Charles J. Taylor

Professor of Chemistry; Chair of Chemistry
With Pomona Since: 2002
  • Expertise

    Expertise

    Analytical chemist Chuck Taylor employs an array of instrumental techniques to explore the relationships between various microorganisms and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) they produce.

    "Long before modern medical diagnostic methods were developed, physicians used their sense of smell to help diagnose illness." says Taylor "Today, instrumental methods can be used to separate, identify and quantify the components in a mixture of VOCs. In cases where a specific compound or mixture is characteristic of the presence of a certain pathogen, being able to determine the relative amounts of these compounds in the mixture can ultimately help in the development of new, rapid diagnostic methods."

    As both a research chemist and a professor of chemistry, Taylor is particularly interested in providing undergraduate students with practical experience in applying analytical chemistry to studying a host of different systems. These range from biological problems such as: developing rapid medical diagnostics, chemotaxis in nematodes and how yeast strain selection influences flavor compounds in wine fermentation. Students interested in more environmental questions are studying how trace element profiles in coffee beans can be used to determine their origins.

    Students working in Taylor’s group can expect to use a wide variety of specialized analytical instrumentation and multivariate data analysis to address these problems.

    Research Interests

    Developing new materials

    Areas of Expertise

    CHEMISTRY

    • Analytical Chemistry
    • Electron Microscopy
    • Microhotplate Arrays
    • Environmental Monitoring
  • Work

    Work

    With K.J. Park ('12), C. Wu ('14), A.R. Mercer-Smith ('15), R.A. Dodson ('15), T.L. Moersch, P. Koonath, A.C.R. Pipino, H-W. Lu, Y. Yang, V.S. Sapirstein, and A. Niemz, “Raman system for sensitive and selective identification of volatile organic compounds”, Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 220, 491-499, 2015.

    With J.A. Beardslee ('08), A.K. Mebust ('08), A.S. Chaimowitz ('10), C.R. Davis-VanAtta ('10), H. Leonard ('12), T.L. Moersch, and M.Y. Afridi, “Using Chemical Vapor Deposition Precursor Chemistry to Template Vanadium Oxide for Chemical Sensing”, Chemical Vapor Deposition, 16, 206-210, 2010.

    With A.V. Shevade, M. L. Homer, H. Zhou, A. D. Jewell, K. Manatt, and A.K. Kisor, S-P. S Yen and M. A. Ryan, “Correlating Polymer-Carbon Composite Sensor Response with Molecular Descriptors”, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 153, H209-H216, 2006.

    With A.V. Shevade, M. A. Ryan, M. L. Homer, A. D. Jewell, H. Zhou, K. Manatt, and A.K. Kisor, and A.M. Manfreda, “Developing Sensor Activity Relationships for the JPL Electronic Nose Sensors Using Molecular Modeling and QSAR Techniques”, IEEE Sensors 2005, 250-253, 2005.

    With D.C. Meier, R.E. Cavicchi, S. Semancik, E. White V, M.E. Ellzy and K.B. Sumpter, “Chemical Warfare Agent Detection Using MEMS-Compatible Microsensor Arrays”, IEEE Sensors Journal, 5(4), 712-715, 2005.

    C.J. Taylor, R.E. Cavicchi, C.B. Montgomery and S.M. Turner, “Microarray Approach for Optimizing Localized Deposition of Carbon Nanotubes Using Microhotplate Arrays”, Nanotechnology, 15, 62-65, 2004.

    With R.E. Cavicchi, S. Semancik, and F. DiMeo Jr., “Use of Microhotplates in the Controlled Growth and Characterization of Metal Oxides for Chemical Sensing”, Journal of Electroceramics, 9, 155-164, 2002.

    With M.Y. Afridi, J.S. Suehle, M.E. Zaghoul, D.W. Berning, A.R. Hefner, R.E. Cavicchi, S. Semancik, and C.B. Montgomery, “A Monolithic CMOS Microhotplate-Based Gas Sensor System”, IEEE Sensors Journal, 2, 664-655, 2002

    C.J. Taylor and S. Semancik, “The Use of Microhotplate Arrays as Microdeposition Substrates for Materials Exploration”, Chemistry of Materials, 14, 1671-1677, 2002.

    With S.A. Campbell, B. He, R.C. Smith, T. Ma, N. Hoilen, and W.L. Gladfelter, “Group IVB Metal Oxides High Permittivity Gate Insulators Deposited from Anhydrous Metal Nitrates”, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 48, 2348-2356, 2001.

  • Education

    Education

    Ph.D.
    University of Minnesota

    Bachelor of Arts
    Macalester College

    Recent Courses Taught

    • Advanced Analytical Chemistry
    • Environmental Chemistry
    • General Chemistry with Lab
  • Awards & Honors

    Awards & Honors

    NASA Board Award for work on the use of Copolymers for Sensors and related non-provisional US patent, 2013

    NASA Board Award for work on Detection of Sulfur Dioxide Using Polymer-Carbon Composite Films, 2012

    Provisional U.S. Patent #60/861-617 “System for Detecting and Estimating Concentrations of Gas or Liquid Analytes,” 2007

    NASA Board Award for work on Second Generation Electronic Nose, 2007

    NASA Tech Brief Award for Palladium Chloride Sensing Materials for Mercury Detection, 2007

    NASA Tech Brief Award for Special Polymer/Carbon Composite Films for Detecting SO2, 2007

    NASA Tech Brief Award for work on Second Generation Electronic Nose, 2007