Karen Nordell Pearson, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, is the winner of the 2003-04 Young Teacher Award.
Read more about Nordell in this profile from the 2001-02 President's Report.
Course Offerings
Research Interests:
Coordination polymers, a new class of organic-inorganic hybrid materials, represent a new and expanding research area that weds the fields of coordination chemistry, polymer synthesis and solid state chemistry. The combination of transition metal ions with varying coordination preferences, coupled with the limitless library of organic linking ligands, has given rise to great structural diversity in the field ranging from simple one-dimensional, linear polymers to two- and three-dimensional layered and network structures of high intricacy. My group prepares new coordination polymers via hydrothermal synthesis and characterizes the structures and properties of new compounds.
In addition, we have started to probe the chemistry and applications of various nanoparticle systems including metal, semiconductor and polymer nanospheres. In one project, we are exploring the relationship between the polymerization reaction temperature and the sizes of the polymer nanoparticles prepared. We use scanning electron microscopy and optical diffraction techniques to characterize the sizes of the nanoparticles.
Recent Research Publications (* indicate Lawrence undergraduate coauthors)
K.J. Nordell Pearson, K.N. Schultz*, K. A. Higgins* and M.D. Smith, " Hydrothermal synthesis of two new lead-containing coordination polymers: 2 [PbCl2(4,4'-bipy)] and 2 [Pb2(NO3)4(H2O)2(4,4'-bipy)2](4,4'-bipy)2", Polyhedron, in press.
K.J. Nordel Pearson, K.N. Schultz* and M.D. Smith, " Trans-Diaquatetrakis(4,4'-methylenediphenylamine-N)-cobalt(II) dinitrare dihydrate", Acta Cryst. E, 2004, E60, m857.
K.J. Nordell Pearson, J.D. Hammond* and M.D. Smith, "Catena-(Bis([mu]_{2}-1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane-N,N')-diaqua-cobalt(II))dinitrate 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane monohydrate", Acta Cryst. E, 2003, E59, m852-m854.
K.J. Nordell Pearson, K.A. Higgins* and M.D. Smith, "Catena-(tris(µ-oxalato)bis(µ-4,4'-bipyridine)bis (4,4'-bipyridine)trizinc(II)", Acta Cryst. E, 2003, E59, m114-m115.
K.J. Nordell Pearson, D.S. Kass* and M.D. Smith, "A New Packing Variant of catena-poly[[aquachlorocopper(II)]-µ-pyrazine-2-carboxylato-O,N:N']", Acta Cryst., 2001, C57, 1376.
Teaching Philosophy:
Whenever I interact with students I try to communicate to them that while the scientific community has carefully probed many physical, chemical and biological systems, scientific exploration and discovery is a dynamic process and the frontiers of our understanding are always expanding. All over the world, scientists are carefully probing a myriad of as yet unanswered questions and I hope students get excited by their potential to contribute to science now and in the future. I try very hard to avoid communicating that science, and chemistry in particular, is "finished."
The recent explosion in the research and development of highly specialized, tailored property materials such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), shape memory alloys, polymer wires, semiconducting nanoparticles, and high-temperature (Tc) superconductors provides a dynamic and exciting view of chemistry today. I am fascinated with these new materials and technologies and I find that students are naturally curious about the chemistry underlying these remarkable materials. Nanoscale science and technology is a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary field that will have an undeniable impact on all of our lives in the coming decades and I enjoy introducing students to the excitement, innovation and relevance of nanoscience.
Education and Outreach Activities:
Partners Reaching Youth in Science and Math (PRYSM)
Created in 2002 with Mathematics Professor Eugenie Hunsicker, this program features one-on-one partnerships between 8th grade girls at Roosevelt Middle School and Lawrence women undergraduates studying math and/or science. For more information see http://www.lawrence.edu/community/prysm.
Girls Exploring Math and Science (GEMS)
Once a year, Lawrence faculty and student volunteers host a Saturday event on campus for area middle school girls. The day includes hands-on math and science lab activities facilitated by faculty as well as lunch in the dining hall and a science and math scavenger hunt.
For additional information about education and outreach activities see http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/chemistry/outreach/