Undergraduate Research Projects

Dr. Kevin D. Crawford
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
800 Algoma Blvd.
Oshkosh, WI 54901
crawfork@uwosh.edu

The Project Areas:

Visible-light mediated photodegradation of polymers - investigation of the laser-mediated photochemistry of polymer materials, including determination of the ability to produce novel fluorescent polymers. This project is currently inactive, but might be restarted.
Isolation and identification of marine biotoxins - using HPLC and SPE (bioassay guided) to separate the toxins from the cell matrix, then structural identification using LC-MS/MS, NMR, and FTIR in collaboration with the National Ocean Service (Peter Moeller).
Investigation of the photofading processes in dried flowers and leaves - development of an in-situ colorimetric method for chlorophylls and anthocyanins, determination of methods of delaying or preventing the photofading. This project is also currently inactive.
Quantitation of environmental contaminants by GC-MS and AA, including phthalate esters and brominated diphenyl ethers.

Project:	The Tools:
Marine Biotoxins	HPLC system, several columns, fraction collector for separation of biotoxins from cell extract. Access to bioassay tests to confirm toxicity of HPLC fractions. FTIR for analysis of functional groups in the isolated toxins. Access to NMR, LC-MS/MS for additional structural information on the isolated toxins.
Environmental GC-MS	Ion-trap GC-MS for separation, identification, and quantitation of low-level environmental contaminants including phthalates and brominated diphenyl ethers.

Status: (as of 9/2007)
I started this fall as a new faculty member at UW-Oshkosh after nine years at The Citadel in Charleston, SC. My main focus currenlty is an environmental project assessing the sediments that have built up in stormwater retention ponds in coastal SC. This project was funded by SC Sea Grant. I am also continuing my efforst to isolate polar toxins produced by Trichodesmium thiebautii. The trichodesmium project has resulted in a presentation at a regional ACS meeting (Fall 2006) and a presentation by a research student (Bydairk) at the Pittcon national meeting in the spring of 2007. The Polymer Photochemistry project resulted in a presentation (Crawford) at the Southeast Regional ACS meeting in Fall of 1999. Two students (Philpott, Browning) participated in the Marine Biotoxins work during the 2000-2001 school year, resulting in two undergraduate theses. One student (Ellisor) spent the summer of 2002 working on isolating maitotoxin from Gambierdiscus toxicus and continued this work for his senior thesis. He presented his work at the Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS) in November 2002 and at the Pittcon Analytical Chemistry Conference in Orlando in March of 2003. Another student (Llhamlak) continued the G. toxicus work as a summer and senior thesis project during the 2004-2005 school year. The Plant Pigment Photochemistry project has been funded by the Citadel Foundation for three years, and several undergraduate students (Philpott, Browning, Nickles, Williams, Caldwell, Ybarra) have participated in this project during the summer and school year, resulting in presentation at local and regional meetings. Brian Williams spent the 2003-2004 school year quantitating the ability of protein skimmers to remove metal ions from saltwater. This work resulted in a publication in the Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research.

Previous Publications:

K. D. Crawford, B. L. Williams (Student), N. Andryszak (SC Aquarium), Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research, 4, 155-160 (2004).

K. D. Crawford and M. B. Ellisor, The Chemical Educator, 8, 195-198 (2003).

K. D. Crawford and K. D. Hughes, Journal of Physical Chemistry, 101, 864-870 (1997).

K. D. Crawford and K. D. Hughes, Journal of Physical Chemistry B., 102, 2325 (1998).

K. D. Crawford and K. D. Hughes, Journal of Polymer Science Part B, Polymer Physics Edition, 36, 999 (1998).

Produced by Kevin D. Crawford, edited 9/2007