The International Journal of Quantum Chemistry will feature research conducted by a team led by a Hartwick College professor and assisted by two Hartwick students in the cover story of the Sept. 15 issue.

Associate Professor of Chemistry John Dudek led a team that included professors based in Germany at the University of Cologne Laboratory Astrophysics Group and others. The article, Carbon-sulfur chains: A high-resolution infrared and quantum-chemical study of C3S and SC7S, concerns the detection of carbon sulfur molecules in space.

One of the more interesting aspects of space is its chemistry, Dudek said. What molecules exist in space and how did these molecules form?

Each molecule has its own spectral fingerprint, which astronomers need to locate a molecule in space.

We both need each other its difficult for astronomers to find some of these molecules, he said.

The team recreated two carbon-sulfur compounds and determined their high-resolution infrared fingerprints using spectroscopy and computer modeling. The results were the first such fingerprints of the SC7S molecule.

Hartwick undergraduates Justine Kozubal and Sierra Bentley assisted in the research, although they are not listed as co-authors. Provost Michael G. Tannenbaum, a former president of the council on undergraduate research, says Dr. Dudek regularly engages students in experiential and collaborative research activities.

Kozubal spent four weeks last summer working in the Cologne laboratory on an Emerson scholarship, and she and Dudek co-authored a paper on another molecule from their research. Bentley spent four weeks this summer working in the laboratory as part of a Duffy scholarship, and a forthcoming paper on the molecule she studied will feature Bentley as a co-author.

Kozubal, who graduated this spring with bachelors degrees in chemistry and physics, had recently taken an astrophysics course when she began her research in Germany.

It was a graduate level astrophysics lab and I hadnt seen anything like it before, she said. But I learned how to use it and take data looking for the carbon sulfur molecules.

The experience helped her decide to apply for graduate school, and she will begin classes this fall at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in their physical chemistry Ph.D. program.

Dudek and other students involved in the collaboration with Cologne presented their results at the International Symposium of Molecular Spectroscopy, and she was invited to the regional American Chemical Society conference in Binghamton last fall.

Dr. Dudek said he hopes to return to Germany with another student in January and summer 2018 to continue the collaboration.

I think its a great opportunity for students to do research at a world-class institution. I would like to continue our collaboration for as long as possible. he said.

There are still some carbon sulfur molecules that need to be investigated, he said in a Hartwick media release. Afterwards, we will probably start investigating carbon silicone molecules that might exist in space.

Provost Michael Tannenbaum said in the release that the publication of the article in the International Journal of Quantum Chemistry underscores the ability of science faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions, like Hartwick, to undertake meaningful and impactful research.

Erin Jerome, staff writer, may be reached at (607) 441-7221, or at ejerome@thedailystar.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DS_ErinJ .

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On the Bright Side: Chemistry journal to feature work of Hartwick scholars - Oneonta Daily Star