Position
Academic Background
Sample Courses   
Teaching Philosophy
Research & Interests   
Notable Academic Appointments & Awards
Publication Highlights   
Selected Scholarly Presentations

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• Associate Professor of Chemistry
• Department Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Academic Background        

• Pennsylvania State University, Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry - 1988
• Providence College, Bachelor of Science Chemistry and Mathematics - 1981

• General Chemistry 1 and 2 (with laboratory)
• Contemporary Chemistry
• Advanced Analytical Chemistry 2 (with laboratory)

Teaching Philosophy

I view my role in the learning process to be very much like the coach of an athletic team. I try to facilitate student learning by drawing attention to what is important and motivating students to try to work on assignments and problems that will help them master the material.

A great deal of learning chemistry is accomplished through working on and solving problems. Many students find it frustrating that there is no specific recipe for solving each type of problem. In fact, one of the most difficult steps in solving chemistry problems is recognizing what is being asked, what information is provided, and what information should be sought in a table, figure, equation, or appendix. Still it is in the struggle to correctly solve problems that the details within the chemical concepts and definitions become clearer.

Research & Interests

My research is directed towards gaining an understanding of lipid membrane surfaces. In particular, we are using a combination of atomic force probe microscopy (AFM), quartz microbalance (QCM) and spectroscopic techniques to monitor structural changes in the membranes in response to chemical or biochemical events. My current focus is the binding of peripheral membrane proteins to membrane surfaces and the possible role of an extended lipid conformation in this important cell signaling process.

I also recently have initiated a small effort using time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy for chemical sensing, with a particular emphasis on organophosphorous compounds.  

• 1990-1992, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Columbia University, Department of Chemistry, Laboratories of Professor George W. Flynn
• 1988-1990, Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; Laboratories of Ahmed H. Zewail, Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Physics, 1999 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
• 2005-2008, American Chemical Society - Petroleum Research Fund, Type B Research Grant "Investigations of the Binding of Peripheral Membrane Proteins"
• 1994-1996, National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education, Instrumentation for Laboratory Improvement Program, "Capillary Electrophoresis in the Analytical and Biological Chemistry Laboratories", grant with Eric C. Long
• 1993-1995, American Chemical Society - Petroleum Research Fund, Type G Research Grant "Scanning Tunneling Microscopy in Electrochemical Environments: A Molecular View of Chemistry"

Publication Highlights

• J. J. Breen, W.-B. Tzeng, K. Kilgore, R. G. Keesee and A. W. Castleman, Jr., "Intramolecular Reactions in Phenylacetylene Ammonia Clusters Initiated Through Resonant  Enhanced Ionization", The Journal of Chemical Physics, 90, 19-24 (1989).
• J. J. Breen, L. W.  Peng, D. M. Willberg, A. Heikal, P. Cong and A. H. Zewail, "Real-time Probing of Reactions in Clusters", The Journal of Chemical Physics, 92, 805-807 (1990).
• J. J. Breen and G. W. Flynn, "STM Studies of the Synthetic Polypeptide: Poly-g -benzyl-L-glutamate", The Journal of Physical Chemistry, 96, 6825-6829 (1992).
• J. J. Breen, J. S. Tolman and G. W. Flynn, "Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies of Vapor Deposited Films of Tetrathiafulvalene and Iodine", Applied Physics Letters, 62, 1074-1076 (1993).
• M. E. Peiczko and J. J. Breen, "Atomic Force Microscopy Studies of Iron Oxychloride" Langmuir 11, 1412-1414 (1995).
• S. Singh, D. H. Robertson, Qiyuan Peng and J. J. Breen, “Surface Specific Adsorption of Saccharin on Iodine Modified Pt(111) Electrodes”, Langmuir, 13, 5197-5203 (1997).
• J. M. Boon, R. L. McClain, J. J. Breen and B. D. Smith, “Inhibited Phospholipid Translocation Across Interdigitated Phosphatidylglycerol Vesicle Membranes”, The Journal of Supramolecular Chemistry, 1, 17-21 (2001).
• R. L. McClain and J. J. Breen, "The Image Based Observation of the L_bI to L_b' Phase Transition in Solid Supported Lipid Bilayers", Langmuir, 17, 5121-5124 (2001)

Selected Scholarly Presentations and Activities

• J. J. Breen and R. L. McClain, "Local Probing of Interdigitated Domains in Solid Supported Phospholipid Bilayers", Physical Chemistry Division Poster Session and SciMix, American Chemical Society National Meeting, April, 2002, Orlando, FL.
• J. J. Breen and Q. Peng, "In Situ Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies of Thiocyanate Adlayers on Pt(111) Single Crystal Electrodes", Abstract and Presentation at the Symposium on Scanning Probe Microscopy for Electrode Characterization and Nanometer-scale Modification, The 188th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, Chicago, IL, October, 1995; 880.
• J. J. Breen and G. W. Flynn, "Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of Molecular Systems", Abstract and Presentation for the Symposium on Novel Structural, Mechanical and Electrical Aspects of Chemical Interfaces, American Chemical Society, San Francisco, CA, 1992.

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