By Ilia Guzei and Kimberly M. Hazen
In the 1920s, the Department of Chemistry at UW–Madison was already recognized as a center for chemical instrumentation, which attracted outstanding scientists such as The Svedberg, the famous Swedish physical chemist who developed the modern ultracentrifuge. Professor Villiers Merloche who joined the department around this time also recognized the importance of chemical instrumentation and in the late 1920s, a small instrumentation center was established on the first floor of the chemistry building, which is now known as Chamberlin Hall.
In the late 1950s, Professor Paul Bender led the development of the Chemistry Instrumentation Center. To Professor Bender, the importance that students understand the experiments being performed was the hallmark of the center’s operations. This, and the philosophy of hands-on learning allowed students using the instruments to not only collect their own data but to fully understand the science behind the measurements. The culture of guidance and understanding is still a priority for the center today. Years after Professor Bender’s retirement, the facility was renamed the Paul J. Bender Chemistry Instrumentation Center (PBCIC) in recognition of Professor Bender’s contributions. Later, a bequest from Professor Bender and his wife Margaret McLean Bender stabilized the financial security of the center.
Today, the PBCIC employs six award-winning Ph.D. scientists with Professor John Berry serving as its director. Dr. Heike Hofstetter, Dr. Cathy Clewett, and Dr. Gabi Carosio provide guidance and expertise for magnetic resonance (NMR and EPR), Dr. Martha Vestling serves as the director of the mass spectrometry labs, Dr. Ilia Guzei is the center’s X-ray crystallographer, and Dr. Bob Shanks provides expertise for mass spectrometry, X-ray, and electron paramagnetic resonance facilities. There are also four teaching assistants employed by the center.
Graduate student Jed H. Kim says the NMR instruments and guidance are critical to his research. “I worked closely with the instrumentation team to get publishable kinetic NMR data,” Kim explains. “Without the insight I received from the instrument data, I am uncertain if I could have achieved half of what I have done.”
Staying on the cutting edge of instrumentation development and maintaining the center’s state-of-the-art instruments valued at more than $11.3 million is no easy task. Fortunately, UW–Madison has recognized the critical role of the PBCIC in the scholarly enterprise of the department and the university by awarding the center three recent UW–Madison Research Core Revitalization grants: “Replacement and Upgrade for Workhorse GCMS in the Chemistry Instrument Center for Characterization of Small Molecule Synthesis Products and Side Products” (PI Prof. John Berry) in 2020, “Upgrade for Workhorse 500 MHz NMR for Catalysis and Materials Research” (PI Prof. Ive Hermans) in 2022, and “Acquisition of a Workhorse Single-Crystal X-ray Diffractometer in the Molecular Structure Laboratory that will Replace and Upgrade Two Older Diffractometers” (PI Prof. John Berry) in 2024. Other avenues for funding include federal grants, the university’s Instructional Laboratory Modernization grants, bequests, private donations, and corporate sponsorships.
Pushing the boundaries of scientific research requires a strong knowledge of the chemistry fundamentals and experimental techniques, thoughtful investigation, and precise measurements. The center boasts the state-of-the-art equipment that you expect to find at a world-class research institution. Yet, equipment alone cannot support researchers in their goals to confirm discoveries, analyze compounds, and measure their properties.
The Paul Bender Chemistry Instrumentation team pictured left to right: Dr. Ilia Guzei, Leah Garman, JP Habumugisha, Y Dang, Dr. Martha Vestling, Dr. Robert Shanks, Dr. Cathy Clewett, Dr. Heike Hofstetter, Julianna Mouat, Dr. Gabi Carosio
That is why six experts in the fields of magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, crystallography, and instrumentation science provide advice, education, and guidance in the characterization of new compounds and synthetic intermediates, and aid in the design of highly customized experiments. Investigating more than 150,000 samples yearly, the center supports over 3,000 undergraduates and 360 graduate and postdoctoral students in chemical, environmental, life, material sciences, and engineering fields across the UW–Madison campus, the nation, and the world. The PBCIC offers exactly what these investigators require—high throughput and precision measurements, and both routine and custom-designed experiments.
The PBCIC is engaged in the research education of the next generation of scientists; the center is integrated into the curriculum at the BS, MS, Ph.D., and post-doctoral levels. All the CIC staff teach at the graduate level in core classes as well as provide individual instruction, and students as early as their sophomore year use the facility as a major component of their classes.
Graduate student Jennifer Whetter works in the Boros Group which is focused on developing radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Through this work, Whetter makes scandium complexes that also contain hydrogen, carbon, fluorine, and phosphorus. Whetter explained that the NMR-active isotopes of these atoms enable her to probe the chemical environment of the metal complexes, which informs the understanding of the radioactive analogs. For Whetter, instruction from the center has been invaluable and exceptionally student-focused. “It has proven to be a very friendly learning environment where it is safe to ask questions and try new things,” explained Whetter. “This environment has helped me grow into a more competent, curious, and independent spectroscopist.”
The center’s scientists have authored and co-authored more than 840 patents, workshops, short courses, presentations, and publications, some of which grace journal covers. In the last decade, at least 439 publications mentioned successful national grants obtained by the Chemistry Department’s members to purchase shared instruments hosted in the PBCIC. These publications appeared in premier scholarly journals such as Nature, Science, and the Journal of Chemical Education.
As state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation continues to play an essential role in modern chemistry, the PBCIC aims to stay on the forefront of discovery with the latest instrumentation and expert instruction. Tahoe Fiala, a graduate student in the Yoon lab, says he is grateful to have access to the center. “The instrumentation center is the heart of the UW–Madison Chemistry Department,” Tahoe explains. “When prospective students tour the chemistry building, the instrumentation center is a key resource that they are excited about and remember from their visit.”
