Paul Bock
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
Professor, Ball State University, 1973-2011
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1973
Instructor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1969-1971
B.S. University of Kansas, 1967
Dr. Paul Louis Bock, Professor of Chemistry, retired from the department in 2011, after 38 years. He was an expert in the area of computational modeling to predict important molecular parameters; several MS students and undergraduates studied these techniques under his supervision. An exceptional teacher of organic chemistry, he won the Ball State University Outstanding Young Faculty Member Award for 1977-78. Paul served as the department’s Senator, Administrative Assistant, and the advisor for the BSU Chapter of the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society. For years Dr. Bock was the unofficial guru who maintained the department’s instruments and served as the go-to person for computer issues. Due to Paul’s reputation for even-handedness, he was routinely elected as the chair of the P & T Committee and Merit Committee. Dr. Bock holds a private pilot license (with his dog as co-pilot), is known for his puns and dry sense of humor, and is a connoisseur of Chinese food.
Research Interests
Our research interests are in the general area of computational chemistry. In particular, recent research projects have involved the use of molecular mechanics (MM2) and semiempirical molecular orbital calculations (MOPAC) to assess the steric bulk of a variety of phosphine ligands that figure prominently in transition metal chemistry. In addition, we are carrying out ab initio calculations (Gaussian 94 and GAMESS) to examine the configurations and energies of the molecular orbitals present in a series of indenyltitanium compounds that have the potential for use as polymerization catalysts.
Publications
Robert J. Morris, Paul L. Bock, Jesse M. Jefferis, and Dean M. Goedde, "The Preparation and Variable Temperature 1H NMR Characterization of 1-(tri- n- butlstannyl) indene." Polyhedron, 1997, 16, 3699-3704.