Benjamin Scheuter
- Courses1
- Reviews2
- School: Texas A&M University
- Campus: College Station
- Department: Chemistry
- Email address: Join to see
- Phone: Join to see
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Location:
College Station, TX - Dates at Texas A&M University: December 2017 - May 2018
- Office Hours: Join to see
Biography
Texas A&M University College Station - Chemistry
Chemist | Criminal Justice Enthusiast
Higher Education
Ben
Scheuter
Bryan/College Station, Texas Area
My passions lie in chemistry, teaching, and justice. I enjoy the fundamental side of chemistry and conducting investigative research. It is my desire to apply my skills in either the criminal justice or education fields. My skills also encompass the martial arts, as I have had nine years of training (including advanced weapons control tactics) and four years of concurrent instructing experience.
Experience
University of Central Arkansas
Teaching Assistant
Assisted students with laboratory procedures.
Graded labs as necessary.
Courses assisted: College Chemistry 1 and 2; Quantitative Analysis.University of Central Arkansas
Laboratory Instructor
Instructed 2 sections of chemistry lab for majors each semester.
University of Central Arkansas
Laboratory Coordinator
Managed $10,000-$15,000 annual supplies budget.
Prepared reagents for ~2,500 students annually.
Reduced excess chemical stores by ~20%.
Reduced unused/expired chemical inventory by ~80%.
Increased chemical waste management efficiency by ~90%.
Hired, trained, supervised ~65 student workers annually.
Managed department chemical and capital inventories.
Managed collection, reduction, and disposal of hazardous chemical waste in accordance with state and federal regulations.Texas A&M University
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Instructed ~3 sections of chemistry lab for non-majors each semester.
Participated in pilot study to improve freshman performance and retention.
Education
University of Central Arkansas
Bachelors Degree
Biochemistry - Mathematics Minor
I was a part of the inaugural class of the STEM Residential College program at the University of Central Arkansas. The program placed an emphasis on small class sizes consisting of students participating in the program. We hosted "science nights" at surrounding elementary and middle schools and hosted a science-oriented "kids club" at every home football game. I stayed in the STEM program for four years, serving as an academic mentor my second year. I joined the Alpha Lamda Delta honor society end of my freshman year and participated through the end of my sophomore year. My junior year I began working as a teaching assistant in the chemistry department and maintained that capacity through my fifth year. I began undergraduate research with physical chemist William Taylor fall of 2013 and worked with him through the following summer and into the spring of 2015.University of Central Arkansas
Teaching Assistant
Assisted students with laboratory procedures. Graded labs as necessary. Courses assisted: College Chemistry 1 and 2; Quantitative Analysis.University of Central Arkansas
Laboratory Instructor
Instructed 2 sections of chemistry lab for majors each semester.University of Central Arkansas
Laboratory Coordinator
Managed $10,000-$15,000 annual supplies budget. Prepared reagents for ~2,500 students annually. Reduced excess chemical stores by ~20%. Reduced unused/expired chemical inventory by ~80%. Increased chemical waste management efficiency by ~90%. Hired, trained, supervised ~65 student workers annually. Managed department chemical and capital inventories. Managed collection, reduction, and disposal of hazardous chemical waste in accordance with state and federal regulations.
Publications
State-Specific Reactions of Cu+(1S,3D,1D) with the Super Greenhouse Gas SF5CF3
Journal of Physical Chemistry A
State-specific reactions of the potent greenhouse gas SF5CF3 with Cu+ were carried out in a selected ion drift cell apparatus. Copper ions were prepared in a glow discharge utilizing Ne as the working gas. Analysis of these ions using ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMS) indicated the presence of both Cu+(3d10) and Cu+(3d94s1) configurations. Subsequent analysis indicates that the 3d10 configuration consists of Cu+(1S) exclusively whereas the 3d94s1configuration is composed primarily of Cu+(3D) with small contributions from Cu+(1D). State-specific product formation in reactions of these ions with SF5CF3 was determined using IMS along with the known energetic requirements for product formation. These experiments reveal that Cu+ excited states initiate fragmentation of SF5CF3 to yield SF2+, SF3+, SF5+, and CF3+, where SF3+ represents the largest branching fraction at 90% of the total bimolecular product formation. The energetics associated with the formation of these ions suggest that molecular Cu-containing products must also be formed in all cases, indicating that the governing reaction mechanisms are more complicated than simple dissociative charge transfer. Production of SF2+ and SF3+ are shown to proceed via Cu+(3D) and can be rationalized with a two-step mechanism proceeding through the common intermediate SF3CF3+. Production of CF3+ can be explained using this same mechanism but is also energetically possible from Cu+(1D) in a more direct process. Energetic requirements indicate that Cu+(1D) is the sole source of SF5+ with concomitant formation of CuCF3. Cu+(1S) exhibits adduct formation exclusively, but IMS spectra of the resulting Cu+·SF5CF3 suggest that as many as three association structures are formed.
State-Specific Reactions of Cu+(1S,3D,1D) with the Super Greenhouse Gas SF5CF3
Journal of Physical Chemistry A
State-specific reactions of the potent greenhouse gas SF5CF3 with Cu+ were carried out in a selected ion drift cell apparatus. Copper ions were prepared in a glow discharge utilizing Ne as the working gas. Analysis of these ions using ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMS) indicated the presence of both Cu+(3d10) and Cu+(3d94s1) configurations. Subsequent analysis indicates that the 3d10 configuration consists of Cu+(1S) exclusively whereas the 3d94s1configuration is composed primarily of Cu+(3D) with small contributions from Cu+(1D). State-specific product formation in reactions of these ions with SF5CF3 was determined using IMS along with the known energetic requirements for product formation. These experiments reveal that Cu+ excited states initiate fragmentation of SF5CF3 to yield SF2+, SF3+, SF5+, and CF3+, where SF3+ represents the largest branching fraction at 90% of the total bimolecular product formation. The energetics associated with the formation of these ions suggest that molecular Cu-containing products must also be formed in all cases, indicating that the governing reaction mechanisms are more complicated than simple dissociative charge transfer. Production of SF2+ and SF3+ are shown to proceed via Cu+(3D) and can be rationalized with a two-step mechanism proceeding through the common intermediate SF3CF3+. Production of CF3+ can be explained using this same mechanism but is also energetically possible from Cu+(1D) in a more direct process. Energetic requirements indicate that Cu+(1D) is the sole source of SF5+ with concomitant formation of CuCF3. Cu+(1S) exhibits adduct formation exclusively, but IMS spectra of the resulting Cu+·SF5CF3 suggest that as many as three association structures are formed.
State-Specific Reactions of Cu+(1S,3D) with SF6 and SF5Cl
Journal of Physical Chemistry A
State-specific reactions of Cu+(1S,3D) were carried out in a selected ion drift cell apparatus with SF6 and SF5Cl. Copper ions were prepared in a glow discharge utilizing Ne as the working gas. Analysis of Cu+ states using ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMS) indicated the presence of both Cu+(3d10) and Cu+(3d94s1) configurations attributable to the 1S ground and 3D first excited states of this metal ion, respectively. State-specific product formation in reactions of these ions with the two neutral substrates of interest here was determined using IMS along with both known and calculated energetic requirements for product formation. These experiments indicate that Cu+(1S) associates with both SF6 and SF5Cl; however, the process is approximately four times as efficient with the latter neutral under these conditions. Association is also observed as a minor product between Cu+(3D) and both neutral reactants. Inefficient formation of SF3+ occurs as the sole bimolecular product from SF6 via Cu+(3D). In contrast, Cu+(3D) reacts with SF5Cl in rapid parallel bimolecular processes yielding SF3+ and CuCl+. These results also indicate that CuCl+ initiates additional higher-order processes which result in SF5+ and SF4Cl+. The energetics associated with the formation of SF3+ suggest that a copper halide neutral byproduct must also be formed, requiring a more complex mechanism than simple dissociative charge-transfer.
