Roger H. Soderberg
Professor of Chemistry Emeritus
Professor Soderberg received his A.B. degree in Chemistry in 1958 from Grinnell College and his Ph.D. degree in Inorganic Chemistry in 1963 from M.I.T. He joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry at that time and is now Professor of Chemistry Emeritus.
Research Interests
I am interested in the coordination compounds of both transition metals and main group elements. Of special concern are the complexes of divalent lead with traditional bidentate chelate ligands such as beta-diketones and dioximes. The goal in preparing and characterizing these materials is to understand both composition and structure, particularly the influence of the "unshared pair" of valence electrons. My other interests include regional air and water quality problems. These may involve long-range transport and deposition of potentially troublesome elements such as mercury, lead, and cadmium which accumulate in forest soils ans stream sediments with uncertain consequences. The chemical forms in which such metals occur in soils and sediments are interesting because they are probably just as important to their availability to plants and animals as are the total concentrations of the metals. There are also substantial local sources of potentially troublesome metals in several long-abandoned and neglected mine dumps. Deposited in the Connecticut River, these steadily accumulate in the sediments where they become available to plant and animal life.