College of Arts and Sciences

WSU Horn Studio

Martin King, director

Featuring the WSU Trombone Choir and solos by members of the WSU Horn Studio.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are polymeric porous materials consisting of metal nodes and organic ligands that extend to form periodic crystal structures. They have ultrahigh porosity (up to 90% free volume) and enormous internal surface areas (extending beyond 6000 m2/g). These properties, together with the extraordinary degree of tunability for both the metal centers and the organic ligands, make MOFs of great interest for broad applications in gas storage, high-capacity adsorbents, membranes, thin-film devices, catalysis, and biomedical imaging [1]. However, the “ideal crystals” limit the pore sizes, the exposure of catalytic sites, the diffusion and accessibility of large molecules. ​​​Defect engineering introduce missing linker and missing node defects into MOFs is an exciting concept for tailoring material properties, which opens up great opportunities not only in sorption and catalysis, but also in controlling challenging physical characteristics such as band gap, magnetic and electrical/conductive properties [2]. In this talk, I will demonstrate MOFs and defect-engineering in Zr-MOFs with typical defect-creating methods.

Program

The annual Family Weekend Vocal Extravaganza Concert will take place on Friday, November 3, 2023, at 7:30pm in Bryan Hall Theatre. Featuring all five of WSU’s vocal ensembles, the evening will include a wide variety of music from different styles and time periods. Opera Workshop will present a…

The 18th Annual Pumpkin Drop will be held on November 4th at Webster Physical Science building. We will be dropping decorated pumpkins from the 12th floor of Webster in honor of Family Weekend and as a nod to Galileo’s gravitational experiments. There will be various stations for pumpkin decorations, physics demos, scavenger hunts, and concessions in the Webster lobby. The pumpkin drop is scheduled to take place from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Organometallic catalysis requires both the catalyst and solvent, with the catalyst consisting of two components: the metal and the ligand. Recycling the metal is easier than the ligand, which is expensive and slowly breaks down during catalysis, leading to the catalyst’s death. Therefore, ligand-free catalysis is highly desirable. However, the challenge with ligand-free catalysis is that it results in the agglomeration of metal and the lack of optimal steric and electronic properties at the metal center, which can lead to easier oxidation of the lower oxidation state of metal. To address this issue, we developed a ligand-free nano-heterogeneous catalysis that is both stereoretentive and stereoselective.

The delivery of small molecule drugs across the blood brain barrier (BBB) is difficult, making the development of therapies for neurological diseases very challenging. Efforts have persistently been underway to develop novel nanocarriers which are capable of precisely transporting drugs across the BBB to target the specific regions of brain damage. Even if drugs or nanoparticles get across the impaired BBB following brain injury or neuroinflammation, their synergistic uptake into the critical brain cells such as neurons and activated microglia/macrophages involved in brain diseases remains challenging.

PROGRAM

Presenter: Margaret Reece
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Chair: Xiaofeng Guo
Title: Thermodynamics of Critical Rare Earth Minerals

Program

Our group has developed mathematical models to define variable SARS-CoV-2 shedding kinetics observed in the general population. We leveraged this model to accurately simulate clinical trials. Our models help identify why nirmatrelvir / ritonavir was extremely effective as an early therapy but failed a post exposure prophylaxis, and why viral rebound is common on this drug. We also explore mechanisms for nirmatrelvir / ritonavir’s superiority relative to molnupiravir.

Program

Title: Investigating the Formation and Reactivity of ZrII, HfII, and AnII Species Supported by Metal-Arene Interactions

Presenter: Prof. Skye Fortier, University of Texas El Paso

Host: Liane M. Moreau

Title: Molecules to Materials: Examining the Properties of Early Metal and Actinide Complexes

Speaker: Ryanne Ballard
Group: Prof. Berkman
Title: Traceless Phosphoryl Mediated Isopeptide Crosslinking

Presenter: Prof. Robert Polly, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Institut fuer Nukleare Entsorgung
Host: Xiaofeng Guo
Title: Relativistic Multiconfigurational ab initio Calculations of X-ray Spectra of Heavy Radio Nuclides

Program:

Eugenia Reznik: Between the Fabric and the Plant
How does a piece of old cloth connect people to their homeland? Does the answer lie in the plant this fabric used to be? Visual artist Eugenia Reznik creates installation works that question the link between displaced people and plants. In November and December 2023, she will join WSU for a residency with the objective of exploring the threshold between the linen fabric and the flax plant. The artist will collaborate with WSU artists and scientists Andrei Smertenko, Laura Bartley, Squeak Meisel, Reza Safavi, Michael Knoblauk, John Haddish and Elizabeth Nazarov. The residency was generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Program

Opera Workshop will be presenting their program Masquerades and Mayhem, including scenes from La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossin, Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss, and L’Elisir d’Amore by Gaetano Donizetti.  The ensemble is directed by Dr. Julie Anne Wieck and supported by collaborative pianist, Elena Panchenko.

Speaker: Vincent Groner
Group: Prof. Boncella
Title: Stabilizing Low-Valent Organometallic Uranium Complexes Using Bulky, Aromatic Terphenyl Amido Ligands

Our Fall BFA and BAFA Exhibitions open November 27th and will be on view through December 10th in the Fine Arts Center’s Gallery III. Seniors Hollis Knight and Casey Wales have their work on display.

Understanding how f-elements and transition metals interact/communicate are critical for pioneering new catalysts and could shed light on unusual biological interactions. Our group focuses on the synthesis and characterization of complexes that contain both f-elements and transition metals, with the intent of studying electronic structure and reactivity.

Guitar Studio Concert

Performances of WSU guitar students and faculty. Solo and ensemble works in a wide range of styles!

Class Guitar I

Class Guitar II

Guitar Performance Workshop

WSU Guitar Ensemble

Featuring special guests Doc. D. on percussion and Dr. Aaron Hill on sax!

The concert by Portland Opera Young Artists will be at Pullman High School is titled “An Evening of Passion, No Regrets in the Morning.”

This event is free and open to the public!

This event is sponsored by WSU’s David G. Pollart Center for Arts and Humanities, Pullman High School…

Program: