Dr.
John Gupton received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Virginia
Military Institute in 1967, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in
Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1969 and
1975, respectively. From 1969-72 he served in the U.S. Air Force
during the Vietnam War. His academic experience includes the
University of Central Florida and the University of North
Carolina at Asheville. He joined the faculty of the University
of Richmond in 1999 as a Professor of Chemistry. Dr. Gupton has
over 90 publications and has been awarded research grants from
the American Chemical Society-Petroleum Research Fund, the
Jeffress Memorial Trust, the National Institutes of Health, the
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, the National Science
Foundation and a number of chemical companies. Over the last 30
years, he has worked with in excess of 100 undergraduate
research students and they have been coauthors on the majority
of his 95 publications.
The "trinity of research goals"
of the Gupton Research Group centers around 1) developing and
understanding new and novel reactions of vinylogous iminium
salts; 2) modifying these vinylogous iminium salts with unique
substituents and understanding the resulting reactivity; and 3)
taking the information learned in categories 1) and 2) and
applying it to the preparation of biologically important
compounds, which in some instances may be natural products. The
underlying theme in these three goals is the demonstration that
vinylogous iminium salts are versatile intermediates for
construction of biologically significant heterocyclic systems.
Professor Gupton was named as the recipient of the 2008 ACS
National Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution and
the 2008 Council on Undergraduate Research Fellows National
Award. These awards recognize research that constitutes advances
in science as evidenced by refereed publications with
undergraduate coauthors in leading scientific research journals,
external research grant support, and the subsequent professional
development of students who have participated in the research
program. These awards are given for significant work over a long
period of time.
"Undergraduate
Research in Organic Synthesis: From Vinylogous
Iminium Salts to Marine Natural Products"
At many institutions the research experience for
undergraduates continues to be the capstone opportunity for
those students who have chosen the sciences as their career
path. Project selection, effective mentoring, and appropriate
training along with presentation and publication of results are
significant factors in this enterprise. The Gupton Research
Group, which has been primarily composed of undergraduate
students over the last 30 years, has been interested in studying
vinylogous iminium salts as building blocks for the construction
of biologically significant, heterocyclic compounds, some of
which occur in nature. A general overview of the role and nature
of undergraduate research will be presented in this talk along
with specific examples of new chemistry developed by
undergraduate students in the Gupton group. The biological
importance of new and novel compounds resulting from this
research program will also be presented.