Biomolecular Science - James Peploski

Clarkson University » Department of Chemistry & Biomolecular Science » Faculty

James Peploski Assistant Professor/Director of Freshman Chemistry Chemistry 223 Science Center Clarkson University PO Box 5810 Potsdam, NY 13699-5810 Phone: 315-268-3813 E-mail: jimbo@clarkson.edu

Education
Ph.D. Clarkson University - Physical

Research Interests
My principle interests are in curriculum innovations and instructional laboratory development. Current laboratory development centers around teaching the principles and practices of introductory chemistry laboratory through investigative forensic science. Chemistry is the foundation for the vast majority of modern evidence analysis. The natural interest which students have in forensic science make it an excellent vehicle for delivering the fundamentals of chemistry. Principles such as qualitative and quantitative analysis, chromatography (TLC), kinetics, and many others are presented through laboratory investigations related to gunshot residue analysis, chemical methods for detecting blood residue, and qualitative testing (field tests) for controlled substances.

I am also interested in computational investigations of the structural stability of ring and cage N_xH_y and N_xF_y isomers. While isomers of octaazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane N₈H₆ have relative energies which can be predicted by increasing by steric interactions, its perfluoro counterpart N₈F₆ shows interesting deviations from the trends.