Williams Group

People

William A. Donald (Alex)

alex




Williams Group
Department of Chemistry
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1460
Tel: (510) 642-6240
Fax: (510) 642-7714

wadonald@berkeley.edu

Education

  • B.S. Chemistry, Mathematics Minor. Seattle University. 2005.
  • Graduate student, University of California, Berkeley. 2005-present.

    • Awards and Fellowships

  • ACS Analytical Chemistry Summer Fellowship (Sponsored by Eastman Chemical Co.). 2008.
  • Seattle University Outstanding Senior Chemistry Award. 2005.
  • ACS Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry. 2004.
  • Bannan Summer Research Stipend. 2004.
  • College of Science and Engineering Bannan Scholar. 2004-2005.

    • Teaching Experience

  • Graduate Student Instructor, Graduate Level Mass Spectrometry, UC Berkeley. Spring 2008.
  • Graduate Student Instructor, Instrumental Methods in Analytical Chemistry, UC Berkeley. Fall 2006.
  • Graduate Student Instructor, General Chemistry, UC Berkeley. Fall 2005.
  • Organic Chemistry Study Group Teaching Assistant, Seattle University. 2003 - 2005.

    • Publications

  • Donald, W. A.; Leib, R. D.; Demireva, M.; O'Brien, J. T.; Prell, J. S.; Williams, E. R. Directly Relating Reduction Energies of Gaseous Eu(H2O)n3+, n = 55-140, to Aqueous Solutions: The Absolute SHE Potential and Real Proton Solvation Energy  J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009,  10.1021/ja902815v web
  • Donald, W. A.; Leib, R. D.; O'Brien, J. T.; Williams, E. R. Directly Relating Gas-Phase Cluster Measurements to Solution-Phase Hydrolysis, the Absolute Standard Hydrogen Electrode Potential, and the Absolute Proton Solvation Energy  Chem. Eur. J. 2009, DOI: 10.1002/chem.200900334 . web
  • Holm, A. I. S.; Donald, W. A.; Hvelplund, P.; Larsen, M. K.; Nielsen, S. B.; Williams, E. R. Investigation of Energy Deposited by Femtosecond Electron Transfer in Collisions Using Hydrated Ion Nanocalorimetry  J. Phys. Chem. A 2008, 112, 10721-10727. web
  • Prell, J. S.; O'Brien, J. T.; Holm, A. I. S.; Leib, R. D.; Donald, W. A.; Williams, E.R. Electron Capture by a Hydrated Gaseous Peptide: Effects of Water on Fragmentation and Molecular Survival   J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 12680-12689. web
  • Donald, W.A.; Leib, R. D.; O'Brien, J. T.; Holm, A. I. S.; Williams, E. R. Nanocalorimetry in mass spectrometry: A route to understanding ion and electron solvation   Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2008, 105, 18102-18107. web
  • Holm, A. I. S.; Larson, M. K.; Panja, S.; Hvelplund, P.; Nielson, S. B.; Leib, R. D.; Donald, W. A.; Williams, E. R.; Hao, C.; Turecek, F. Electron capture, femtosecond electron transfer and theory: A study of noncovalent crown ether 1,n-diammonium alkane complexes. International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 2008, 276,  116-126. web
  • Donald, W. A.; Williams, E. R. Evaluation of Different Implementations of the Thomson Liquid Drop Model: Comparison to Monovalent and Divalent Cluster Ion Experimental Data. Journal of Physical Chemistry A 2008, 112,  3515-3522 .web
  • Donald, W. A.; Leib, R. D.; O'Brien, J. T.; Bush, M. F.; Williams, E. R. Absolute Standard Hydrogen Electrode Potential Measured by Reduction of Aqueous Nanodrops in the Gas Phase. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2008, 130, 3371-3381. web
  • Leib, R. D.; Donald, W. A.; O'Brien, J. T.; Bush, M. F.; Williams, E. R. Reduction Energy of 1 M Aqueous Ruthenium(III) Hexaammine in the Gas Phase: A Route toward Establishing an Absolute Electrochemical Scale. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 2007, 129, 716-7717. web
  • Leib, R. D.; Donald, W. A.; Bush, M. F.; O'Brien, J. T.; Williams, E. R. Nonergodicity in Electron Capture Dissociation Investigated Using Hydrated Ion Nanocalorimetry. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. 2007, 18, 1217-1231. web
  • Leib, R. D.; Donald, W. A.; Bush, M. F.; O'Brien, J. T.; Williams, E. R. Internal Energy Deposition in Electron Capture Dissociation Measured Using Hydrated Divalent Metal Ions as Nanocalorimeters.  Journal of the American Chemical Society. 2007, 129, 4894-4895. web
  • McLaughlin, R.P., Donald, W.A., Jitjai, D., Zhang, Y. Vibrational analysis of n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl and tert-butyl nitrite. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy. 2006, 67, 178-187. web

    • Talks

  • Donald, W. A.; Leib, R. D.; Demireva, M.; Williams, E. R. Connecting Reduction Energies of Hydrated Metal Ion Clusters to Bulk: Absolute Reduction Potentials, and Ion and Electron Solvation.  University of Melbourne Physical Chemistry Seminar, Melbourne, Australia. July, 2009.
  • Donald, W. A.; Leib, R. D.; Demireva, M.; Aiken, M. J.; Williams, E. R. Connecting Reduction Energies of Hydrated Metal Ions to Aqueous Solution: The Absolute SHE Potential and Proton Solvation Energy.  57th American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference, Philadelphia, PA. June, 2009.
  • Donald, W. A.; Leib, R. D.; Demireva, M.; Aiken, M. J.; Williams, E. R. Using Gas-Phase Ion Chemistry to Investigate Absolute Reduction Potentials and Electron Solvation in Aqueous Solution. Lake Arrowhead Ion Chemistry Conference, Lake Arrowhead, CA. January, 2009.
  • Donald, W. A.; Leib, R. D.; O'Brien, J. T.; Demireva, M.; Aiken, J.; Williams, E. R. Absolute gas-phase electrochemistry and investigation of electron/ion solvation using hydrated ion nanocalorimetry. Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, TN. October, 2008.
  • Donald, W. A.; Leib, R. D.; O'Brien, J. T.; Bush, M. F.; Williams, E. R. The Absolute Standard Hydrogen Electrode Potential Obtained Using Gas-Phase Ion Chemistry. Lake Arrowhead Ion Chemistry Conference, Lake Arrowhead, CA. January, 2008.
  • Donald, W. A.; Leib, R. D.; O'Brien, J. T.; Williams, E.R. A Route Towards an Absolute Electrochemical Scale Using Hydrated Metal Ion Nanocalorimetry (departmental seminar) Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA. March, 2007.
  • Donald W.A.;  Zhang, Y.; McLaughlin, R.P. Vibrational Analysis of n-, iso-, and tert-Butyl Nitrite (departmental seminar) Department of Chemistry, Seattle University, Seattle, WA. June, 2005.

    • Posters

  • Donald, W. A.; Leib, R. D.; O'Brien, J. T.; Williams, E. R. Reduction potentials of ~1M aqueous M(III)hexaammines, M = Ru, Co, Cr, Os, Ir, in the Gas-Phase Lake Arrowhead Ion Chemistry Conference January, 2007.
  • Donald, W. A.; Zhang, Y.; McLaughlin, R. P. Vibrational Analysis of n-, iso-, and tert-Butyl Nitrite. 13th Murdock Conference on Undergraduate Research, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR. November, 2004.