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Upcoming Baekeland Symposium on 5/12/2022 [ details ]
The Biennial NJ-ACS Baekeland Award & Symposium

Every two years the North Jersey Section of the American Chemical Society presents the prestigious Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award to an exceptional younger chemist. The award consists of a gold medal and a $5,000 honorarium. The first award was made in May 1945. It serves to commemorate the technical and industrial achievements of Leo Hendrik Baekeland and to encourage younger chemists to emulate his example.
The Award is given in recognition of accomplishments in pure or applied chemistry to a US-based chemist as characterized by the initiative, creativeness, leadership, and perseverance of the individual (indicated by published or unpublished evidence) and who will be under the age of 40 as of January 1 of the award year.
Baekeland Symposium
The Baekeland Medal is presented to the honoree at a Section-wide banquet and research symposium usually held in December of the award year.
Nominations
Nominations for the Award should include a letter describing the nominee’s achievements, a brief biography, and a list of the nominee’s more important publications. Successful nomination packets include two to three recommendation letters supporting the candidate.
Re-nominations are encouraged, provided the age requirement is still met.
Please submit materials by January 15 of the award year to:
Diane Krone
NJACS Awards Chair
dkrone@njacs.org
(Past Events)
May 12, 2022 – Baekeland Award Symposium
Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award for 2021
[ register | background | flyer | agenda

Congratulations to the 2021 Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award Winner!
The 2021 Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award goes to Prof. Prashant K. Jain from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for his contribution to the field of materials science. Dr. Jain’s research has made impressive contributions to our understanding, on an atomic scale, of light-matter interactions, chemical transformation in nature and technology, and the inner workings of metal catalysts and photocatalysts.
Professor Prashant K. Jain
Professor of Chemistry and Alumni Scholar,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2021 Baekeland Symposium
Featuring Prof Jain as Keynote Speaker
Date: Thursday, May 12, 2022
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: Fairleigh Dickinson University
Contact: Qi Gao qgao@njacs.org or qi.gao1@merck.com
Note: This "2021" Symposium was postponed into 2022 due to the pandemic shutdown.
Invited Speakers
[raw]
Program Agenda
1:00 - Registration
1:30 - Welcome Address – Dr Qi Gao, Baekeland Symposium Chair
1:40 - 1. Professor George Schatz,
Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry and Chemical and Biological Engineering Northwestern University
Nanoparticles, Plasmons and Theory
2:20 - 2. Robert W Field
Prof. Chemistry, Post-Tenure, MIT
Broken Patterns of Broken Patterns
3:00 - 3. Professor Paul Weiss,
UC Presidential Chair Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Bioengineering Distinguished Professor
of Materials Science, University of California, Los Angeles
Plasmonic Approaches to Biology and Medicine
3:40 - Break / Refreshments
4:10 - 4. Professor Naomi Halas,
Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical & Computer Engineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics & Astronomy, Rice University
Nanomaterials and Light for Sustainability and Societal Impact
4:50 - Remarks and Baekeland Award Presentation
Natalie LaFranzo, ACS Director at Large
Dr. Qi Gao, NJ-ACS Section Chair
5:00 - Keynote: Professor Prashant Jain
The Photification of Chemical Manufacturing
5:50 - Closing remarks Mrs. Diane Krone, NJ-ACS Awards Chair
Abstracts
KEYNOTE: Prashant K. Jain, PhD
Abstract: The interaction of light with molecules can be used to access new modes of chemical reactivity; however, this interaction is often difficult to exploit in a universal manner. I will describe an emerging paradigm that is proving to be a general strategy for interfacing photons with molecules and activating chemistry. This strategy involves plasmonic nanoparticles, which absorb visible light and concentrate it down to the nanoscale in the form of electronic excitations. I will describe how plasmonic nanoparticles are allowing light to be used as a redox equivalent in chemical reactions, for driving non-equilibrium chemical processes, for modifying the intrinsic catalytic activity and selectivity of transition metals, for the photosynthesis of fuels, and for boosting electrochemical conversions. I will share a vision of a future where chemical manufacturing is powered by light without harsh conditions, fossil energy, or large reactors. This is after all how nature practices chemistry.
1. George Schatz, PhD – Abstract: Silver and gold nanoparticles have a history that dates to the Roman empire and before, as well as detailed work by Michael Faraday in the 1850s. However these particles have been given new life (and applications) in the last 40 years through a number of advances in nanoscience, especially concerning their plasmonic (collective electronic excitations) optical properties. This talk will provide an overview of these advances, including their use in sensing applications, and to plasmon-driven chemistry. An emphasis in this talk will be on the use of theory to understand the optical properties of plasmonic materials, including both electronic structure theory and electromagnetics, and the dependence of plasmons on nanoparticle size, shape and arrangement, and the coupling of plasmons to nearby molecules.
2. Robert W. Field – Abstract: To Appear
3. Paul Weiss, PhD – Abstract: Biology functions at the nanoscale. Thus, there are special opportunities not only to make biological measurements using nanotechnology, but also to interact directly in order to influence biological outcomes. I describe how we fabricate and use plasmonic and other nanostructures to advance high-throughput gene editing for cellular therapies and in the selective capture, probing, and release of single circulating tumor cells in liquid biopsies.
4. Naomi Halas, PhD – Abstract: Metallic nanoparticles are a central tool in the nanoscale manipulation of light. When illuminated, they undergo coherent oscillations of their conduction electrons- known as plasmons- which are responsible for their vivid colors and their strong light-matter interactions. Metallic “plasmonic” nanoparticles can give rise to strong photothermal heating effects, which are being used in applications ranging from cancer treatment to solar thermal desalination. While the scientific foundation of this field has been built on the coinage metals, more recently we have realized that Aluminum, the most abundant metal on our planet’s surface, also exhibits the same strong optical properties as far more precious metals. Coupling a plasmonic nanoparticle directly to catalytic nanoparticles transforms catalysts into photocatalysts, capable of driving chemical reactions under surprisingly mild, low temperature conditions. This new type of catalyst is utilized for remediating greenhouse gases, and converting them to useful chemicals.
Speakers’ Bios
Keynote: Prashant K. Jain, PhD, grew up in Bombay, where he completed his undergraduate education. He obtained his PhD working with M. A. El-Sayed at Georgia Tech, following which he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard. After a Miller Fellowship at UC Berkeley, he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Materials Research Laboratory, and the Beckman Institute. He is also an Alumni Research Scholar and an Affiliate Faculty Member of Physics and the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology (IQUIST). His research webpage can be found at https://nanogold.org.
Prof Jain’s lab specializes in nanoscale light–matter interactions and nanoscale-spatial-resolution chemical imaging. His noteworthy recent contributions are the co-discoveries of plasmon resonances in doped nanocrystals and plasmonic redox catalysis and photosynthesis. His collective work has been published in over 100 papers and cited over 27,000 times. He has been listed among Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate Analytics and Elsevier Scopus. Prashant is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). His work has been recognized, among other awards, by a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, the ACS Kavli Emerging Leader in Chemistry award, the Beilby medal, a Sloan Fellowship, an NSF CAREER award, and selection as MIT TR35 inventor.
1. George Schatz, PhD – George C. Schatz is Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University. He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Clarkson University and a Ph. D at Caltech. He was a postdoc at MIT, and has been at Northwestern since 1976. Schatz is a theoretician who studies the optical, structural and thermal properties of nanomaterials, including plasmonic nanoparticles, plasmonic metamaterials, DNA and peptide nanostructures, and carbon-based materials. He has contributed to theories of dynamical processes, including gas phase and gas/surface reactions, energy transfer processes, transport phenomena and photochemistry. Schatz has published four books and over 1100 papers. Schatz is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received numerous awards, including the Debye and Langmuir Awards of the ACS, and the Bourke and Boys-Rahman Award of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the American Chemical Society and of the AAAS.
2. Robert W. Field, PhD –
3. Paul Weiss, PhD – Paul S. Weiss graduated from MIT with S.B. and S.M. degrees in chemistry in 1980 and from the University of California at Berkeley with a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1986. He is a nanoscientist and holds a UC Presidential Chair and is a distinguished professor of chemistry & biochemistry, bioengineering, and materials science & engineering at UCLA, where he was previously director of the California NanoSystems Institute. He also currently holds visiting appointments at Harvard’s Wyss Institute and several universities in Australia, China, India, and South Korea. He studies the ultimate limits of miniaturization, developing and applying new tools and methods for atomic-resolution and spectroscopic imaging and patterning of chemical functionality. He and his group apply these advances in other areas including neuroscience, microbiome studies, tissue engineering, and high-throughput gene editing. He led, coauthored, and published the technology roadmaps for the BRAIN Initiative and the U.S. Microbiome Initiative. He was the founding editor-in-chief of ACS Nano and served in that role from 2007–2021. He has won a number of awards in science, engineering, teaching, publishing, and communications. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, American Physical Society, American Vacuum Society, Canadian Academy of Engineering, IEEE, Materials Research Society, and an honorary fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society and Chemical Research Society of India.
4. Naomi Halas, PhD – To Appear

Registration:
Registration deadline is May 1, 2022 – Extended to May 10. Note: Students must register for $5, but their $5 will be refunded at the door
(Past Events)
Nov 15, 2019 Baekeland Award Symposium
Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award for 2019[ register | background | flyer | agenda |
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Congratulations to the 2019 Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award Winner!
Professor Neal K Devaraj
Professor of Chemistry, University of California, San Diego
2019 Baekeland Symposium
Featuring Prof Devaraj as Keynote Speaker
Date: Friday, November 15, 2019
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: Fairleigh Dickinson University
Getting there: The symposium takes place on the Florham Campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University. Although the campus has an entrance from Madison NJ, if you are driving you should use the entrance at 175 Park Ave, Florham Park NJ 07932. The meeting room is Lenfel Hall, which is located in one of the main buildings on campus, called Hennessy Hall, or “The Mansion”. Navigating the campus is tricky, but Google Maps knows some locations and roads on the campus, so this link gets you to the front of Hennessy Hall:
http://maps.google.com/?q=Hennessy+Hall,Mansion+Mall,+Florham+Park,NJ.
As usual with Google Maps, you can click the “Directions” link to the left of the map to get turn-by-turn directions.
But we are asked to use Parking Lots 2 and 8. The following link takes you straight to both lots. When you reach the end of the route, turn left for Parking Lot 2 (which is larger), or right for Parking Lot 8 (which is a little closer):
https://www.google.com/maps/dir//40.7785887,-74.4350543/@40.7783301,-74.4350862,212m
This
Invited Speakers
Program Agenda:
1:00 - Registration / Snacks
1:30 - Welcome Address Dr Cecilia Marzabadi, Baekeland Symposium Chair
1:40 - Professor Sidney A. Hecht, Director, Biodesign Center for BioEnergetics Professor, School of Molecular Sciences Arizona State University
Protein Synthesis with Non-canonical Amino Acids In Vitro and In Vivo
2:20 - Professor Dinshaw Patel, Professor and Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Chair in Experimental Therapeutics Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Sloan Kettering Institute
Structural Biology of CRISPR-Cas Surveillance Complexes
3:00 - Professor Amanda S. Garner, Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan
Chemical Probing of Coding and Non-Coding RNA Biology
3:40 - Break / Refreshments
4:10 - Professor James M. Collman, George A. and Hilda M. Daubert Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, Stanford University
From Theory to Practice: Invention of Reversible Respiration Inhibitors
4:50 - Remarks & Baekeland Award Presentation Dr. Katherine Lee, ACS Director, District 1
Dr. Amjad Ali, NJ-ACS Section Chair5:00 - Keynote: Professor Neal K Devaraj
Exploring the Lipid World
5:50 - Closing remarks Dr. Les McQuire, NJ-ACS Awards Chair
Speakers' Bios
Neal K. Devaraj is a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego. A major research thrust of his lab involves understanding how non-living matter, such as simple organic molecules, can assemble to form life. Along these lines, he has developed approaches for the in-situ synthesis of synthetic cell membranes by using selective reactions to “stitch” together lipid fragments. His lab's work has enabled the first demonstration of perpetually self-reproducing lipid vesicles and artificial membranes that can dynamically remodel their chemical structure. Recently, his lab has demonstrated that in situ synthesis can assemble lipid species within living cells, enabling studies that decipher how lipid structure affects cellular function.
Raised in Manhattan Beach, California, Prof. Devaraj left the west coast to pursue undergraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating with dual bachelor's degrees in Chemistry and Biology. He earned his doctoral degree in chemistry from Stanford University under the mentorship of Prof. James Collman and Christopher Chidsey. After a postdoctoral fellowship with Prof. Ralph Weissleder at the Harvard Medical School, he joined the faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego. His work has been recognized by the 2016 National Fresenius Award, the 2017 American Chemical Society Award in Pure Chemistry, being selected as the 2018 Blavatnik National Laureate in Chemistry, and the 2019 Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry. In recognition of his contributions to teaching, Dr. Devaraj was named a 2016 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar.
Sidney Hecht obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Illinois. Following studies as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin, he was a member of the MIT Chemistry faculty from 1971-79. He was the John W. Mallet Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Biology at UVa from 1978-2008. From 1981-87 he held concurrent appointments at Smith Kline & French Laboratories, first as Vice President Preclinical R&D, then as Vice President Chemical R&D. Since 2008 he has been Director of the Center for BioEnergetics in the Biodesign Institute, and Professor of Chemistry at Arizona State University. He has been an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. Hecht received the 1996 Cope Scholar Award of the ACS and was selected as Virginia's Outstanding Scientist for 1996. He received the 1998 Research Achievement Award of the American Society of Pharmacognosy and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the American Society of Pharmacognosy. He received the ASU Faculty Achievement Award in Defining Edge Research: Innovation (2011) and was recently elected a Senior Member, National Academy of Inventors (2019). He has been an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society since 1992.
His research interests include the synthesis and mechanism of action of bleomycin group antitumor agents. He identified DNA topoisomerase I as the locus of action of the alkaloid camptothecin and participated in the discovery and development of the camptothecin analogue topotecan, marketed under the trade name Hycamtin for the treatment of ovarian cancer and small cell lung cancer. At ASU, his Center is studying the chemistry of the mitochondrial electron transport chain with the goal of devising therapeutic strategies to treat mitochondrial diseases. Other research interests include the elaboration and study of proteins containing synthetic amino acids. He has published more than 460 research papers and has supervised more than 250 graduate students and postdoctoral associates.
Dinshaw J. Patel is Member and Abby Rockefeller Mauze Chair in Experimental Therapeutics in the Structural Biology Program at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York city. He received his PhD from New York University in Chemistry in 1968, followed by a year of postdoctoral training in Biochemistry at NYU Medical School (1967) and two years of postdoctoral training at AT&T Bell Laboratories (1968-1969). His independent career has included a permanent appointment as Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories (1970-1984), tenured Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University-Health Sciences (1984-1992) and his current appointment at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (1992-current). His research interests are in structural biology of macromolecular recognition involving peptides, proteins, RNA and DNA using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and x-ray crystallography. His current research interests span the following areas: RNA silencing, epigenetic regulation of histone and DNA methylation marks, cytoplasmic metazoan nucleic acid sensors, riboswitches and ribozymes, protein-RNA complexes mediating disease syndromes, lipid transfer proteins, and replication of DNA damage sites by bypass polymerases. His recent research has incorporated cryo-EM approaches to structurally characterize large protein-nucleic acid complexes and machines. In the last decade he has published extensively in the highest impact biological journals and is internationally renowned for his scientific contributions.
Dr. Patel's research achievements have been recognized through receipt of the AT&T Bell Laboratories Distinguished Technical Staff Award (1983), the Distinguished Alumnus Award of New York University (1997) and the FEZANA Jamshed and Shirin Guzdar Excellence in Profession Award (2014). In 2019, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Association of Indian Scientists in Cancer Research and the inaugural Tan Jiazhen International Collaboration Prize. He has served in the past on the Scientific and Medical Advisory Boards of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1989-1996) and the National Cancer Institute (2000-2005). He currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of the European Institute of Chemical Biology, Bordeaux, France (2009-), the Institute of Research in Biomedicine, Barcelona, Spain (2011-), the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (2016-), the School of Life Sciences and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China (2017-), the Biology Department of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China (2019-) and Shenzhen Bay Area Laboratory, Shenzhen, China (2019-). In recognition of his scientific contributions, Dr. Patel was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2009 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014.
Amanda Garner received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh working under the supervision of Prof. Kazunori Koide and completed NIH-funded postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Prof. Kim Janda at The Scripps Research Institute. She began her independent career in 2013 in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Michigan. Her laboratory uses chemical biology, medicinal chemistry and molecular and cellular biology approaches to investigate the high-risk/high-reward areas of targeting microRNAs, RNA-protein and protein-protein interactions for probe and drug discovery.
Dr. James P. Collman was born in Beatrice, Nebraska. He received his BS and MS from the University of Nebraska. He received his PhD from the University of Illinois in 1958. He has held academic positions at the University of North Carolina from 1958-1962 and then at Stanford University from 1959 to the present. He achieved the rank of Professor in 1966, Stanford Professor 1967- 1980 and Daubert Professor 1980-present.
Dr. Collman is a member of the National Academy of Science (1975) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1975). He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Bourgogne (1988) and the University of Nebraska (1988). He was the California Scientist of the Year in 1983.
His research interests are in organometallic chemistry, multiple metal-metal bonds; functional models of hemoglobin, myoglobin, and cytochrome-c oxidase. He also studies drugs to inhibit blood clotting, maintain stem cells, and treat mitochondrial diseases.
Registration:
Registration deadline is November 22, 2019 – Extended to Dec 4. Note: Students must register for $5, but their $5 will be refunded at the door
(Past Events)
Dec 8, 2017 Baekeland Award Symposium
Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award for 2017[ register | background | flyer | agenda |
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Congratulations to the 2017 Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award Winner!
Professor William Dichtel
Professor of Chemistry, Northwestern University
2017 Baekeland Symposium
Featuring Prof Dichtel as Keynote Speaker
Date: Friday, December 8, 2017
Time: 12:00 PM
Place: Rutgers University Inn & Conference Center Parking in Lots 74A & 82 without permits
Invited Speakers
Program Agenda:
12:00 – Registration / Snacks
12:30 – Welcome Address Dr. Miriam Gulotta, Baekeland Symposium Chair
12:40 – Professor Christopher A. Alabi
Coupling Molecular Design to Structure and Activity of Sequence-Defined Macromolecules
1:20 – Professor Natalia Shustova
Fulleretic Materials for Directional Energy Transfer
2:00 – Professor Jeffrey S. Moore
Organic Chemistry at the Interface of Materials and Mechanics
2:40 – Break / Refreshments
3:20 – Professor Timothy M. Swager
Dynamically-Reconfigurable Complex Emulsions
4:00 – Baekeland Award Presentation Dr. Landon Greene, NJ-ACS Section Chair
4:10 – Keynote: Professor William Dichtel
Covalent Organic Frameworks as a Platform for Molecular Assembly
4:50 – Closing remarks Dr. Les McQuire, NJ-ACS Awards Chair
Abstracts
Dr. Christopher A. Albi: Coupling Molecular Design to Structure and Activity of Sequence-Defined Macromolecules Control over primary sequence and structure is critical to the development of new functional materials such as catalysts, synthetic affinity ligands and therapeutics, sequence responsive scaffolds, programmable biomaterials and much more. Motivated by these opportunities and the need for sequence-control and structural diversity in polymer research, we present a versatile methodology for the assembly of a new class of sequence-defined macromolecules called oligoTEAs. With sequence-control in hand, we are currently working to establish sensitive solution-phase structural characterization methods to determine their conformational dynamics and to formulate sequence-structure relationships for biological applications. We focus on applications that leverage the advantages of these novel macromolecules such as increased serum stability, precise control of backbone and pendant group sequence, and a large scope of chemically diverse monomers. Current applications under exploration in our lab include the design of cleavable linkers to quantitate intracellular cleavage kinetics, development of novel sequences and conjugates for intracellular drug delivery, and the design of membrane selective antibacterial compounds. In this talk, I will discuss the antibacterial properties of oligoTEAs in detail by examining the kinetic phenomenon behind their mechanism of action and investigations into the effect of primary sequence, composition and structure on antibacterial properties.
Dr. Natalia Shustova: Fulleretic Materials for Directional Energy Transfer Fulleretic materials have been of a great interest since their discovery due to the unique electronic properties imposed by their ball- and bowl-shaped molecular structures. Merging these intrinsic properties of fullerene (buckyball) and corannulene (buckybowl) derivatives with the inherent properties of crystalline metal- and covalent-organic frameworks (MOFs and COFs), namely their modularity, porosity, versatility, high surface area, and structural tunability, opens a pathway to unlock a novel class of fulleretic materials for development of optoelectronic devices, electrodes, or photosensitizers. In this talk, the first examples of corannulene-based frameworks as well-defined fulleretic donor-acceptor materials will be discussed. Furthermore, in combination with photoluminescence measurements, the theoretical calculations of the spectral overlap function, Förster radius, excitation energies, and band structure were employed to elucidate the photophysical and energy transfer processes in fulleretic materials. We envision that the well-defined crystalline fulleretic donor–acceptor architectures could contribute not only to the basic science of fullerene chemistry but would also be used towards effective development of organic photovoltaics and molecular electronics.
Dr. Jeff Moore: Organic Chemistry at the Interface of Materials and Mechanics Department of Chemistry and The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, 61801 jsmoore@illinois.edu http://sulfur.scs.uiuc.edu In this talk I will discuss the molecular design of organic structural materials that mimic the ability of living systems to protect, report, heal and even regenerate themselves in response to damage, with the goal of increasing lifetime, safety and sustainability of many manufactured items. I will emphasize recent developments in frontal ring-opening metathesis polymerization (FROMP) to manufacture composites with minimal energy consumption. The talk will also present a workflow for the design, evaluation, and development of new “mechanophores”, a term that has come to mean a molecular unit that chemically responds in a selective manner to a mechanical perturbation. Mechanophores are building blocks for the development of mechanoresponsive materials with protection and sensing functions. The impact and challenges of introducing these capabilities in real-world situations will be mentioned.
Dr. Timothy M. Swager: Dynamically-Reconfigurable Complex Emulsions This lecture will focus on the design of systems wherein the reconfiguration of immiscible fluorocarbon/hydrocarbon droplets can be triggered chemically of mechanically.[1] The utility of these methods is to generate transduction mechanisms by which chemical and biological sensors can be developed. Three different types of systems will be discussed. (1) Particles wherein a protease enzyme releases cleaves reactive surfactants.[2] (2) Janus droplets [4] that can be reoriented to give strong optical responses in response to pathogens.[5] (3) Integrated optical systems that make use of the refractory optics to create novel sensing modalities.[3]
Dr. Natalia Shustova: Fulleretic Materials for Directional Energy Transfer Fulleretic materials have been of a great interest since their discovery due to the unique electronic properties imposed by their ball- and bowl-shaped molecular structures. Merging these intrinsic properties of fullerene (buckyball) and corannulene (buckybowl) derivatives with the inherent properties of crystalline metal- and covalent-organic frameworks (MOFs and COFs), namely their modularity, porosity, versatility, high surface area, and structural tunability, opens a pathway to unlock a novel class of fulleretic materials for development of optoelectronic devices, electrodes, or photosensitizers. In this talk, the first examples of corannulene-based frameworks as well-defined fulleretic donor-acceptor materials will be discussed. Furthermore, in combination with photoluminescence measurements, the theoretical calculations of the spectral overlap function, Förster radius, excitation energies, and band structure were employed to elucidate the photophysical and energy transfer processes in fulleretic materials. We envision that the well-defined crystalline fulleretic donor–acceptor architectures could contribute not only to the basic science of fullerene chemistry but would also be used towards effective development of organic photovoltaics and molecular electronics.
Dr. Jeff Moore: Organic Chemistry at the Interface of Materials and Mechanics Department of Chemistry and The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, 61801 jsmoore@illinois.edu http://sulfur.scs.uiuc.edu In this talk I will discuss the molecular design of organic structural materials that mimic the ability of living systems to protect, report, heal and even regenerate themselves in response to damage, with the goal of increasing lifetime, safety and sustainability of many manufactured items. I will emphasize recent developments in frontal ring-opening metathesis polymerization (FROMP) to manufacture composites with minimal energy consumption. The talk will also present a workflow for the design, evaluation, and development of new “mechanophores”, a term that has come to mean a molecular unit that chemically responds in a selective manner to a mechanical perturbation. Mechanophores are building blocks for the development of mechanoresponsive materials with protection and sensing functions. The impact and challenges of introducing these capabilities in real-world situations will be mentioned.
- References:
- Patrick, J.F.; Robb, M.J.; Sottos, N.R.; Moore, J.S.; White, S.R. Polymers with Autonomous Life-cycle Control, Nature, 2016, 540, 363-370.
- Li, J.; Nagamani, C.; Moore, J.S. Polymer Mechanochemistry: From Destructive to Productive, Chem. Res., 2015, 48, 2181-2190.
Dr. Timothy M. Swager: Dynamically-Reconfigurable Complex Emulsions This lecture will focus on the design of systems wherein the reconfiguration of immiscible fluorocarbon/hydrocarbon droplets can be triggered chemically of mechanically.[1] The utility of these methods is to generate transduction mechanisms by which chemical and biological sensors can be developed. Three different types of systems will be discussed. (1) Particles wherein a protease enzyme releases cleaves reactive surfactants.[2] (2) Janus droplets [4] that can be reoriented to give strong optical responses in response to pathogens.[5] (3) Integrated optical systems that make use of the refractory optics to create novel sensing modalities.[3]
[1] Zarzar, L. D.; Sresht, V.; Sletten, E. M.; Kalow, J. A.; Blankschtein, D.; Swager, T. M. “Dynamically Reconfigurable Complex Emulsions via Tunable Interfacial Tensions” Nature, 2015, 518, 520-524.
[2] Zarzar, L. D.; Kalow, J. A.; He. X.; Walish, J. J.; Swager, T. M. “Optical Visualization and Quantification of Enzyme Activity using Dynamic Droplet Lenses” Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 2017, 115, 3821-3825.
[3] Nagelberg, S.; Zarzar, L. D.; Nicholas, D.; Subramanian, K.; Kalow, K. A.; Sresht, V.; Blankschtein, D.; Barbastathis, G. Kreysing, M.; Swager, T. M.; Kolle, M. “Reconfigurable and Responsive Droplet-based Compound Micro-Lenses” Nature Comm. 2017, 8, 14673.
[4] He, Y.; Savagatrup, S.; Zarzar, L. D.; Swager, T. M. "Interfacial Polymerization on Dynamic Complex Colloids: Creating Stabilized Janus Droplets" ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2017, 9, 7804–7811.
[5] Zhang, Q.; Savagatrup, S.; Kaplonek, P.; Seeberger, P. H.; Swager, T. M. “Janus Emulsions for the Dectection of Bacteria” ACS Central Science 2017, 3, 309-313.
Dr. William Dichte: Covalent Organic Frameworks as a Platform for Molecular Assembly Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are two or three-dimensional polymer networks with designed topology and chemical functionality, permanent porosity, and high surface areas. These features are potentially useful for a broad range of applications, including catalysis, optoelectronics, and energy storage devices. But current COF syntheses offer poor control over the material’s morphology and final form, generally providing insoluble and unprocessable microcrystalline powder aggregates. Homogenous polymerization conditions for boronate ester-linked, 2D COFs that provide stable colloidal nanoparticles will be described. These colloids can be grown into larger, single-crystalline particles through careful control of the reaction conditions. This structural control provides new opportunities for understanding COF formation and designing morphologies for device applications. Mechanistic studies of imine-linked 2D COFs will also be discussed. These studies have revealed new catalysts that are amenable to interfacial polymerizations and the formation of extremely thin films.4Registration (meeting is past)
Registration deadline is November 22, 2017 – Extended to Dec 4.
Note: Students must register for $5, but their $5 will be refunded at the door

(Past Events)
Dec 4, 2015 Baekeland Award Symposium
Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award for 2015[ register | background | flyer | agenda |
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Congratulations to the 2015 Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award Winner!
Professor Sara Skrabalak
James H. Rudy Associate Professor, Indiana University
2015 Baekeland Symposium
Featured Prof Skrabalak as Keynote Speaker
Date: Friday, December 4, 2015
Time: 12:00 Noon
Place: Rutgers University, Fiber Optics Auditorium
Rutgers Busch Campus
174 Frelingheuysen Rd
Piscataway NJ 08854
Directions: map to Fiber Optics Bldg , map of campus
Parking: Visitors may park In Lots 51, 59, 60A & 60B near the Student Center without permits. The map shows parking lot locations. There will be Event Parking signs posted at Lots.
Invited Speakers
Program Agenda:
12:00 - Registration / Snacks
12:30 - Welcome Address Dr. Luciano Mueller, Baekeland Symposium Chair
12:40 - Prof. Christopher B. Murray Preparation and Properties of Strongly Coupled Nanocrystal Superlattices: From Artificial Atoms to Mesoscale Quantum Solids.
1:30 - Prof. Ken Suslick The Optoelectronic Nose: An Adventure in Molecular Recognition
2:20 - Prof. Amy Prieto Nanoparticles of earth abundant materials for applications in photovoltaics: linking surface chemistry to transport properties
3:10 - Break / Refreshments
3:40 - Prof. Trevor Douglas Biological Approaches to Materials Synthesis
4:30 - Baekeland Award Presentation Dr. Ron Kong, NJ-ACS Section Chair
4:40 - Keynote: Prof. Sara Skrabalak Seeding a New Kind of Garden: Synthesis of Symmetrically Stellated Bimetallic Nanocrystals
5:30 - Closing remarks Dr. Les McQuire, NJ-ACS Awards Chair
Registration
(Past Events)
Dec 6, 2013 Baekeland Award Symposium
Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award for 2013[ register | background | flyer | agenda ]
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Congratulations to the 2013 Leo Hendrik Baekeland Award Winner!
Prof Christopher Chang
Professor Christopher Chang
University of California, Berkeley
2013 Baekeland Symposium
Featuring Prof Chang as Keynote Speaker
Date: Friday, December 6, 2013
Time: 12:00 Noon
Place: Center for Integrative Proteomics Research,
Rutgers Busch Campus
174 Frelingheuysen Rd
Piscataway NJ 08854
Directions: map, etc
Parking: Visitors may park In Lots 58 & 58A without permits. The map shows parking lot locations. There will be Event Parking signs posted at Lots 58 & 58A.
Registration: $10 Professionals,
$5 Students, retirees, unemployed
Please register below.
Pre-Registration required by December 2, 2013 .
You may pay the registration fee online below, or make out a check to NJ-ACS and it mail to: Jacqueline Erickson, 33 Ronald Road, Lake Hiawatha, NJ 07034.
Please circulate this flyer to publicize the event.
Invited Speakers
Speakers' websites:
Program Agenda:
12:00 - Registration / Snacks
12:30 - Welcome Address Dr. Monica Sekharan, Baekeland Symposium Chair
12:40 - Prof. Ken Raymond The Bacterial-Human Competition for Iron
1:30 - Prof. Joanne Stubbe Manganese Ribonucleotide Reductases: Role in Pathogenesis
2:20 - Prof. David MacMillan Photoredox Catalysis in Organic Synthesis
3:10 - Break / Refreshments
3:40 - Prof. Michelle Chang Synthetic Biology Approaches to New Chemistry
4:30 - Baekeland Award Presentation Dr. Jefferson Tilley, NJ-ACS Section Chair
4:40 - Keynote: Prof. Christopher Chang Molecular Imaging Approaches to Mapping and Studying Chemistry in the Brain
5:30 - Closing remarks Dr. Ron Kong, NJ-ACS Awards Chair
5:45 - Reception
Registration