Department of Chemistry
"We have newly renovated research and teaching labs, high-quality instrumentation and facilities, and the lifestyle associated with living in the Northern Rocky Mountain region is something that has to be experienced to fully appreciate."
- Students will find that the Chemistry department has a nationally competitive and productive research program.There are also four spin-off high-tech companies currently in various stages of commercialization, headed by various members of our department. When those companies mature, they will have an important impact on the state's economy.
- The mission of the Department of Chemistry is to create new knowledge about the molecular sciences and to convey these discoveries, as well as the discoveries of other molecular scientists throughout history, to the scientific community, students, and the public.
- Our department has a unique strength that sets us apart from most other programs:access to great faculty! Without exception, each member of our faculty cares about student success, and each professor will spend the necessary mentoring time during the student’s growth.
Graduate Student Allison Keeffer
Allison Keeffer
Research Mentor: Dr. Christopher Palmer
Topic of Research: Nanoparticles Synthesized by Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) Polymerization as Pseudostationary Phases for Electrokinetic Chromatography (EKC) pCO2
Allison was nominated by Dr. Palmer because of her research success and academic excellence. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point in 2007 and began working for Dr. Palmer in 2008. Organic nanoparticles have recently been introduced as pseudostationary phases for EKC, with the primary advantage being compatibility with mass spectrometric detection. She is characterizing the separation selectivity and efficiency of nanoparticles synthesized by RAFT polymerization using EKC. RAFT polymerization allows for control of particle size as well as the chemistry of the nanoparticles. Allison hopes that better applicability and designs for new nanoparticle pseudophases will come from gaining an understanding of their performance and selectivity.
E-mail: allison.keeffer@umontana.edu
Phone:(406) 241-7350
Undergraduate Student Heather Ewing
Heather Ewing
Research Mentor: Dr. Nigel Priestley
Topic of Research: Diversity oriented organic synthesis and natural product synthesis employing combinatorial methods for producing large libraries of complex, stereo-rich, potential lead structures based upon natural product scaffolds.
Heather has worked in Dr. Priestley’s group since May of 2007 and is currently employed by a private company: Promiliad Biopharma Inc. She was the recipient of the Ralph and Joan Fessenden Outstanding Female Student in Organic Chemistry Award, the Louis F. Kinney scholarship for a chemistry major who exhibits academic excellence and the Anna Davis and Gordon S. Watkins Scholarship which is awarded to just sixteen UM students each year and supports an original senior thesis or project. Heather also received the Lien Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship and the ACS 2009 Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry. She also spent a semester tutoring a preparation for chemistry class and was active in the Chemistry Club.
Email: heather.ewing@umontana.edu
Phone:(406)363-8055
