BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Senior chemistry major Matthew Spafford has been selected as a 2009 Illinois Heartland American Chemical Society (ACS) Collegiate Scholar.
Award recipients are chosen based on research accomplishments and grade point average. Spafford’s research focuses on developing environmentally friendly methods for organic synthesis, specifically, the use of bismuth compounds as catalysts. His research findings have been published in the international chemistry journals Tetrahedron Letters and The Australian Journal of Chemistry. He has also presented his findings in the organic division of The American Chemical Society.