Seminar: James Bour (Wayne State University)

Dr. James Bour, chemistry professor at Wayne State University, will deliver a seminar in person at Kalamazoo College on Thursday, October 13, at 6 p.m. in Dewing Hall, room 103. This seminar is jointly sponsored by KACS and the Kalamazoo College Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Questions may be directed to edwardwthomas@gmail.com or Blakely.Tresca@kzoo.edu.

Title: Understanding Relationships Between Defectivity and Microporosity in Organic Polymers

Abstract: This presentation describes efforts to understand structural features critical for high surface areas in porous organic polymers. Using a network disassembly approach, we show that porosity is highly sensitive to dangling end defects. The implications of these insights on the design of improved synthetic approaches for high surface areal materials will be discussed.

Dr. Bour’s Biographical Information: After graduating from Hackett High School in Kalamazoo, Dr. Bour earned a B.S. from Hope College in 2013 and Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Michigan in 2018. As a graduate student he worked on the organometallic chemistry of high-valent nickel under Professor Melanie Sanford. He then moved to MIT as an Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow to study catalytic applications of metal-organic frameworks in the lab of Professor Mircea Dinca. He began his independent career in 2020 at Wayne State University where his team studies the synthesis and applications of porous organic materials.

All are welcome! Starting at 5:10 p.m. there will be a reception in the Dewing Lobby featuring light sandwiches and soft drinks; to ensure there is enough food, if you plan to attend the reception please contact edwardwthomas@gmail.com.