In SLiThEr #39 Chip Nataro (Lafayette University) introduces us to the discussion LOs he uses in his senior-level inorganic course and the topics covered.
This SLiThEr was presented by Nancy Williams (Keck Science) and Benny Chan (The College of New Jersey) on Inclusivity (particularly from the LGBTQ+ perspective, but in a broader sense as well) in Inorganic Chemistry, with a focus on the inorganic chemistry classroom.
Check it out here:
This Learning Object is dedicated to Prof. Chan as part of the VIPEr LGBTQIAN+ LO collection created in celebration of Pride Month (June) 2022. A profile of Prof. Chan from the Chemical & Engineering News Out and Proud article can be found at
This LO focuses on creating complexes with multiple bonds between late transition metals and nitrogen. The questions will guide students through Mindiola and Hillhouse's communication that details the synthesis and investigation of three-coordinate terminal amido and imido complexes of nickel. This communication is significant because it describes the synthesis and structural characterization of what became known as his "double nickel" complex, which contains a Ni-N double bond.
This LO brings together organometallic chemistry, electrochemistry, and computational chemistry in a complete whole, and shows how these different expertises and techniques all can add to our understanding of a rich chemical system. It might be of particular interest in a class dominated by even-electron and diamagnetic chemistry to give students an understanding of how practitioners approach odd-electron, paramagnetic systems.
This collection features learning objects created to highlight the work of LGBTQIAN+ inorganic chemists in celebration of Pride Month (June) 2022.
This Learning Object is dedicated to Prof. Claudia Turro as part of the VIPEr LGBTQIAN+ LO collection created in celebration of Pride Month (Jun) 2022. Prof. Turro was featured in the April 2022 special virtual issue Out in Inorganic Chemistry: A Celebration of LGBTQIAPN+ Inorganic Chemists (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00729). Claudia holds a special place in my heart. I came out later in life, and she was incredibly supportive as I wrestled with my identity as a gay man.
This literature discussion focuses on a J. Am. Chem. Soc. communication that describes a series of Pt complexes that exhibit competitive reductive elimination reactions to form either an sp2-sp3 bond or an sp3-sp3 bond. One of the complexes also contains a C-C agostic interaction with the metal. The questions are written to be addressed by students in a foundation-level inorganic course.
Today we are joined by Dr. Barbara Reisner as she discusses the process implemented in a recent faculty search to reduce bias in the hiring process.
This is our 23rd SLiThEr. The collection can be found here.
This discussion focused on ways to assess readiness for the general chemistry course sequence.
The YouTube video link for SLiThEr #23 is below under "Web Resources"