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Chemistry Biochemistry Chemistry & Biochemistry VOLUME 4 NUMBER 1 LAFAYETTE Spirng 2008 hospital to develop cheaper, less toxic antiretroviral treatments to Freedman ’08 and Vasta ’10 ease the suffering and extend the lives of HIV-positive patients. He did research on gamma-hydroxy butenolides as an EXCEL Scholar with Awarded Goldwater Professor William Miles and an honors thesis under the direction of Scholarships Assistant Professor Yvonne Gindt. He also was a standout performer on the varsity swim team for four years. Jaryd Freedman ’08 and James Vasta ’10 are the latest biochemistry Vasta, awarded the Goldwater this year, majors to receive the Goldwater Scholarship, the nation’s premier plans to obtain a doctorate in biochemistry. The Goldwater is undergraduate award in math, science, and engineering. He would like to conduct research in the nation’s premier Freedman, a 2007 Goldwater recipient, plans to obtain an M.D. and biochemistry and metabonomics and teach Ph.D. in biochemistry. He would like to conduct research at a university at the university level. Last summer, he did undergraduate EXCEL research using high performance thin award in math, layer chromatography under the guidance of science, and Joseph Sherma, Larkin Professor Emeritus engineering. With of Chemistry, and Bernard Fried, Kreider 16 recipients in Professor Emeritus of Biology. the last seven Vasta’s essay on the significance of Grignard years, Lafayette is reagents in organic chemistry was the winner unmatched by any of a $1,000 scholarship competition sponsored other exclusively by the Lehigh Valley Section of the American undergraduate Chemical Society. liberal arts and In the last seven years, five biochemistry engineering college. majors and three chemistry majors have been Jaryd Freedman ’08 James Vasta ’10 awarded Goldwaters. Goergen ’08 Works With Mylon in Australia Alex Goergen ’08 participated with Steven “We hoped to show that an abiotic method Mylon, assistant professor of chemistry, of perchlorate remediation is possible at in a collaborative research project at the a fairly low cost. Should we be successful, University of New South Wales, Sydney, this will open up avenues for enhancing Australia, for 10 weeks last summer. our perchlorate separation and remediation Working in the laboratory of David project that was originally sponsored by Waite, director of the School of Civil and the NSF,” Mylon says. “I pointed Alex in a Environmental Engineering at UNSW, Goergen direction, but he did the work by himself and Alex Goergen ’08 (L-R) and Assistant Professor learned methods for the synthesis of zero- with others.” Steven Mylon at Bondi Beach near Sydney. valent iron nanoparticles for use in both Having worked in Mylon’s lab at Lafayette batch and column perchlorate reduction for two summers, Goergen took full advantage experiments. His trip was funded through the of the opportunity to work at a new research science. This gave me a good preview of what EXCEL Scholars program and a $25,000 grant institution with graduate students and working at a large graduate school would Mylon received from the National Science postdoctorates in a different country. “I be like,” he says, adding, “I also developed a Foundation. learned many things about myself and in good feel for the Australian culture.” From the Department Head Students in the Greetings from Hugel Science Center! It’s hard to take over both a strong leadership role and a generous donation class of 2007 are after the excellent job Dave Husic did as head for nine to create Sherma Fund, which we will use to support pursuing graduate years, but here I am. I have settled into my role as head students doing summer research in the department. We school at Harvard, for the last year and a half, serving as the departmental thank the many alumni who responded to Peter’s request Yale, Vermont, representative in various ways. Perhaps the nicest part for donations. Our first two Joseph A. Sherma Scholars Brown, Maryland, of my new job is that I get to talk to or correspond with are Meghan Breheney and Katie Sokolowsky, two very Illinois, and Florida alumni and friends. talented ascending juniors. We also were delighted when On top of our list of exciting developments in the Professor Russell Grimes (University of Virginia), class State; attending department is the addition of a new tenure-track position, of 1957, made a very generous donation to the College, medical school at which gives us nine tenure-track lines in the department. directing the gift to the department. UMDNJ, Harvard, We were very lucky to hire Jennifer Rutherford as The class of 2008, with 26 chemistry and biochemistry and Miami; and assistant professor of chemistry this year. Jennifer comes graduates, is the largest class we have had in as long as working in industry to us from industry, where she worked for Pfizer for five anyone can remember. As I write this letter, they are at Millennium years. Jennifer, a physical organic chemist, primarily will be making plans to go to graduate school or medical school, Pharmaceuticals, teaching organic chemistry courses. I am also very excited or have found jobs or are seeking them. St. Luke’s Hospital, and pleased to announce that Yvonne Gindt will be We, the faculty and staff, take enormous pride in the Trevigen, and Beth granted tenure and promoted to associate professor. In accomplishments of our alumni. Please let us know where Israel Medical more good news, Chip Nataro received the Thomas Roy you are and how you are doing. And if you are in the area, Center. and Lura Forest Jones Faculty Lecture Award this year. please stop by and say hello. The establishment of the Joseph A. Sherma Chemistry Summer Research Fund is a wonderful testament to Professor Sherma’s long and productive career at Lafayette William H. Miles College (see article). Dr. Peter Duffy, class of 1976, provided Professor and Head Inaugural Joseph A. Sherma Scholars A new fund established in honor of Joseph A. Sherma (center), Larkin Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, provides stipends for students performing summer research. This summer, Katie Sokolowsky ’10 (front left) and Meghan Breheney ’10 (front right) will work with Assistant Professor Yvonne Gindt (back left) and Associate Professor Chip Nataro, respectively. Chemistry & Biochemistry Newsletter is published annually by the Department of Chemistry for chemistry and biochemistry alumni and students, with the assistance of the Office of Public Information. Photography by David W. Coulter, H. David Husic, and Joe Edelman. Send news, comments, and letters to the address or numbers below. Editor: Chip Nataro, Associate Professor William H. Miles, Professor and Department Head Deborah L. Bastinelli, Secretary [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Department of Chemistry, 124 Hugel Science Center, Lafayette College, Easton, PA 18042 (610) 330-5213, Fax (610) 330-5714 www.lafayette.edu, click on “academics” and then “departments and majors” Student Research Fund Honors Sherma A new fund established in honor of Joseph Society honored Sherma with the Award for “Joe Sherma was an icon at Lafayette A. Sherma, Larkin Professor Emeritus of Research at an Undergraduate Institution. when I was a student,” Duffy says. “He had a Chemistry, will provide stipends for students Much of his work has been supported by the national reputation in his field, clearly loved performing summer research in the chemistry College’s EXCEL Scholars program. what he was doing, and was incredibly patient department. Peter Duffy ’76 took the lead in acquiring but very demanding. People like him, who This summer’s inaugural Sherma Scholars donations for the fund and received a great dedicate their lives to their work, advance the will be chemistry majors Meghan Breheney deal of support from other alumni, including cause of humanity and science, and mentor ’10 and Katie Sokolowsky ’10. Breheney Russell Grimes ’57. generations of leaders in all areas of science.” will investigate new methods of making and breaking sulfur-sulfur bonds with Chip Nataro, associate professor of chemistry. Sokolowsky will work with Yvonne Gindt, assistant professor of chemistry, on measuring the reduction potential of an enzyme that repairs single stranded DNA in order to better understand the repair mechanism. Since initiating his student research program in 1958, Sherma has worked with more than 150 students in the fields of pesticide analysis and chromatography. He also has collaborated on an interdisciplinary student research program with Bernard Fried, Kreider Professor Emeritus of Biology, for the past 20 years. In 1995, the American Chemical “Professor Sherma has been a mentor and role model,” says William Miles, professor and head of chemistry. “His passion and devotion to undergraduate research are exemplary. Many students cite their experience in Joe’s research laboratory as a defining moment in their academic careers.” Joseph Sherma (L-R), Larkin Professor Emeritus, and Professor William Miles at the annual senior luncheon, where the chemistry department recognized Sherma’s 50th year at Lafayette. Ponder ’04 Wins Award From Biochemical Journal “Working with Drs. Fried and Sherma Biochemical Journal honored Beth Ponder ’04 with its on the effects of Echinostoma caproni and Schistosoma really helped Young Investigator Award for the best scientific poster mansoni parasite infections on metabolite profiles in snail presentation at the general meeting of the International intermediate hosts and factors affecting shed parasite prepare me for Proteolysis Society in Patras, Greece. survival. A biochemistry major, Ponder also completed an graduate school,” “The meeting included both academic and industry individualized major in cultural biomedicine. Ponder says. “I researchers studying the structure, function, and Now in the fourth year of her doctoral program in the gained experience regulation of proteases,” she says. “Proteases are a class Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Stanford in all aspects of the of enzymes that process other proteins.
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