Faculty

  BIOGRAPHY:

I graduated from Moscow State University (Russia) with B.S./M.S. degree in Physical Organic Chemistry. My Masters thesis entailed a combination of synthetic studies and computational analyses of the conformational behavior of the biologically relevant di-aza- bicyclo-3.3.1-nonanes. I moved across the globe - to Utah State University where I earned my PhD. degree in organometallic chemistry. My dissertation was titled "Kinetic and Thermodynamic studies of the reactive ruthenium and rhodium cyclopentadienyl nitrosyl comlexes".  I completed two sets of  postdoctoral studies. While working with Professor Chris Reed at the University of Southern California (now at UC-Riverside) I got introduced to the wonders of carborane anion (struture pictured above). At the University of Washington with professor Jim Mayer (now at Yale) I learned about powerful ways of studying reaction mechanisms. I also served as a visiting Assistant Professor at Seattle University. In 2003 I joined Ithaca College Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the position of Assistant Professor.   I got tenured and promoted to Associated Professor position in 2009 and took a sabbatical leave (in UK and Argentina) in 2010/2011 academic year. In 2014-2017 I served as a Chair of the Chemistry Department.

TEACHING:

My teaching specialty is Inorganic and Organometallic Chemistry, along with  General  Chemistry  for science and non-science majors. I also teach general, organic, inorganic and organometallic laboratory classes. In the past I have also taught Instrumental Analysis. I have special interest in computer visualization of difficult concepts in chemistry.   here are some   Flash demonstrations (1(H2) , 2  (H2*), H2O 1, H2O 2, H2O 3)  that IC student Matt Sprague and I developed for Molecular Orbital Theory Unit teaching (also presented at the ACS meeting). 

More recently, IC students  Megan Wirth and Ben Morse have filmed a set of instructional  videos, using GoPro equipment  -  for several important laboratory techniques - such as titration, separatory funnel, Schlenk Line and Dry box techniques applications. Here is an overview of those  instructional videos  which have been presented at the ACS meeting along with Megan's poster (edited by IC student Blaise Bookis).

• CURRENT COURSES (as of Fall 2017):  Principles of Chemistry (Chemistry 121),  Inorganic Chemistry, Chemistry Seminar
• Courses taught in the past: Inorganic Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry , Inorganic laboratory ,  Organic laboratory,  Organometallic Chemistry (Senior elective), General Chemistry laboratory,   PRINCIPLES OF CHEMISTRY (chemistry 121), Contemporary Chemical issues (Chemistry 102),   Quantitative Chemistry (Chem 232),  Chemistry and Your Body.

RESEARCH:

 In our lab we are currently pursuing the following  research projects:

• • • low melting ionic salts based on carborane and ortho-carborane anions
    • transition metal electrophilic complexes with weakly-coordinating carborane anions
    • rhodium pincer complexes for alkyne polymerization catalysis (in collaboration with Professor Oleg Ozerov group in Texas A & M)

Please proceed to our research web-site to find out more about these projects. 

 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS: 

 Undergraduate students' names are in bold. 

•  "Reactivity of electrophilic Cp*Ru(NO) complex towards alcohols" Diaz, J., Rich, K., Munie, S., Zoch, C.R., Hubbard, J.L., Larsen, A.S. Polyhedron, 114, 435-442 (2016)
• "1-Butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium dicarba-7,8-nido-undecaborates" Klemes, M.J., Soderstrom, L., Hunting, J.L. and Larsen, A. Acta Crystallographica, E71, o183 (2015)
• "Nitroxyl (azanone) trapping by metalloporphyrins" Doctorovich, F., Bikiel,D., Pellegrino, J., Suárez, S.A., Larsen, A., Martí, M.A. Coordination Chemistry Reviews 255, 23–24, 2764–2784 (2011)
• "A Weakly Coordinating Anion as a Tripodal ‘Br3’-Ligand for Platinum(IV): Structure of [(closo-CB11H6Br6)PtMe3]"  De Crisci , A.G.,  Kleingardner, J., Lough, A.J., Larsen, A. and  Fekl, U.  Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 2008
• "N-Butylpyridinium undecachlorocarbadodecaborate and comparison with similar compounds" Suarez,S. A., Foi, A., Eady, S., Larsen A., Doctorovich , F. Acta Cryst. C67, o417-o420 (2011)
•   "Designing ionic liquids with boron cluster anions: alkyl pyridinium and imidazolium [nido C2B9H11] and [closo-CB11H12] carborane salts" Dymon,J., Wibby,R., Kleingardner,J., Tanski, J.M., Guzei, I.A., Holbrey,J.D., Larsen,A.S.  Dalton Trans., 2008
•   "(Glycol-[kappa]^[2]O,O')nitrosyl([eta]^[5]-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) ruthenium(II) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonate)" S. Munie, A. Larsen and M. Gembicky Acta Cryst. (2008). E64, m293
•  "Di-mu -nitrosyl-bis[( 5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)ruthenium(0)](Ru-Ru)"  Pearsal,M., Gembicky,M., Dominiak,P.,Larsen, A., Coppens, P.,  Acta Cryst. (2007). E63, m2596 
•   "Hydrogen Atom Transfer from Iron(II)-tris[2,2'-bi(tetrahydropyrimidine)] to TEMPO: A Negative Enthalpy of Activation" Mader, E.A.; Larsen, A.S.; Mayer, J.M. J. Am.Chem. Soc, 2004; 126 (26); 8066-8067
• "Non-Organometallic Mechanisms for C-H Bond Oxidation" Mayer, J., Larsen, A., Bryant, J., Wang,K.,Lockwood, M., Rice, G., Won, T.-J. in ACS Symposium Series "Activation and Functionalization of C-H Bonds” 2004, edited by Karen Goldberg and Alan Goldman  (chapter 21)
• "Electron and Hydrogen Atom Self-Exchange Reactions of Iron and Cobalt Coordination Complexes" Yoder,J.C.; Roth, J.P.; Gussenhoven, E.M.; Larsen, A.S.; Mayer, J.M. J. Am.Chem. Soc. (2003) 125, 2629-2640

RESEARCH FUNDING:

Multiple  internal smaller grant awards to the students for summer research support  including IC Dana Internships, Regional ACS section internships, two minority scholar summer internships from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, NSF REU awards for joint porjects and IC summer faculty research grants.

External Grants and AWARDS:

• 2010 Fulbright Lecturer/Scholar Award for joint project with University of Buenos Aires, Argentina,  which focused on carborane ionic materials structural studies and nitroxyl chemistry research.  Followed by 2013-2015 Fulbright Alumni Ambassador appointment.
• "Advancing Organometallic Catalysis via Incorporating Weakly-Coordinating Carborane Anions into Cationic Half-Sandwich Electrophilic Complexes" ACS PRF 35K (2006) for 2+ years 
•  "Non-coordinating carborane counterions for cationic organometallic catalysis"  Research Corporation Cottrell College Award 39K (2006) for 2+ years 
•  Co-PI to  National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Grant proposal: Acquisition of an NMR Spectrometer to Support Undergraduate Research and Curriculum Reform 257K (2005) 
• "Design of Ionic liquids based on non-coordinating carborane anions" submitted to Research Corporation - currently under revision.