A native Western Pennsylvanian, I was born in Pittsburgh, very probably with a book in my hand and a soccer ball at my feet!  I get no greater enjoyment out of life than learning something new.  As an undergraduate, I spent many hours in awe of the Greeks and Romans, studying their ancient languages and culture, and absorbing as much wisdom as my feeble mind would allow.  I also kindled an intense interest in the physical world and chemistry in particular.  It is so much fun to observe our surroundings looking through the fascinating lenses of science.

I have had many interesting scientific experiences, studying fullerenes (molecules that look like soccer balls) in graduate school, and later carrying out reactions involving solvated electrons.  The research I hope to continue at Thiel will investigate the chemistry induced in low-temperature thin ice films irradiated with 1 to 1000 eV electrons.  The electron beam ionizes molecules in its target and induces chemical reactions.  Thin ice mixtures are very interesting for a few reasons.  The experiments are carried out in a vacuum chamber, where we can study reactions at low temperatures and pressures, simulating conditions characteristic of outer space.  Reactions in the solid state are not nearly as well characterized and understood as reactions in solution and in the gas-phase.  Varying the composition as well as the polarity of the ice mixture could have interesting consequences for the reaction channels and product ratios.  Students would learn very interesting techniques, working with vacuum technology, electronics, and potentially even fabricating components for the vacuum chamber in our machine shop!  These are skills useful to students not only for science projects, but also when they become homeowners!

I encourage students to pursue their interests, and I try hard to instill an enthusiasm for all subjects.  I highly value my broad education and the unique perspective on the world it has provided.  Those who choose to study chemistry are in for a real treat.  One does not have to be a chemist to reap the benefits of a chemistry major.  A student majoring in chemistry will have numerous career opportunities, exhibiting to all that he or she is willing to accept a challenge and overtake significant hurdles.  One learns to think critically and quantitatively.  Numbers do not scare a chemistry major!  Math is our good buddy!  Very few people can or will admit that!  Chemistry majors acquire knowledge and traits that allow them to become thoughtful, valuable citizens and contribute immensely to many aspects of society.

Publications in Refereed Scholarly Journals:

• Christopher M. Stanisky, R. James Cross, Martin Saunders, Michihisa Murata, Yasujiro Murata, and Koichi Komatsu; “Helium Entry and Escape through a Chemically Opened Window in a Fullerene”; Journal of the American Chemical Society 2005, 127, 299-302.

• Sho-ichi Iwamatsu, Christopher M. Stanisky, R. James Cross, Martin Saunders, Naomi Mizorogi, Shigeru Nagase, and Shizuaki Murata; “Carbon Monoxide Inside an Open Cage Fullerene”; Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2006, 45, 5337-5340.

• David I. Schuster, Ke Li, Dirk M. Guldi, Amit Palkar, Luis Echegoyen, Christopher Stanisky, R. James Cross, Marja Niemi, Nikolai V. Tkachenko, and Helge Lemmetyinen; “Azobenzene-Linked Porphyrin-Fullerene Dyads”; Journal of the American Chemical Society 2007, 129, 15973-15982.

• Christopher M. Stanisky, R. James Cross, Martin Saunders; “Putting Atoms and Molecules into Chemically Opened Fullerenes”; Journal of the American Chemical Society 2009, 131, 3392-3395.

• Christopher M. Stanisky, David M. Bartels, and Kenji Takahashi; “Rate Constants for the Reaction of Hydronium Ions with Hydrated Electrons up to 350°C”; Radiation Physics and Chemistry 2009, 79, 64-65.

• Patrick M. Hare, Erica A. Price, Christopher M. Stanisky, Ireneusz Janik, and David M. Bartels; “Solvated Electron Extinction Coefficient and Oscillator Strength in High Temperature Water”; The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2010, 114, 1766-1775.

• Kyle S. Haygarth, Timothy W. Marin, Ireneusz Janik, Kotchaphan Kanjana, Christopher M. Stanisky, and David M. Bartels; “Carbonate Radical Formation in Radiolysis of Sodium Carbonate and Bicarbonate Solutions up to 250°C and the Mechanism of its Second Order Decay”; The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2010, 114, 2142-2150.

Invited Talks:

• Chris Stanisky, “Noble Gases Inside Open-Cage Fullerenes,” seminar presented at Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, March 13, 2006.

• Chris Stanisky, “Endohedral Fullerene Compounds,” seminar presented at the Institute for Molecular Science, Okazaka, Japan, February 20, 2006.

• C. Stanisky, R.J. Cross, M. Saunders, M. Murata, Y. Murata, K. Komatsu, “Forcing Neon Through a Permanent Opening in a Fullerene,” paper/talk presented at 207th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Quebec, May 18, 2005.

• C. Stanisky, R.J. Cross, M. Saunders, K. Komatsu, “Moving Helium Into and Out of an Open Cage Fullerene,” paper/talk presented at 205th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, San Antonio, TX, May 10, 2004.

• C. Stanisky, R.J. Cross, M. Saunders, K. Komatsu, “Cramming Chemicals into Carbon Cages,” talk given in graduate student lecture series Club Med, Yale University, December 11, 2003.

Other Contributions:

• Hal Van Ryswyk, G. William Daub, Patricia Holbrook, Michael W. Daub, Jeffrey D. Rubinstein, David K. Hill, Christopher M. Stanisky, J. Christopher Thomas, and Gerald R. Van Hecke; “First-year college/elementary school collaboration to map lead in soils from vehicle emissions while considering the social impact of leaded fuels”; in Abstracts of Papers, 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, United States, April 6-10, 2008 (2008).