Powell Seminar Series
The Department of Chemistry hosts the Powell Seminar Series. Presenters are either current UR students or experts who have been invited to campus to discuss their work with our students and faculty. These talks offer valuable information on research, graduate schools, and the chemical industry, as well as offering opportunities for networking.
This annual lecture series is incorporated into our Chemistry Seminar academic course for juniors and seniors. Students who are not registered for the course are still welcome to attend the presentations.
Presentations are held on Fridays at 1:30pm during the academic year.
FALL 2026
Friday, August 28
Dr. John Boyd
Intro to CHEM 322/421/422 and the Speech Center
Friday, September 4
Brandy Ewell, Career Services for Chemistry
Friday, September 11
Heather Erwin
Using Zotero for Citations
Friday, September 18
AXE Research Seminar
Prof. Bryce Nicholls
Nature Reimaagined: An Introduction to Biocatalysis
Prof. Jonathan Raybin
The Hidden Structure of Soft Materials
Friday, September 25
Prof. Doug Kojetin, (Vanderbilt)
Nuclear receptor function made crystal clear with NMR spectroscopy
Friday, October 2
Prof. Amanda Jone (Wake Forest)
TBD
Friday, October 9
No seminar
Friday, October 16
Prof. Chris Shugrue, (UR)
Development of mild and selective modifications of peptides
Friday, October 23
Prof. Mir Bowring, (Reed)
Organometallic Mechanisms: Strangely Speedy Istopes and Catalysis for Alternative Fuel
Friday, October 30
Prof. Kelling Donald (UR)
Let the Weak Say I am Strong: Halogen Bonds, Rydberg Molecules, and
Other Interactions Between Main Group Compounds
Friday, November 6
SERMACS (no seminar)
Friday, November 13
Arielle Vinnikov (Leopold Group)
Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Analysis of Xylazine within Fouling-Resistant and
Nanomaterial Enhanced Modified Electrode Sensors
Morgan Murphy (Pollock Group)
The search is on: Use of a phosphatase assay to screen for Stp1 inhibitors
Friday, November 20
Arielle Vinnikov (Leopold Group)
Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Analysis of Xylazine within Fouling-Resistant and
Nanomaterial Enhanced Modified Electrode Sensors
Morgan Murphy (Pollock Group)
The search is on: Use of a phosphatase assay to screen for Stp1 inhibitors
Thursday, November 27
Thanksgiving
Friday, December 4
Bride Di Carlo
Evolution of Bending Tendencies in Novel Hall Sandwich Complexes
Eric Zhou
Friedel-Crafts Additions Promoted by Trimethylsilyl Trifluoromethanesulfonate
Friday, December 11
Exam Week
Winter Break
Friday, December 25
Winter Break
SPRING 2027
Friday, January 1
Winter Break
Friday, January 8
Winter Break
Friday, January 15
Responsible Conduct of Research
Friday, January 22
Prof. Julie Pollock, (UR)
Targeting Bacterial Infections:
A Collaborative Chemical Biology Approach to Antibiotics and Adjuvants
Friday, January 29
Zion Kim (Donald Group)
The Sigma Ring and A New Picture of Bondling in Clusters of Diatomic Metal Halides
Anna Milots (Norris Group)
Ruthenium Complexes and Photoactivated Chemotherapy
Friday, February 5
Dr. Scott Watterson, Bristol-Myers Squibb
TBD
Friday, February 12
Vienna Tombline (Pollock Group)
Exploration of Cancer Cell Toxicity of Metal Based Complexes
Sylvia Kaydos-Daniels (Johnson Group)
Efficient Synthesis of 2-Posphino N-Boc Pyrroles via a Magnesium Intermediate
Friday, February 19
Dr. Stafford Sheehan (Project Omega)
Friday, February 26
Joe West (Goldman-Dominey Group)
Synthesis of Nitrogen heterocyclic polysubstituted compounds
Liv Tobin (Norris Group)
NADPH Analogues for C02 Reduction
Friday, March 5
No Seminar
Friday, March 12
Spring Break
Friday, March 19
Anna Johnson (Downey Group)
Diastereoselective Povarov-type Annulations of Chiral lsoxazolines
Ben Edelman (Norris Group)
Modified Nanomaterials Engaging in Halogen Bonding Toward
Explosive Detection Interfaces for Sensor Development
Friday, March 26
Prof. Nicholas Sawyer, (Fordham)
TBD
Friday, April 2
Powell Lecture
Prof. Sharon Glotzer (University of Michigan)
TBD
Friday, April 9
TBD
Thursday, April 16
Symposium and Honors Convocation
Thursday, April 23
Chemistry Awards