If you've glanced at our Big Picture you'll see that doing research at the Bernasconi Lab requires cross-disciplinary problem-solving skills, in addition to those commonly associated with chemistry. Investigations cover a broad arena spanning problems of theoretical and biological interest to 'meat and potatoes' organic chemistry. So how might working at the Bernasconi Lab be of value to you as a potential graduate student?  Take a few minutes to read a 'third party' point of view in Marye Anne Fox's essay,... Pure and Applied Chemistry, 1997, 69, 235.  
                 

Projects I am currently working on include:

a.  Proton transfer kinetics and thermodynamics of Fishcer Carbenes using Stopped-Flow and other spectrophotometric methods.

b.  Transition state imbalance in proton transfer reactions using ab initio methods.

Previous research experience:

a.  Kinetics and product studies of chlorine atom reactions with isoprene and other organics of interest in atmsopheric chemistry.

b.  Fluorination of various unsaturated organics via xenon difluoride.

References to recent work:

• Bernasconi,.C.F., Leyes, A.E., Ragains, M.L., Shi, Y., Wang, H., Wulff, W.D., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1998, 120, 8632.
• Nordmeyer, T., Wang, W., Ragains, M.L., Finlayson-Pitts, B.J., Geophys. Res. Lett., 1997, 24, 1615.
• Ragains, M.L., Finlayson-Pitts, B.J., J. Phys. Chem. A, 1997, 101, 1509.
• Beichert, P., Wingen, L., Lee, J., Vogt, R., Ezell, M.J., Ragains, M.L., Neavyn, R., Finlayson-Pitts, B.J., J. Phys. Chem., 1995, 99, 13156.

   

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 ...because inquiring minds want to know...

Here's more on Stopped-Flow.

Where is Mark from anyway? You'd never guess!

References for above work with xenon difluoride.

Mark's career between 1984-1995. Go Vikings!

I was a somewhat different Crusader ,...perhaps you remember.

A compilation of Nobel Prizes in Chemistry.

 

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Mark's email address: ragains@chemistry.ucsc.edu