USU Chemist Invited to Prestigious Quantum Theory Conference

Utah State University chemist Alina Sergeeva is among an elite group of about 300 scientists gathering Feb. 24-March 2 at one of the world’s premier conferences for quantum chemistry, solid-state physics and quantum biology. A doctoral student in USU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Sergeeva is one of three graduate students in the world selected for the symposium’s IBM-Zerner Award. As a recipient, she presents her research during the gathering’s 50th anniversary, which takes place off the Georgia coast on St. Simon Island.

 

“It’s not unusual to encounter Nobel Prize winners at this symposium, which was organized during the early years of the Quantum Theory Project at the University of Florida,” Sergeeva says. “It was initially held at Sanibel Island and that’s how it got its name, though in recent years it’s been held at several different locations.”

 

Sergeeva, who works in Professor Alexander Boldyrev’s lab, explores structure, stability, chemical bonding and other properties of varied chemical systems. At the symposium, the 24-year-old theoretical chemist will discuss progress toward a unified chemical bonding theory by means of the Adaptive Natural Density Partitioning (AdNDP) method. AdNDP was developed by recent USU doctoral graduate Dmitry Zubarev, now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California-Berkeley, and a former member of Boldyrev’s lab.

 

“This method facilitates the advancement of general chemical bonding theory capable of explaining both localized and delocalized bonding,” she says. “Our lab’s findings suggest the possibility of discovering many interesting structures in complex cluster systems that may find applications in nanotechnology or challenge established chemical dogmas.”

 

The 2007 graduate of Moscow’s Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, who says she revels in the research opportunities provided at USU, is racking up an impressive research publication record. Since her arrival at Utah State, Sergeeva has had nine papers published or accepted for publication in major scientific journals. She has submitted an additional three. A recent paper, written in collaboration with Boldyrev and 2009 USU graduate Boris Averkiev, along with colleagues from Brown University, appeared in January issues of Nature Chemistry and Chemistry World.

 

“Dr. Boldyrev is preparing us for future scientific careers,” she says. “He encourages us to not only study and pursue research, but to develop and write proposals, publish and present our research and to get involved in mentoring and teaching.”

 

Boldyrev describes Sergeeva as one of the most talented and dedicated students he’s ever met.

 

“Alina was the lone chemistry student among graduate students from the physics department to pursue a modern quantum mechanics graduate course, yet she got the highest score in the class,” he says. “I’m confident she will become a great teacher and excellent researcher.”

 

Sergeeva admits that not all of her academic pursuits go smoothly, but says she’s learning to find more pleasure in the journey than the destination.

 

“While I’ve had successes in the lab, I’ve also had some projects that took a lot of time and went nowhere,” she says. “Yet, Dr. Boldyrev always makes his students feel valued — even with the ups and downs of scientific research. He’s the type of professor I hope to be some day.”

 

In addition to research, Sergeeva is mentoring multiple students — ranging from grad students and undergraduates to high schoolers — including some, via the Web, in her Russian homeland. At her alma mater PFUR, one student, with whom she worked on a collaborative USU/PFUR research project for his bachelor’s thesis, was recognized as one of the top students graduating this past year from the Department of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences.

 

“It was very gratifying,” she says. “It’s a lot of fun working with other students and guiding them as Dr. Boldyrev has guided me.”

 

 

Contact: Alina Sergeeva, alina.sergeeva@aggiemail.usu.edu