Dr. Bruce Allison is an expert in organic chemistry. He works with students on a variety of synthetic organic projects. Most recently, their work has investigated the synthesis of sattabacin, a molecule that has anti-viral properties. A second area of Dr. Allison’s research focuses on high refractive index polycarbonates (materials often used for eyeglass lenses). He has been recognized with the Board of Trustees Outstanding Scholar Award. Dr. Allison has worked for Exxon Chemical Company, and in his free time, he enjoys playing brass instruments and has performed in the Rose-Hulman jazz and concert bands, and alongside students and faculty colleagues in Rose-Hulman’s annual Engineers in Concert.

Academic Degrees

  • BS, Houghton College (New York), 1974
  • PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, organic chemistry, 1978

Awards & Honors

Research Experiences

  • Natural product synthesis
  • Synthetic polymer chemistry

Select Publications & Presentations

  • Allison, B. D., Brandt, M. E., DeVasher, R., and Lewis, D. A., “Experimental Methods and Techniques in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory,” Rose‑Hulman Institute of Technology, 2011
  • Lee, Y-H, Allison, B. D., and Grutzner, J. B., “Carbon-13 NMR Relaxation Studies of   Cycloalkylidene Bisphenols, Methyl Ethers, and Simple Benzoate Esters in Solution:  Different   Average Correlation Times for Dipole-Dipole and Chemical Shift Anisotropy Relaxation,” Journal of Physical Chemistry, 98, 1783-1790, 1994
  • Tai, E., Caskey, J. A., and Allison, B. D., “Precipitation Polymeriztion of Acrylamide Using VAZO‑33R as an Initiator and Acetonitrile/Water Mixtures as the Solvent,” Journal of Polymer Science, Pt. A, Polymer Chemistry, 24, 567‑577, 1986
  • Al-Aseer, M. A., Allison, B. D., and Smith, S. G. Smith, “Mechanism of the Reaction of Lithium Reagents with Esters,” Journal of Organic Chemistry, 50, 2715‑2719, 1985

Teaching Interests

  • Polymer chemistry
  • Organic chemistry
  • General chemistry
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