the chemistry of zinc is modulated by its coordination environment. Answers to these questions are being provided by a study of small molecules that resemble the enzyme-active sites.

12. Bio-organic Chemist : Professor Ronald Breslow http://www.oit.doe.gov/cfm/fullarticle.cfm/id=743 In our major effort we are trying to prepare artificial enzymes that can imitate the function of natural enzymes. A related study involves the synthesis of mimics of antibodies or of biological receptor sites, constructing molecules that will bind to polypeptides with sequence selectivity in water, using mainly hydrophobic interactions. These could be very useful in modulating the activity of peptide hormones, for instance.

13. Measures, correlates, and explains the quantitative aspects of chemical processes What is Physical Chemistry? Theoretical Chemistry Devoted to Quantum and Statistical Mechanics. Theoretical chemists use computers to solve complicated mathematical equations that simulate specific chemical processes. Chemical Thermodynamics Deals with the relationship between heat, work, temperature, and energy of Chemical systems. Chemical Kinetics Seeks to measure and understand the rates of chemical reactions.

14. Physical Chemistry Electrochemistry Investigates the interrelationship between electric current and chemical change. Photochemistry, Spectroscopy Uses radiation energy to probe and induce change within matter. Surface Chemistry Examines the properties of chemical surfaces, using instruments that can provide a chemical profile of such surfaces.

15. My research is concerned with structural and dynamic processes in condensed phase systems and biomacromolecular systems. Theoretical Chemist: Professor Bruce Berne Because the systems studied are often complex many-body systems, it is necessary to utilize the powerful analytical methods of statistical mechanics as well as state-of-the-art methods of computer simulation involving molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo techniques.

16. My research is materials, surfaces and nanocrystals, especially in relation to optical and electronic properties. This work can include theoretical modeling, experimental chemical physics, and synthetic chemistry. We try to understand the evolution of solid state properties from molecular properties, and to create new materials with nanoscale structure by both kinetic and thermodynamic self-assembly methods. Materials Chemist: Professor Louis Brus

17. We investigate molecular collisions that lead either to chemical reaction or to the exchange of energy between molecules. In particular, we have developed the infrared diode laser absorption probe technique to investigate collisions between molecules. Experimental Physical Chemist: Professor George Flynn We also study the structure of molecules adsorbed on surfaces by using the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM).

18. What is Analytical Chemistry? QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS Deals with the detection of elements or compounds (analytes) in different materials. QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS Refers to the measurement of the actual amounts of the analyte present in the material investigated. Chemical and Biochemical Methods Gravimetry Titrimetric Analysis Enzymic Analysis Inmunochemical Analysis

19. Analytical Chemistry Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Mass Spectrometry (MS) Vibrational Spectroscopy (IR, RAMAN) X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis (XPS) Electronic Spectroscopy (UV, VIS, Luminiscence) Atomic Spectroscopy (AA, ICP) Rotational Spectroscopy (Microwave, FIR) Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopic Methods

20. Analytical Chemistry Chromatographic Methods (Partition equilibrium) Gas Chromatography (GC) High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) Ion Chromatography

21. Analytical Chemistry Electrogravimetry Electrophoresis Conductimetry, Potentiometry Polarography Voltammetry Electrochemical Methods Thermal Methods Thermogravimetry (TG) Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) Thermomechanic Analysis (TMA)

22. We study enzyme mechanisms using NMR. A variety of experiments allow us to probe structural details,dynamics or chemical details such as protonation states. Biophysical Chemist / NMR Spectroscopist: Professor Ann McDermott In photosynthetic reaction centers, light energy is converted to chemical potential energy through long-range electron transfer events. A wealth of crystallographic, mutagenic, and spectroscopic work on these centers still leaves important mechanistic questions unanswered.

23. The Tools of the Trade Periodic Table of the Elements Ag Na Li Fr Cs Rb K Be Ca Mg Ra Ba Sr Sc La Y Ac Ti Hf Zr Rf V Ta Nb Ha Cr W Mo Sg Mn Re Tc Bh Fe Os Ru Hs Co Ir Rh Mt Ni Pt Pd Cu Au Zn Hg Cd Ga Al Tl In Pb Sn BiPo B Ge Si As SbTe At H CN P O Se S F Br Cl I Ne Kr Ar Rn Xe He Ce Th Pr Pa Nd U Pm Np Sm Pu Eu Am Gd Cm Tb Bk Dy Cf Ho Es Er Fm Tmi Md Yb No Lu Lr

24. 47 11 3 87 55 37 19 4 20 12 88 56 38 21 57 39 89 22 72 40 104 23 73 41 105 24 74 42 106 25 75 43 107 26 76 44 108 27 77 45 109 28 78 46 29 79 30 80 48 31 13 8l 49 82 50 8384 5 32 14 33 5152 85 1 67 15 8 34 16 9 35 17 53 10 36 18 86 54 2 58 90 59 91 60 92 61 93 62 94 63 95 64 96 65 97 66 98 67 99 68 100 69 101 70 102 71 103 The Tools of the Trade Periodic Table of the Elements http://www.spectroscopynow.com/Spy/tools/periodic.html

25. Interesting Applications The KSC-ALS Breadboard Project Uses biological systems to recycle material through a ALS (Advanced Life Support) system. Humans take in oxygen, food and water, and expel carbon dioxide and organic waste. Plants utilize carbon dioxide, produce food, release oxygen, and purify water. Inedible plant material and human waste are degraded by microorganisms to recycle nutrients for plants in a process termed resource recovery.

26. produce food purify their water supply and create oxygen from the carbon dioxide they expel. When humans establish permanent bases on the Lunar surface or travel to Space for exploration, they need to develop systems to: Physico-chemical processes can perform the two latter tasks, but only biological processes can perform all three.

27. A life support system that would perform these regenerative functions, whether strictly by biological means or by a combination of biological and physico-chemical methods, has been called a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). Biological systems utilize plants and microorganisms to perform these life support tasks in a process termed bioregeneration.

28. A CELSS is a tightly controlled system, using crops to perform life support functions, under the restrictions of minimizing volume, mass, energy, and labor.