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Profile for Janet Kirsch

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Janet Kirsch

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Associate Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

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Janet Kirsch Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Associate Professor

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Specialty area(s)

Physical, Computational, Inorganic, and General Chemistry

Brief biography

I grew up in a small town in central Wyoming and eventually made my way to this larger "small town" in western Wisconsin by going where my career led me. Although there are lots of challenges in my job at UWL, having the opportunity to work with such talented students and colleagues keeps me going. When I'm not on campus, I'm usually at home with my spouse and two cats, and am quite probably knitting.

Current courses at UWL

CHM 103-40 - General Chemistry I
Lecture: MWF 11:00-11:55 AM
Discussion: (41D) Th 9:55-10:50 AM; (42D) Th 11:00-11:55 AM; (43D) Th 1:10-2:05 PM

Education

Hot Springs County High School, Thermopolis, WY

B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

Ph.D., Physical Chemistry, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY
    Advisor: Dr. Suzanne Harris
    Dissertation: "Electronic Structure Studies of Adsorbate-Induced Surface Reconstructions"

Career

Teaching history

CHM 103 - General Chemistry I Lecture
CHM 103 - General Chemistry I Laboratory
CHM 104 - General Chemistry II Laboratory

CHM 271 - The Chemical Community

CHM 309 - Physical Chemistry Theory I
CHM 310 - Physical Chemistry Theory II
CHM 313 - Physical Chemistry Laboratory

UWL 100 - First Year Seminar

Professional history

Post-Doctoral Fellow in Dr. Kenneth R. Poeppelmeier's Research Group, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 2003-2005

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2005-2010

Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2010-present

Research and publishing

Research Interests
My research involves the use of different computational techniques to answer fundamental questions about the bonding in transition metal compounds and in the solid state (particularly on transition metal surfaces). I am most interested in developing explanations, based on bonding theories, for the ways in which different surfaces spontaneously rearrange (i.e. reconstruct).

Selected Publications
1. Electronic Structure Studies of a Clock-Reconstructed Al/Pd(100) Surface Alloy, J. E. Kirsch, C. J. Tainter, Surf. Sci., 2008, 602, 943-951.

2. Evidence for Nonpolar Alignment of [NbOF5]2- Anions in Cd(pyridine)4NbOF5 Chains, P. C. R. Guillory, J. E. Kirsch, H. K. Izumi, C. L. Stern, and K. R. Poeppelmeier, Cryst. Growth Des., 2006, 6, 382-389.

3. Synthesis and Characterization of the Face Sharing Bioctahedral [Mo2O6F3]3- Anion, J. E. Kirsch, H. K. Izumi, C. L. Stern, K. R. Poeppelmeier, Inorg. Chem., 2005, 44, 4586-4593.

4. Examining the Out-of-Center Distortion in the [NbOF5]2- Anion, H. K. Izumi, J. E. Kirsch, C. K. Stern, K. R. Poeppelmeier, Inorg. Chem., 2005, 44, 884-895.

5. Electronic Structure Studies of Adsorbate Induced Surface Reconstructions: Oxygen on Rh(100), J. E. Kirsch, S. Harris, Surf. Sci., 2004, 553, 82-94.

6. Electronic Structure Studies of Ni(100) Surface Reconstructions Resulting from Carbon, Nitrogen, or Oxygen Atom Adsorption, J. E. Kirsch, S. Harris, Surf. Sci., 2003, 522, 125-142.