Email address: fry@chem.wisc.edu
B.S. 1978, University of Arizona
Ph.D. 1985, Iowa State University
Research Description
The primary focus of my work is to provide state-of-the-art NMR instrumentation to support research and research-directed education in chemistry. Our facilities are exceptional in their support of multinuclear and variable temperature studies that are key characterization techniques for synthetic and mechanistic chemistry. We have recently made tremendous improvements in our capabilities for studying carbon-13 and fluorine-19, and we are working to obtain similar improvements with other nuclei such as oxygen-17.
Unique methods for obtaining very fast kinetic data by NMR at high pressure and variable temperatures are being established. We are soon to update, through a large grant from NIH, our capabilities in support of light-driven chemistry, especially in the area of chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization. New capabilities for high sample throughput on the spectrometers enable reaction and biochemical screening.
These capabilities provide efficient and safe use of high-field NMR to novice users, including large numbers of undergraduates. Use of the NMR facility by undergraduates performing research projects and in credited laboratory courses has increased considerably.
Overall, these efforts have greatly expanded the facility’s capabilities and use, which has improved our ability to assist corporate research endeavors.
Awards and Honors
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research: Critical Research Support | 2011 |
Graduate Student Faculty Liaison Committee Mentor Award | 2011 |
President's Award, McDonnell Aircraft Company | 1989 |
Selected Publications
Glyoxal in Aqueous Ammonium Sulfate Solutions: Products, Kinetics and Hydration Effects. Environmental Science & Technology. 2011;45:6336-6342. | .
SN1, E1, and E2 Reactions of tert-Amyl Compounds: Improved Analysis Using Computational Chemistry and ASAP-HSQC NMR Spectroscopy. Journal of Chemical Education. 2020;. | .
S(N)1, E1, and E2 Reactions of tert-Amyl Compounds: Improved Analysis Using Computational Chemistry and ASAP-HSQC NMR Spectroscopy. Journal of Chemical Education. 2020;97:2280-2285. | .
A metastable Ru(III)azido complex with metallo-Staudinger reactivity. 2020;56:10738-10741. | .
Laser- and cryogenic probe-assisted NMR enables hypersensitive analysis of biomolecules at submicromolar concentration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2019;116:11602-11611. | .