Poster Session - STREAMS: Improving Student Success in STEM at Bridgewater State University

STREAMS, an NSF-STEP grant held by Bridgewater State University, implements best-practice approaches to increasing the number of STEM graduates. STREAMS interventions include a summer bridge program, a mentoring program, curricular changes promoting inquiry-based teaching, Structured Learning Assistance in gateway courses, a Residential Learning Community, and better transfer student advising and articulation. This presentation will focus on the assessment strategies that encourage curricular change and evidence of increased student success in science and math at Bridgewater

Development of Titanium Carbamate Compounds and Study of Their Reactivity

: I study the development of titanium compounds to combine amines with alkenes/alkynes in a hydroamination reaction yielding enantiomeric amines. These products are often difficult to make economically with reasonable rate and selectivity. A catalyst, (such as a titanium compound), is needed to convert many organic substrates in a cyclic process wherein the catalyst is regenerated. An organometallic titanium catalyst contains ligands is which share electron density with the titanium to make and break chemical bonds. Also, the space occupied by the ligands limits the substrates approach resulting in product specificity. By altering the size and electronics of the ligands the catalysis can be more effective. The focus of my proposal is to study ligands based upon carbamates, (which are an amide ester combination), due to their structure and reactivity. Similar ligand compounds have been successful and this would represent a novel endeavor in the catalysis field

Regio- and stereoselective coupling of dienes and alpha-olefins catalyzed by titanium aryloxide compounds

The bis(aryloxide) substrates ((ArO)\sb2TiCl\sb2), (ArO = 2,6-diphenylphenoxide, 2,3,5,6-tetraphenylphenoxide, 2,6-diisopropylphenoxide, and 2,6-dimethylphenoxide) have been synthesized by the room temperature reaction of the corresponding phenol with titanium tetrachloride or via other methods. The addition of nBuLi, (the Negishi method typically applied to the Group 4 metallocene dichlorides), to these substrates produces an \eta\sp2 bound species upon $\beta$-hydride abstraction and reductive elimination. In the presence of unsaturated hydrocarbons, the in situ generated bis(aryloxide) titanium \eta\sp2 butene species catalyzes regio- and stereoselective coupling and cross-coupling reactions. This method is capable of an extremely rapid non-Diels Alder dimerization of 1,3-cyclohexadiene to produce a single product (17) which has not been made by thermal or photochemical methods. The cross-coupling of 1,3-cyclohexadiene with vinyltrimethylsilane has also been carried out by this method to produce substituted 1,3-cyclohexadiene products (23), (24). These observations strongly indicate that elimination from titanacyclopentane rings is accelerated by the presence of $\alpha$-vinyl groups. The cis-1,4-hydrovinylation of cycloocta-1,3-diene with $\alpha$-olefins has also been carried out by this method to produce substituted cyclooct-3-ene products (27-30). The lack of formation of conjugated cycloocta-1,3-diene products may be a result of the greater conformational flexibility of the eight membered ring making abstraction of the ring hydrogen more difficult

Engaged Student Learning Pedagogy in STEM Courses

This panel will report on our individual activities to integrate engaged student learning pedagogy into our lecture and/or laboratory courses in the 2015-16 academic year. Evidenced-based teaching practices clearly show that student-centered learning pedagogy impacts student learning by promoting critical thinking, problem solving, engaged learning and knowledge retention for all students. Furthermore, active learning environments improve the chances for success of all students, with those from disadvantaged and ethnic-minority backgrounds gaining the most

Improving Retention of Science and Math Majors: Initial STREAMS Activities

We will report on the activities of STREAMS (Student Retention Enhancement Across Mathematics and the Sciences), a 5-year NSF grant. The goal of STREAMS is to increase STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates by 40 students per year. Five interventions have begun operation this year, including a summer bridge program; course development grants promoting group, inquiry-based pedagogy; the introduction of Structured Learning Assistance (SLA) in introductory courses with pervasive, high student failure rates; additional transfer student assistance and partnerships with two local community colleges; and an electronic-portfolio based mentoring program. A science and math residential learning community will open in fall 2011. In fall 2010, SLA in introductory biology reduced the rate of student D, F, or W grades from a historic level in excess of 30% to under 15%. Summer bridge students had a collective STEM DFW rate of 11% in fall 2010 semester

Plenary I: The Social (in)Justice of Chemical Exposure in Society: Unique Potential for Collaboration in Teaching, Research and Outreach

Chemicals are part of our everyday lives, and provide the function in products demanded by our society. Everyone in the world is exposed to manufactured chemicals, but it is clear that there is a disproportionate exposure, world-wide, to hazardous chemicals based on race or socio-economic status. As children are the most vulnerable members of our society, there is an urgent need for research, education, awareness and activism to explore and act on the social (in)justice of chemical exposure. Through two spring workshops sponsored by the Institute for Social Justice, this issue sparked excitement, sadness, anger and energy in exploring how faculty, and our students, from vastly different disciplines might collaborate on incorporating this theme in teaching, research and outreach. The goal of this panel is to explore, with audience participation, how we might bridge chemistry and social justice through this issue, and bring new awareness to our students and ourselves

Juggling Academic Demands with Caregiving

There are numerous and intricate demands inherent in the professional life of university faculty. Faculty serve as engaged educators and scholars committed to students and the university in their professional life, yet faculty also serve roles outside of academia. Many faculty are parents or care givers for others, such as their own parents. Care giving, in addition to the rigorous demands of academia, can be stressful and emotionally draining. This group of faculty panelists will share, a) some of their frustrations associated with trying to meet the demands of academia and care giving, and b) strategies (successful or not) that may reduce the sources of frustration. Panel presentations will be brief and much time will be allotted to audience participation