Thank You!

Welcome

The department of chemistry at Bucknell University warmly invites students and faculty in central pennsylvania to join in a one-day symposium to recognize the increasing efforts of primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) to engage in research and curricular experiences that exploit modern applications of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR).

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Purpose of the Meeting

Using NMR, researchers discover the structures of macromolecules, or measure molecular motions in the microsecond to nanosecond timescales. NMR may be applied to solid, liquid or gaseous samples, and to approximately 60-70% of the periodic table. New techniques in NMR spectroscopy are emerging and the state of the art is rapidly evolving. It is important in this environment for PUI educators and students to meet to share ideas, knowledge and progress in the use of modern NMR in research, teaching, and guided inquiry.

On September 25 we hope to facilitate such exchanges with tutorial talks, a student poster session, a student lecture session, faculty talks and a keynote lecture.

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Registration and Abstract Submission

Faculty, undergraduate students, support and staff scientists, and administrators are all welcome. There are no registration fees or required memberships. Please fill out this registration form if you plan to attend and email it to drovnyak@bucknell.edu. It would be a considerable assistance in our planning to receive most registrations in advance, however this form will also be available for on-site registration and there is no deadline to register.

We invite presentations in undergraduate research and curriculum development. Any student (or group of students) wishing to submit a poster may do so with a faculty sponsor by filling out this abstract submission form and having the faculty sponsor email the completed form to drovnyak@bucknell.edu . We will be delighted to accept all posters with a faculty sponsor and also encourage students to apply for the student lecture session.

An extensive set of printed materials will be provided at least to all faculty, and hopefully to all registered participants.

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Schedule of Events

September 25, 2004

8:00 - 9:00 am : Registration in Lobby of Rooke Science Building

Morning Session
          "Frontiers of Modern Multinuclear NMR"

9:00 - 9:10 am : Welcome and Opening Remarks (Dr. C. Clapp, Bucknell)

9:10 am : "Modern, Pulsed NMR and a Glimpse of the Future" (Dr. D. Rovnyak, Bucknell)

10:00 am : "Multinuclear NMR Spectroscopy in Teaching and Research" (Dr. R. Stockland Jr., Bucknell)

11:00 am : poster setup in Rooke 101
11:00 am : breakout faculty roundtable discussion*
12:00 pm : lunch in the Poster session

Afternoon Session
          "NMR in Interdisciplinary Research and Teaching"

1:00 pm : Conference Photo - Assemble in Front of Rooke Bldg

1:15 pm : Christine Hebling (Bucknell) "Characterization of Bile Salt Micelles and their Interactions with Chiral Compounds using NMR"

1:40 pm : Dr. James Maneval (Bucknell) "Where NMR Fits in the Chemical Engineering Curriculum"

2:05 pm : Dr. Krishna Chowdary (Bucknell) "NMR in the Physics Department at Bucknell University"

2:30 pm : Coffee Break

3:00 pm : Nancy Washton (Penn State) "A Plan for Integration of Liquid- and Solid-State NMR into the Undergraduate Physical Chemistry Curriculum"

3:25 pm : Dr. Daryle Fish (St. Vincent Coll) "Utilizing a 60 MHz Spectrometer in a FT-NMR Curriculum Enhancement Project"

3:50 pm : Dr. Toni Bell (Bloom. Univ.) "NMR of Biologically-Active Peptides for First Semester Biochemistry"

Keynote Address

4:30 pm : Prof. Ruth E. Stark (College of Staten Island)

"NMR Research Adventures Off the Beaten Path"

Abstract
       1. NMR can be an exquisitely informative probe of molecular structure, dynamics, and development of natural polymers and their macromolecular complexes. Plant materials illustrating both the potential and challenges of these methods include fruit cuticles, stressed potato tissues, and fungal melanins; the intact polymers may be studied as dry solids or swelled in common solvents, and soluble oligomeric fragments may also be identified by NMR and MS methods. Both one- and multidimensional experiments yield information regarding chemical bonding patterns, polymer-polymer organization, molecular flexibility, and biosynthetic pathways in these biopolymer assemblies.
       2. Protein-ligand recognition is a well studied but incompletely understood biophysical problem exemplified by liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (LFABP), which has a distinctive binding specificity and lipid transport mechanism. NMR uniquely offers the possibility of making structural and dynamic comparisons for LFABP with and without ligands, particularly since the unliganded form cannot be crystallized. Multidimensional NMR shows that similar well-defined folds define the N2-barrel that forms the cavity for all members of this protein family, but the open solvent-exposed flap of the helix-turn-helix portal region is closed shut upon binding of fatty acids. The structural impact of binding has been evaluated for a diverse group of ligands, and hypotheses regarding protein-ligand electrostatic interactions are being tested with site-specific mutant LFABPs.

5:30 pm : Closing remarks

* PI's are invited to join in a lightly moderated discussion of open topics. Anticipated areas of interest are siting and managing your NMR instrumentation, choosing textbooks for courses, getting access to high fields, etc.

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Travel and Parking

Directions.   Please refer to this excellent set of visitor's resources for information such as directions.

Accomodations.   The mini-symposium is designed to be a single day event and so we are not making arrangements with hotels for accomodations. If you wish to stay in the Lewisburg area, you are advised to make reservations as soon as possible. Consult this accomodations page for more details.

Parking.   Be sure to download and print out a copy of the Bucknell campus map. Indicate on your registration form if you will be driving a car to help us estimate the number of cars. We advise you to park in the lot between Rooke Chemistry and Marts Hall. Do not park in any spaces marked as "15 minute parking". You may also park on Moore Avenue, a public street. There will be plenty of parking throughout the morning and you may leave your car in your space throughout the day. However, due to a 7pm athletic event (football game) we strongly advise not moving your car during the afternoon as we cannot guarantee a space for you. You will be given a dashboard sign that identifies you as a conference participant.

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Questions and Contact

For any further questions and information please do not hesitate to contact Dr. David Rovnyak (drovnyak@bucknell.edu , 570-577-3676)

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