Dr.
David Magers is the director of the Mississippi College Computational Chemistry
research group. Dr. Magers received his B.S. in Chemistry with a minor
in Physics from Mississippi College in 1982. In graduate school, he worked
with Rodney J. Bartlett in the Quantum Theory Project at the University
of Florida. He completed his Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemistry with a double
minor in Physics and Mathematics in 1988.
He was a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University for Nobel Laureate
William N. Lipscomb during 1988 and 1989. He began teaching at Mississippi
College in 1989 with a joint appointment in the Departments of Chemistry
and Mathematics. In 1994, Dr. Magers created the Computational Chemistry
Group and has had thirty-two students do research under his direction.
He became an Associate Professor of Chemistry in 1995 and a Full Professor
in 2001. In 2003, David was named the Distinguished Lecturer of the
Year by the College of Arts and Sciences at Mississippi College and Chemist of
the Year by the Mississippi Section of the American Chemical Society.
David and his wife Tina have two children, Brandon
and Andrew, and live in Clinton, Mississippi, with their three dogs (Merlin, Magic, and Spencer)
and one cat (Stripes). In his spare time, he enjoys watching movies, reading, and eating
out. Dr. Magers may have completed Nobel Prize winning research, but unfortunately
the results are buried somewhere in his office, never to be found.
Crystal Coghlan, a senior at Mississippi College
from Holly Bluff, Mississippi, joined the Computational Chemistry Group
in February 2003. In May of 2004, she took over as chief research student in the CCG from
Ashley Ringer upon Ashley's graduation. She is a Physics and Mathematics double major planning
to work for the United States Navy as an instructor at the Nuclear Power
School. Crystal's research focuses on computing conventional strain energy for small cyclic compounds
of carbon and silicon. Specifically, she is investigating how silicon replacement in cyclobutane
lowers the strain energy while substitution in cyclopropane raises it. At MC, she is an officer
of Kissimee Social Tribe.
She has previously been a member of the MC Band and Cheerleading Squad.
One of her many claims to fame - Crystal was Miss Catfish 2003.
Adria Neely, a senior chemistry major at Tougaloo College
from Yazoo City, Mississippi, joined the Computational Chemistry Group
in the summer of 2004. However, she had already been initiated into the CCG the previous summer while
participating in the Quantum Chemistry Summer Institute at Jackson State University in 2003. While Adria was
in the Summer Institute, Dr, Magers served as her mentor. Thus, she was able to accomplish a lot
when she came to M.C. fulltime this past summer. Her research focused on computing
the conventional strain energies for the thiazetidines and the thiadiazetidines.
Angela Sood, a junior at Mississippi College
from Jackson, Mississippi, joined the Computational Chemistry Group
in August 2004. She is a Chemistry and Biology double major, but still stays involved
on campus. She is currently president of the student affiliate chapter of the
American Chemical Society, secretary of the Alpha Chi honor society, and
historian of the Alpha Epsilon Delta chapter. Angela has spent the last few
summers in India (Bharat) with her grandpaents and participated in community projects
there. She is planning to go to medical school when she graduates, with tentative
plans to pursue cardiology. Angela has picked up Jeanann Lovell's former project
investigating conformational energetics of naphthylquinoline derivatives.
Ryan Fortenberry from Clinton, Mississippi, is a second-year student at Mississippi
College with senior hours. He is a mathematics major, plays on the soccer team, and is assistant editor of the student
newspaper. He joined the Computational Chemistry Group in August 2004, and began work on the solvation of nicotinic
acid and its zwitterionic form. However, progress was slow, so he has recently switched to calculating
enthalpies of formation of a series of thiol ethers which form from the reaction of a thiol with an alkene.
Ryan plans to complete a Masters degree in Communication after he finishes his undergraduate degree. He wants
to pursue a career in scientific journalism. He has served as a summer missioniary in Africa and plans to go to
Nepal as a missionary this coming summer.
Lyssa Taylor from just north of Yazoo City, Mississippi. is a sophomore at M.C. double
majoring in chemistry and biology. She joined the CCG in August of 2004, and is calculating conventional strain
energy in small heterocycles of silicon and germanium. This past fall, Lyssa was sophomore maid at M.C.'s
Homecoming. This semester Lyssa is studying in London, but she should be back in the lab this summer. She is
planning to go to medical school when she graduates.