FSU Senior Connor Riahin Presents at American Chemical Society National Meeting

2016 Mar 25

Frostburg State University senior Connor Riahin, of Annapolis, Md., presented his research project at the 251st American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition held in San Diego in mid-March.

His project, titled "Comparison of Metal Ion Selectivity of Fluorophore 1,4-bis(2-quinolyl)-2,3-diaza-1,3-butadiene in THF/Water and Acetonitrile," presented at the Undergraduate Research Poster Session, compared two competing findings about the ability of a fluorescent sensor molecule to be selective for either mercury or copper, depending on the solvent. Riahin was only partially able to reproduce the results of the previous studies given that the sensor molecule was insoluble in one of the reported solvents.

Four FSU students presented their research at the conference. They also attended presentations by leading chemists in fields such as nanotechnology and computational chemistry, exchanged outreach ideas with members of other student chapters around the country, attended a career fair and learned about exciting new products and technologies in the chemical sciences at an industry exhibition.

Funding for the students to attend this meeting was provided by FSU's chapter of the Student Members of the American Chemical Society and FSU's Department of Chemistry, as well as though grants from the President's Experiential Learning Enhancement Fund, the Student Government Association, the Western Maryland Section of the American Chemical Society and the American Chemical Society.