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UAlbany professor and his student researchers play with giant bismuth clusters
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Left to right: Kaitlyn Peck, faculty mentor Evgeny Dikarev and Wendy Chan. |
Research is a vital part of the University at
Albany undergraduate experience. Research stimulates
critical thinking, encourages experimentation and
promotes intellectual accomplishment. Abundant
opportunities exist for students to partner with
faculty researchers in a variety of disciplines—from
the arts to the social sciences to the nanoscale
sciences. Here is one such example:
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Wendy Chan |
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Wendy Chan
New York, NY
University Scholars Program
Biochemistry major/ Music minor
Professional goal: bio-organic chemist
Quote:
This research has shown me that chemistry is more than just numbers and facts; it's a creation of something beautiful. |
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Kaitlyn Peck |
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Kaitlyn Peck
Canastota, NY
University Scholars Program
Chemistry major
Professional goal: graduate school for a Ph.D |
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Evgeny Dikarev |
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Evgeny Dikarev, faculty mentor
Department of Chemistry
Evgeny Dikarev is an expert in the coordination and organometallic chemistry of transition metals, solid-state and materials chemistry. He has authored 96 papers on these
topics. Raised in Russia, he received his M.S. in chemistry (cum laude, 1985) and his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry (1990) from Moscow State University (MSU), where he then
joined the department of chemistry as a research scientist in 1991. In 1995 he joined Texas A&M University as a senior postdoctoral associate and in 2001 moved to the
University at Albany as an assistant professor. |
The Research Project:
Playing with Gigantic Bismuth Clusters
Bismuth is a fascinating metal, the heaviest non-radioactive chemical element of the Periodic Table. Besides its uses in everyday life, bismuth has the greatest potential
for applications within the context of green chemistry. Professor Dikarev's research group recently discovered an unprecedented family of giant bismuth clusters. One of the
most striking features of these species is their solubility in a variety of common solvents. Such highly unusual compounds are very interesting for prospective applications
in materials science and medicine. The students researched the synthesis and crystal growth of gigantic bismuth clusters, their modification, and characterization by a
broad array of modern instrumental techniques.
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