2006 Morning of Courses Speakers

Assistant Professor Franco Basile
       Left Assistant Professor Franco Basile, Department of Chemistry (left), explains the operation of a Mass Spectrometer to undergraduate student John Allhusen (Casper, Wyoming) and visiting high school student Esther Uduehi (Evansville, Indiana). A device that measures mass-to-charge ratio of ions, the Mass Spectrometer can be used to assist in homeland security, environmental analysis, forensics, and medical diagnostics. Basile will present a talk, “The Science behind the Detection of Biological Weapons: Challenges and Strategies,” at this year’s Morning of Courses.
     In this presentation, Basile will discuss the science behind instruments used to detect biological weapons, like anthrax, in battlefield situations. Basile will stress the challenges of “doing science” in battleground conditions and the constraints imposed on scientists to develop novel solutions to unique applications in non-conventional environments.

     In addition, Basile will discuss new challenges and strategies for the next generation of biological weapon detection systems currently being developed in his laboratory on the UW campus.

Basile received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Purdue University. Prior to coming to UW, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Colorado School of Mines.

Assistant Professor Jan Kubelka

     Left Assistant Professor Jan Kubelka, Department of Chemistry, uses a laser that produces powerful and very short light pulses (1 nanosecond = 1/1,000,000,000 of a second) to rapidly heat protein samples. Proteins are long chains made by linking together smaller units, amino acids. To perform their specific functions, the amino acid chains must “fold up” into compact and very intricate structures. Since heat alters the structure of proteins, Kubelka can measure very fast structural transitions and protein motions that take place during denaturation. This technique is called “laser temperature jump.” (The large steel pipe is filled with ~1000 psi of hydrogen gas and is used to convert the wavelength of the laser pulse to a slightly different wavelength, which is more suitable for heating samples.)
     Protein folding is an essential part of the biology of every living organism. If proteins do not fold properly, serious consequences, such as Mad-cow disease and Alzheimer’s in humans, result. Kubelka will discuss these consequences during his talk, “The Importance

of Being Folded: How Proteins Fold (and what happens if they don’t,” at this year’s Morning of Courses.

     Three-dimensional protein structures, also called “folds,” contain coiled helices, pleated sheets, turns, and loops arranged into bundles, barrels, and other motifs. Precisely shaped cavities in proteins capture the target molecules and are the miniature “reactors” where specific reactions happen with dazzling efficiency. When proteins are born, however, they are not folded. Instead, they are extended, flexible strings much like spaghetti. How these spaghetti-like strings fold into sophisticated spatial arrangements has stumped scientists for more than half a century.

     Understanding the laws of how proteins fold and stay folded is crucial to learn how to prevent and cure many diseases. During his talk, Kubelka will discuss problems found in protein folding and mis-folding and review the progress that science has made up to this point to better understand these phenomena.

     Kubelka received a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Illinois in Chicago. He was a postdoctoral fellow with the National Institutes of Health.

Professor B. Patrick Sullivan
       Left Professor B. Patrick Sullivan operates a Phase Fluorometer, a frequency-domain luminescence monitor that measures luminescence life time, phase, and intensity. He will discuss “Moving toward Direct Use of the Sun's Energy: Solar Electricity and Artificial Photosynthesis” during Morning of Courses.
     Increasing worldwide demand for petroleum, coupled with shrinking reserves and a desire to decrease pollution, has contributed to radically higher prices in gasoline and some energy-related products. It is reasonable to expect that energy production and consumption will be crucial to quality of life for our
children and grandchildren. Indeed, President Bush recognized this in his State of the Union address, when he said, “Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. And here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology.” Clearly, the discovery and exploitation of alternative sources of energy is now imperative.
     Chemistry is a science central to the technology of energy production and storage. This talk will focus on exciting new developments in the fundamental science of photochemistry, specifically the interaction of solar light with chemical structures that produce energy. The two topics that will be presented are solar electricity and artificial photosynthesis. Photovoltaic cells and photoelectrochemical cells are examples of devices that produce solar-derived electricity. In the past, this research was confined to the silicon solar cell but now has blossomed into chemistry, involving many different (and sometimes exotic) elements in the periodic table. The latter, artificial photosynthesis, like its natural namesake, uses inorganic and organic materials in “molecular assemblies” to produce alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, and while in its infancy appears only limited in scope by scientific imagination.