UI chemistry professor wins national research award
After being awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) National Honor for Research last month, University of Idaho chemistry professor Thomas Bitterwolf’s office phone has been ringing off the hook.
He said his “academic grandchildren,” or former students, called to congratulate him for the accomplishment. Current student Samuel Paktor said not only does Bitterwolf deserve the recognition and fellowship for his research, but also for his teaching.
Yishan Chen | Argonaut
UI Chemistry professor Thomas Bitterwolf talks about being awarded an AAAS award in his office March 12.
“He is also incredibly fun to have as a teacher,” Paktor said.
Bitterwolf is an inorganic physical chemist who works on chemical synthesis and physical studies. His research for which he received the award regards substances called reaction intermediates. He said he enjoys this area of research because there is always something new to learn.
“How you get from A to B is sort of this miracle,” Bitterwolf said.
He said in the process of such chemical reactions, reaction intermediates flash into existence and disappear before the final compound is created. In order to gain insight as to the process of these reactions, he said he uses photochemistry, a process involving shining a light on the reaction at liquid nitrogen temperatures.
“We can see the reactions that take place because the fragments stay frozen … It’s like a stop-motion reaction,” Bitterwolf said.
His research is aided by computer models, he said, which easily visualize the physical structure of compounds to help predict reactions.
“It’s the sort of academic stuff that first of all, nobody else does,” he said. “And second of all, it’s a very unique insight into certain kinds of reactions you couldn’t do any other way.”
Bitterwolf joined about 400 other scientists from across the country in February to receive the award at the annual AAAS meeting in San Jose, California. The AAAS has been recognizing scientists for their research and other efforts since 1874, and Bitterwolf said he is honored to have been nominated by his peers and subsequently selected by the organization.
Bitterwolf said although the research he conducts is rewarding, he loves being in the classroom and engaging with students.
“We get to involve undergraduates and in the laboratory doing very very good, fun research,” he said. “They get their hands dirty. They start learning about chemistry, how to do chemistry, how to think like a scientist.”
Bitterwolf describes his research work as his “intellectual fun time,” but said he spends most of his time working with students both in and out of the classroom. He said it is the most important work he does.
“The stuff in the lab is fun, but the teaching is actually why I’m here,” Bitterwolf said. “It is the single most important thing I do.”
Nishant Mohan can be reached at [email protected]