With over seventy total researchers during the summer, the Furman University Chemistry Department boasts one of the largest undergraduate research programs in the nation. The summer of 2014 marked the 50th consecutive program in which undergraduates, masters students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty mentors, and visiting faculty from area schools work together over a ten-week period in a wide variety of scientific research projects. The undergraduate students, who receive stipends for the summer, carry out independent investigations in the areas of analytical, inorganic, physical, organic and bio-organic chemistry. This program would not be possible without the support of wide variety of public and private sources.
These student/faculty collaborations produced the following research papers that were published in peer-reviewed journals.
Submissions from 2026
Space-filling Shapes the Interaction Networks in the Mixed Pyrrole–Benzene Trimer and Tetramer, Simon Lobsiger, Zbigniew Kisiel, Caroline S. Glick, George C. Shields, Brooks H. Pate, and Cristobal Perez
Development of an Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization Source for VOC Detection with a Miniature High-Pressure Mass Spectrometer, Alan M. Rowland, Stephen E. Smith, Ella F. Vandergriff, Arturo Rodriguez, David P. Lewis, Kevin P. Schultze, and William M. Gilliland Jr.
The Hydration of Trifluoroacetic Acid from 0 K to 298 K, Walker J. Smith, Caroline S. Glick, and George C. Shields
Probing Composition Effects on the Intrinsic Energetics of Proton Transfer in Binary (HCl)m(H2O)n Clusters, Max R. Tucker, Sarah N. Arradondo, Olivia M. Longsworth, George C. Shields, and Greg Tschumper
Submissions from 2025
Luminescent Arylalkynyltitanocenes: Effect of Modifying the Electron Density at the Arylalkyne Ligand, or Adding Steric Bulk or Constraint to the Cyclopentadienyl Ligand, Matilda Barker, Samantha C. Walter, Elizabeth A. McCallum, River S. Golden, John H. Zimmerman, Jackson S. McCarthy, Colin D. McMillen, and Paul S. Wagenknecht
Computational Exploration of the Ability of the 2-Methyltetrols Produced from Photooxidation of Isoprene to Form Prenucleation Complexes, Conor Bready, Alexandra Sorescu, Caroline S. Glick, and George C. Shields
Impact of Cu-Site Dopants on Thermoelectric Power Factor for Famatinite (Cu3SbS4) Nanomaterials, Jacob E. Daniel, Evan Watkins, Mitchel S. Jensen, Allen Benton III, Apparao Rao, Sriparna Bhattacharya, and Mary Elizabeth Anderson
Influence of Deposition Temperature on Cu-BDC Surface-Anchored Metal–Organic Framework Formation, Skylar J. Delozier, Dayton L. Maglich, Katherine E. Coffin, Katherine S. Euston, Catherine M. Mauck, and Mary Elizabeth Anderson
SAFE Passage to Social and Academic Support: First Year STEM Identity and Belonging Interventions for Under-resourced Students, Benjamin Haywood, John Kaup, and John Wheeler
Structure and Stability of Phospholipid-Based Microbubbles Studied Using a Spin Probe, Lauren E. Jarocha, Jason E. Streeter, Sherwood Ivan Weaver, Andrew McHorse, Natalia V. Lebedeva, Paul A. Dayton, and Malcolm D. E. Forbes
Quantum Chemical Exploration of Fentanyl and Its Analogs: Conformational Landscapes and Energetics in Solution, Kimberlyn McKnight, E. Liyah Reed, Caroline S. Glick, Leah A. Juechter, Christina A. Guevara, Caitlin E. Scott, and George C. Shields
Reliable structures and electronic energies of small water clusters using density functional and local correlation coupled cluster model chemistries, Ben Petty, Vance Fowler, Audrey Ryu, Caroline S. Glick, Carly Rock, Qihang Wang, Greg Tschumper, and George C. Shields
Chemically-triggered dopant release from surface modified polypyrrole films, Grant A. Richter, Allen Knepper, Paul J. Molino, and Timothy Hanks
Research at Predominately Undergraduate Institutions Published Recently in The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, B, and C, George C. Shields
Physical Chemistry Concepts Introduced into the Chemistry Curriculum using WebMO, George C. Shields and Will Polik
Xylylethynyl Titanocene with a Microsecond Emission Lifetime Photosensitizes Singlet-Oxygen Formation and Photon Upconversion, Jack M. Sledesky, John H. Zimmerman, Henry C. London, Ethan C. Lambert, Colin D. McMillen, Matilda Barker, Kenneth Hanson, and Paul S. Wagenknecht
Development of a Colorimetric Polydiacetylene, Solid-Substrate Sensor for SARS-CoV-2 Detection in Human Saliva, Christopher T. Stueber, Timothy Hanks, Paul L. Dawson, Julie K. Northcutt, William T. Pennington, and Belinda Cochran
Submissions from 2024
Synthesis and Characterization of New Organoammonium, Thiazolium, and Pyridinium Triiodide Salts: Crystal Structures, Polymorphism, and Thermal Stability, Madhushi Bandara, Khadijatul Kobra, Spencer R. Watts, Logan Grady, Connor Hudson, Claudina Veas, Timothy W. Hanks, Rakesh Sachdeva, Jorge Barroso, Colin D. McMillen, and William T. Pennington
Supporting STEM Success Through Prematriculation Undergraduate Research, Lynn Breyfogle, Karen Castle, Xiaoyan Liu, and George C. Shields
Multinary Tetrahedrite (Cu12–x–yMxNySb4S13) Nanoparticles: Tailoring Thermal and Optical Properties with Copper-Site Dopants, Jacob E. Daniel, Christian M. Jesby, Katherine E. Plass, and Mary Elizabeth Anderson
Investigating Cu-Site Doped Cu–Sb–S Nanoparticles Using Photoelectron and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Jacob E. Daniel, S. Ivan Weaver, Brad R. Matthias, River Golden, Gavin M. George, Christian Kerpal, Carrie L. Donley, Lauren Jarocha, and Mary Elizabeth Anderson
Stability and Structure of Potentially Atmospherically Relevant Glycine Ammonium Bisulfate Clusters, Annapoorani Hariharan, Conor J. Bready, Jack G. Ajello, Samantha H. Black, George C. Shields, and Christopher J. Johnson
Purposeful Pathways: Preparing Chemistry Majors at Furman University for Post-College Careers, Michelle Horhota and Mary Elizabeth Anderson
A Low-Cost Method for Producing User-Specified Concentrations of VOCs, David P. Lewis, Kevin P. Schultze, Ella F. Vandergriff, and William M. Gilliland Jr.
The Synthesis and Crystallographic Characterization of Emissive Pt(II) and Au(I) Compounds Exploiting the 2-Ethynylpyrmidine Ligand, Sarah L. McDarmont, Mary Jo McComick, Paul S. Wagenknecht, Lily E. Duplooy, Jared A. Pienkos, and Colin D. McMillen