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NEWS RELEASE 2-22-10 Contacts:
Aaron Sadow Receives National Science Foundation CAREER Award AMES, Iowa – Aaron Sadow, assistant professor of Chemistry at Iowa State University, received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, a prestigious award that supports non-tenured faculty. The five-year award recognizes junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Sadow’s research involves making molecules that have short silicon chains bonded to lanthanide metal centers. The lanthanide metals have properties that are distinct from well-known transition metals such as titanium, iron and copper. He said a lot of chemistry involves transition metal-carbon bonds, which are well known to be important in catalysis for making materials, for conversions of petroleum to fuel and valuable chemicals, and for pharmaceutical syntheses, but much less is known about related molecules that have Lanthanide-silicon bonds. “I expect the lanthanide-silicon bonds to be very reactive, particularly for making new bonds between silicon and other elements,” Sadow said. “By studying and understanding this molecular chemistry, we can make new technologically important materials and understand their fundamental properties.” Sadow said the NSF grant is very important to making and understanding reactions of these kinds of compounds. “This award suggests that the work we’ve done in this area is promising and should be continued,” Sadow said. “It gives my group support to do this kind of chemistry.” Sadow said the NSF award will help him support graduate students and provides chemicals and analytical tools needed for the research, such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. X-ray crystallography is particularly valuable for providing pictures of the molecules his research group is studying. Sadow teaches Inorganic Chemistry of Transition Metals for undergraduates and graduates, a graduate Organometallics course, and General Chemistry. The NSF grant also involves starting a new class at Iowa State. He and colleague Joe Burnett, a senior lecturer, began a course this semester that introduces undergraduates to chemistry career opportunities. Cutting-Edge Chemistry: Research and Career Opportunities brings professors and industrial workers into the classroom to talk about potential careers in the field. “The department hasn’t had a class like this in about 20 years,” Sadow said. “It’s important for students to hear what kind of jobs they can get with a chemistry degree and what kind of skills they need to be successful.” -30- |
