Course Archive' Research Group Alumni Academic Honesty Physics 2000 Oxy Home Page Chemistry Department KNI NSF ACS APS

Eileen M. Spain, Ph.D. Professor of Chemistry Voice: (323)259-2940 FAX: (323)341-4912 We are an interdisciplinary group addressing forefront questions in Interfacial Chemistry & Nanoscience Currently, our specific scientific goals are the following: (1) to develop new coating materials with nanoscale building blocks; (2) to address the environmental fate of perfluorinated pollutants; and (3) to understand the chemical and physical properties of bacteria in  high cell density environments. Current Research Group Members: Ms. Jaclyn Schmitt, Research Associate. Jaclyn (’08, Biochemistry) investigates the phenotypic changes to a bacterial predator under various environmental stresses. She also studies the anti-oxidant and biosurfactant chemistry of a bacterial predator. (Second from right) Dr. Rebecca Landry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Scholar (2008-2010). Dr. Landry investigates quorum sensing in bacterial predators and the characterizes the natural products produced by these predators under environmental stress. (far left) Keegan Nelson ('09) - Chemistry. Keegan completed a study of the interfacial properties of perfluorinated carboxylic acids at model environmental interfaces. (not pictured here) Hunter Benvenuti ('09) - Biochemistry. Hunter studied how a bacterial predator acquires iron; in addition, he spearheaded a new effort to understand quorum sensing from a chemical viewpoint in biofilms. (not pictured here) Barry Kang ('10) -Biochemistry. Barry synthesizes coinage metal nanostructures and employs surface tension gradients at interfaces to coat surfaces (Marangoni flow). He characterizes the structures and properties of these films with various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. (far right) Alec Amram ('10) - Alec collaborated with Barry on surface tension gradients at interfaces to coat surfaces (Marangoni flow).  He is pursuing a career in medicine as a Cognitive Science major. (not pictured) Vickie Nguyen ('10) - Biochemistry.  Vickie seeks to understand the biosynthetic pathways that a predator bacterium uses to make biosurfactants. She also looks to isolate these novel compounds for chemical characterization. (not pictured) Tommy Andre ('10) - Kinesiology. Tommy conducts experiments on the environmental factors that affect phenotypic changes to a bacterial predator. (second from left) Evan Chang ('12) - Biology/Biochemistry.  Evan is just starting in lab and will work on cell-cell communications in high density environments. (not pictured). Collaborators: Megan E. Nunez, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Mount Holyoke College Megan A. Ferguson, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, SUNY-New Paltz Jared R. Leadbetter, Professor of Microbiology, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Caltech Nathan F. Dalleska, Research Scientist and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Caltech July 2009 dated: 09/25/09