Edward Remsen

Biography

Dr. Edward Remsen graduated from Manhattan College with a B.S. in chemistry. Over the summers while an undergraduate, he did research in the analysis of ligand exchange reactions using stopped-flow kinetics with Dr. Raymond Barile. He earned his M.S. from the Polytechnic University of New York where his thesis research focused on the vibrational spectroscopy of organometallic and inorganic compounds under the guidance of Dr. John Casper. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton University working in laboratory of Professor Thomas Spiro in the area of resonance Raman spectroscopic studies of iron-sulfur electron transport proteins and mixed valence inorganic complexes.

After receiving his doctorate, Dr. Remsen began a 26 year career in the chemical industry starting as a research chemist with the Monsanto Plastics and Resins Company in Springfield, MA. He then transferred to the world headquarters of Monsanto Company in St. Louis, MO where he worked as an analytical chemist in Monsanto Corporate Research. His area of research while with Monsanto Corporate Research was the physical and analytical chemistry of synthetic and biological macromolecules. His work was recognized with a Research Achievement Award and an appointment to Monsanto Science Fellow. He left Monsanto to take a position as a research scientist in the Department of Chemistry of Washington University in St. Louis. His research was in the physical and analytical chemistry of polymer nanoparticles in the laboratory of Professor Karen Wooley. Dr. Remsen returned to industry as a senior scientist and manager in the R&D and Quality groups of Cabot Microelectronics Corporation (Aurora, IL), a major supplier of process chemicals to the computer chip industry. While employed at Cabot Microelectronics he taught part-time as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemical, Physical and Biological Sciences of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, IL. In 2009 he joined the Mund-Lagowski Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Bradley University as an Assistant Professor and in 2014 he was promoted to Associate Professor. In 2020 was promoted to Professor and in 2021 was appointed Caterpillar Professor. He was the 2017 recipient of Bradley University’s Samuel Rothberg Award for Professional Excellence. In 2020 he was named Fellow of the International Association of Advanced Materials and received the 2021 Chemist of the Year Award from the Illinois Heartland Section of the American Chemical Society. He has co-authored 100 peer-reviewed publications, is a co-inventor of 2 patents, and has presented his research findings at 46 national and international conferences and webinars.

Teaching

Dr. Remsen's primary teaching responsibility is the Analytical Chemistry sequence. He has taught the following courses:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Instrumental Analysis (undergraduate and graduate)
• Fundamentals of Separation Science (graduate)
• General Chemistry I

Scholarship

The research activities of the Remsen research group span a range of analytical and physical chemical areas of investigation. A critical element in Dr. Remsen’s research program is the adaptation and/or development of novel methods of analysis. An example of this approach is a form of single-molecule spectroscopy that is used extensively by his research group - fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). The FCS technique enables the quantitative analysis of single fluorophores in chemically complex solutions. Measured quantities obtained for a fluorophore using this analysis are the translational diffusion coefficient, hydrodynamic radius and solution concentration. Accurate and precise determination of these quantities allows the characterization of binding and adsorption phenomena of fluorescent probe molecules with polymers, proteins, colloids and nanoparticles. FCS studies in the Remsen group are complemented by investigations using other analytical methods including dynamic light scattering (DLS), electrophoretic light scattering (ELS), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (TOF/MS), fluorescence emission spectrophotometry, fluorescence lifetime analysis and attenuated total reflectance/Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (ATR/FT-IR). 

A representative sampling of active research projects in the Remsen group include:

Abrasive nanoparticle slurries used in computer chip manufacturing processes are under continuous improvement in order to enable advanced processes for producing faster, more powerful microprocessors. Industrial researchers with companies both producing these slurries and using the slurries to fabricate new generations of microprocessor are collaborating with Dr. Remsen’s group. These collaborations are targeted at better understanding the key chemical interactions underlying the adsorptive behavior of abrasive slurries in chip manufacturing processes. FCS, DLS and ATR/FT-IR are the principal analytical methods used by the Remsen group in these studies.

Interactions with the research groups of Drs. Wayne Bosma and Dean Campbell provide key contributions to this research area.

Protein-protein interactions producing protein self-association, aggregation, and fibrillation are under investigation. A variety of analytical techniques are used in this research, especially FCS, fluorescence emission spectroscopy and HPLC.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS from 2015 to 2020 (*undergraduate and **graduate student co-author):

Boldridge, D.; Kamiti, M.; Remsen, E.E. “Avoiding the Spherical Particle Assumption: Fractal Particle Density, Size and Structure Characterization through Combined Sedimentation and Viscometry Measurements.”  Analytical Chemistry 2020, 92, 15034-15041.

Ostadhossein, F.; Sar, D.; Tripathi, I.; Soares, J.; Remsen, E.E.; Pan. D. “Oligdots: Structurally Defined Fluorescent Nanoprobes for Multi-Scale Dual-Color Imaging in vitro and in vivo.” ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 10183-10192. 

Song, L.; Chuah, W-C.; Quick, J.D.; Moshin, S.; Owen, B.; Remsen, E.; Bartmess, J.E.  “Nitrogen Direct Analysis in Real Time Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (N₂ DART-TOFMS) for Rapid Screening of Forensic Drugs.” Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2020, 34, e8558. 

Song, L.; Chuah, W-C.; Lu, X.; Remsen, E.; Bartmess, J. “Ionization Mechanism of Positive-Ion Nitrogen Direct Analysis in Real Time.” J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 2018, 29, 640-650. 

Marsh, J.L.**; Wayman, A.E.**; Smiddy, N.M.*; Campbell, D.J.; Parker, J.C.; Bosma, W.B.; Remsen, E.E. “Infrared Spectroscopic Analysis of the Adsorption of Pyridine Carboxylic Acids on Colloidal Ceria.” Langmuir 2017, 33, 13224-13233.

Schorr, D. K.**; Smith, M. A.*; Rawat, A. K.; Carver, C. T.; Mansour, M.; Remsen, E. E. “Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopic Studies of Particle Properties for Colloidal Ceria Abrasives Used in Chemical-Mechanical Planarization.” ECS Trans. 2016, 72, 43-51.

Roberts, E. S.**; Boudreau, B. A.*; Brown, D. W.; McQuade, K. L., Remsen, E. E. “Analysis of Carbohydrates in Fusarium verticillioides Using Size-Exclusion HPLC - DRI and Direct Analysis in Real Time Ionization - Time-of-Flight - Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS).” Analytical Methods 2016, 8, 673-681.

Jacobson, L. M.**; Turner, D. K.**; Wayman, A.**; Rawat, A.; Carver, C. T..; Moinpour, M.; Remsen, E. E. “Characterization of Particle Size and Surface Adsorption for SiO₂ Abrasives Used in Chemical Mechanical Planarization via Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy.” ECS J. Solid State Sci. Tech. 2015, 4, P5053-P5057.

SELECTED CONFERENCE PAPERS, POSTERS, WEBINARS AND INVITED TALKS (2015-2020)

(presenter underlined; *undergraduate and **graduate student co-author)

Remsen, E.E. “Single-Molecule Spectroscopic Characterization of Abrasives in Chemical-Mechanical Planarization (CMP) Slurries Used in the Fabrication of Microelectronic Devices.” Illinois Heartland Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS), 2021 Chemist of the Year Award Presentation, June 17, 2021.

Remsen, E.E. “Fine Particle Characterization in Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) Slurries with Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy.” Particle Characterization Webinars, Horiba Instruments Co., June 8, 2021 (invited).

Moinpour, M.; Vacassy, R.; Kamiti, M.; Campbell, K.^**; Jones, E.^**; Remsen, E.  “Multiple Technique Characterization of the Physical and Chemical Properties of Silica Abrasives Used in Chemical-Mechanical Planarization.” 239th Electrochemical Society Meeting, CMP Symposium 16, June 1, 2021 (invited).

Remsen, E.E.; Martinez, K.A.**; Stewart, M.R.*; Campbell, K.M.*; Bosma, W.B.; Campbell, D.C. “Small Molecule Adsorption on Nano-abrasives Used in Chemical-Mechanical Planarization.” International Association of Advanced Materials, Fellow Lecture Series Webinar, July 2020. (invited).

Sowers, E.T.G.**; Duvall, L.J.**; Graham, C.J.**; Palakeel, J.A.*; Hammar, M.K.**; Jutton, F.J.; Remsen, E.E.  “Spectroscopic Characterization of Interactions in Aqueous Solution between Poly(methacryloxyethyltrimethylammonium) Chloride and Halogenated Fluorescein Dyes.” American Chemical Society Midwest Regional Meeting, Wichita KS, October 16-18, 2019. 

Martinez, K.A.**; Stewart, M.R.*; Campbell, D.J.; Remsen, E.E.  “Small Molecule Adsorption on Colloidal Alumina and Zirconia Abrasives Used in Chemical-Mechanical Planarization (CMP) Slurries.” 235th Electrochemical Society Meeting: 15th Symposium on Chemical Mechanical Polishing, Dallas TX, May 27-31, 2019. 

Martinez, K.A.**; Stewart, M.R.*; Campbell, K.M.*; Campbell, D.J.; Remsen, E.E. “Characterization of Small Molecule Adsorption on Metal Oxide Colloidal Abrasives Used in Chemical-Mechanical Planarization (CMP) Slurries.” American Chemical Society Great Lakes Regional Meeting, Lisle IL, May 1-3, 2019. 

Remsen, E.E. “Advances in Analytical Methods for the Characterization of CMP Slurries.”, Keynote Presentation, Intel 2018 Metrology Workshop, Intel Corporation, Hillsboro OR, September 19, 2018 (invited).

Remsen, E.E.; Campbell, D.J..; Bosma, W.B.  “Infrared Spectroscopic Analysis of the Adsorption of Pyridine Carboxylic Acids on Colloidal Ceria.” IIT Chemistry Dept. Seminar Series 2018, Chicago IL, February 21, 2018 (invited).

Marsh, J.L.**; Schneider, P.E.*; Smiddy, N.M.*; Ramia, C.M.*; Wayman, A.E.**; Campbell, D.J.; Bosma, W.B.; Remsen, E.E. “Characterization of Molecular Interactions between Abrasives and Additives Used in CMP via Spectroscopic and Computational Methods” 20th International CAMP Conference on Chemical-Mechanical Planarization, Lake Placid NY, August 7-10, 2016. (invited).

Schorr, D. K.**; Smith, M. A.*; Rawat, A. K.; Carver, C. T.; Moinpour, M.; Remsen, E. E. “Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopic Studies of Particle Properties for Colloidal Ceria Abrasives Used in Chemical-Mechanical Planarization” 229th Electrochemical Society Meeting, San Diego, May 29-June 3, 2016.

Jacobson, L. M.**; Remsen, E. E.; Moinpour, M.; Rawat,, A. K.; Carver, C. T.; Tripathi, A. “Application of Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) in the Analysis of Particle Size Distributions and the Adsorption of Chemical Additives at the Surface of CMP Abrasive Particles” PittCon 2015, New Orleans, March 9-13, 2015.

Service

Dr. Remsen has served on numerous committees in his department, the college, and the university. He has managed the instrument holdings in the Mund-Lagowski Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He has served as the Graduate Coordinator for the Department and as a member of the College of Liberal Arts and Science Strategic Planning Committee. He is a member of the University’s Student Scholarship EXPO committee, the Office of Sponsored Programs Advisory Board, and the Rothberg Award selection committee.