Chemical Shift

Welcome to my website. Here you can view:

• my resume and download copies as Word DOC or Adobe PDF files;
• my chemistry research and PDF files of research presentations of my postdoctoral research at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, graduate school research at the University of Southern California, and post-undergraduate work at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville;
• a summary of my research experience;
• my dissertation, publications, and related writing examples;
• a summary of my chemistry skill sets;
• a summary of my computer skill sets;
• a list of coursework I’ve taken from high school on through graduate school; and
• a list of awards and honors that I have received.

Thank you for visiting.

At work lately, I have taken on the role of “unofficial safety officer.” I remind people (constantly) to wear safety glasses when they are in the lab. I advised another person that a paper face mask won’t filter out and protect them from acid vapors from a dilute hydrofluoric acid solution, which can be some really nasty stuff if it gets on you. I had to tell another person that they should put their stir plate with a large vessel of oxalic acid in a fume hood, or other vented enclosure, before they did any experiments. When I started working in the lab here, I had to order a blast shield and proper flammable chemical storage refrigerator, which is just a few types of equipment needed to meet the minimal safety requirements of working in a synthetic organic (or other) chemistry laboratory, besides proper gloves, lab coats, and eye wear.

As a chemist, I’ve had safety training at every place I’ve worked. Most places have included instruction on the correct usage of fire extinguishers, with hands on time. When I was at the Mayo Clinic, many moons ago, I had at least three full days of Hazardous Materials Technician training to be on their Chemical Spill Team, which also included decontamination procedures, HazMat suits, and Self-Contained Breathing Apparati (an SCBA, not going underwater, so its not SCUBA).

Nearly every chemist with which I have worked has “war stories” of incidents that has occurred to them or, at the very least, someone they knew. I’ve had a few myself and with nearby coworkers, dealing with such things as: leaks of ammonia gas and even, phosgene; fires from sodium hydride cans; small fires from silicone oil (which when hot enough, autopolymerizes a short while before igniting); acid holes in clothing from hydrochloric, sulfuric, and polyphosphoric acid (a very strong acid with the viscosity of honey); and a while ago, a postdoc, behind my station, had a pressure reactor overheat and vent acrolein into his fume hood (shortly after I left the lab). In my inorganic lab class in undergrad, a friend had a little chlorosulfonic acid (a superacid) fall on his arm, and when he got water on it shortly afterwards, hydrochloric formed and burned him even more.

A few weeks ago, Melissa and I went to Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ with Melissa’s mom, Sherry, who was in town for a week. Below is one of the videos Melissa took with her digital camera. This tank had a lot of rays in it. I’ll post more videos soon of the other types of animals we saw.