Gary Baker

CCB Colloquium presentation by Dr. Gary Baker, University of Missouri. 

Host:  Ed Castner

Speaker Bio: Gary A. Baker studied chemistry at S.U.N.Y. Oswego (New York) and obtained his doctoral degree in Analytical Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Frank V. Bright at the University at Buffalo in 2001. Following graduate studies, he was a Frederick Reines postdoctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory and later entered Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a Eugene P. Wigner fellow and staff scientist. He remained at Oak Ridge National Laboratory until January 2011 at which time he accepted a position as Assistant Professor in the Chemistry department at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles. He has won a number of awards for his research including a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2008. His current research interests include shape-controlled nanochemistry, energy applications of ionic liquids, chemically-modified graphenes, biocatalysis in non-aqueous solvents, nanoporous materials, and all things luminescent.

Talk Title: "Ionic Liquids: "Dissolving Your Worries Away!"

Abstract:  Ionic liquids feature prominently in modern chemical research. As molten salts comprising task-specific ions tailored to numerous tasks, they are in growing demand in the sibling sciences, most particularly in physics, engineering, and biology. In this presentation, I will paint a broad overview of ionic liquids as molecularly-tunable solvents, presenting along the way a series of vignettes where they have been (sometimes surprisingly) useful or interesting solvents or materials in a host of virtually-unrelated areas of science. I will begin with the premise that ionic liquids have only niche utility and slowly chip away at this proposition, hopefully leaving the audience with the impression that whilst ionic liquid may not be a liquid panacea, they surely warrant contemplation now and again in many different disciplines.

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