Guest Speakers

Plugging into the Sun: The Development of Organometallic Chromophores for Solar Cell Applications

Curtis P. Berlinguette

Assistant Professor, Canada Research Chair in Energy Conversion Department of Chemistry & Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment & Economy University of Calgary

While the amount of solar energy striking the Earth's surface exceeds the energy needs of the global community by several-fold, solar energy conversion technologies comprise less than 0.1% of our overall energy mix. Our program is therefore pushing to overcome the high fabrication costs associated with conventional photovoltaic materials by developing new materials for "dye-sensitized solar cells" (DSSCs). Optimal power output in the DSSC is achieved by utilizing light-harvesting units based on derivatives of [Ru(bpy)3]2+; consequently, the vast majority of dyes reported in the literature have been based on related Ru-polypyridyl complexes. Departing from this line of inquiry, our program is exploring the viability of cyclometalated metal complexes to accomplish the necessary light absorption and charge separation events. This approach will not only helps to improve the thermal and photostability of the dye complex, it also serves to extend the absorption profile into the NIR region to better match the solar spectrum. This presentation will provide an assessment of the outstanding performance of these organometallic complexes in the DSSC.

Biography

Dr. Curtis Berlinguette holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Energy Conversion and is an Alberta Ingenuity New Faculty. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and a Fellow of the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment, & Economy (ISEEE) at the University of Calgary. Dr. Berlinguette is affiliated with the Energy & Environmental Systems Group at ISEEE, and leads a research program devoted to the conversion and storage of solar energy. He moved to Calgary after obtaining a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Texas A&M University in 2004 and two years of postdoctoral studies at Harvard University. http://homepages.ucalgary.ca/~cberling/

New insights into the etiology of human diseases by probing bioinorganic processes in the bloodstream

Jürgen Gailer

Despite extensive research, the etiology and the biomolecular origin of many grievous human diseases, including Alzheimer's Disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, remains poorly understood and is regarded by many as one of biology's biggest challenges in the 21st century.1 In view of the fact that the human genome project has so far been rather insufficient in providing much needed insight into the origin of human diseases, we are left with 'environmental factors' as potential root causes. Anthropogenic activities have progressively increased the mobilization of toxic metals (Cd2+, Hg2+, Pb2+) and metalloid compounds (AsIII) from the earth's crust into the global environment. The concomitant increased dietary exposure of certain human populations to these persistent pollutants and their subsequent absorption into the systemic blood circulation are therefore of increasing concern. Although the average concentrations of several toxic metals and metalloids in human blood are now firmly established, their interpretation with regard to their health relevance is exceedingly difficult. The aforementioned lack of understanding the etiology of human diseases combined with the detection of several inorganic environmental pollutants in human blood suggests that a better understanding of the bioinorganic chemistry of toxic metals and metalloid compounds in the bloodstream may contribute to establish functional connections between the exposure to certain metals and specific human diseases. To this end, we have elucidated the erythrocyte-mediated bioinorganic basis for the antagonistic interaction between the environmentally abundant inorganic pollutants AsIII and Hg2+ with the essential ultra trace element selenium in the bloodstream. After a brief discussion of the human health relevance of these findings, a promising proteomic approach is introduced which is eminently suited to provide exciting new insights into other disease-relevant bioinorganic chemistry processes in the mammalian bloodstream.2

<sub>References:
1. E. Zeini Jahromi and J. Gailer, Dalton Trans. 39, 2010, 329-336.
2. S.A. Manley, S. Byrns, A.W. Lyon, P. Brown and J. Gailer, J. Biol. Inorg. Chem. 14, 2009, 61-74.</sub>

Biography

Jürgen Gailer was born in Geislingen/Germany and received his PhD from the University of Graz, Austria in 1997. As an Erwin Schrödinger fellow he moved to the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology of the University of Arizona (Tucson, USA) and subsequently transferred to the Department of Nutritional Sciences as a research associate. He moved to the GSF National Research Center for Environment and Health in Munich/Germany in 2001, where he was an Alexander von Humboldt fellow until 2002. In 2003 he became team leader in biopharmaceutical production at Boehringer Ingelheim Austria/Vienna and joined the Department of Chemistry of the University of Calgary in 2004. http://www.ucalgary.ca/jgailer/

Integrating Research and Teaching - Illuminating Chemistry

Glen R. Loppnow

Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta

Revolutions usually start from very simple principles. In this talk, I will describe the experiments behind two new ideas, one in the structure and evolution of nucleic acids DNA and RNA, and one in the teaching of science education at the first-year university level. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the genetic blueprint upon which all life on Earth is based. When DNA and RNA are damaged via UV irradiation, a complex sequence of structural dynamics is set into motion. In this talk, I will describe a model for photodamage in DNA and RNA based on resonance Raman spectroscopy and photochemistry experiments. The results will show a surprising dependence of the dynamics and photochemistry within the first 10 femtoseconds (10-15 seconds) on the molecular structure and they give some insight into the evolutionary forces which have shaped the structure of the different nucleic acids for their purpose.

_{In the second part of the talk, I will discuss Science 100 (SCI 100), a new first-year science course at the University of Alberta. SCI 100 has a low student-faculty ratio in a blended learning and immersive environment. We use a student-centered approach, focusing on learning at the expense of teaching, across the 7 science disciplines which form SCI 100.}

Biography

Glen Loppnow was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After a BSc and MSc at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, Glen was an NIH Post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University. He started his independent career in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Alberta and has risen through the ranks over the past 14 years to become Professor. During his career, Glen has focused on spectroscopic characterization of excited-state structural dynamics in photochemical systems. Systems of interest have included photosynthetic proteins, dyes absorbed on nanoparticle surfaces and, recently, nucleic acids. Recently, he has become very interested in more effective teaching for better student success in chemistry. He has won a McCalla Professorship (2008), a 3M National Teaching Fellowship (2009) and is currently Vargo Teaching Chair at the University of Alberta.
http://www.chem.ualberta.ca/faculty_staff/faculty/loppnow.html

Computer Modeling of Modified DNA: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Stacy Wetmore

The overall objective of my research program is to better understand DNA damage and repair pathways and the properties of modified DNA components that have biochemical or medicinal applications. Despite its relatively simplistic structure, DNA contains all information vital to life. However, this crucial information can become damaged by exposure to external agents (X-rays, UV sunlight) or by natural processes (errors when DNA is copied). Since DNA repair has been correlated with the prevention of life-threatening illnesses, it is important to understand DNA damage and repair pathways, including how enzymes repair the damage in our bodies. It is also important to develop new molecules based on the scaffold of DNA for applications in biochemistry, nanotechnology and medicine in hopes to improve current technologies or prevent genetic diseases. My research uses computational chemistry to gain chemical and physical information about modified DNA components, primarily nucleobases, involved in these important applications. This talk will provide a survey of some recent topics of interest in my group.

Biography

Dr. Wetmore graduated with an Honours BSc degree in Mathematics and Chemistry from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. She then continued her PhD studies at Dalhousie University in computational chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Russell Boyd. Upon receiving her PhD in 1999, she traveled to the Australian National University to work with Dr. Leo Radom where she held an NSERC PDF award. Dr. Wetmore joined Mount Allison University as an Assistant Professor in 2001 and received early tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in 2005. In 2006, Dr. Wetmore moved west to the University of Lethbridge, where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Computational Chemistry. With funding from NSERC, the CRC program, CFI, and the University of Lethbridge, she established a new computational chemistry lab and high-performance computer cluster to conduct her research on DNA damage and repair pathways. Dr. Wetmore works with many undergraduate and graduate students in her research lab each year and is especially proud of their accomplishments.
http://people.uleth.ca/~stacey.wetmore/index.htmll