Advances in Metallacrown Chemistry

C urtis Zaleski  earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio while working with Professor Paul R. Challen.  He then earned his Ph.D. degree in chemistry at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan under the mentorship of Professor Vincent L. Pecoraro.  His doctorate research focused on the single-molecule magnetic properties of metallacrowns.  In addition, he was involved with the Preparing Future Faculty program in the Department of Chemistry under the direction of Professor Brian P. Coppola.  Upon earning his degree, he continued under Dr. Pecoraro’s mentorship for a teaching-research postdoctoral fellowship that allowed him to hone his teaching skills and prepare for an academic role at a primarily undergraduate institution.  In 2006 he joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania as an Assistant Professor, rose to Associate Professor in 2011, and was promoted to Professor of Inorganic Chemistry in 2016.  While at Shippensburg University he has had the privilege to mentor over 40 undergraduate students in research and publish numerous articles with them.  The research of the group focuses on the synthesis and magnetic characterization of lanthanide-containing metallacrowns in particular heterotrimetallic systems with either manganese or aluminum ions in the ring positions of the molecules.