Professor Emeritus
Organic Chemistry

B.S., 1967-1971, Valley City State College
Ph.D., 1973-1978, Purdue University

Postdoctoral Experience
1978-1979, The Ohio State University

Office: S-051B
Phone: (812) 237-2237
E-mail: richard.kjonaas@indstate.edu

Teaching Awards

Blue Key Award, 1985 and 1994
Caleb Mills Distinguished Teaching Award, 1993
Arts and Sciences Educational Excellence Award, 1997

Career Summary

Dr. Kjonaas is now retired, but maintains both an office and a laboratory in the Department. Throughout his career his research has focused mainly on the development of new methods of regio- and chemo-selective carbon-carbon bond formation. He also enjoyed developing new laboratory experiments for undergraduate organic chemistry courses.

Selected Publications

30. R. A. Kjonaas, R. W. Fitch, and R. J. Noll, "Cross-Course Collaboration in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum: Isotopic Labeling with Sodium Borodeuteride in the Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory," Journal of Chemical Education, 2017 94: 1334-1337.

26. R. A. Kjonaas, "Counting Heteroatoms, Rings, and pi-Bonds as a Way of Recognizing and Quantifying Organic Oxidation and Reduction," Journal of Chemical Education, 2011, 88: 1601-1602.

25. R. A. Kjonaas, P. E. Williams, D. A. Counce, and L. R. Crawley, "Synthesis of Ibuprofen in the Introductory Organic Laboratory," Journal of Chemical Education, 2011, 88: 825-828.

24. R. A. Kjonaas and A. E. Clemons, "The Baeyer-Villiger Oxidation with Trifluoroacetic Acid and Household Sodium Percarbonate," Journal of Chemical Education, 2008, 85: 827-828.

23. R. A. Kjonaas and R. J. F. Tucker, "A Discovery-Based Experiment Involving Rearrangement in the Conversion of Alcohols to Alkyl Halides: Permanent Magnet Carbon-13 NMR in the First-Semester Organic Chemistry Lab," Journal of Chemical Education, 2008, 85: 100-101.

22. S.-Y. Lim, M. Meyer, R. A. Kjonaas, and S. K. Ghosh, "Phytol-based novel adjuvants in vaccine formulation: 1. Assessment of safety and efficacy during stimulation of hormonal and cell-mediated immune responses," Journal of Immune Based Therapies and Vaccines, 2006, 4: 6.

13. R. A. Kjonaas and R. K. Hoffer, "Regiospecific 1, 4-Addition with Grignard-Derived Mixed Triorganozincate Reagents," Journal of Organic Chemistry, 1988, 53: 4133-4135.

12. R. A. Kjonaas, "Ketovinylation of Arylthallium Compounds Catalyzed by Lithium Tetrachloropalladate," Journal of Organic Chemistry, 1986, 51: 3708-3710.

10. R. A. Watson and R. A. Kjonaas, "Conjugate Addition of alpha, beta Unsaturated Ketones with Mixed Lithium Triorganozincates," Tetrahedron Letters, 1986, 27: 311-314.

9. R. A. Kjonaas and E. J. Vawter, "Regioselective 1,4-Addition to alpha, beta Unsaturated Ketones with Grignard Reagents Mediated by N,N,N'- Tetramethylethylenediaminezinc(II) Chloride," Journal of Organic Chemistry, 1986, 51: 3993-3996.

7. R. A. Kjonaas and D. D. Patel, "Dilithio Acetoacetate as an Acetone Enolate Equivalent," Tetrahedron Letters, 1984, 25: 5467-5468.

5. R. A. Kjonaas and D. C. Schubert, "Biaryl Synthesis via Coupling of Arylthallium Bis(trifluoroacetates)," Journal of Organic Chemistry, 1983, 48: 1924-1925.

2. R. A. Holton and R. A. Kjonaas, "Carbopalladation-Depalladation of Allylic Amines and Sulfides," Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1977, 99: 4177-4179.