Sharon Lall-Ramnarine

Assistant Professor

Queensborough Community College, CUNY

Chemistry Department

Contact Information:
222-05 56th Avenue
Bayside, NY 11364
(718) 281-5572
slallramnarine@qcc.cuny.edu

Education
University of Guyana	B.Sc. Chemistry	1995	Chemistry w/ minor in Biology
Queens College, CUNY	M.A.	1998	Chemistry
The Graduate Center, City University of NY	M. Phil	2003	Chemistry
The Graduate Center, City University of NY	Ph.D.	2003	Analytical Chemistry

Positions & Employment
2004 - Present	Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Queensborough Community College, CUNY
2001 - Present	Research Collaborator / Guest in Chemistry, Brookhaven Nat. Lab
2/2003 - 5/2003	Adjunct Lecturer in Chemistry, Queens College, CUNY
8/2001 - 5/2002	Graduate Assistant in Chemistry, Queens College, CUNY
10/1997 - 8/2001	Activity Coordinator for the NSF New York City Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP) program, Queens College, CUNY
2/1996 - 5/1997	Graduate Assistant in Chemistry, Queens College, CUNY

Research Interests

Ionic Liquids: Synthesis, properties and applications; Green/sustainable chemistry.

Publications

Sharon I. Lall-Ramnarine, Alejandra Castano, Marie Thomas, Gopal Subramaniam and James F. Wishart, “Synthesis, characterization and radiolytic properties of bis(oxalato)borate containing ionic liquids” Radiat. Phys. Chem., Manuscript in Press, February 2009

Marie Thomas, Leah Rothman, Jasmine Hatcher, Pooja Agarkar, Rabindra Ramkirath, Sharon Lall-Ramnarine, and Robert Engel, “Synthesis and thermo-chemical properties of stereoisomeric dihydroxy- and tetrahydroxyalkyl ammonium salts”, Synthesis, Manuscript in Press, January 2009

R. Engel, S. Lall-Ramnarine, D. Coleman and M. Thomas, “New cations for ionic liquids, including chiral adjuncts with phosphate and sulfonylimide anions,” Symposium Series No.950 Ionic liquids in Organic Synthesis, The American Chemical Society. Editor: Sanjay Malhotra, Pg. 259, ISBN: 978-0-8412-7407-5, 2007

S. Lall-Ramnarine, D. Coleman, J. Wishart, M. Thomas, A. Ipe, S. Suarez, S. Greenbaum and R. Engel, “Synthesis and characterization of new types of ionic liquids” in Molten Salts XIV, R. A. Mantz, P. C. Trulove, H. C. De Long, G. R. Stafford, R. Hagiwara, and D. A. Costa, eds., Pg. 303. The Electrochemical Society, Pennington, NJ 2007

S. I. Lall-Ramnarine, Irina Rutenburg, “Experiments in Everyday Chemistry,” Laboratory Manual, Pearson Custom Publishing, 2006, ISBN 0536167990

J. F. Wishart, S. I. Lall-Ramnarine, R. Raju, A.Scumpia, S. Bellevue and R. Ragbir, “Spectra and solvation dynamics of the electron in ionic liquids,” Radiat. Phys. Chem.” 2005, 72, 99-104

R. Engel, J. I. Cohen and S. Lall, A new category of liquid salt-liquid ionic phosphates (LIPs), "Phosphorus and Sulfur, 2002, 177, 1441-1445

J. I. Cohen, M. Thomas, A. Rikin, S. Castro, V. Behaj, C. Massone, J. Gaillard, S. Lall and R. Engel, LIPs- Syntheses of phosphonium and ammonium liquid ionic phosphates,” Phosphorus and Sulfur, 2002, 177, 2265-2266

S. Lall, V., Behaj, D. Mancheno, R. Cassiano, M. Thomas, A. Rikin, J. Gaillard, R. Raju, A. Scumpia, S. Castro, R. Engel, and J. Cohen, “Polycations. 12. The synthesis of liquid ionic phosphates (LIPs) from mono- and polycationic ammonium halides,” Synthesis, 2002 11, 1530-1540

S. Lall, D. Mancheno, R. Casiano, S. Castro, A.Rikin, J. I. Cohen and R. Engel, “LIPs- Electrochemical and spectroscopic characteristics,” Phosphorus and Sulfur, 2002, 177, 2267-2268

S. Lall, D. Mancheno, S. Castro, V. Behaj, J. I. Cohen and R. Engel, "Polycations X. LIPs, A new category of room temperature ionic liquids based on polyammonium salts", Chem. Comm., 2000, 2413.

R. Engel, V. Shevchenco, S. Lall, B. Tropp, N. Lau and T. Strekas, " Synthesis and biological activities of phosphorus-containing polycationic strings", in Phosphorus, Sulfur and Silicon, 1999, 147, 83.

R. Engel and S. Lall, "α-Amino acid bearing side-chain C-P linkages", in Aminophosphonic and Aminophosphinic Acids, V. Kukhar and H. Hudson, Eds. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., London, 1999, 102.

Grants Awarded (past 7 yrs.)

PI Integrated Research Strategies; NSF/LS-AMP

PI Designing and evaluating biodegradable ionic liquids; PSC CUNY

Co-PI Bioconversion of lignocellulose to ethanol and butanol facilitated by ionic liquid preprocessing; DOE

PI Dissecting the mechanism of ionic liquid Antimicrobial Activity: A structure/function and genetic analysis; COMMUNITY COLL. CUNY- COLLAB

PI Investigating the biological effects of common ionic liquids on Zebra Fish; PSC-CUNY

Research Mentoring

Served as an advisor for 17 undergraduate students, and as a committee member for 9 undergraduate students, 4 graduate students, and 1 doctoral student.

Institution/Departmental Committee Memberships

College Admissions Committee
Department Personnel and Budget (P&B) committee
College Designee of the Academic Senate Steering Committee on the Committee on Course and Standing
QCC Organizing Committee for the NY ACS 2008 Undergraduate Research Symposium, as symposium Co-chair
Chemistry department search committee for new tenure track faculty members
College Designee of the Academic Senate Steering Committee to the Committee on Bylaws
Chemistry Department’s Grade Grievance Committee
Organizing Committee of the 2008 Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM) of the American Chemical Society (ACS) as Co-chair of the Ionic Liquid Symposium

Professional Memberships

Member of the American Chemical Society
Member of Sigma Xi scientific research society

Honors and Awards

-Director at Large for the NY section of the American Chemical Society, May 2007-Dec. 2008
-Faculty Mentor award QCC Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority participation (LS-AMP) Program, May 2006
-Co-Chair of the Student Affiliate Committee of the NY section American Chemical Society Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Jan 2005 – present
-Assistant Director for the New York Regional Alliance for Ionic Liquids (NYRAILS), Feb 2004- Present

Collaborators

Prof. Edward Castner, Rutgers University
Prof. Robert Engel (Graduate Advisor), Queens College, City University of NY
Prof. Steven Greenbaum, Hunter College, City University of NY
Dr. A. J. Francis, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Prof. Mark Kobrak, Brooklyn College, City University of NY
Prof. Pokay Ma, Queens College, City University of NY
Prof. Catherine McEntee, Kingsborough Community College, City University of NY
Dr. Marie Thomas, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Dr. James Wishart, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Synergistic Activities and Collaborations

-Co-Chair of the Student Affiliate Committee of the NY section American Chemical Society Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Jan. 2005 – Present.
-Director at Large for the NY section of the American Chemical Society, May 2007- Present
-Assistant Director for the New York Regional Alliance for Ionic Liquids (NYRAILS), Feb 2004- Present
-Co-organizer of NYRAILS ionic liquid workshops at Brookhaven National Laboratory (April 2004); at Queens College (July 2007) and at Rutgers University, New Brunswick (October 2007)
-Co-organizer of ionic liquid sessions at the 40th Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM) of the ACS. May 17-21, 2008
-Invited panel reviewer for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) Program. July 12 -13, 2007
-Reviewer for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program, April 2007
-Editorial Reviewer for McGraw Hill Higher Education Publishing Company for general chemistry text: A Conceptual Introduction to Chemistry by Richard C. Bauer & James P. Birk & Pamela S. Marks & Kirk (CON) Kawagoe, Dec 2006

Existing Institution Research Laboratory or Research Center

Chemistry Faculty Research Laboratory - 400 square feet of research space equipped with standard facilities including 3 fume hoods, rotary evaporators, hotplates, balances; High Vacuum Oven; High Vacuum pumps; UV-visible spectrometer; 60 MHz NMR; FT-IR; HPLC; GC-MS; Karl Fischer Titrator
Number of Participants - 8-10 Faculty & 12-14 Students
Role of Professor Lall-Ramnarine - Mentor to 2-4 students per semester on individual research projects

BNL Experiences

Year 1 - Dates: 6/8/05 through 8/11/05

Mentor - James Wishart

Departments - Chemistry

Project Name - Investigating the synthesis and physical characterization of ionic liquids

Description - A series of structurally diverse ionic liquids were synthesized and characterized for their physical properties. Correlations were made between structure and physical properties.

Number of Participants - 2

Year 2 - Dates: 6/9/06 through 8/11/06

Mentor - James Wishart

Departments - Chemistry

Project Name - Ionic Liquids: Synthesis and characterization

Description - In project 1 bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquids based on chiral and achiral versions of the cation 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) were synthesized and characterized for their physical properties. The effect of chirality on physical properties was examined. In project 2: Procedures for the thermal and microwave syntheses of mono- and di-substituted 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) were worked out to optimize the isolation of the mono- or di-adduct. The isolated salts were then converted to ionic liquids and characterized for their thermal properties.

Number of Participants - 2

Year 3 - Dates: 6/9/07 through 8/11/07

Mentor - James Wishart

Departments - Chemistry

Project Name - Ionic Liquids: Synthesis and characterization

Description - A series of imidazolium and pyrrolidinium ionic liquids were synthesized in different purity levels with different anions. The ionic liquids were tested for their toxicity to a range of microorganisms, a model plant, seed germination and mosquito larvae.

Number of Participants - 2

Personal Comments

Being involved in the BNL FaST program has allowed me to stay current in my research field and to be involved in the most exciting and current research. I am able to bring new knowledge to my classroom discussions and my research students. I am also able to take my research with my students to a level that I could not duplicate on my home campus. After the FaST experience many of my students decided to pursue science degrees and now consider graduate school as a career option. My BNL FaST mentor is a very valued collaborator who looks out for opportunities for me on a continuous basis. The BNL Office of Educational programs staff are also very supportive on a continuous basis. I would like to thank Jim Wishart and Noel Blackburn for their continuous support.

Additional Benefits: The support of the education staff has been a plus. Noel Blackburn is involved with the students and faculty constantly. I have received assistance and feedback from Scott Bronson and Noel Blackburn on the “broader impacts” sections of NSF proposals and proposal ideas. Noel Blackburn gave an invited talk on the research opportunities at BNL at Queensborough Community College in Fall 2005. I was also invited by Mel Morris during years 1 and 2 to give a lecture on my research to the Community Summer Science Program (CSSP) students. This summer I gave a talk to the CCI program on the value of undergraduate research to community college students.

My BNL mentor, Dr. James Wishart was involved with the students and their research consistently on a daily basis. He was definitely an outstanding mentor to the students and me. He provided a source of inspiration for them, joked with them, brought them snacks and was always approachable. The students were comfortable and motivated to work long hours, and were very productive. While Jim has been one of my collaborators for several years, working together as a FaST team gave us the opportunity to do several exciting things that we ordinarily would not have the time to do. For example, we helped to organize ionic liquid workshops at Queens College and Rutgers University for the New York Regional Alliance for Ionic Liquid Studies (NYRAILS) of which we are members. We also co-chaired the session on ionic liquids for the 2008 Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM) of the American Chemical Society, which was held at Queensborough Community College. I am constantly learning new things from Jim but I feel respected as a colleague and am not treated as a student. He was a great source of encouragement and guidance when I served on the NSF review panel for Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement grants last summer. Working as a FaST faculty member with Jim is always intellectually stimulating and gives me a chance to grow professionally. It is very difficult to leave after 10 weeks and go back to just teaching classes after this experience.

For more information about the Faculty and Student Team program, contact:

Noel Blackburn
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Building 438, PO Box 5000
Upton, New York 11973-5000
(631) 344-2890
(631) 344-5832 fax