Chemistry Major Receives Summer Research Position Through the National Science Foundation

Durann VanGorder, a Westminster College chemistry major from New Castle, received a summer research position funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

"The application process is very competitive," said Dr. Peter Smith, Westminster College assistant professor of chemistry. "Just over 20 percent of the students who apply for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) positions nationwide are awarded a position."

All successful applicants to the REU program receive a $3,000-$4,000 stipend, housing, travel to and from sites and some receive board. VanGorder was accepted to the REU program at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

"I am working with Dr. Jeff Katz, an assistant professor. His research group is focused on the synthesis and applications of macrocyclic aromatic arrays bridged by heteroatoms," VanGorder said. "We are presently investigating the scope of molecular architectures based on the oxacalixarene scaffold that can be rapidly prepared by nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions. Once synthesized, NMR spectroscopy and X-Ray crystallography are used to determine solution and solid-state conformation."

The internship also includes attendance at the National Organic Symposium at Duke University June 2-7. At the end of the ten-week program, VanGorder will present a poster at the convention, which concludes the program.

VanGorder is a daughter of Jeffrey and Deborah VanGorder, New Castle. She is a senior chemistry major and a graduate of Lincoln High School.

Contact Smith at (724) 946-7299 or e-mail smithpm@westminster.edu for more information.

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