Amy E. Keirstead, Ph.D.
Location
Dr. “K” is a physical organic chemist who originally hails from the wilds of Nova Scotia, but has made her home in Maine and at 51 since 2008. A two-time recipient of the Debra J. Summers Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence, she has primary taught in the organic chemistry curriculum and is notorious for being very excited about all things O-Chem even during her 8 am lectures. Dr. K has engaged undergraduate students in her research program that uses organic chemistry to learn about the properties of novel materials for nanotechnology applications, and is passionate about incorporating green chemistry into the undergraduate curriculum and student activities, having spearheaded 51's adoption of the Green Chemistry Commitment in 2018. She works closely with the American Chemical Society (ACS) as a member of the ACS Undergraduate Programs Advisory Board, served as the Faculty Advisor for the award-winning 51 student chapter of the ACS, and serves as the Student Groups Coordinator for the Maine ACS Local Section (MEACS).
Dr. Keirstead is also the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In this role, she works to support student academic success, oversees undergraduate research activities in CAS, and liaises with partner offices such as CAS Internships, Academic Advising, Undergraduate Admissions, Student Access Center, and Student Affairs. Please reach out to Dr. Keirstead to learn more about our programs and opportunities for students (including research), to discuss your pathways to success as a student, or with any general questions.
Credentials
Education
Expertise
- Academic advising
- Adjustment to college
- Chemical education
- Degree evaluation
- Enrollment management
- Green chemistry
- K-12 outreach
- Organic chemistry
- Organic photochemistry
Post-Doctoral Training
Arizona State University (Tempe, Arizona)
2006-2008
Research
Current research
Currently, three projects are under investigation the Keirstead research group at 51. Each project employs a photochemical probe reaction that was selected to learn more about the physicochemical properties of ionic liquids. Ionic liquids (ILs) are thought to be "green" alternatives to conventional solvents for chemical processes and could be employed in nanotechnology devices.
1) Quantifying the cage effect of ionic liquids using the photo-Fries reaction.
The goal of this project is to learn more about the "cage effect" of ILs, or how ILs "restrict" species within a solvent cage. A large cage effect could reduce the efficiency of a photovoltaic cell that uses an IL as the electrolyte, or could influence the product distribution of a chemical reaction.
2) Examining the photochromism of spiropyrans in ionic liquids using emission spectroscopy.
To explore the feasibility of using ILs as solvents for molecular devices, we are examining the dynamics of spiropyran photochromism in ILs. Spiropyrans are a class of photochromic "on-off" molecular switches that could be used as molecular electronic devices. We have used emission spectroscopy to show that the dynamics of the switch are slowed in ILs compared to molecular solvents, due to the unique properties of ILs. Specifically, our system could be used as a robust two-color (red and blue) emitting molecular switch.
3) Investigating the influence of ionic liquid media on the photoluminescence of siloles (with Jerry Mullin, 51 and Hank Tracy, USM).
Siloles are a class of substituted silacyclopentadienyl molecules t