Still going...

It has been a while since my last post...lots of stuff going on! I really liked Blake's last blog title, "It seems the more we find out, the less we actually know." This is so true! As we dig deeper into the chemistry of DCQ, i am afraid to say that i don't think any of the previous literature on this topic is 100% free of errors. After each experiment B2 says, when are we getting that mass spec! A mass spec will certainly enable us to fully interpret the chemistry. As we move into the latter bit of the summer, B2 are working more independently.

The NSF-MRI grant is coming along. I will have it completed by the end of this week (July 31st). As Blake points out, the more i write the less i seem to know...thank goodness for page limits. I am quite hopeful on getting funding...i started this proposal ~ 2 yrs ago...submitted it once...it was rejected (or as NSF likes to say, declined)...got great comments...and now have hopefully i have now address my error. I am sure there will be something wrong, but not too wrong :)

We have one more trip to Iowa to collect ESR data probably on Aug 7th or 11th?

Theodore William Richards...quote...

As we tear into the walls of HT, dig behind cabinets not moved for years, we find treasures left behind. Sitting in the hallway this morning i found a small framed picture (possibly from Gebauer's office) of Theodore William Richards. In the frame was the beautiful quote that follows:

"First and foremost, I should emphasize the overwhelming importance of perfect sincerity and truth; one must purge oneself of the very human tendency to look only at the favorable aspects of his work, and be ever on the lookout for self-deception (which may be quite unintentional). Next, one should never be content with a conventional experimental method or scientific point of view; one should be open-minded as to the possibility that the procedure or hypothesis may be incomplete. Each step should be questioned, and each possibility of improvement realized. And then, patience, patience! Only by unremitting, persistent labor can a lasting outcome be reached." T.W.R. (1868-1928).

Back to lab...

It has been a week since i have been in lab. I took a vacation to VA to visit family and friends. I am anxious to see the work that B2 have done while i was gone. Ben sent me some data while i was gone, but i did not get a chance to think hard about it. I am also excited to see the work done on HT while gone...??? It is going to be a busy rest of the week...i am giving a beer talk in Davenport at the German Heritage Center on Sat and we start construction on the "rain garden" at the Monmouth Community Garden" on Sun at 2 pm.

Visit to Madison area...

On Friday, July 3rd, we took a lab break and traveled to Madison Wis to visit Om at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Biochemistry Department, NMR Facility. In the pictures are Ben, Blake, and Om next to the Varian 900 MHz NMR spectrometer...or is that the moon lander? Om shared with us his project related to biofuels and then we enjoyed lunch together at the Student Union on the lake...nice place!

After U of Wis, Madison, we visited Gorst Valley Hop farm outside of Madison. Here we learned about the chemistry, biology, and business of hop growing. James gave us a tour of his experimental hop plant and then the larger 1 acer hop field (sorry no pictures...i was asking too many questions). We may collaborate with James on some chemical analysis.

Overall it was a LONG day (6 am-9 pm), but well worth the trip!