2018 — 2021 |
Cook, Matthew [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Enantioselective Formation of All-Carbon Quaternary Centers Via Pi-Allylic Rearrangements of N-Alloc Enamines and Ynamides @ Montana State University
With this award, the Chemical Synthesis Program of the Division of Chemistry is supporting the research of Professor Matthew Cook of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Montana State University. Professor Cook is studying new catalytic reactions that produce molecules containing a carbon atom bound to four other carbon atoms. Such carbons atoms are called "all-carbon quaternary centers". These carbons can possess a property known as "chirality" or "handedness". Chiral molecules, like human hands, are not superimposable on their mirror images. The two-handed forms of such molecules (like the left hand or the right hand) can be difficult to generate selectively. This is even more so in the case of compounds that bear all-carbon quaternary centers. Roughly 10% of the 200 top selling pharmaceuticals contain chiral all-carbon quaternary centers; however, none can be synthesized entirely in a laboratory. Instead, they are formed from naturally occurring sources. Professor Cook addresses this problem by developing new palladium-catalyzed methods that can selectively form chiral, all-carbon quaternary centers with a preference for one handed form over the other. Professor Cook also works closely with Professor Neufeldt, also at Montana State University, to investigate the mechanism of theses reactions so they can be further improved and optimized. This project provides excellent preparation for graduate and undergraduate students in future careers in STEM fields, in either academia or industry. Professor Cook also works on an outreach program to introduce K-12 school students living in Montana's rural areas (including a large Native American population) to practical science and modern instrumentation, with the aim of fostering their interests in STEM subjects and improving their enrollment rates at college.
Professor Cook is exploring the use of new pi-allylic rearrangement chemistry to generate stereogenic all-carbon quaternary centers with high levels of stereoselectivity. He is adopting two approaches, both of which utilize N-alloc carbamates that undergo a decarboxylative rearrangement to generate the requisite stereocenter. These methods overcome the major challenge in pi-allyl chemistry in acyclic systems, efficiently controlling E/Z selectivity in the nucleophile. By utilizing N-alloc enamines, which are much more configurationally stable than their enolate analogs, geometric fidelity can be retained. This allow catalyst control to dictate the stereochemical outcome. Another strategy being pursued uses N-alloc ynamides, which generate ketenimines following a pi-allylic rearrangement. These ketenimine intermediates then undergo a subsequent sigmatropic rearrangement, nucleophilic addition, or a second pi-allylic rearrangement to generate an all-carbon stereocenter. These ketenimine intermediates are chiral but undergo epimerization, and are being used in dynamic kinetic resolution reactions. Detailed mechanistic studies of both of these reactions are being conducted experimentally and computationally in collaboration with Professor Sharon Neufeldt at Montana State.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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0.918 |
2020 — 2023 |
Copie, Valerie (co-PI) [⬀] Cook, Matthew (co-PI) [⬀] Mock, Michael |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Mri: Acquisition of a 400 Mhz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Nmr) Spectrometer @ Montana State University
This award is supported by the Major Research Instrumentation, and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation programs. Montana State University is acquiring a 400 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer equipped with an automatic sampler to support Professors Michael Mock, Valerie Copie, Matthew Cook, and other colleagues. This spectrometer allows research in a variety of fields such as those that accelerate chemical reactions of significant economic importance, as well as permitting study of biologically relevant species. In general, NMR spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools available to chemists for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used to identify unknown substances, to characterize specific arrangements of atoms within molecules, and to study the dynamics of interactions between molecules in solution or in the solid state. Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. This instrument is an integral part of teaching as well as research and research training of students in chemistry and biochemistry at this institution and nearby Tribal Colleges as well as the University of Montana and other small colleges across the state.
The award of the NMR spectrometer is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels. It especially facilitates studies of molecular catalysts for nitrogen reduction and ammonia oxidation of relevance to the production of fertilizers. The instrumentation is also used for monitoring cascade reactions and controlling site selectivity in cross-coupling reactions and activating inert hydrocarbons using early transition metals. In addition, it provides information to aid exploration of halogen bonding in supramolecular and self-assembly chemistry. The spectrometer is also used to study mechanisms in organic and organometallic chemistry.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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0.918 |
2021 — 2024 |
Carter, Perry (co-PI) [⬀] Potter, Amy Bright, Candace Eaves, Latoya Cook, Matthew |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
The Role of Museums in the Landscape of Minority Representation @ University of Tennessee Knoxville
People perceive museums to be among the most trustworthy sources of cultural and historical information and knowledge. Because of this, how cultures and peoples are represented in these spaces is important to understand, especially as the landscape of representation changes over time. This project documents and analyzes the scope and breadth of how the geography, history, and culture of a minority group is represented in museums, and how this changes over time. The research links the emerging and growing fields of Black and museum geographies to advance research on museums as sites of public pedagogy that play a critical role in Black spatialities - the spaces of the Black experience as well as a more active understanding of the Black experience. By considering the multi-faceted approaches to the planning, design, and management of public spaces, this research enhances the understanding of the role museums play in representing Black life in a way that challenges racism and racial mythologies and mobilizes responses to racial controversies. Findings from this research can be used to understand differential representation of other minority groups as well. The project will broaden participation of an early-career researcher and includes participation of undergraduate and graduate students in STEM education.
Using a mixed-methods approach the investigators will systematically (1) document the impact that evolving museum content areas have on visitor experience and learning, (2) compare the content of larger established museums such as the Smithsonian to smaller regional museums to assess how regional histories, stakeholder interest, and monetary resources shape the represented history, and (3) analyze how museum curators address controversial current events as part of museum?s mission to support communities at local, regional and national scales. The project will result in the development of a theoretical model that contributes to explanations about the growing willingness of museums to engage with difficult subject material. The research advances geographical literature specifically in the subfields of museum geographies and Black spatialities and as well as general research on heritage landscapes and geographies of memory.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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0.906 |