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Est. 1953. NO. 50 2006 Badger Chemist THE NEWSLETTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MADISON CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT The Newsletter of THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MADISON C hemistr Y Department CONTENTS From the Chair. 1 Our Awards . 2 New Badger Chemists . 5 Other Notable News. 7 Current Chemistry News. 9 Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy . 13 Institute for Chemical Education . 15 Shainfest—Honoring a Researcher, Educator, & Leader. 16 Shainfest Chemistry Symposium. 18 Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center Outreach. 21 Journal of Chemical Education & National Science Digital Library. 23 This ‘n’ That . 25 Chemistry Department Support . 27 Donors to Department Funds . 30 In Memoriam. 33 2006 BADGER CHEMIST Matthew Sanders Editor Designed by the Instructional Media Development Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin–Madison Est. 1953 NO. 50 Linda Endlich Art Direction 2006 Amanda Schmitt & Barb Smith Production Assistance From the Chair March 2007 Dear Badger Chemists, This newsletter, under the exceptional editorship of our Executive Director, Matt Sanders, is a wonderful vehicle for communicating our activities to alumni and friends. This issue of the Badger Chemist highlights our activities of the 2005-06 academic year, and indeed, there were many! Certainly one of the high points of the year was “Shainfest,” a celebration of the career of Professor Irving Shain, former Chemistry Department Chair and Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin. We named our new research wing the “Shain Research Tower” at a ceremony in May 2006, organized by Bassam Shakhashiri and attended by such dignitaries as Governor Jim Doyle, Provost Patrick Farrell and former Dean Phil Certain. The celebration continued with science and outreach presentations, and a banquet. It was indeed a fitting tribute to a wonderful career and an exceptional man. Our teaching excellence continues to be recognized, this year with Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Awards to Helen Blackwell and Gil Nathanson, and the Department’s James W. Taylor Award to Ieva Reich. In addition, Judith Burstyn won the Doris Slesinger Award for Excellence in Mentoring. On the research front we are delighted to have hired new faculty members Mahesh Mahanthappa in the area of functional organic materials, and John Berry in the area of transition metal chemistry. I also want to mention the excellent work of our new Diversity committee, under the able leadership first of Chuck Casey, and then of Mark Ediger. This Committee proposed a new childbirth policy for our female grad students and postdocs, which provides our pregnant colleagues with paid leave. The policy was recently approved by the Department. The Committee has also spearheaded efforts to recruit more underrepresented minorities to our department, and is currently working on a proposal regarding the recruitment of more women faculty. These are difficult financial times for the University of Wisconsin, and as a result, we as a Department must rely more and more on our own resources. This issue of the Badger Chemist lists various trust funds and departmental accounts set up and maintained by the UW Foundation to which you can contribute if you are so inclined. We are all truly grateful for your past and future generosity. I am now well into my third year as Department Chair. During the last decade our department has established a culture of rotating chairs, each serving a three-year term. I believe this is a healthy development, as it ensures that the research programs of chairs remain vibrant, and also allows a number of our talented faculty to assume leadership positions. This, therefore, is the last year of my term. Last spring we canvassed the department for the next chair, selecting Bob Hamers. Bob has served exceptionally well as the Associate Chair this year, which also has given him an opportunity to “learn the ropes.” He will begin his term as Chair in July 2007. In closing, I want to take this opportunity to thank the Department for allowing me to serve as Chair. It has truly been my privilege. The experience has been rewarding and uplifting, as I am continually impressed by the exceptional science, the inspired teaching, and the generosity of the human spirit that I see everyday. Jim Skinner Chair, Department of Chemistry [email protected] BADGER CHEMIST Our Awards UW Chemists continue to garner significant awards. STAFF AWARDS Tracy Drier won the American Society Laura Kiessling was appointed as a of Glassblower’s Wilt Award for the best Hilldale Professor beginning in July 2006. Technical Workshop Demonstration at the This is one of the highest honors that a Helen Blackwell, Lingjun Li and ASG meeting. faculty member at UW can achieve, and Marty Zanni received Sloan Fellowships. is recognition for Laura’s outstanding con- These highly competitive awards are given Sam Gellman won the 2006 Vincent tributions to the Department, the College to younger scientists who have demon- du Vigneaud Award, given by the American of Letters and Science, and the University, strated extraordinary research ability and Peptide Society for outstanding achieve- through her seminal research in chemical impact. ments in peptide research. biology, her spectacular teaching and men- Helen Blackwell and Gil Nathanson Song Jin won an NSF CAREER award toring, and her many extramural activities received Distinguished Teaching Awards for his proposal entitled: “Synthesis, Char- including Editor-in-Chief of the ACS journal from the University of Wisconsin. acterization and Physical Properties of Chemical Biology and service on a number of One-Dimensional Rare Earth Chalcogen- advisory boards and panels. Laura also won Helen Blackwell was named one of ide Nanomaterials.” Song also received the Harrison-Howe Award from the Roches- the Top 35 Innovators Under 35 Years of a Nontenured Faculty Award from the ter Section of the ACS for her “outstanding Age by MIT’s Technology Review Magazine 3M Company. contributions to chemistry … and … great (http://www.technologyreview.com/). Helen potential for further achievement.” was also selected as one of ten Burroughs Frank Keutsch won one of eleven Wellcome Fund Investigators in the Patho- Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Cathy Middlecamp won the ACS genesis of Infectious Diseases. Awards for 2005-06. Award for Encouraging Women into Ca- reers in the Chemical Sciences. Cathy also Jeff Burkett, a Lab Prep Technician in the Analytical labs, received one of the five Classified Staff Excellence Awards given by the College of Letters & Science for 2005-06. These awards recognize people in the Col- lege who demon- strate outstanding performance, service Jeff Burkett and contributions. Judith Burstyn won the Doris Slesing- er Award for Excellence in Mentoring from the UW. Chuck Casey won the 2006 UW-Madi- son Hilldale Award for the Physical Sci- ences. This annual award is given to one of the University’s most distinguished faculty in recognition of tremendous accomplish- ments in research, teaching and service. Fleming Crim won the ACS Irving Betsy Kean (PhD ‘74, West), Cathy Middlecamp (PhD ‘76, West), Anne Bentley (PhD ‘05, Ellis), Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics for his Maggie Phillips (Smith), all speakers at the Awards Symposium in honor of Cathy Middle- pioneering and seminal research in chemi- camp, 2006 ACS Award for Encouraging Women in Careers in the Chemical Sciences cal dynamics and spectroscopy. 231st National ACS Meeting, Atlanta, GA 2 BADGER CHEMIST received the 2006 Judith S. Craig Dis- Tehshik Yoon won a Lilly New Faculty Graduate scholarships and fellowships tinguished Service Award, the highest Award in support of his research. come from industrial and alumni donors, L&S Academic Staff Award, recogniz- and also from the Graduate School and ing Cathy “as an individual who has Marty Zanni received one of only 16 5- outside organizations. Awards and the demonstrated outstanding achievement year Packard Fellowships given to scientists students who received them during 2005- and service, initiative and creativity, and and engineers. 2006 included: A Merck Fellowship went excellence of performance to the college to Qiang Fu (PhD ‘06, Li); Eric Hansen Howard Zimmerman won the 2006 and university.” (PhD ‘06, Lee) won the Abbott Fellowship; Porter Medal. The European Photochem- Jennifer Campbell O’Neill (Blackwell) istry Association, The Inter-American Ieva Reich received the 2005 James won the Novartis Fellowship. Grant Photochemistry Society and The Asian W. Taylor Excellence in Teaching Award. Geske (Blackwell) and Emily Dykhuizen Photochemistry Association presented this She described her teaching approach, (Kiessling) received ACS Division of Me- award for “extraordinary contributions to “Interactive Teaching and Learning in dicinal Chemistry Fellowships for 2005-06. our understanding of fundamental pro- Large Classes,” at the symposium in Katie Alfare (Kiessling), George Barnes cesses in excited states.” December. (Sibert), Matt Christianson (Landis), Bassam Shakhashiri received the Kathy Vanheuvelen (Brunold), and Adam 2005 Chemical Pioneer Award from the STUDENT AWARDS Van Wynsberghe (Weisshaar) received American Institute of Chemists (AIC, NSF Fellowships. Jordan Schmidt (PhD ’06, Skinner) continued with a Hertz Fel- http://www.theaic.com) in recogni- Student scholarships and research lowship. Laura Wysocki (Burke) is in the tion of “pioneering scientific work and awards are made possible by generous third year of a Lucent Fellowship. Soo innovative contributions