Mary Jane Simpson
Associate Laboratory Professor in Chemistry
- Office
- McCardell Bicentennial Hall 165
- Tel
- (802) 443-5978
- msimpson@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- Tuesdays 10 am to 12 pm and Friday 11 am – 12 pm
Prof. Mary Jane Simpson is originally from Altamonte Springs, FL. She got her bachelor’s degree at Stetson University, a small liberal arts college that allowed her to study voice in the School of Music while majoring in chemistry in the School of Arts and Sciences. With a lifelong interest in teaching, after graduating she began working towards her PhD in chemistry at Duke University. As a graduate student mentored by Prof. Warren S. Warren, she studied melanin chemistry and the chemical changes associated with skin cancer using ultrafast optical spectroscopy and microscopy. She also received formal training in college teaching from the late Prof. James Bonk. She taught in a variety of chemistry courses as a teaching assistant and also as an instructor for “The Chemistry and Physics of Cooking.”
Following graduate school, she fulfilled a childhood dream by working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. When working at ORNL, she built a multimodal confocal/fluorescence/ultrafast optical microscope to study how the physical characteristics of perovskite solar cell materials influence their electronic properties.
Longing to go back into the classroom after two years of postdoctoral research, Dr. Simpson arrived at Middlebury College excited to focus exclusively on being an excellent chemistry teacher and active member of the Middlebury Community. Most recently, she has been working with colleagues to redesign the chemistry curriculum with a goal of ensuring that all students have full access to the curriculum. In her classes, she strives to build student confidence and sense of belonging by promoting a collaborative classroom environment through team-based learning.
In the broader college community, Prof. Simpson co-leads the STEM Pedagogy faculty group, sponsors the ACS Club and the Chess Club, and supports the Scott Center for Spiritual and Religious life by hosting two weekly events—Christian Conversations, and Gather: Radically Inclusive Christian Community. Outside of her roles at Middlebury College, Mary Jane enjoys cooking, long-distance running, and spending time with her husband, tween children, and dogs.
Courses Taught
CHEM 0103
General Chemistry I
Course Description
General Chemistry I
Major topics will include atomic theory and atomic structure; chemical bonding; stoichiometry; introduction to chemical thermodynamics. States of matter; solutions and nuclear chemistry. Laboratory work deals with testing of theories by various quantitative methods. Students with strong secondary school preparation are encouraged to consult the department chair for permission to elect CHEM 0104 or CHEM 0107 in place of this course. CHEM 0103 is also an appropriate course for a student with little or no prior preparation in chemistry who would like to learn about basic chemical principles while fulfilling the SCI or DED distribution requirement. Students with AP Chemistry scores of 4 or 5 OR Chemistry Placement scores of 21 or higher are NOT allowed to enroll in CHEM 103. Students MUST have taken the Chemistry placement exam and earned a score of 20 or less. 3 hrs. lect., 3 hrs. lab, 1 hr. disc.
Terms Taught
Requirements
CHEM 0105
Upcoming
General Chemistry
Course Description
General Chemistry
In this course we will introduce students to the fundamental theories and concepts in chemistry. We will consider matter at the electronic level and build up to various bonding theories, apply thermodynamics to explore physical and chemical processes, and study fundamental concepts of equilibrium and kinetics. Class time will include short lectures and group-based problem-solving sessions. Lab work includes qualitative and quantitative analysis, kinetics, and acid-base chemistry. (CHEM 0102 or equivalent as demonstrated by AP/IB exam or placement exam scores go/chemplacement) 3 hrs. lect., 3 hrs. lab. (formerly CHEM 0104)
Terms Taught
Requirements
CHEM 0231
Upcoming
Foundations of Inorg. Chem
Course Description
Foundations of Inorganic Chemistry
This course will expand on general chemistry topics (atomic structure, periodic trends, and bonding theory) to survey inorganic chemistry. This course introduces students to new topics such as solid-state materials chemistry and coordination chemistry and applies these topics in areas such as acid-base and redox chemistry. The relevance of this content to energy technologies, medicine, environmental chemistry, and industrial processes will be discussed. Students will develop an understanding of chemical reactivity across the periodic table, while learning science communication skills through project-based learning. The laboratory component of the course introduces students to the synthesis of inorganic molecules and materials and physical characterization methods 3 hr. lect., 3 hr. Lab. (CHEM 0104 or 0105 or 0107). (formerly CHEM 230 and 240)
Terms Taught
Requirements
Publications
B. Doughty, M.J. Simpson, S. Das, K. Xiao, Y.Z. Ma, “Connecting Femtosecond Transient Absorption Microscopy with Spatially Co-Registered Time Averaged Optical Imaging Modalities,” The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 124 (19), 3915-3923 (2020)
Y.Z. Ma, B. Doughty, M.J. Simpson, S. Das, K. Xiao, “On the origin of spatially dependent electronic excited-state dynamics in mixed perovskite thin films,” Lithuanian Journal of Physics, 58 (4) (2018).
M. J. Simpson, B. Doughty, S. Das, K. Xiao, Y.-Z. Ma, “Separating Bulk and Surface Contributions to Electronic Excited-State Processes in Hybrid Mixed Perovskite Thin Films via Multimodal All-Optical Imaging,” Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 8 (14), 3299-3305 (2017).
M. J. Simpson, B. Doughty, B. Yang, K. Xiao, Y.-Z. Ma, “Imaging Electronic Trap States in Perovskite Thin Films with Combined Fluorescence and Femtosecond Transient Absorption Microscopy,” Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 7 (9), 1725-1831 (2016).
B. Doughty, M. J. Simpson, B. Yang, K. Xiao, Y.-Z. Ma, “Simplification of Femtosecond Transient Absorption Microscopy Data from CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite Thin Films into Decay Associated Amplitude Maps,” Nanotechnology 27 (11), 1-10 (2016).
M. J. Simpson, B. Doughty, B. Yang, K. Xiao, Y.-Z. Ma, “Separation of Distinct Photoexcitation Species in Femtosecond Transient Absorption Microscopy,” ACS Photonics 3 (3), 434-442 (2016).
M. J. Simpson, B. Doughty, B. Yang, K. Xiao, Y.-Z. Ma, “Spatial Localization of Excitons and Charge Carriers in Hybrid Perovskite Thin Films,” Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 6 (15), 3041-3047 (2015).
J. W. Wilson, S. Degan, C. S. Gainey, T. Mitropoulos, M. J. Simpson, J. Y. Zhang, W. S. Warren, “Comparing in vivo pump–probe and multiphoton fluorescence microscopy of melanoma and pigmented lesions” Journal of Biomedical Optics, 20 (5), 051012 (2015).
M. J. Simpson, J. W. Wilson, C. P. Dall, K. Glass, J. D. Simon, W. S. Warren, “Near Infrared Excited State Dynamics of Melanins: the Effects of Iron Content, Photo-Damage, Chemical Oxidation, and Aggregate Size,” Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 118 (6), 993-1003 (2014).
M. J. Simpson, K. Glass, J. W. Wilson, P. Wilby, J. Simon, W. S. Warren, “Pump-Probe Microscopic Imaging of Jurassic-Aged Eumelanin,” Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 4 (11), 1924-1927 (2013).
M. J. Simpson, J. W. Wilson, M. A. Phipps, F. E. Robles, M. A. Selim, W. S. Warren, “Nonlinear Microscopy of Eumelanin and Pheomelanin with Subcellular Resolution,” Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 133, 1822-1826 (2013).
T. E. Matthews, J. W. Wilson, J. Y. Zhang, M. J. Simpson, J. Y. Jin, W. S. Warren, “In vivo and ex vivo epi-mode pump-probe imaging of melanin and microvasculature,” Biomedical Optics Express, 2, 1576-1583 (2011).
T. E. Matthews, I. R. Piletic, M. A. Selim, M. J. Simpson, W. S. Warren, “Pump-probe imaging differentiates melanoma from melanocytic nevi,” Science Translational Medicine, 3, 71ra15 (2011).