Janet Foley
Janet Foley applies her expertise in inorganic chemistry to study the effects of pollutants in Vermont groundwater, to understand the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs, and to explore the photochemistry and medicinal applications of gold compounds.
Biography
Foley’s publications include “Photochemical Reactivity of Two Gold(I) Dinuclear Complexes, Cis/Trans-(AupNBT)2dppee: Isomerization for Cis-(AupNBT)2dppee Isomer, Radical Substitution for Trans-(AupNBT)2dppee,” Inorganica Chimica Acta, 2012; “Electronic and Steric Effects in Gold(I) Phosphine Complexes,” Metal-Based Drugs, 1994; “An Unprecedented Photochemical Cis to Trans Isomerization of Dinuclear Gold (I) Bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylene Complexes,” Journal of the American Chemistry Society, 1995; “Electrochemical Piezoelectric Sensors for Trace Ionic Contaminants,” 1998, IEEE Transactions on UFFC (Ultrasonics, Feroelectrics and Frequency Control); and “Electronic Structure of Dinuclear Gold(I) Complexes,” Metal-Based Drugs, 1999. Her teaching areas include environmental chemistry, drugs, and natural remedies; she has also done research in the chemistry of gold-phosphine-thiol compounds (similar to drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis) and the different chemistry of local water bodies. BA in political science, Fordham University; PhD in inorganic chemistry, University of Maine. Foley taught at Bennington from 1998 to 2020 and served as the Director of the Post Baccalaureate Program from 2003 to 2018. She returned as a visiting faculty member for Spring 2021.
