Chemistry News
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES · DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY · 2012
INSIDE Lewis Integrative Science Building Opens 2 Green Product Design Course The building promises to cement the UO’s status in materials research.
3 Department Heads’ Perspective
4 UO Science Literacy Program
4 Green Chemistry News Briefs
5 UO Team Wins NSF I-Corps Top Prize
8 New NOBCChE Statewide Chapter
9 Faculty Awards
11 Graduate Student Awards Exterior of the recently opened Robert and Beverly Lewis Integrative Science Building. 12 Undergraduate Student Awards hat is “integrative entists working in green nano- and analysis equipment. The science”? How do technology and solar energy. new labs have been designed 14 Carol Gross W studies of the human One-third of the building will for inorganic materials research, Receives Alumni brain, molecular biology, nano- be devoted to laboratory space. and the architects have been Award technology, and solar energy The remaining two-thirds will be fantastic about working with us relate to each other? offices, an atrium, and “dry” labs. to design a really usable space.” 15 Alumni News These are questions that Shannon Boettcher, as- The UO is a leader in the 19 Honor Roll are common among people sistant professor in inorganic concept of collaborative sci- who are discussing the and materials chemistry and ence, and the Lewis building University of Oregon’s new an Oregon Nanoscience and will further cement the UO’s Robert and Beverly Lewis Microtechnologies Institute reputation as a leading research Integrative Science Building (ONAMI) Signature Researcher, university. The shared instrument (LISB). Construction on the is one of the researchers that will facilities within the Lorry I. Lokey 100,000-square-foot building benefit from the new lab space. Laboratories, home to Oregon’s began in August 2010, and is “The new laboratories in high-tech extension servic- now nearing completion. the Lewis Integrative Science es—the Center for Advanced With its grand opening on Building will be state-of-the-art Materials Characterization October 26, 2012, the build- and will provide ideal space in Oregon (CAMCOR), the ing will be home to strategic for my research group,” says Support Network for Research research clusters that will fos- Boettcher. “For example, the lab and Innovation in Solar Energy ter collaborative opportunities we currently occupy is designed (SuNRISE), and Partnership among scientists studying cog- for organic chemistry—many Laboratories (camcor.uoregon. nitive development, molecular fume hoods but no space for edu/)—will expand into the biologists studying cancer and solid-state materials synthesis stem cells, and materials sci- (i.e. furnaces, vacuum chambers) CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Integrated Green Product Design Course Debuts Course brings together students in several disciplines to improve product design.
t would be nice to believe that bringing instance, if people were going to a charging differently. And this could also lead to more new products to the global marketplace station and leaving their car plugged in, it rapid adoption by the market.” Iis the result of a series of well-informed would be nice to have the car charge much Haack’s new course brings together decisions. But this is not always the case. more quickly, perhaps in the time it takes to chemists, marketing majors, designers, jour- We can look at electric vehicles and their get a meal or shop for groceries. nalists, and business majors to look at how charging stations as an example of the well- “If chemists had more information during to solve these types of problems early on intentioned but often flawed manner in which the design phase it could drive innovation to in the design and development phase. The products are designed. meet those usage specifications,” says Julie chemists in the laboratory likely didn’t know For normal charging of a car connected to Haack, instructor for the new Green Product what the final result of their battery research the electrical network using 230 volt AC cur- Design course. “But now here we are with would be. If they had, they would have been rent, the charging time is six to eight hours, a mismatch of systems. What the consumer able to ask questions such as, “What are the and a car must be charged every couple of wants is not met by what the manufacturers charging stations going to look like? How days, on average. But the rate of charging created. If chemists had had more informa- will they be accessed? How long will the car is a variable that could have been taken into tion at the point of invention they would have consideration during the design phase. For designed the batteries very differently. Really CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
Lewis Integrative Science Building Opens CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
basement space of LISB. These facilities, opportunities the new building will provide. which were featured in the 2009 newsletter “The Lewis building provides the Center (chemistry.uoregon.edu/pdf/news/news09. for Sustainable Materials Chemistry the op- pdf), foster interdisciplinary partnerships be- portunity to pioneer a more collaborative tween academia and industry. A large portion research experience for both undergraduate of the fourth floor of the Lewis building will and graduate students,” he explains. “The be the home of the Center for Sustainable ability to shift from individual faculty-centered Materials Chemistry, an NSF-funded $20 labs to a ‘collaboratorium’ provides a fantas- million Center for Chemical Innovation. tic opportunity to evolve graduate education, “The labs will host students who are co- providing students the ability to, for example, supervised by several center faculty members prepare a new inorganic cluster, make ultra- working on high-impact collaborative re- thin films of the cluster via prompt inorganic search projects,” Boettcher says. “The LISB condensation, characterize the films using basement will house large, shared materials the equipment in CAMCOR, and measure properties while working with national lead- ers Darren Johnson, Douglas Keszler [direc- tor, Center for Green Materials Chemistry at Oregon State University], and Mark Lonergan. It’s a unique opportunity.” In addition to the leading-edge collab- Main entrance to the new Lewis Integrative orative nature of the labs and offices, the Science Building. Lewis Integrative Science Building is one of developed some cutting-edge techniques only a handful of Leadership in Energy and to create an energy performance 58 per- Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certi- cent better than building code regulations. fied science facilities in the country. Science Beverly Lewis surveys the construction site One of those strategies involved cutting buildings present unique energy-usage chal- of the Lewis Integrative Science Building in into a utility tunnel system under the univer- lenges, because health and safety regulations October of 2011. sity campus. Using a series of coils, excess and the need for superior ventilation and heat from the tunnel system will be used to analysis equipment, such as x-ray diffractom- waste systems prevent some of the typical preheat the science building, a strategy that eters, thin-film deposition equipment, and energy-reduction strategies, such as recy- could potentially be used in the future with optical laser tables. The open layout of the cling air in large buildings. building will encourage collaboration.” The plan did not initially include LEED other buildings on campus. In addition, LISB Dave Johnson, a UO professor of solid- certification, but as the project continued, the will be outfitted with exterior solar shading state chemistry, electrochemistry, and mate- design teams at Portland’s THA Architecture and interior light shelves, advanced lighting rials science, also praises the collaborative and builders Lease Crutcher Lewis of Eugene CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
2 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY Department Heads’ Perspective UO Chemistry: Past, Present, and Future
his is a first—a perspective from two will extensively utilize microwave reactors panel since 1995. This overdue “decennial department heads! While I (MH) am purchased in part with monies from the review” provided an opportunity to describe Tspending the fall term on a “study Chemistry Instructional Space Improvement the strengths of the department in research leave” catching up on proposal and paper Fund. Students will be able to synthesize in and education, many of which Mike has high- writing, Vickie DeRose is filling in as interim minutes what used to take hours, allowing department head. I return winter 2013 to fin- precious lab time to be utilized for learning ish out the remaining eighteen months of my important purification and characterization term as head. More from Vickie below. techniques as opposed to watching a pot Looking back over the past year, it can boil. Only a very small number of schools use be summed up in one word—BUSY! On microwave reactors as part of the undergrad- the educational front, the new General uate curriculum, so this will be something that Chemistry Laboratories as well as the reno- will really set Oregon chemistry students vated Barnhard Chemistry Resource Center, apart. More on this in the next newsletter! featured in last year’s newsletter, are great On the research side, things are equally successes as both spaces have proven exciting. Faculty members and students alike to be very popular with students and staff continue to garner well-deserved national members alike. Not wanting to stop there, we and international accolades, many of which Vickie DeRose and Mike Haley completely renovated the 171 Onyx Bridge are described on pages 9–12. By the time classroom this past summer and have added you read this, the new Lewis Integrative lighted above and in previous newsletters. a number of new course offerings. Science Building will have opened, provid- The review also gives us an opportunity to In addition to the new Science Literacy ing top-notch research space for Shannon focus on strategic planning in order to build and Green Product Design classes featured Boettcher’s lab and for the Center for on our current strengths and envision new in this newsletter, we are debuting a new Sustainable Materials Chemistry. This will horizons. Even in early stages, it is clear that “majors track” organic lecture and labora- free up considerable space in Klamath Hall we have an ambitious faculty that wishes to tory sequence this academic year. The latter that we hope to completely renovate in the create exciting opportunities for our graduate near future. and undergraduate students! The NSF I-Corps article illustrates just As we move forward, there will be ways Science Building Opens one of the many efforts within the department in which our community can help. We wish to take basic research to the marketplace. to build on endowed graduate and under- CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE With help from ONAMI and local industrial graduate student fellowships, in particular controls and daylight sensors, and a chilled partners, be on the lookout for good things to assisting undergraduate students to gain beam system, which is a type of ventilation come from chemistry start-ups such as Dune early research opportunities. A large focus that passes water through beams suspended Sciences, QE Chemicals, and SupraSensor will be on full renovations of research labo- from the ceiling. Technologies. ratory space. As we make concrete plans, The building will be the most expensive We continue to work to ensure that the please watch for opportunities to contribute science building ever built at the University of chemical sciences are accessible and wel- to these projects and to be recognized for Oregon. The project received a $30 million coming to all individuals by supporting groups that effort. We welcome input on ideas that bond to help with design and construction such as the newly established NOBCChE are particularly exciting to our broad com- costs; the remaining $35 million came from chapter and the well-established Women in munity of support. a combination of grants, fundraising, and Graduate Sciences group. In conclusion, we hope you enjoy the generous donations from Robert and Beverly Finally, despite shrinking grant dollars newsletter. Next time you are in the Eugene Lewis as well as Lorry Lokey. from Washington, DC, we have managed area, please stop by campus for a visit. We to hold our own and actually increase the would love to give you a tour and a chance number of graduate students and teaching to see all the changes for yourself. You will assistantships. Overall, I feel that the depart- be quite impressed! ment has retained its solid foundation during the rocky financial times of the past decade. With best regards, Now, onto Vickie for ideas on how to build Mike Haley and Vickie DeRose and expand upon that foundation. * * * PS: Let us know what you are up to! Send Mike has addressed the recent past and your details in the enclosed envelope, fire off present, and I would like to focus on the fu- an e-mail at [email protected], or use the Robert and Beverly Lewis at a Ducks game ture. Last spring the department underwent online form at chemistry.uoregon.edu/alumni in 2000. its first comprehensive review by an external .html?update.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 3 An Understanding of Science for Everyone UO Science Literacy Program offers general courses for nonscience majors.
onscience majors don’t have to feel Many people are interested in scientific fied organisms, genetic testing, and gene ther- like they are stuck with a watered- concepts, but don’t actively work in science. apy. They also explore how policy decisions N down understanding of science. These classes help elucidate the scientific affect research in these areas. “In the course, The University of Oregon Science Literacy concepts in varied fields, such as the 4-credit we are working with our students so that they Program (UO SciLit Program) offers general Physics 155 course, Physics Behind the understand how science is performed. They education courses for nonscience majors Internet, which examines how discoveries can then use this understanding to make their designed to improve scientific awareness in twentieth-century physics mesh to drive own decisions about the science in the news.” and general science literacy for anyone who modern telecommunications. Other classes Guenza’s course, cotaught with Michael wants to learn more. include Scientific Revolutions, Physics of Life, Raymer from physics, focuses on Information, The SciLit Program was funded in 2010 by Earthquakes, Reporting Science, and Physics Quantum Mechanics, and DNA. Before they a $1.5 million grant to create an understanding of Energy and the Environment. are done, students learn the answers to such of how science can help solve societal prob- Chemistry faculty members Andy questions as: What is information and how lems. The program will also train faculty mem- Berglund and Marina Guenza are both active is it measured? How is information stored bers in teaching strategies that are known to be participants in the SciLit Program. in and transferred between biological mol- effective, and will encourage them to share that “The program has been a wonderful ex- ecules? What do these questions have to do knowledge with their colleagues on campus. It perience because I am learning how to better with compressing music files onto a compact also helps graduate students in the sciences to engage all students by using approaches that disk or into an mp3 format? The course de- effectively communicate ideas to audiences of engage the students in the learning process,” velops students’ scientific reasoning abilities nonscientists. The grant to the UO was among said Berglund. His course, Science, Policy, and introduces basic methods of data visu- $79 million in grants announced by the Howard and Biology, which is cotaught with Judith alization and mathematics. Hughes Medical Institute to help universities Eisen from biology, explores the biology and strengthen undergraduate and precollege sci- biochemistry behind important topical issues For more information about the Science ence education nationwide. such as stem cells, cloning, genetically modi- Literacy Program, see scilit.uoregon.edu.
G reen Chemistry N ews Briefs Governor’s Green Chemistry Initiative Draws Praise
n April 27, 2012, Oregon Governor Two participants collaborate on the “Liquid Jim Hutchison, center, is one of the John Kitzhaber signed the Green CO2 Extraction of D-Limonene from Orange instructors for the workshop, which provides Rind” lab in the 2012 Green Chemistry in hands-on lab opportunities to chemistry Chemistry Innovation Initiative. The O Education Workshop. educators around the country. initiative will not only increase awareness around the state (government agencies and the Oregon business community) about the Twelfth Green Chemistry in Education Workshop Held benefits of green chemistry, but it will also For the twelfth year, the UO hosted a of helping the participants implement green encourage new incentives through legislative weeklong, hands-on workshop for university chemistry into the curriculum at their insti- proposals, implement a preference for green educators who wish to adopt a greener or- tutions. Participants “test drive” more than chemistry-based products in state purchas- ganic laboratory curriculum. The goal of the thirty different labs to see which of them ing and procurement guidelines, and refine workshop is to establish a network of chemi- they will adopt when they return home, and the state’s strategies to use safer alternatives cal educators around the country who are business and industry leaders address the to toxic chemicals. incorporating green chemistry experiments group to show how green chemistry is having “Ultimately, successful innovation will cre- and concepts into their teaching. widespread impact. Networking among the ate good jobs that are safer for workers and The workshops, led by chemistry participants is emphasized, to help them es- offer a high quality of life for our communities, Professors Jim Hutchison and Ken Doxsee tablish a supporting group of educators who enhancing opportunities and resources for and senior instructor Julie Haack, are a can help them implement the curriculum once future generations,” the newly signed execu- combination of lectures, discussion, and they return to their home institutions. tive order states. hands-on laboratory time with the chief goal CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
4 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY UO Chemistry Team Wins NSF I-Corps Top Prize
University of Oregon research team led by chemistry professors Darren AJohnson and Michael Haley recently won the top prize at the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program final presentations held at Stanford University on May 23, 2012. Calling them- selves the SupraSensor team, they delivered the winning pitch on nitrate sensors for preci- sion agriculture. “To have venture capitalists and entrepre- Calden Carroll presenting his I-Corps work. neurs with billions of dollars in their pockets tell you that your idea is bankable gives us a huge I-Corps teams are composed of three porated into a solid matrix, such as polymer push,” said Calden Carroll, a postdoctoral main members: the principal investigator thin films, to provide an optical readout that researcher who also received his UO Ph.D. in (PI), the entrepreneurial lead, and the mentor. is sensitive for nitrate in the presence of 2011 working on the Johnson-Haley collabora- As the PIs, Johnson and Haley serve as the other common interfering anions and natural tion. “We’re seeing firsthand that the scientific technical lead and project manager. organic matter. But beyond the focus on the method can be applied to entrepreneurship.” The entrepreneurial lead (EL) is typically a technology, the SupraSensor team learned The I-Corps program was first an- postdoctoral researcher or graduate student key business concepts such as scalability nounced in 2011, and the UO team was with the relevant technical knowledge and and how to appeal to customers. among twenty-five selected for first-quarter real interest in achieving commercial success “This particular technology may not even 2012 awards. This unique NSF program is with the innovation. As the EL, Carroll also be what goes to market in the end,” Carroll designed to broaden the impact of select, provides support to transition the innovation said. “Rather than being an exercise in trying NSF-funded, basic-research projects by out of the university, should that level of readi- to fund our technology, we started to think preparing scientists and engineers to focus ness be reached. about how best to develop a product around beyond the laboratory. The I-Corps mentor brings entrepreneur- a customer need.” The I-Corps program consists of teams ial experience and serves as the principal The team received additional support from made up of academic researchers, student guide in determining the technology disposi- ONAMI and has been working with the UO’s entrepreneurs, and business mentors. By tion. Bruce Branchaud, professor emeritus Technology Transfer Services. The group has working together and with established entre- of chemistry at the UO, serves in this role. patented its technology and established the preneurs, I-Corps teams learn to identify valu- August “Augie” Sick, an “entrepreneur-in- company SupraSensor Technologies. The able product opportunities that can emerge residence” from the Oregon Nanoscience team is applying for additional grants and from NSF-supported academic research. Over and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), developing a prototype of the nitrate sensor, a period of six months, each I-Corps team also assists in this role. which promises to fulfill a need for real-time learns what it will take to achieve an economic “Calden deserves 95 percent of the monitoring of fertilizer application in environ- impact with their particular innovation. credit as he did the lion’s share of the work,” mentally sustainable precision agriculture. said Johnson. Added Haley, “It was amazing Members of the team stressed that they are to watch his transformation from scientist to committed to keeping the company in Oregon. Workshop entrepreneur.” “This award validates the SupraSensor On July 18, the team took part in a show- team’s hard work and offers a glimpse of the CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE case session featuring some of the most suc- successes that lie ahead for this Oregon start- Participation (including registration and cessful I-Corps teams at NSF headquarters up,” said Kimberly Andrews Espy, vice presi- housing) is free, and meal costs are reim- in Arlington, Virginia. Over the six months of dent for research and innovation and dean of bursed. Faculty members at U.S. institutions the project, the UO team had worked with a the Graduate School. “This entrepreneurial are welcome to apply, as are postdocs and private company on a proof-of-concept effort technology will help secure a sustainable fu- graduate students who plan to teach at the to determine the feasibility of a nitrate-sensing ture by limiting the wasteful over-application college level. Applications for the workshop are probe designed to maximize agricultural pro- of nitrate fertilizers. The team is part of a proud accepted through the Center for Workshops ductivity, optimize fertilizer usage, and mini- tradition of UO research that couples cutting in Chemical Sciences and can be found at the mize environmental impacts. The team studied edge fundamental work with translational ap- website chemistry.gsu.edu/CWCS. whether proprietary compounds can be incor- plication to develop the tools for tomorrow.”
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 5 Integrated Green Product Design Course Debuts CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
be plugged in? Are the charging stations at signed a plastic with the desired properties mat that makes it easy to see “nodes” or “hot home, at the grocery store, at work?” These had someone in that design meeting raised spots” where the process could be improved. kinds of questions could only be answered by their hand to ask about the melting point. It also reveals the impact of changes in the an architect, a marketing professional, and a “You can design properties in and design process, such as what happens to waste or visual designer, none of whom typically visit properties out,” Haack notes. “In the design preliminary products if the process changes. the white-coated chemists in the R&D lab. of pharmaceuticals, chemists routinely design “She created a visual with her art and Haack also points out that we have an out the structures that contribute to side ef- communications and product design per- infrastructure for providing power to homes fects—we demand that. But people don’t spective that will help nonscience students and business, but we don’t have an infra- demand that chemists design out the hazards understand the life cycle assessment,” says structure for charging stations. in consumer products. It’s exactly the same.” Haack. “It helps students see that con- “They’re not built yet. Who owns them? Sara Tepfer, a teaching assistant for nectivity between the parts of the life cycle Who is going to take the risk? How do you the course, designed materials to teach and not get confused by the chemistry.” If a assess that?” she remarks. “We need busi- students how to think about solving these material like PVC is considered “bad” but has good attributes and is also in numerous ness strategies to create incentives for this big-picture problems. She’s now in the common products, this basic information kind of development.” architecture program at the University of about its properties is essential in approach- Ninety students enrolled when the course California at Berkeley, but while at the UO, ing a redesign. Haack says that university debuted in winter of 2012. Thirty percent she worked in the lab of Dave Johnson were from the School of Architecture and instructors around the country are now using studying the crystal structures and thermo- Allied Arts, thirty percent were from the Tepfer’s visualization because they have had electric properties of new materials. Tepfer journalism school, and thirty percent were a hard time getting students to understand designed a “word cloud” and a material business majors. this connectivity. profile for polyvinyl chloride. “That was done on purpose,” “I think it’s important to understand Haack says. “And that’s the first time how non-scientists think and how scien- I’ve had that mix of students in a sci- tists think and how designers think,” says ence course.” The term project re- Tepfer. “You can speak different lan- quired the identification and analysis guages and become sort of a translator.” of the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) This interdisciplinary approach will follow in a specific consumer product of each her through her architecture career, she student’s choice, followed by creation says, because architecture itself requires of a greener product solution. thinking about the “product,” or building, The students studied polymers be- from several angles: human interaction cause it’s a mature industry, students with the building, environmental impact, are familiar with products made from and aesthetic impact. polymers, and a lot of data is available “I was attracted to science because about hazards and toxicity. The course you get to explore your curiosities re- contrasted that with nanotechnology, ally rigorously and that’s something I which is an emerging industry and Sara Tepfer designed this word cloud showing words that are really appreciate,” she says. “But I also less familiar. commonly used in product descriptions, but that have little wanted a really concrete understand- “In terms of design, you can imagine meaning to product designers. ing of materials and why they perform using nanotechnology to meet a variety the way they do, and this experience of consumer needs and it’s all new, it’s all “We found that these words in the word will help me in choosing the ones that will possible,” says Haack, “but the hazards are cloud—green, sustainable, ecofriendly, bio- achieve the affect I want perhaps in more still being investigated so we asked the stu- degradable, recyclable—are often used in sustainable ways than what we currently do.” dents to design in a dynamic context where product descriptions but they are not very Simon Sanchez is an undergraduate you don’t always have all the information you helpful for design,” says Haack. “If this is the studying digital arts and business. He is need to solve these problems.” current state of affairs, how do we move be- preparing a visualization of the “chemical Another example that illustrates the im- yond this?” The students were asked to take a ecosystem” of PVC for the course. The portance of informed decision-making in the photograph of their new product and describe chemical ecosystem is a digital simulation design process was that of a toy made of bio- how to avoid those clichés when talking about portraying all chemicals as nodes of a global degradable plastic. Prototypes of toy trucks the sustainability of their product. chemical “food” web, displaying the web of were made, but when they were shipped to Tepfer’s material profile took a very com- materials that are used by or related to the a toy store, they couldn’t withstand the heat plex subject, including the toxicity of the plas- end products. inside the delivery trucks. tic, the impacts on society, how PVC is made, “What I’m doing specifically is trying to “They all melted,” says Haack. “There was where the raw materials come from, and how visualize nodes, and each node is a feed- no feedback loop.” A chemist could have de- it degrades, and presented it in a visual for- CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
6 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY “The media students weren’t used to the reports and the business students weren’t used to using the videos,” she says. “The art APPLICATIONS students started partnering with the journalism students because they saw a synergy there. furniture synthetic textiles They were all stunned at how differently peo-
ple from these different disciplines think, and soft PVC TV/video casings and circuit cards also how valuable it was to understand that.” carpeting soft underside mats Haack says her “dream” would be to have venetian blinds chemistry, or that “molecular perspective,” as she says, be integrated across the university
curriculum. And with students like Sanchez soft PVC piping and Tepfer taking their molecular perspective into their non-science fields, we just might see that in the future.
The students who came to Tepfer’s office hours expressed how cool it was to be sitting
12 3Environmental Impacts of PVC Building Materials. Joe Thornton. 2002. at a table next to people that they otherwise wouldn’t interact with, and learn what com- PVC usage in the household. mon interests people can bring to a concept. “It was eye-opening for everyone and CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE ing is the most effective,” he says. “It’s a breath of fresh air for me. My goal is to be really changed the way they thought about stock or an intermediary or a final consumer a mediator between the specialists and the group work and process,” says Tepfer. “ In my plastic,” explains Sanchez. “By being able nonspecialists, the laymen and experts, and experience, people really want to know that to visualize it we can identify hot spots and to give everyone a common understanding what they are using may not be the healthiest make a better design.” Companies do this of where we need to go and what we need option. I think people are starting to change. for individual products all the time, Sanchez to do to have a more sustainable planet for It’s not just about what material looks good points out, but his project is more lofty: “I everyone. Designers aren’t going to know as in a space, it’s also what comes from it and want to create a chemical ecosystem for all much as a chemist or another scientist, but what happens to it when it starts to degrade. chemical companies all over the world.” they can make conscious decisions about the People said, ‘the class was so amazing, I Sanchez feels that the interdisciplin- best materials to use and which ones are red never thought I would be into this, I really ary thinking that this course engenders is flags that they shouldn’t use.” “drastically important,” because chemistry is As the course instructor, Haack encour- want to keep exploring this.’” everything—everything we wear, containers aged the students to present their infor- These are the kind of students who will for our food, components in our electrical mation using the formats most common raise their hand at that future design meeting, devices, and on and on. in their discipline—drawings, videos, and and ask the question: Is there a better way “The holistic approach to problem solv- standard reporting. we can do this?
Every year the UO Department of Chemistry hosts Septemberfest in Alton Baker Park. The get-together is a chance to meet other students and faculty members in the department, eat lots of barbecue, drink some beers, and have fun in the sun.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 7 NOBCChE Chapter Supports Minorities in Science New chapter is now incorporated statewide.
aisha Kamunde-Devonish and interested, and it seemed that it wouldn’t being implemented in the local chapter. Milton Jackson Jr. came from coalesce into anything.” “We have monthly chapter-wide meet- Mvery different backgrounds, but But it did. Last year, Farrell, Maisha, ings with all participating schools where both are now studying chemistry at the Milton, Matti Alemayehu, and a small group of we are also currently working to create a University of Oregon and both are united in students found an advisor, Darren Johnson, NOBCChE professionals chapter in col- a common goal—to create a more welcom- filled positions for the officers (Matti is laboration with chemical professionals in ing environment for people of color and to president and Maisha is vice president), and Oregon,” says Matti. “We attended the na- give a face to groups underrepresented in acquired the minimum number of interested tional NOBCChE conference in Washington, the sciences. students necessary to form the chapter. The D.C., in September to present the variety of Maisha grew up in southern California group was aiming for ten members, but has research that current NOBCChE members and earned her bachelor’s degree in northern far exceeded that. are involved in at their respective schools.” California. “Where I’m from it looks exactly In April of 2012, the president of Students from PSU as well as the UO par- like here,” she says. “I was the only black NOBCChE, Victor McCrary, and Western ticipated in this conference. student in my department there, so when I Regional Chapter Director Isom Harrison Matti is quick to point out that though it came here I was like, ‘I don’t see the big deal, visited campus to certify the chapter. hasn’t always been easy to get this orga- this is how my life has always been.’” Now, the NOBCChE chapter is incorpo- nization off the ground, “the chemistry de- rated throughout the Oregon University partment, Center for Sustainable Materials System, with student groups at Portland Chemistry, Materials Science Institute State, Southern Oregon University, Eastern graduate internship program, and COACh Oregon University, and several other colleges have been generous supporters of the new throughout the state. NOBCChE chapter.” (COACh stands for Milton, who is in his third year of graduate Committee on the Advancement of Women studies in Darren Johnson’s research group, Chemists.) “The Office of Institutional Equity grew up in Mississippi and Louisiana, and and Diversity (OEID) has supported the orga- later attended a historically black university, nization tremendously,” says Maisha, “as has Prairie View A&M University, in Texas. “We Carla Gary, assistant vice president of OEID.” had a NOBCChE chapter,” Milton recalls, Both Maisha and Milton acknowledge “so when they first mentioned it I didn’t see how hard it is to start an organization like what was so special about having an orga- this on top of being a graduate student in nization here.” a rigorous field, but both also admit that the He had a change of heart, and is now the UO faculty has been outstandingly supportive chapter’s secretary. “I started to think, ‘What of their goals. if I hadn’t had that?’” he says. “Where I came “Without Darren a lot of things would not from was 90 percent black, and here it is 90 have happened,” Milton says. Maisha con- percent white, a complete reversal. Then I curs. “You may feel as though what you’re From left to right: Maisha Kamunde, Milton started to realize that having a chapter here doing is crazy but you know he’s going to Jackson, and Matti Alemayehu. would be a great opportunity.” support you, you know he’s got your back,” The organization, though it has “chem- she says. “If I talk to him he’ll go out to bat She had attended a conference of the ists and chemical engineers” in its name, is for us. It’s really nice to know that we have National Organization of Black Chemists and not limited to only those fields of study. The a boss that really supports us and stands Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) in Atlanta group is open to any science field, including behind us 100 percent.” in 2009, and enjoyed it. As it turns out, one physics, biology, and physiology, and it is not Darren Johnson says that Farrell has of the ladies she stayed with at the confer- just for people of color. been instrumental in getting this “vibrant” ence had been a previous UO graduate stu- “Anyone who supports the cause is chapter started and motivating the students. dent working in David Tyler’s lab. She had welcome to join,” says Maisha. Milton Farrell’s efforts have also led to the Western been trying to urge creation of a NOBCChE would like to strengthen ties between other Regional Meeting of NOBCChE being chapter or similar group, but it hadn’t gone African American student groups, such scheduled on the UO campus in March of anywhere. as the Black Student Union, the African 2013. Johnson accompanied the students to About a year ago, Farrell Ford, director Student Association, and Black Women of of corporate relations and diversity in the Achievement. “We want students to know, the NOBCChE conference in Washington, Graduate Internship Program, mentioned that hey, we have this organization here that can D.C., in September, which gave the group she wanted to start a chapter here. “I thought help support you on your way,” says Milton. new momentum. it was a fantastic idea,” Maisha says. “I never Matti attended the 2012 NOBCChE “Now we can really start pushing the put two and two together because I thought leadership retreat where she was provided message of increasing the numbers of mi- there weren’t enough people who were with the constitution of NOBCChE, which is CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
8 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY Faculty Awards and Honors
Marina Guenza Named has been a leader in developing statistical a tenured researcher at the Italian National Fellow by the American theories of polymer structure and dynam- Council of Research, the CNR, and a visiting Physical Society ics in the liquid state. Original theories for scientist at the University of Chicago (1994) macromolecules with different geometries and at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Chemistry Professor Marina Guenza was and semiflexibility, including the effect on the Champaign (1995–98). Since 2010, she among 238 scientists selected as 2011 fel- dynamics of the local chemical structure, in has been on the editorial advisory board of lows by the American Physical Society. solutions and in melts, have been presented. The American Physical Society was Macromolecules, a journal of the American Her approaches are microscopic, predictive, founded on May 20, 1899, when thirty-six Chemical Society. In addition to her faculty physicists gath- and as much as possible, free of adjustable position in the UO Department of Chemistry, ered at Columbia parameters, providing a direct correlation be- she is a member of the Institute of Theoretical University. Since tween the chemical structure of a polymeric Science and the Materials Science Institute, that day, the chain and experimental observations. This and an associate member of the Institute of society’s mis- fundamental research has relevant implica- Molecular Biology. sion has been tions in the study of polymeric materials and “ t o a d v a n c e biological processes. Shih-Yuan Liu Receives and diffuse the Recently, Guenza has developed coarse- Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar knowledge of graining and multiscale modeling approaches Award and Journal of Physical physics.” Guenza starting from liquid state theory, which extend Organic Chemistry Award the range of time and length scales that can was nominated Shih-Yuan Liu has been honored with Marina Guenza be investigated in simulations of macromo- by the Division of a 2012 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar lecular liquids. Because they are analytical, Polymer Physics Award, which supports the research and these approaches overcome the problems for “significant contributions to the field of teaching careers of talented young faculty polymer physics through the development of of transferability and thermodynamic con- members in the chemical sciences. He will theoretical methods to study macromolecular sistency between different coarse-grained receive a $75,000 unrestricted research structure and dynamics.” descriptions. grant, which will further his work into biomedi- Guenza has distinguished herself in her Guenza received her PhD in physical cal research. Liu was selected for this award research using theoretical and computational chemistry from the University of Genova, based upon his significant achievements in methods applied to modeling and under- Italy, in 1989 and in 2002, Guenza was hired advancing important knowledge of azaborine standing the physics that affect the dynam- at the University of Oregon as an assistant ics of polymeric systems. Specifically, she professor. Before coming to the UO she was CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
NOBCChE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 nority students in the sciences,” says Maisha, group of students that are underrepresented students that are pursuing higher level de- “and also showing ourselves as a recognized that are starting to be part of the influx of grees.” The group hopes to not only get more students of color interested in attending the UO, but also show that the Northwest itself is trying to make this a diversity-friendly area. Maisha is quick to point out that this is a diversity-friendly area, but she says it is hard to see that based on the population. “There’s no reason that students of color wouldn’t want to be here, but sometimes it doesn’t seem like a place where they would want to be. If they don’t see people here that look like them, they might think that they wouldn’t want to come here. But if you keep thinking that way then nothing is going to change, so hopefully we’re that little needle point that will start spreading now.” From left to right: Carla Gary, Sarah Newton, Ron Lewis, Matti Alemayehu, Victor McCrary See www.nobcche.org for more informa- (NOBCChE president), and Isom Harrison (West Regional chair) at a West Regional NOBCChE event in La Jolla, California. tion about NOBCChE.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 9 Faculty Awards and Honors CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
three organizations for developing and testing Richmond is no stranger to awards— hydrogen storage materials. Liu, a member of she first was honored in 1977 with an the UO’s Material Science Institute, is princi- Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award pal investigator of that project. at the University of California at Berkeley. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007, Geraldine Richmond Named the Bomem-Michelson Award in 2008, and 2013 Recipient of the Charles was elected to membership in the National Lathrop Parsons Award Academy of Sciences in 2011. Since 2001 she has been the Richard M. and Patricia The Charles Lathrop Parsons Award, H. Noyes Professor of Chemistry at the which is considered as one of the two most University of Oregon. prestigious awards given by the American Nor is this Richmond’s first ACS national Chemical Society (ACS), recognizes out- award. In 1996, she received the Francis Shih-Yuan Liu standing public service by a member of the P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal. In 2005, society and is named after the executive she was honored with the ACS Award heterocycles. Furthermore, his dedication and secretary who helped create today’s ACS. for Encouraging Women into Careers in contributions to education in the chemical The ACS Board of Directors chooses the the Chemical Sciences, and in 2011, she sciences, particularly with respect to under- recipient of the award. Geri Richmond is be- received the ACS Joel Henry Hildebrand graduates, was also noted. ing honored for her advocacy on behalf of Award in the Theoretical and Experimental Liu was also named the winner of the higher education, science policy, and women Chemistry of Liquids. 2012 Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry scientists. Award for Early Excellence. Liu will receive the $5,000 award check at the fortieth Ontario- Michael Haley Named Quebec Physical Organic Minisymposia in AAAS Fellow Kingston, Ontario, Canada, in November Last fall University of Oregon chemist 2012, and will also present a plenary lecture and department head Michael Haley was at this meeting. The JPOC award is given an- named as one of 539 newly elected 2011 nually to recognize the accomplishments of fellows of the American Association for the an individual working in the field of physical Advancement of Science, an honor be- organic chemistry or applying the principles stowed upon AAAS members by their peers. of this field to other areas. He became part of this select group that “It is really a great honor to be recognized already includes chemistry faculty members by the Dreyfus and JPOC awards,” says Liu. Geri Richmond “I would like to thank the Department of Chemistry for support throughout the years. A long-time advocate of women in sci- I am also greatly indebted to my coworkers ence, Richmond is well known for her role in the research group whose contributions as cofounder and leader of the Committee really made this possible.” on the Advancement of Women Chemists Liu is currently an associate professor of (COACh, coach.uoregon.edu/). Since 1997, organic, organometallic, and inorganic chem- COACh has worked to support women sci- istry. Prior to joining the UO faculty in 2006, entists and engineers through leadership, Liu was both a graduate student (PhD 2003) career development, and mentoring oppor- and a postdoctoral researcher (2003–6) at tunities. Richmond is currently working to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. broaden COACh’s reach internationally. Liu’s research group is engaged in synthetic Richmond was quoted in Chemical & Mike Haley organic-organometallic chemistry with a fo- Engineering News in July 2012 as saying, cus on azaborines, boron (B)–nitrogen (N)- “All of us as scientists have a responsibil- Vickie DeRose, David Tyler, Geri Richmond, containing heterocycles that have potential ity to give back, and I learned that very Pete von Hippel, and Bruce Branchaud, as hydrogen storage materials and as arene early on from my mentor, George Pimentel,” among others. structural mimics in biomedical research. Richmond says. “Ever since I was in graduate Haley joined the UO faculty in 1993 as a Last November, Liu published his work on school, that message has been there, and professor of organic, organometallic, and ma- the creation of hydrogen storage materials I’ve had incredible opportunities to be able to terials chemistry. He also is a member of the for use in fuel cells. Soon after that publica- give back to the community through service. UO Materials Science Institute. His research tion in the Journal of the American Chemical And it’s been enormously rewarding but also group explores nonnatural molecules, utilizing Society, the U.S. Department of Energy a real learning experience for me on how we modern synthetic methods for the prepara- awarded $2 million to be shared among can be even more impactful with our actions.” CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
10 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY Graduate Student Awards
Alex Kendall Receives NSF Graduate Fellowship Alex Kendall, who is in his third year of the PhD program in David Tyler’s laboratory, was recently awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship for 2012–15. In November 2011, Alex submitted a proposal entitled “Novel Iron- Tetraphosphine Metallaboratrane Complexes for Catalytic Nitrogen Fixation,” which was approved in early March. Alex’s proposal was inspired by the inef- ficiencies of the Haber-Bosch process used to create ammonia-derived fertilizers. The production of ammonia (NH3) for fertilizers accounts for 1–2 percent of the world’s energy consumption and an estimated 2–7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The Haber-Bosch process to synthesize NH3 requires high temperatures of 350–500 de- grees Celsius and high pressures of 150– Left to right: Chris Weber, Brad Rose, and Alex Kendall, recipients of this year’s graduate 300 atmospheres. Even a small improvement student awards, standing in the atrium of the new Lewis Integrative Science Building. in the production process would result in inert gas,” explains Alex. “Iron is known to It wasn’t just the strength of his proposal much less waste and energy needed. mediate the Haber-Bosch process, so if you that earned him this coveted award—Alex is a “Most of what is in our air is plain ni- can design around iron a molecule that can well-rounded student who is also actively in- trogen, and it’s very difficult for plants and get the work done at room temperature and volved in outreach programs and community animals to utilize it because it’s an extremely pressure, then you end up saving a lot of service to encourage an interest in science money and time and pollution. Ten percent among middle school students. “Shannon Boettcher, Mike Pluth, and other junior pro- of CO2 comes from this process. We’re trying Faculty Awards to redesign something that’s extremely inef- fessors here have outreach programs where CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE ficient but we believe we can do it because they bring middle-schoolers to the university,” we understand the chemistry a lot better now says Alex. “The idea is to expose them to sci- tion of organic semiconductors and optical than they did when they invented this process ence, get them to a college setting. These materials, many of which are also compounds in the 1920s.” kids are from schools with huge dropout of theoretical interest. This project is very similar to a nitro- rates and that are underfunded. We want to Among his other awards are an NSF gen fixation project Alex worked on as an get them excited about science so that they CAREER Award (1995), a Camille Dreyfus undergraduate at Western Washington can excel.” Teacher-Scholar Award (1998), a UO University. While there, Alex worked with Herman Faculty Achievement Award for John Gilbertson, who also earned his PhD Chris Weber Receives UO Distinguished Teaching (2002), and a Doctoral Research Fellowship UO Fund for Faculty Member Excellence with David Tyler on small molecule activation Award (2007). and heterogeneous catalysis. Graduate student Chris Weber has been “I was stunned when I got the e-mail Alex was aware of a new class of boron selected to receive one of two UO Doctoral notifying me that I had been elected,” said compounds called metallaboratranes that Research Fellowships for 2012–13. The Haley. “Needless to say, I am very honored have been investigated, but not specifically fellowship includes a salary stipend and a university tuition waiver and is designed and pleased as punch to be named an AAAS with the goal of activating N2. “I thought in- fellow. Of course, I have to give credit to my corporating that into an iron scaffold would to support outstanding advanced doctoral students, past and present, whose hard work be a really nice way to explore this kind of degree candidates as they complete their research and write their dissertations. in the lab generated the research results that chemistry and see if we can’t activate N2 bet- made my election possible.” ter than it’s been done before,” explains Alex. Weber is studying the process of photo- The AAAS is publisher of the journal “The idea was to take everything we know chemical oxidation of conjugated polymers— Science. AAAS was founded in 1848 and about iron and how it interacts with a mo- in other words, the degradation of electrically includes some 262 affiliated societies and lecular scaffold to effectively design the most conductive plastics by air in the presence of light. Weber is part of the research group of academies of science, serving 10 million activating environment so that N2 can coor- individuals. dinate and be easily reduced to ammonia.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 11 Graduate Student Awards CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11
the lab of Mark Lonergan, which is focused has been published in the peer-reviewed als that could be used in organic electronics on the electrical and electrochemical proper- journal Macromolecules. Also committed to such as organic light-emitting diodes, organic ties of solid-state materials. community outreach and secondary science field effect transistors, and organic photovol- Degradable plastics have important impli- education, Weber has initiated and conduct- taics. These electron-accepting cores could cations, particularly with regard to solar pho- ed workshops for local high school students. allow for the inexpensive printing of electronic tovoltaics, or solid-state lighting. Currently, “While the receipt of this award is cer- devices. In addition to synthesizing a number photovoltaic cells are made of silicon-based tainly gratifying in terms of the work I have of new indenofluorene derivatives, Rose has materials. Lonergan’s research is proposing accomplished, I feel it is more a testament to explored these types of compounds compu- an alternative to this in the form of organic the importance of the area of sustainable en- tationally and completed some basic materi- photovoltaic cells (OPVs) composed of ergy research in general,” Weber says. “The als characterization. To date Rose’s research organic molecules and polymers. However, recognition of the selection committee of the work has earned him coauthorship on seven if OPVs are ever to become commercially need to provide support for research in this papers from the UO, with him as lead author viable, scientists must first find a way to in- area verifies the larger consensus that future on three. Prior to coming to the UO, Rose crease their stability in air. Weber’s work is sources of energy require sustainable and earned his BS from Illinois State University aimed at overcoming this fundamental chemi- cost-effective alternatives to fossil fuels. The in 2009. cal problem. receipt of this award will allow me to focus “I am very grateful to have been awarded “In terms of the specifics of my research, my efforts on continuing this research while this endowed fellowship in memory of the while there have been significant advances also exploring new approaches to controlling late Dr. Troyansky,” says Rose. “It will allow in the efficiency and processability of organic or mitigating the degradation of these materi- me to continue my passion of creating and photovoltaics, the long-term stability of these als in functioning photovoltaic devices.” exploring new conjugated organic materials devices remains largely unexplored and poor- as well as present some of these discoveries ly understood,” Weber says. “In this respect Brad Rose wins ACS Division of at the forty-third National Organic Chemistry the work conducted in the Lonergan lab Organic Chemistry Fellowship Symposium in Seattle next summer.” has contributed to the understanding of the Brad Rose, currently a fourth-year PhD Established in 2003, the funds come fundamental chemistry associated with the candidate working in the lab of Mike Haley, from an endowment made by the family of degradation mechanisms in one of the con- has received the Troyansky Fellowship from Emmanuil Troyansky in his memory. Troyansky stituent components of these devices, namely the ACS Division of Organic Chemistry for (1951–2002) received a PhD in 1976 and conjugated polymers.” Weber’s research is 2012–13. The fellowship consists of sal- a DSc in 1988—both in organic chemis- making important strides toward achieving ary support and benefits for graduate study. try—from the Institute of Organic Chemistry, the goal of cheaper and more versatile solar Typically only eight to ten ACS-DOC gradu- Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. He energy technologies. ate fellowships are awarded annually and are spent the early part of his career in Russia, As a graduate student at the University meant to recognize outstanding graduate followed by several professorships and re- of Oregon, Weber has twice been recog- students in their third or fourth year of study. search positions in the United States and nized for Research Achievement (2011, Rose’s research has focused on new England. Troyansky was known for his re- 2010) by the National Science Foundation’s conjugated pi systems that are based on search in radical chemistry and heterocyclic Integrative Graduate Education and Research the indeno[1,2-b]fluorene scaffold. The goal, chemistry and was the author or coauthor of Traineeship program (IGERT), and his work Rose says, is to develop new organic materi- more than 100 papers and seven patents.
Undergraduate Student Awards
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and short stories. He is an Israeli citizen to Biochemist Opher Kornfeld who is deeply committed to finding peace- ful solutions to the political problems in his Three UO Clark Honors College stu- homeland. dents received 2012 Barry M. Goldwater This isn’t Kornfeld’s first award—he has Scholarships. Biochemistry student Opher received the Shephard Family Scholarship Kornfeld was honored, along with Amy for International Students. On May 21, Atwater (geological sciences and biology 2011, he also received the Centurion double major), and Brianna McHorse (biol- Award, which is given to 100 undergradu- ogy). Kornfeld entered the CHC during the ate students from all classes for dedication 2009–10 academic year. He plans a career Opher Kornfeld in academia but also loves to write poetry CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
12 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY Undergraduate Student Awards CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 and outstanding service as student leaders of Oregon for the first time. The proposal was physical chemistry and taught chemistry for in the last year. On a campus of 25,000 stu- highly rated by the Beckman Foundation and nearly thirty years. Warner attained world- dents, being recognized in this group of 100 awarded funding.” wide status as a leading expert in the field of selected leaders is very significant. Kornfeld To be considered for this award, students Raman spectroscopy, which he pushed into received the Centurion Award again this must be exceptionally talented, full-time un- many new directions in his study of biologi- year, in addition to the Robert and Opal dergraduates who are pursuing a career in cal systems. Clark Scholarship. That award is presented chemistry, biochemistry, or the biological and Now, a new undergraduate prize for re- to a student for outstanding scholarship and medical sciences at accredited four-year col- search in physical chemistry has been estab- leadership in honor of President Emeritus leges and universities in the United States. lished in his honor. The award was officially Robert D. Clark’s wife, Opal, in recognition Students are named as Beckman Scholars in endowed in February 2012 by contributions of her lifetime commitment to the University the spring of their sophomore or junior years. from physical chemistry faculty members. of Oregon. Qualifying undergraduate research stu- Additional contributions are sought for the Established by Congress in 1986 to dents receive a $19,300 scholarship in the fund, which will provide an annual prize to honor Senator Barry M. Goldwater, the form of $6,000 earned each summer, $4,000 a UO undergraduate who has excelled in scholarships recognize highly qualified stu- for the academic year plus $850 in summer research in physical chemistry. dents majoring in science, mathematics, and travel and supplies funding and $1,600 in The prize consists of a certificate and engineering who intend to pursue careers academic year travel and supplies funding. a cash award of $100. Chemistry majors in these fields. About forty of the Goldwater Students are expected to attend and pres- or other undergraduate students engaged scholars are biochemistry majors. ent their research at the annual Beckman in research with physical chemistry faculty “I am looking forward to the research Scholars meeting in Irvine, California. members are eligible for the prize. As the aspect of my career as well as the teaching “The students are selected based on endowment grows to a sufficient level, a aspect, as I have done throughout my time academic performance, and independent second award named after Warner Peticolas here at the UO as a FIG [Freshmen Interest research proposal, and an interview by will be given to support a physical chemistry Group] assistant and a TA for multiple biology committee,” Boettcher explained. “The graduate student. courses,” he says. Kornfeld particularly wants goal—indeed expectation—for each of these “I was very impressed how the whole to acknowledge his mentor, Diane Hawley, students is that they publish their work in a physical chemistry group got together and a professor of biochemistry and a member peer-reviewed international journal, present donated to support this award,” says Marina of the Institute of Molecular Biology, for his at a major international conference, and ap- Guenza. “Every single faculty member in recent achievements. “Her contribution to my ply for (and win) prestigious fellowships for physical chemistry participated quite gener- undergraduate experience and the scholar- graduate study at other top universities. We ously to the making of this award.” ship was very significant,” says Kornfeld. expect the Beckman support to really accel- “We are also grateful to the depart- Congratulations Opher! erate the careers of our top students.” ment head and the chemistry department Established in 1997, the program who matched one-to-one our donations,” New UO Beckman Scholars is named after physical chemist Arnold she adds. “It is important for the physical Program Supports Beckman, who was an outstanding inventor chemistry group to have a way to remember Undergraduate Research of scientific instruments. Beckman’s devices and celebrate our colleague, Warner, by Shannon Boettcher, assistant professor of include a “rock smasher” for a Mars robot encouraging and supporting the best of our chemistry and ONAMI Signature Researcher, mission and an electronic shark repellent, undergraduate students performing research along with other chemistry colleagues, re- but most of his work centered around “the in physical chemistry. It will be exciting in the ceived funding in spring 2012 to establish a chemistry of life.” Beckman invented the pH future to be able to recognize among our prestigious Beckman Scholars Program on meter in 1935. graduate students those who have the capa- campus. The first UO student recipients of Learn more about the Beckman Found- bilities and the enthusiasm to follow Warner’s Beckman Scholar Awards are Greg Harlow, ation at www.beckman-foundation.com. steps, and to be able to reward their excel- who is working with synthetic organic chem- lence in research.” ist Shih-Yuan Liu, and Richard Cramer, who Warner Peticolas The hope is that in the future the fund will is working in the lab of Boettcher on solar Undergraduate Prize for grow enough to provide additional resources, cell materials. Research in Physical Chemistry multiple awards, or other types of awards in support of student research in physical “Last September, the University of The Department of Chemistry and the Oregon, because of its already strong record Physical Chemistry Division establish chemistry. in undergraduate research and mentoring, a new fund. Warner Peticolas’ wife, Virginia, ex- was invited to apply for the highly com- UO Professor Warner Leland Peticolas pressed her pleasure at her husband being petitive Beckman Scholars Program,” says was seventy-nine years old when he died remembered in this manner. “I thought it was Boettcher. “With the help of my chemistry in 2009 (see chemistry.uoregon.edu/ a very good thing to honor chemistry or phys- colleagues, I wrote a proposal to establish a pdf/news/news09.pdf). While at the UO, ics students in this way,” she says. “I think Beckman Scholars Program at the University Warner headed a research group in bio- Warner would be very happy with it.”
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 13 Alumni Achievement Award
Carol Gross Receives “If you use high throughput approaches 2012 Award to monitor how removal of each gene in the organism alters response to stress, you This past spring Carol Gross was the can sometimes infer novel pathways that recipient of the 2012 Alumni Achievement Award, which was awarded for the first time we didn’t know existed, and you can study jointly by the chemistry and biology depart- them molecularly,” she explains. “We’re heav- ments. Carol graduated from the UO in 1968 ily involved in that, we’re at the forefront of with her PhD in molecular biology, working this movement; it’s a new phase. It’s really under Professor Aaron Novick. She stayed exciting because it’s uncovering novel con- on as a postdoctoral associate in physical nections that we never knew existed. It’s a Carol Gross biochemistry with Professor Pete von Hippel very integrated approach where it’s highly from 1969 to 1971. When she remembers “Charlotte was a role model for me of a computational and once the computation that time, Carol, now seventy-one, has no woman in science,” says Carol. “Each person shows you something you have to figure out hesitation about how formative it was. “I owe was doing amazing things and each one of what biology to do.” everything to the University of Oregon,” she them was an incredible scientist. It was a “One of the things that I’m passionate says. “They totally changed my life.” bunch of incredibly brilliant yet modest peo- about and one of those things which was Carol repeats versions of this sentiment ple who were really setting new directions.” promoted by my time in Eugene because of several times throughout the hour we spent When Carol first joined the institute, everyone involved in the political process, on the phone talking about her receipt of the George Streisinger was working on trying is access to science for all people,” Carol award. She has achieved considerable suc- to break the genetic code by making vari- remarks. “I’m very involved with promoting cess in her scientific career, which she says ous mutations, and Francis Crick was also diversity in science.” Carol has received an was founded on the academic integrity of the very involved in this field and often visited. AAAS Mentor Award, and a Martin Luther advisors she worked with. “There were several times while I was a grad King Award from UCSF for her efforts at Biophysicist Aaron Novick (1919–2000) student that George would be discussing promoting diversity. founded the Institute of Molecular Biology at it with Crick,” Carol says. “You can imagine Both of Carol’s children were born in the UO in 1959, just six years after James what it was like to be a grad student in this Watson and Francis Crick published their intellectual ferment.” Eugene, and in fact she was pregnant when paper on the structure of DNA, and Carol With Aaron Novick, Carol worked on in she arrived here for grad school. Her son, recalls that it was “an amazing place” when vivo applications of repression of the lactose Steven, is now a biophysics professor at the she arrived here in 1965. gene. During her postdoc with Pete von University of California at Irvine, studying mo- “The institute was a unique blend of biol- Hippel, she worked on the same problem, lecular motors. Her daughter, Miriam, is now ogy, chemistry, and physics, and this nucleus but from a physical biochemistry perspective. a professor of modern Chinese history at the of people working together in a new field that After that postdoc she did a second post- University of Oklahoma, studying rural public combined all three previously separate areas doc at the University of Wisconsin with Dick health. Carol also has a stepfamily that she raised the level of everyone else at the uni- Burgess, where she honed her biochemistry is very close to. versity. This was the cutting edge of science skills. Carol became a faculty member in the Carol has no plans to retire anytime soon; done by a small group of people in this sort bacteriology department at Wisconsin from she just received a new round of grants, of, outpost. It was an unbelievable learning 1981 to 1993. During that time she studied she has new students, new postdocs, and environment.” regulatory circuits in the bacteria E. coli. remains excited about her research. She The researchers and graduate students in “I used a combination of in vivo and in wrapped up the conversation by saying again the institute became a close-knit group that vitro studies, drawn from the combined how lucky she feels to have been a part of perspective of Aaron’s quantitative in vivo would socialize together. Before institute the Institute of Molecular Biology during its members gave outside seminars, they would studies and Pete’s rigorous biophysical early years. often try out the seminars on the institute analysis, complemented with new biochemi- “The University of Oregon, the institute, first. Moreover, both faculty members and cal approaches I had learned from Burgess, and the convergence between all approach- students would often meet for lunch. a savvy biochemist,” she explains. es that they have promoted ever since I’ve Novick and von Hippel entertained often, During Carol’s twelve years at Wisconsin been there was really foundational to me so Carol had a chance to get to know the she went from assistant professor to full professors and their families. She recalls that professor and was elected to the National and I would be no place without them,” she George Streisinger, who pioneered the ge- Academy of Sciences and the American says. “I was really happy to get the Alumni netic work with zebra fish and has Streisinger Academy of Arts and Sciences, along with Award, and particularly happy that it was Hall named in his honor, gave Carol her having received many other recognitions. a joint biology-chemistry award, because first gin and tonic. Biochemist Charlotte After moving to the University of California that’s what I learned from the University of Schellman, wife of Professor Emeritus John at San Francisco in 1993, Carol still studied Oregon. Integrating all of these approaches Schellman, taught Carol how to make lamb E. coli but with the new focus of looking at and reaching for big problems is what makes in yogurt sauce. multiple outputs simultaneously. your science great.”
14 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY Alumni News from All Over
1960s division and worked with the environmental 2000 to 2003, he helped me out by letting Gordon Gribble, PhD ’67, a regular con- issues with various missile programs to re- me work summers doing organic synthesis tributor to our Alumni News section, received move any chemicals that would prove harmful at his company Organic Consultants there his doctorate in organic chemistry with Lloyd to the environment.” She retired (“this time in Eugene.” Dolby in the area of indole chemistry. Following for real,” she says) in 2002. (Lola) Celeste After getting his law degree at the UO a National Cancer Institute Postdoctoral (Hennies) Roper was awarded the Naval School of Law in 2003, Cooper has been Fellowship at UCLA with Frank Anet, Gribble Meritorious Civilian Service award for her working as a patent attorney in the or- started his career at Dartmouth College, where part of the environmental program. ganic molecular sciences with Schwegman since 2005 he has held the endowed chair, Lundberg Woessner P.A. of Minneapolis, one The Dartmouth Professor of Chemistry. In Lloyd “Al” West ’67 worked with Donald of the leading patent law firms. He has been 1998, three years into a project involving the Swinehart on gas phase thermal decomposi- in Minnesota almost seven years, but now the synthesis and biological evaluation of hundreds tion. He then obtained a doctorate in physi- firm has agreed to let him work in Oregon, so of novel triterpenoids from the ubiquitous natu- cal chemistry from the University of California he and his wife, Sandie, will be returning to rally occurring plant products oleanolic, ursolic, at Berkeley in 1971 working with Gabor Oregon next month, where they will be living and betulinic acids, Gribble and his students Somorjai in the area of surface chemistry. in Tigard. “I will still continue to prepare and synthesized “TP-155.” This compound, now Following graduation he worked for Sandia prosecute patent applications for the firm, named Bardoxolone methyl, displays unprec- National Laboratories for more than thirty-five working entirely online,” Cooper writes. “The edented anti-inflammatory activity and has years, first in Livermore, California, and then Schwegman firm has pioneered the elec- just entered phase three clinical trials for the in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His career at tronic docketing and desktop systems in the treatment of chronic kidney disease in patients Sandia started as a research chemist and he field of patent law, and it’s paid off; we have with advanced diabetes. Bardoxolone methyl steadily progressed up the management ranks “satellite attorneys” all over the USA. I am is an orally available first-in-class “antioxidant to the position of director of environment, just so happy to be coming home to Oregon, inflammation modulator” and is the most potent safety, and health for a laboratory with 7,500 where I plan to stay from now on. I’m proud known inducer of the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway to employees. He spent his last three years at to be a ‘double Duck.’” enter clinical development. It works to suppress the lab on leave to the Central New Mexico both oxidative stress and inflammation, which Community College (CNM) where he was the James “Jimmy” Roberts, PhD ’77, are responsible for several chronic diseases in executive director of the Southwest Center writes that he has had a “long and fun ca- addition to renal disease. for Microsystems Education, a National reer” since his time at the UO. Roberts was Since 1996 Professor Gribble has Science Foundation–funded regional center chair of neurobiology at Mount Sinai School coedited the annual series “Progress in for Advanced Technological Education (ATE). of Medicine for fifteen years and spent the Heterocyclic Chemistry,” and this past year Since he began his science career with sup- vast majority of his career as a research aca- he organized and edited two monographs, port from the NSF both as an undergraduate demic. However, four years ago he decided to “Metalation of Azoles and Related Five- and as a graduate student, this was a fitting “do something different” and moved to an all Membered Ring Heterocycles” and another way to conclude his career by assisting one undergraduate institution, Trinity University in about the chemistry and applications of in- of NSF’s undergraduate programs. West San Antonio, Texas, where he teaches neuro- doles. With a colleague in Germany, Gribble retired from CNM and Sandia at the end of chemistry, endocrinology, and developmental wrote a review of “Heterocycles in Wine,” 1976 and now resides in Prescott, Arizona. biology to college kids, and shows them how and this past April he gave a plenary lecture, He still works with the NSF by serving as an research is done in the lab. “A great way to “Food Safety and Chemophobia,” at the 2012 evaluator for several ATE grants in New York, finish off a long career,” he writes. “I’m on sab- conference “Dose-Response: Implications for Wisconsin, Missouri, and New Mexico. He batical now at the Rosalind Franklin Medical Toxicology, Medicine, and Risk Assessment” also contributes to the University of Oregon School in Chicago doing proteomics and lipi- at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. by serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council domics (mass spec) on astrocytes and their Last October, Gribble presented a lecture, for the Robert Donald Clark Honors College. secretions and their role in neuroprotection “Food Contaminants and Chemophobia,” at from Parkinson’s disease. I learned science the International Conference in Amsterdam 1970s at the UO from the likes of Ed Herbert, Pete on Food Safety vs. Food Security—A Global Geoff Cooper, PhD ’77, writes that it’s von Hippel, Frank Reithel, Ira Herskowitz, Sid Challenge. been thirty-five years since he completed his Bernhard, and so on, and have Ralph Barnard PhD with Lloyd Dolby. “Those were good to thank for teaching me how to teach stu- Celeste Roper ’62 moved to China times I had in the UO graduate chemistry pro- dents. I will forever be grateful!!” Lake, California, after graduation, where she gram, and I learned a lot from Lloyd, working worked for three years as a literature chem- on synthesis of alkaloids and prostaglandins, Timothy Rolfe ’75 entered Oregon as a ist. She writes that she “retired” to raise two running the honors organic chem labs, and postbaccalaureate student, and since sequenc- boys and returned to the Naval Air Warfare going on fishing expeditions,” he recalls. “I’ve ing of course work for a BS in physical chemis- Center, Weapons Division, in 1989, this been honored to continue to enjoy Lloyd’s try was rigid, he ended up with a triple major— time as a general chemist in the materials friendship and support over the years; while chemistry, computer science, and mathematics, branch. ”Eventually, I moved to the chemistry I was going to law school at the UO from CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 15 Alumni News from All Over CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15
with a strong background in physics. All of those spectra of their thermal fragments. He luminescence (both fluorescence and phos- combined in his doctoral work at the University completed his PhD work at the University phorescence) techniques to investigate their of Chicago for a PhD in theoretical physical of California at Berkeley and writes that the physical properties. Ludescher’s current proj- chemistry studying computer simulations of research there was “deep into atomic and ects focus on studying molecular mobility in molecular vibrational behavior. The MIT com- molecular physics.” Southworth has been at amorphous solid carbohydrates and proteins puter science department bought a Vax-11/780 Argonne National Laboratory for seventeen and on the development of novel luminescent computer in early 1983 and needed someone years, working in a group using lasers and x- nanoparticles as sensors for foods. He was to coordinate preparation of the computer room, rays for basic atomic and molecular physics. appointed Cook Campus dean for undergrad- and then set up all of the internal procedures uate education in fall 2006. He has also won and accounting to allow users to access the Ron Stenkamp ’70 is currently a pro- numerous awards for teaching at the depart- computer, and Rolfe was part of the team in fessor in the Departments of Biological ment, college, university, and national level. the chemistry department at the University of Structure and Biochemistry at the University On July 1, 2011, Ludescher was appointed Chicago that had done that in 1980. After that of Washington. He received his PhD from the dean of academic programs at the School of experience, he writes that he chose to pursue UW in 1975, and after two years of postdoc- Environmental and Biological Sciences at computer science. “Computers were rather . toral research back east, he returned to join Rutgers (sebs.rutgers.edu/administration/per- . . larger back in 1980. The Vax-11/780 was the research staff and faculty in Seattle. He sonnel.asp#2), where he remains a professor in cabinets over six feet tall, more than a yard carries out crystallographic studies of inter- in the Department of Food Science. Ludescher deep, and twelve feet or more wide,” he recalls. esting biological macromolecules, including tells us more about his work: “As academic After teaching in the mathematics and computer molecules such as rhodopsin and cell adhe- dean, I am responsible for approximately 3,500 science department at Gonzaga University, he sion proteins. undergraduate students majoring in twenty-five went to the University of Minnesota for a strong applied science and social science programs MS in computer science, and afterwards taught 1980s offered by the School of Environmental and at Dakota State University in Madison, South After Richard D. Ludescher graduated Biological Sciences and allied schools at Dakota, and at Eastern Washington University. with his PhD in 1984, he held a postdoc- Rutgers, as well as approximately 600 gradu- As of July of 2011 he is enjoying his retirement toral position at the University of Minnesota ate students enrolled in twelve graduate pro- as professor of computer science emeritus at Medical School and was hired into the grams. These responsibilities cover academic Eastern Washington University. Department of Food Science at Rutgers, courses and graduation requirements, bud- The State University of New Jersey in 1988. gets, and other administrative issues. Even Stephen Southworth ’77 worked with He is now a full professor. His research is with these extra administrative responsibilities, Professor Tom Koenig synthesizing organic on the physical chemistry of foods and bio- I maintain a research program investigating the compounds and recording photoelectron materials and the development and use of physical properties of amorphous biomaterials and developing novel luminescence probes of the stability and quality of foods and food ingredients. I am also, along with my son, learning about whitewater rafting and kayaking.
Paul Yager, PhD ’80, is currently chair of the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, where he’s been teaching and doing research since 1987. Paul’s research interests include microflu- idic devices for chemical and biochemical measurement, development of point-of-care diagnostic instruments, microfabrication technologies for microfluidics, and devel- opment of microfluidic-specific methods of analysis of biological samples. The latest big push in the Yager lab is development of extremely low-cost microflu- idics point-of-care diagnostic devices based on paper. The latest can be found at the Microfluidics 2.0 website (www.mf20.org). The chemistry department participated in the UO’s Gold Medal Games, held during the Please visit faculty.washington.edu/yagerp for summer 2012 Olympic track and field trials in Eugene. The event offered activities such as more about Paul’s research in microfluidics. this demonstration of “oobleck”—a non-Newtonian liquid made from a mixture of cornstarch and water. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
16 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
1990s Django H. Andrews ’99 received a chemistry PhD from the University of Colorado in 2006 (at JILA with W. Carl Lineberger) and a JD from the University of Colorado in 2009. Andrews and his family recently relocated back to the West Coast, where he now practices patent law in San Francisco and Silicon Valley with Squire Sanders (US) LLP. Andrews writes that he is happy to speak with UO alumni and cur- rent students about using a chemistry degree outside of science, if that would be if interest to anyone.
Jeff Choate ’99 didn’t take the career path he intended. In fact, he says, it has “been anything but traditional.” After gradu- ating, he worked as a horticulturist for the Douglas County-Oregon State University (OSU) Cooperative Extension Service for Gold Medal Game participants got to enjoy a variety of explosive demonstrations. about a year before enrolling in graduate school at OSU where he completed an MS in the Northwest but make it back from time to States as a visiting scientist at the University soil science in 2003. His intent was to return time to visit family and friends. of California at Davis. He stayed in California to work for the Extension Service , but budget This year, Fry writes, “My career and role and worked as a research and application cuts resulted in part-time, nontenure-track here with CST continue to grow with the scientist at Clontech and later, at Invitrogen. positions, so he started work on a PhD in company, which I feel very fortunate to be After working as a senior scientist for soil science at the University of California at a part of. The Boston area continues to be Invitrogen, Gurrieri became their marketing Davis. Jeff writes that he chose to leave Davis an important hub for biotechnology and my manager. That led him to other marketing without completing a degree and returned degrees from the UO have certainly helped positions within the science world. In 2009, to Springfield, Oregon, where he took a job me take advantage of this and I am grateful he began his own life sciences and bio- at Jerry’s Home Improvement Center. “I am for that.” In noncareer-related news, Fry also technology consulting company called SG currently the training manager at Jerry’s,” he writes that he has a much better chance of Consulting. Since July 2011 Gurrieri has says. “Fortunately, I’ve found opportunities to watching Oregon Duck football games on the also been an investor and business advisor use my chemistry background along the way. East Coast, now that the nation has taken at Tech Coast Angels (TCA) in San Diego, My undergrad work in chemistry was excel- more notice of our hometown team! California. Tech Coast Angels is the larg- lent preparation for my graduate work in soil est network of angel investors in the U.S. science, which focused on soil phosphorus Bradley Gardiner ’96 graduated from comprising five chapters and more than 300 chemistry. At Jerry’s, I continue to use my Uniformed Services University School of members located across southern California. Medicine in 2001. He traveled around the chemistry background for subjects such as TCA supports early-stage entrepreneurs to world as an Army Flight Surgeon and Public pesticides, fertilizers, and HAZMATs.” turn game-changing ideas with high growth Health Officer. Gardiner’s assignments in- potential into successful, sustainable, and Matt Fry ’93 sent us an update for last cluded Korea, Germany, Afghanistan, and scalable businesses. TCA provides financial year’s newsletter, in which he wrote about Iraq, Fort Lewis, Fort Knox, and Central support, knowledge, coaching, and opera- his career at Cell Signaling Technology in Command in Florida. Brad writes that he is tional assistance. Gurrieri’s primary focus is Boston, Massachusetts. After starting off his currently getting out of the military and look- on biomedical technologies and life sciences career as a group leader in the production ing for a place to live in southern Oregon. companies. He is member of the biotech- department, he was promoted to head of the biomed screening committee. department, and later was promoted to direc- Sergio Gurrieri, MS ’92, PhD ’94, tor of products. He and his wife have also earned his degrees in biophysical chemistry, Geoff Lowman ’98 finished graduate been expanding their family and now have a following a BS in biophysical chemistry from school at the University of California at Santa four-year old daughter named Kayla as well the University of Catania in Italy in 1989. After Barbara (PhD, 2003), completed a two-year as daughter, Maria, who was born in May graduating, Gurrieri returned to Italy where he postdoctoral appointment at MIT (Department 2011. It has now been more than ten years enjoyed prestigious positions as a consultant since Matt and his wife moved to the Boston and more than five years as a staff scientist of Chemical Engineering), and worked for the area and he says they are still busy and happy at the Italian National Research Council in Department of Commerce at the National with their success there, although they miss Catania. In 2000 he returned to the United CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 17 Alumni News from All Over CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17
Institute of Standards and Technology UMI. His dissertation was one of three select- (NIST) under a National Research Council ed out of hundreds across U.S. and Canadian Postdoctoral Fellowship. After moving back universities to receive this award, and he was to Boston, Geoff began a career in industry featured in a documentary produced by Intel at a start-up called Helicos Biosciences Corporation in 2012. Mistkawi holds fourteen Corporation working on single-molecule patents and has published several papers. DNA sequencing and eventually made the He received the Portland State University move back to the West Coast, where he now Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 2011 resides in Carlsbad, California. There, he is and the Paul Emmett Achievement Award for currently a staff scientist at Life Technologies, Academic Excellence in 2009. Mistkawi is the working on ion torrent semiconductor-based recipient of two Intel Global Environmental DNA sequencing technology. He writes that Awards for inventing environmentally friendly he has a lovely wife, Juliet, and two children, chemical formulations for the semiconductor Sophia and Asher. industry. He has earned numerous Intel awards in innovations and process technologies used Nabil Mistkawi ’93 earned his BS in in various Intel manufacturing processes and chemistry and biochemistry from the UO and microprocessor products. went on to earn his PhD in physical chem- istry and materials science from Portland 2000s State University in 2010. Mistkawi has had Jared Ford ’02 went to Arizona and some unique success since graduating became a police officer after graduation. He from the UO. He writes that his contribu- writes that he pursued this route in order to tion to science, the environment, and the work his way into the field of forensic science. Oregon economy were cited and recog- After being a police officer for three years, nized by President Obama and Governor Jared was hired by the Oregon State Police Kitzhaber during President Obama’s speech Forensics Division as a firearms and tool marks in Hillsboro, Oregon, on February 18, 2011, examiner. Two years into his career he was also in the last four minutes of the speech. (View trained as a crime scene investigator. After a the video of the speech at www.whitehouse total of six years as a forensic scientist working .gov/photos-and-video/video/2011/02/18/ for the Oregon State Police he was promoted out-educating-competition). Mistkawi has to director of the Central Point Laboratory. worked as a microprocessor researcher and “I am also the president of the board for a developer for eighteen years, and President nonprofit corporation I started called Central Obama acknowledged his contributions to Oregon Desert Racing Association (CODRA) the company in his speech by saying, “During where we raise money for schools in struggling that time, Intel was trying to find a faster, more rural Oregon towns by promoting off-road rac- efficient way to process their microchips, but ing events,” Jared writes. “I currently reside in Participants from around the country nobody could figure it out. And they asked Grants Pass, Oregon, with my wife Jaymi of enhance their green chemistry lab skills at least eight other companies and research seven years and two beautiful children Isabella in the twelfth annual Green Chemistry in labs for help. Some said it couldn’t be done. (4) and Logan (1).” Education Workshop held in July at the UO. Others worked on it for nearly a year with no success. And so they asked Nabil if he Ying Lin, PhD ’07, studied synthetic mo- wanted to give it a shot. Within three days— lecular motors with advisor Bruce Branchaud three days—he came up with a solution that and is now a chemistry reviewer at the is now saving this company millions of dollars Division of Dietary Supplement Programs, a year.” Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Mistkawi’s academic and professional U.S. Food and Drug Administration in College accomplishments have been featured in the Park, Maryland, reviewing premarket notifica- Oregonian (www.oregonlive.com/business/ tions for new dietary ingredients. index.ssf/2010/09/partners_intel_covers_em- ployee.html) and in several additional regional Gary Succaw, PhD ’04, studied with publications. He is the 2010 recipient of the Kenneth Doxsee. He writes that he has Innovation in Technology Award sponsored by moved to Havre, Montana, where he accept- the Western Association of Graduate Schools ed an associate professor of chemistry posi- and University Microfilms International (WAGS/ tion at Montana State University-Northern.
18 DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY Honor Roll
Chemistry Gifts, July 1, Jennifer and John Berglund Burton Litman ’66 2011–June 30, 2012 Barbara and Howard Budweg ’77 Stacey and Erik Lloyd ’93 Honor Roll of Donors: Timothy Carter ’10 Stephanie ’90 and Mark Lonergan ’90 Your Gifts, Our Thanks! Kay and Philip Cogswell Jr. ’63 Karrie and Bervil Marsh Jr. ’01 The Department of Chemistry faculty Sandra and Geoffrey Cooper ’77 James Moulds ’63 members, staff employees, and students are Karis ’01 and Matthew Cooper ’01 Jennifer Muzyka and Mark Meier ’88 grateful for your contributions. Private dona- Scott Dahlberg ’77 Georgy Nazin tions, because of their flexibility, are often Harold Davidson ’49 Joanne Paxton worth much more than their dollar amount in Frances ’86 and Thomas Dyke Michele ’99 and Bradley Phillips ’96 terms of helping students and programs. Richard Fancher ’85 Marilyn and Robert Pinschmidt Jr. ’71 Lorena and Thomas Farnham ’75 Silvia ’56 and Juris Orle ’59 INDIVIDUALS Ella ’63 and Dennis Forbess ’61 Matthew Rail ’06 Thomas Hackett ’69 Katherine ’66 and Chester Ramey ’68 Boekelheide Circle Georgette Heyrman ’02 Pauline Seebach Lewis Athon Jesse Jenkins ’08 Marian and Timothy Thomas ’64 Karen Griffith-Hedberg ’75 and Constance and Jon Jones ’89 Kathryn and Michael Uhler ’82 O. Hayes Griffith Herbert Koppermann ’65 Bernard White ’61 Rosaria P. Haugland Cynda Maxon ’04 Prapon Wilairat ’74 Teresa and William Herzog ’70 Joan and Robert Mazo Lillian Wu ’69 Margaret Squaires Linda ’63 and Richard Moulton ’61 Ian Yates ’09 Benefactor Margaret and William Nolan ’65 Karen ’66 and Lee Ziegler ’63 Wayne Parpala ’52 Joanne and Ernie Bush ’76 Libbie ’78 and Michael Pelter Patricia and Gary Hedden ’67 CORPORATIONS AND Peter Pomeroy ’67 Marion Hill ’48 FOUNDATIONS Catherine Smith ’69 Elsie ’58 and Bruno Morosin ’56 The Boeing Company Chin and Wayne Stalick ’64 Janet Reis and Wayne Solomon ’63 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Heidi Supkis Susan ’69 and Gary Van Nice Eli Lilly & Company Foundation Lance Wicklund ’95 Aiying Wang ’89 and Guixue Yu ’91 Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC Heidi Wierman ’91 and Brian Daikh ’90 Rosaria P. Haugland Foundation Patron Contributor IBM Corporation John Eiskamp ’69 Sarah and Palmer Bessey Jr. ’70 IRZ Consulting LLC Jean and Richard Green ’63 Leona Borchers MCP Services LLC Kwang and Hee-Chol Kang ’82 Erich Chapman ’10 The Moulton Family Trust Mitsue and Kazuo Koshida ’68 Jeffrey Cina Nike, Inc. Donald Mack ’47 Stephen Cross ’64 Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program Sponsor Robert Davis ’56 Sara ’63 and Manuel Debono ’64 Max Deinzer ’69 Categories of individual giving: Prince Lucien Campbell Founders Society (gifts of $1 mil- Victoria DeRose Olinda and Robert Diebel ’50 lion and more), Boekelheide Circle ($10,000 Patricia and Paul Engelking Anita and Norman Eberhardt ’72 and more), Benefactor ($1,000–$9,999), Marina Guenza and Andrew Marcus Paul Eckler ’70 Patron ($500–$999), Sponsor ($250– Joshua Hanna ’99 Gordon Ellis ’07 $499), Associate ($100–$249), Contributor John and Claudia Hardwick Deborah Exton ($99 and less). The University of Oregon Claire Kinlaw and John Brabson Kathy and Glen Frerichs ’77 designates as President’s Associates those Theodora ’69 and Kwok-Chen Lee ’69 Gregory Friestad ’95 individual who give $2,500 or more annually. Pat and Joseph Owens ’76 Carol and Michael Hahn ’74 Barbara Page ’57 Jean Halling ’48 You can now donate directly to the Carolyn ’68 and Terrone Rosenberry ’69 Michael Haley Department of Chemistry via the web at Michael Swanson ’03 Denise and Brett Jensen www.uofoundation.org using the secure Jeanne and Edward Weaver ’88 Lois Kennedy ’61 “Give Now” link and specifying “chemistry” Leesa Klepper ’82 Associate in the “Additional gift instructions” box. Sara Kortum and Frank Jones ’04 Christopher Altenhofen ’85
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 19 Chemistry News Nonprofit Organization College of Arts and Sciences 2012 U.S. Postage DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY PAID 1253 University of Oregon Eugene OR Eugene OR 97403-1253 Permit No. 63
Phone: 541-346-4601 Email: [email protected]
Chemistry News A publication of the University of Oregon Department of Chemistry, distributed to alumni, faculty and staff members, postdoctoral fellows, students, and friends of the department. Editor Vanessa Salvia Faculty Advisor Mike Haley Designer Annie Vrijmoet Printing Printing and Mailing Services, University of Oregon
An equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This publication will be made available in accessible formats upon request. Sarah Brady, left, and Chantal Balesdent, right, at one of the Gold Medal Games demonstration ©2012 University of Oregon DES1112-016m-C18218 tables. During the games, participants visited various locations on campus for demonstrations and activities to receive stamps. A full stamp card earned a replica gold medal.
Visit our website for the latest news at UO Department of Chemistry: chemistry.uoregon.edu