Louis Kuo

Associate Professor, Organometallic/Bioorganic Chemistry

department: Chemistry
office: 219 Olin Center
phone: 503-768-7535
e-mail: kuo@lclark.edu
Web: http://www.lclark. edu/~kuo/

Degree: Ph.D. 1989 Northwestern University

At Lewis and Clark College Since: 1991

Many people have asked me “why chemistry?” I was also fascinated with how the physical world works. As I look and ask deeper into this question, I realize that one has to understand physical phenomena at the molecular and atomic level to get the complete picture of how things work. When we understand the molecular architecture around us, we not only have a greater appreciation of the physical world, but we also set ourselves up for the many surprises it has to offer. It is these “surprises” that make teaching and research in chemistry a life-long learning process that is a thrill to live with.

When I say that I’m interested in the physical world, I mean both the world of biochemistry and inorganic chemistry. As such I have two different research projects, and I have taught a variety of courses that span several subdisciplines of chemistry. I have taught the accelerated track of General Chemistry, and the full sequence of Organic Chemistry. In addition, I also teach the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory (although we start with buckyballs chemistry) and an upper division Medicinal Organic Chemistry course that delves in the chemical mechanism of drug development and action. As a service to the college’s non-science students, I teach an Environmental Chemistry course.

As both a bioorganic and organometallic chemist I have two areas of research interest. One delves into the role of metal ions in promoting the chemical catalysis of a class of RNA enzymes, and the other project investigates the use of a type of organometallic complex for degrading phosphate neurotoxins. In addition, I also have a research interest in applying organometallic complexes for organic transformations in water, a form of “green chemistry.