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Michael Calter joined the
Chemistry Department as an associate professor of chemistry in June 2004.
Calter completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Vermont
and earned his Ph.D at Harvard University in the chemistry department. His
dissertation was titled "First Total Synthesis of the Macrolide
Antibiotic, Bafilomycin A1."
At Wesleyan, Calter teaches organic chemistry and researches synthetic
organic chemistry, which deals with making complex, useful organic
molecules from simple starting materials.
"I'm interested in using the
new molecules that my group synthesizes to study biological systems,"
Calter said.
Calter chose Wesleyan
based on the institutional commitment to education.
"The high faculty to student
ratios, the involvement of most undergraduates in cutting edge research,
and the rigorous course work required of the graduate students were just
some of the manifestations of this commitment that were obvious even
during the interviewing process," he said. "There is also a real feeling
of community among the faculty that is lacking at larger institutions."
Calter recently co-authored a
paper titled "Catalytic, asymmetric synthesis and diastereoselective aldol
reactions of dipropionate equivalents," published in the "Journal of
Organic Chemistry" in 2004. He is currently organizing a symposium for the
Chemistry Department that will bring together presentations by
representatives from academia and industry. The symposium will be held on
May 5. Calter lives
in Middletown with is wife, Kimberley and children, Rachel, 12 and
Christopher, 9. He has an amateur interest in the history of science,
particularly where it intersects with the development of geometry, and the
visual arts.
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