University of New England

The faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Physics are highly committed to undergraduate research as a capstone experience for students. Numerous opportunities exist for students to become involved in research projects during the academic year and/or during the summer. The ability to work closely with a faculty member on an interesting research project is one of the highlights of the department's biochemistry major program. Listed below you will find brief descriptions of the types of research being carried out by faculty in the department. Where present, links will bring you to individual faculty members' personal research pages.

Amy M. Deveau (Organic and Medicinal Chemistry)

Dr. Deveau's research interests include the synthesis of potentially medicinally active compounds, particularly those compounds containing unnatural amino acids, aziridines, and other chiral amines.

Jerome Mullin (Analytical Chemistry)

Several areas of research are being explored in Dr. Mullin's laboratory. One area is focused on the determination of heavy metal distributions in sediments from the Gulf of Maine, local rivers, and the Bering Sea, in an attempt to evaluate current levels of heavy metal pollution and identify degrees and sources of anthropogenic inputs of these elements. Of particular interest are the baseline heavy metal distributions in the Bering Sea, a relatively sparsely populated area of high primary productivity still considered to be largely unpolluted. Metals which have been determined to date, using atomic absorption spectroscopy and anodic stripping voltammetry, include cadmium, lead and chromium.

Another area of research involves the spectroscopic and electrochemical characterization of a series of Group-14 and 15  metallacyclopentadienes (metalloles). These interesting compounds, which have unusual photoluminescence properties, show promise as monomeric units for the design of conducting polymers, for for use in energy-transfer applications, as emitting species in light emitting diodes (LEDs), and as components of chemical sensors. Luminescence quantum yields for the compounds recently have been determined and luminescence quenching studies are ongoing. Of special interest is the dramatic aggregation-induced emission (AIE) exhibited by many of these compounds, in which luminescence yields are increased by over two orders of magnitude compared to the unaggregated compounds. Current directions in this research also include the development of substituted metalloles designed for increased water solubility, improved luminescence yields, and for use as luminescent probes.

Photoluminescence is also the subject of research involving compounds containing a rare earth ion, e.g., Tb(III), Eu(III), or Dy(III) and the dicyanoaurate or dicyanoargentate ions. These compounds appear to have energy transfer characteristics that lead to "tunable" excitation of rare earth photoluminescence.