B. Montgomery Pettitt

   

Hugh Roy and Lille Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Chemistry,
Professor of Physics, Computer Science, Biology and Biochemistry.
Director of the Institute for Molecular Design.

pettitt@uh.edu
(713) 743-3263

Class Notes.

Education

University of Houston. B.S. Dec 1975 (Chemistry).
University of Houston. B.S. Dec 1975 (Mathematics).
University of Houston. Ph.D. May 1980 (Physical Chemistry).
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas: 1980-1983
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University: 1983-1985

Program Affiliations

Institute for Molecular Design .
W.M. Keck Center.
Structural and Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics at Baylor College of Medicine.

Honors, Fellowships, etc.

ALA Achievement Award, 2003
American Chemical Society Local Section Award, Houston Section, 2002
Robert A. Welch Lecturer in Chemistry, 2001
Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Houston 2000
Alumni Outstanding Faculty Award, University of Houston 1999
Fellow of the American Physical Society, 1993
Teaching Excellence Award, University of Houston 1992
Alfred P. Sloan Fellow 1989 - 1993
Research Excellence Award, University of Houston 1989
National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award 1983
Lynne Murray Sr. Award for Outstanding Research and Scholarship 1977

General Research Interests:

    1) Effects of anisotropic environments on DNA and Proteins: Tethering biomolecules to surfaces characterizes a wide variety of biotechnological devices. However the effects of electric fields, salt and solvent gradients and density waves near surfaces has a profound effect on conformation and binding. Both theoretical and simulation methods are being developed to address these problems.
    2) Theory and computational methods to investigate solution systems with couplings and correlations at many disparate length and time scales: There are many problems for which atomic correlations do not provide a direct link to macroscopic properties. Connecting meso scale averaging procedures to the atomic and macro levels via multiscale methods is important for biological/materials applications.
    3) Fundamental structure and dynamics of the liquid state: Most difficult is the question of ions in aqueous solution and biomolecular solutions. Given correlations and statistical thermodynamics relations to experimental observables the effects ions and osmolytes have on biomacromolecules in solution should then be derivable. At the technical level we are working on new diagramatic expansion techniques, activity models and new simulation algorithms.
    4) Computational theory of exotic statistical ensembles and sampling methods: In particular the use of open systems to calculate phase related behavior requires sampling tricks. Application to systems at constant activity to explore phase transitions in saline solution and protein folding in multicomponent systems is of interest.

Research Projects:

D N A projects

Protein Projects.

Triplex Project in salt water. The water is translucent, with ions (Na-purple, Cl-green) in full VDW rendering and the Triplex in licorice representation.

The Myoglobin Project

PDB vid for Windows or NT by Chandler Wilkerson

DNA Chip Animations (May take some time to down load).

DNA single strand over a surface (mpeg).

DNA single strand high over a surface (mpg).

DNA double strand over a surface (mpeg).

Protein Animations (May take some time to down load).

Protien(SMnase)-DNA complex (mpeg).

Recent Publications

Nearly Current Pettitt Group

Recent Past Pettitt Group members