CURRICULUM VITAE

 

Gary John Blanchard

 

 

 

Address:                            Michigan State University                                                (work)

                                          Department of Chemistry

                                          East Lansing, Michigan  48824-1322

                                          (517) 355-9715 x224                          (voice)

                                          (517) 353-1793                                   (fax)

                                          blanchard@chemistry.msu.edu           (email)

 

                                          1972 Pawnee Trail                                                            (home)

                                          Okemos, Michigan  48864 - 2159

                                          (517) 349-3673

 

 

Social Security

Number:                           

 

 

Marital Status:                   Married, two children

 

 

Date of Birth:                    22 March, 1959, Berlin, New Hampshire, USA

 

 

Education:                         B.S.           (Chemistry), Bates College, 1981

                                          Ph.D.         (Chemistry), University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1985

                                                            Thesis Advisor:  M. J. Wirth

 

 

Awards                             Eastern Analytical Symposium Student Award, 1980

and Honors:                      ACS Analytical Division Summer Internship, 1980

                                          Graduated with Honors (Chemistry) Bates College, 1981

                                          DuPont Graduate Fellowship, 1983

                                          National Science Foundation Special Creativity Extension, 1998-2000.

 

 

Memberships:                    American Chemical Society

                                                Monmouth County NJ Local Section Chair - 1990

                                          Society for Applied Spectroscopy

 

 

Work Experience

 

 

 

2002 -           Associate Chair for the Graduate Program, Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

1999 - 2002  Director of Graduate Admissions, Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

1999 - 2001  Associate Director, Center for Fundamental Materials Research, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

1999 -           Professor, Department of Chemistry and Center for Fundamental Materials Research, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

1995 - 1999  Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Center for Fundamental Materials Research, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

1991 - 1995  Assistant Professor,  Department of Chemistry and Center for Fundamental Materials Research, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

 

Research interests:  Nonlinear and ultrafast laser spectroscopies used to understand microenvironments formed by organic monolayer and multilayer structures;  Design and synthesis of layered molecular assemblies to control interface properties;  Novel optical signal processing strategies employing conjugated materials;  Fundamental examination the mechanisms of vibrational population relaxation in solution and at interfaces;  Understanding the molecular scale onset of crystallization from solution.

 

 

1985 - 1991  Member of Technical Staff, Bell Communications Research, Red Bank, NJ.

 

Research program:  Examination of picosecond solvation dynamics in bulk liquids, near surfaces and in partially solvated environments; Laser spectroscopic research for the evaluation of crystalline and spin-cast organic polymers as potential semiconductor materials; Examination of the nonlinear optical properties of inorganic -conjugated polymers.  Proprietary telephone company work during this same time includes preparation of 64 laboratory analysis reports, 56 field/site inspections and presentation of 19 invited talks.

 

Selected Accomplishments

 

Spectroscopy

·         First experimental achievement of shot-noise limited sensitivity (105 molecule detection limit) with triple modulation pump-probe absorption spectroscopy.

·         Development of ultrafast stimulated emission spectroscopy for the measurement of Stokes shift evolution and inhomogeneous relaxation kinetics.

·         Development of a new technique for measuring vibrational lifetimes of organic solutes in the liquid phase.

·         Elucidation of the mechanism of pyrene solvent polarity-dependent fluorescence response.

 

Interface Science

·         First measurement of adsorption free energy and entropy for alkanethiol/gold self assembled monolayers.

·         First measurements of motional dynamics within alkanethiol/gold and metal phosphonate monolayer structures.

·         First determination of variation in silanol density and distribution with different types of SiOx.

·         Demonstration of oriented multilayers using asymmetric metal ion complexation chemistry.

·         Demonstration of thermodynamic control over adsorption and desorption through nanometer adlayer deposition.

 

Conjugated Polymers

·         First demonstration of electronic and phonon-mediated optical Stark effects in a conjugated polymer (with J. P. Heritage and G. L. Baker).

·         First demonstration of enhanced optical nonlinearity in a conjugated polymer by vibrational combination band coupling to a vibronic state (with J. P. Heritage).

·         Development of digital signal processing strategy for photonic switching applications of conjugated polymers.

 

Polar Solvation

·         First clear measurement of state-dependent orientational relaxation. Elucidation of the site-specific molecular interaction producing this effect.

·         First detection and quantitation of a solvent-excited solute complex.

·         First demonstration of the role of counter-ions in ultrafast solvation dynamics.

Professional Service

 

 

·         Member, NSF SBIR Review Panels, 1995, 1996.

·         Member, Findeis Award Jury, 1995, 1996.

·         Organizer - Keystone Conference on Reconnecting the Academic and Industrial Analytical Communities - an NSF-sponsored GOALI Workshop, 1996

·         Member, NASA Environmental Health Review Panel, 1997.  Panel Chair, 1998.

·         Organizer - Molecular Spectroscopy, Materials and Interfaces Program, FACSS 1997, Providence, RI.

·         Member, International Organizing Committee, Optical Society of America Fall 1997 Meeting, San Diego, CA

·         Member, NSF-CCLI Review Panel, 1999.

·         Organizer, Symposia on Polymer Characterization and Interface Characterization, ACS Fall 1999 National Meeting.

·         Member, NASA Crystal Growth Review Panel, 2001.

·         Discussion Leader, Gordon Conference on Analytical Chemistry, June, 2001.

·         Member, ACS Award in Chemical Instrumentation Jury, 2001, 2002.

·         Member, NIH Repairative Medicine Study Section, March, 2004

·         Member, Scientific Committee, International Conference on Electode Processes, Szczyrk, Poland, September, 2004.

 

 

Students Graduated

 

 

 

1993       Lee DeWitt (M)                       Synergetica, Inc., Howell, MI

 

1995       Ying Jiang (D)                         United Nations, The Hague, Netherlands

               Selezion A. Hambir (D)           Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Illinois

               Sandjaja Tjahajadiputra (M)    MSU Business School

 

1996       Jeffrey P. Rasimas (D)             Group Leader, Ondeo-Nalco, Naperville, IL

               David S. Karpovich (D)          Assistant Professor, Saginaw Valley State University

               Patty K. McCarthy (D)            Postdoctoral Fellow, I. W. Levin, NIH

 

1998       Jennifer C. Horne (D)              Senior Scientist, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL

 

2000       Wendy C. Flory (D)                Staff Scientist, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI

               Punit Kohli (D)                        Postdoctoral Fellow, C. R. Martin, University of Florida

 

2001       Scott N. Goldie (D)                NRC Post-Doctoral Fellow, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD

       Shawn M. Mehrens (M)          Staff Scientist, Pfizer Chemical Co., Ann Arbor, MI

       Joseph J. Tulock (D)               Postdoctoral Fellow, P. W. Bohn, University of Illinois

 

2002       Stephen B. Bakiamoh (D)       Postdoctoral Fellow, Michigan State University

               Jaycoda S. Major (D)              Assistant Professor, University of Rhode Island

               John L. DelaCruz (D)             Senior Scientist, Shire Laboratories, Rockville, MD

               Lee Kelepouris (D)                 Senior Scientist, Integrity Pharmaceuticals, Indianapolis

 

2003       Alexis A. Blevins (M)             Graduate Student, MSU

               Richard M. Bell (M)               MPI, Inc., Portage, MI

Research Interests

 

 

1.      Examination of molecular motion and excitation transport at and near surfaces.  The goal of this work is to achieve structural control over energy transport in layered interfaces.  We synthesize multilayer assemblies with known structures and layer compositions and examine the motion and excitation transport dynamics of imbedded chromophores.  Recent efforts have focused on bisphosphonated oligothiophenes in Zr-phosphonate multilayer assemblies.  At issue are the local structural effects that determine the optical response of these assemblies.  Ultrafast spectroscopies in conjunction with atomic microscopies (collaboration with G. Y. Liu) have revealed island formation that is mediated by the spatially heterogeneous distribution of surface silanol sites on SiOx and oxidized Si(100) substrates.

 

2.      Design and synthesis of covalent multilayer assemblies.  This chemical synthesis effort is aimed at the construction of multilayer interfaces with single-layer resolution over the chemical identities of the layer constituents.  We are focusing on C-C, C-N-C and C-O-C interlayer bonding arrangements in contrast to metal-mediated ionic bonding because of the potential for covalently bonded multilayers to form interfaces with a chemical potential gradient.

 

3.      Spectroscopic characterization of solid state polymeric materials.  The polymers of interest here either exhibit large nonlinear optical susceptibilities, or are (AB)n alternating copolymers where the polymerization process is mediated by optical excitation.  Typically, spectroscopic relaxation processes in either of these materials are extremely fast.  Understanding these relaxation processes is important to controlling their resulting bulk properties.

 

4.      Elucidation of picosecond solvation dynamics in liquids.  Work in this area is centered around the study of molecular motion and intermolecular vibrational energy transport in low viscosity solvents.  We have developed a novel way to measure T1 relaxation times for both ground state and excited state solute vibrations.  Our work has shown that vibrational population relaxation is highly mode specific and depends critically on the chemical identity of its immediate environment.  Solvent dependent as well as probe molecule state- and chromophore-specific changes in orientational relaxation and vibrational population relaxation behavior are used to elucidate transient interactions that collective comprise the “solvation” of the probe molecule.  We have focused on understanding the behavior of alkanes, alcohols and aprotics as solvents.

 

5.      Examination of the onset of crystallization from solution.  Despite the fact that purification by crystallization is a ubiquitous technology, there is no significant molecular scale understanding of the events that lead to the nucleation of a crystal.  We use trace fluorescent molecules in saturated and super-saturated solutions to measure changes in local environment associated with the onset of crystallization.  To ensure that the probe molecule senses a meaningful environment, we use a lock-and-key approach, where a pendant functionality on the probe molecule is identical to the crystallizing moiety.

Research Funding

 

Grants in Force

 

1.      Using Layered Polymer Assemblies to Mediate Selective Interfacial Adsorption and Desorption, U. S. Department of Energy Grant DEFG0299ER15001, 9/1/02 – 8/31/05, $120,000 per year with $20,000 equipment support in the first year and a $35,000 supplement for year two.

2.      Characterizing and Controlling Reactive Group Density and Distribution at Mono- and Multilayer Interfaces, National Science Foundation Grant CHE-0090864, 3/1/01 – 2/29/05, $108,000 per year with $40,000 equipment support in the first year and a $26,410 supplement in support of international collaboration.

3.      Studies of Molecular Films at Electrode and Optical Interfaces, NATO Cooperative Linkage Grant for Support of International Collaborations, $5,400, 7/1/01 – 8/30/04.

4.      SuMo SERS:  A Novel, High Reliability CBW Agent Detection System Using Surface-Modified Gold Nanoparticles as a SERS Substrate, Sub-contract through Nomadics, Inc. on AFOSR STTR Grant F033-0304, $35,000, 9/1/03 – 6/1/04.

 

Prior Support

1.      NSF-NATO Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation Grant DGE-0209459, Support of Dr. Maciej Mazur, 1/1/03 – 12/31/03, $37,200.

2.      Controlling Mass Transport Phenomena at Layered Interfaces, U. S. Department of Energy Grant DEFG0299ER15001,  9/1/99 - 8/31/02, $100,000 per year with $20,000 equipment support in the first year.

3.      GAANN Program Grant for Graduate Education in Polymers and Composites, U. S. Department of Education, joint with K. Jayaraman, G. L. Baker, L. T. Drzal, T. J. Pinnavaia, A. B. Scranton, M. C. Hawley, R. Narayan, M. L. Bruening and M. G. Kanatzidis.  $100,880 per year for 3 years.

4.      Designing Oriented, Layered Materials.  Applications to Defect Characterization and c(2) Nonlinear Optics, The Petroleum Research Fund, $30,000 per year,  9/1/99 - 8/31/01.

5.      Probing Defect Sites, Molecular Motion and Excitation Transport in Layered Molecular Assemblies, National Science Foundation Grant CHE 95-08763, 8/1/95 - 3/1/98, $80,000 per year.  $29,984 Supplement awarded 12/10/96.  Two Year Special Creativity Extension Awarded 1/1/98.  $130,000 support in FY 1998 and $100,000 in FY 1999.

6.      Reconnecting the Academic and Industrial Analytical Communities:  A Summer Workshop on Identifying Common Ground,  National Science Foundation GOALI Initiative, Grant CHE 96-30118, joint with D. B. Chase (DuPont) and L. D. Rothman (Dow).  $60,000, 3 years.

7.      A Suite of Undergraduate Laboratories Focused on Surface and Interface Science, National Science Foundation ILI Program, Grant DUE 98-50822, joint with S. R. Crouch, M. L. Bruening and S. J. Garrett.  $64,054, 2 years.

8.      Center for Photopolymerizations and their Application in Composites Processing.  An I/UCRC Planning Grant, National Science Foundation, joint with A. B. Scranton.  $10,000, 6/1/98 - 5/30/99.

9.      Fluorescent Probes of Aqueous Sugar Solution Structure, National Science Foundation Grant CTS 94-07563, 8/16/94 - 8/15/97, joint with K. A. Berglund, $82,500 per year.

10.  Ultrafast Spectroscopic Studies of the Organization and Dynamical Properties of Organic-Modified Interfaces, National Science Foundation Grant CHE 92-11237, 7/1/92 - 6/30/95, $68,000 per year.  $10,000 Supplement awarded 12/93.

11.  Equipment Proposal for a Rapid Scanning, High Sensitivity FTIR Spectrometer, National Science Foundation Grant CTS 94-12354, 8/1/94 - 6/30/95, joint with A. B. Scranton, $19,550.

12.  Computer Aided Chemistry Research, Autodesk, Inc., 1/1/93 - 12/31/93, $3,500.

13.  Request for Laser Beam Diagnostic Equipment, joint with C. L. Foiles, Spiricon, Inc., 3/1/94, $2,000.

14.  Mechanisms of Energy Storage and Migration in a Polymeric System, Michigan State University All University Research Initiation Grant, 1/1/93 - 12/31/93, $8,947.

15.  Fundamental Studies on Structure-Property Relationships in Electrically Conductive Polymers and their Oligomers, Michigan State University Center for Fundamental Materials Research, joint with M. G. Kanatzidis and E. LeGoff.  I 6/1/92 - 5/31/94, $80,000 total.

16.  Using Morphology to Tune c(3) in Conjugated Polymers, Michigan State