• DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY ChemNews www.chem.umn.edu Spring 2002 GREETINGS FROM THE CHAIR Wayne L. Gladfelter, Chair It has been too hiring campaign. At this moment we have 41 tenured many years since we have and tenure-track faculty members with 21 Full, 8 Associate assembled a newsletter and 12 Assistant Professors. With the average age of 41, for the Department of several of us bemoan the fact that we are now in the older Chemistry. One of the half (or even smaller fraction) of the faculty. It means, great outcomes of the however, that the level of energy and enthusiasm is almost alumni breakfast as hard to contain as the growing size of many research meetings we host at the groups. The growth in grant income reflects this change national ACS meetings and the number of postdoctoral associates has doubled has been the realization that you are interested in keeping over the last few years. In the Fall of 2001 our incoming in touch with us. This has provided us with the motivation class of 49 graduate students included several with major needed to prepare this letter. Even with a total of 24 fellowships. The total number of graduate students in pages, we could not hope to cover all of the changes in the department remains steady at approximately 230. The the last eight years, so this letter will include a mix of number of undergraduate chemistry majors, however, has recent (within the last year) events and trends. increased dramatically during the ‘90’s. We now graduate Throughout the 1990’s a large number of faculty an average of 80 majors every year. departures have meant we have been on an almost nonstop continued on page 2 Great Lakes Regional Meeting and environmental studies. In The Department of Chemistry in addition to a large poster session conjunction with the Minnesota Section of and reception to be held in the the American Chemical Society will host the new Gateway building, general 34th Great Lakes Regional ACS meeting on sessions in analytical, organic, June 2 – 4, 2002 at the Radisson Metrodome inorganic and physical Hotel, which is located in Stadium Village chemistry and in chemical adjacent to the Twin Cities campus. The education will be an excellent program has been planned, and you can venue for researchers to present expect to see details in an upcoming issue their latest results. The program of C&ENews. You can also find includes a special symposium information at the meeting website located highlighting undergraduate at http://www.chem.umn.edu/glrm. The meeting theme research. It is a wonderful time of the year to visit the is “Chemistry at the Interface” and symposia will highlight Twin Cities and we hope to see many alumni and friends the central role played by chemistry in biology, materials at this meeting. U of MN Chemistry Alumni & Friends Breakfast Meeting at the 223rd ACS National Meeting April 7-11, 2002 Orlando, FL The next Alumni & Friends Breakfast Meeting is scheduled for 7:30 on Tuesday April 9th at the 223rd ACS Meeting in Orlando, FL. PLEASE BE SURE TO REGISTER FOR EVENT #110 WHEN YOU FILL OUT THE ACS REGISTRATION FORM. Page 1 Chair's letter continued One of the exciting new grants that started approximately 10,000 journal pages each year. this year is directed by Jeff Roberts. The NSF Over the past two years we have been Research Science and Education Center planning the construction of a new 7,000 (RSEC) will provide $2,000,000 over four years square feet instrumentation facility that would to help the Department of Chemistry promote house the solution and solid state NMR and research at primarily undergraduate mass spectrometry facilities and the single institutions. The funds will be used to pay for crystal X-ray crystallography lab. This $1.8 visitors to conduct research in partnership with million renovation project is being funded by faculty members at the U of M and many other donations from alumni and friends. Especially related activities. During the summer of 2002 noteworthy is the commitment of $1 million we will renovate our main seminar room (Smith from Dr. Claire Le Claire, who received his PhD Wayne L. Gladfelter, Chair 331) and equip it with the technology necessary in 1938 from our department working with to produce live webcasts. This will allow Prof. Fred Koelsch. We are also grateful to the selected seminars to be presented to a wide Dow Chemical Foundation for a grant of community of students and faculty at our $300,000. The facility will be located in the partner institutions. basement level between Smith and Kolthoff A measure of the respect that the Halls. Much of the space is currently occupied community has for our faculty is the number by the glass shop that will move to a new of editorial offices now housed in Chemistry. location in Smith Hall. Don Truhlar is an Associate Editor for J. Am. If you are planning to attend a national Chem. Soc., Larry Que is the Editor-in-Chief ACS meeting in Orlando or Boston in 2002, of J. Biological Inorganic Chemistry and Chris remember that we will have an alumni breakfast Cramer is Editor-in-Chief of Theoretical on Tuesday morning and we would be happy Accounts. In January of 2001, Tim Lodge was to see you. We hope you enjoy reading this appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of newsletter, and, as always, we would be happy Macromolecules. This flagship publication in to hear from you. the field of polymer science prints Attention Alumni ChemNews Contents Page Winter 2002 Chair's Letter ..............1-2 Send us your update. Send your GLRM ............................1 update to either Newsletter Committee ACS Breakfast Meeting ....1 www.chem.umn.edu/alumni/contact.html Paul Allison or [email protected] New Chairs ...................3 Philippe Buhlmann New & Retired Faculty ...4-5 Let us know what you think. Wayne Gladfelter In Memoriam .................5 We want this publication to reflect the Wayland Noland Research Highlights .....6-7 interests of our readers. Send your Kathy Ross Alumni Honors ..............8-9 comments to: Stephanie Stathopoulos Donald Truhlar Staff & Student Awards ..10-11 ChemNews Faculty Awards .............12 Department of Chemistry This publication is available in alternative Donors ...................13-15 207 Pleasant Street S.E. formats upon request. Please call 612-624- Alumni News ............16-20 Minneapolis, MN 55455 8008. The University of Minnesota is an or Degrees Granted .......22-23 equal opportunity educator and employer. [email protected] Emeriti Professors ..........24 Printed on recycled paper. Page 2 New Chairs In Chemistry The Leonard J. Czuba Chair in experience. But the crowning jewel of that the University of Brussels in 1958-59 (with Chemistry process was the four years I spent earning a Nobel Laureate, Ilya Prigogine) and again was Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the University a Guggenheim Fellow and Fulbright Lecturer In May 1999, the Chemistry Department of Minnesota." in 1966-67 at the University of Erlangen, was named as the sole beneficiary of the Len received a B.S. degree in 1961 from Indiana Germany, when he was a visiting professor Leonard J. and Judith A. Czuba Charitable University and received his Ph.D. from the (with Ludwig Waldmann). His research was Remainder Trust. Funds from the trust will University of Minnesota in 1967 under the late in the area of the physical chemistry of establish the Leonard J. Czuba Chair in Bill Parham. After a very successful career with macromolecules, particularly in the application Chemistry. The priority of the Czuba Chair Pfizer, Central Research in Groton, CT Len moved of mathematics to rheology. Steve retired in will be to support the hiring of a highly to Pfizer Headquarters in New York where he retired 1990 but has continued , as a lecturer, to teach talented new Chemistry Faculty or to honor Director of Regulatory Affairs for the Consumer physical chemistry and polymer courses from a distinguished and deserving member of the Healthcare Group. His wife, Judy, also had a very time to time. Chemistry Faculty. Len and Judy were invited successful career in Public Relations at Pfizer Julie Prager had an outstanding career at to be speakers at the January 2001 Naples, traveling several times around the globe. Today both the 3M Company in St. Paul, beginning in FL Presidents Club Event and shared the Len and Judy are enjoying their retirement with 1952, first as a synthetic polymer chemist, then following personal thoughts to an admiring their beloved cat, Abigail, as all three travel the as a fluoroxy chemist. Later she moved into audience of over 300 University of Minnesota Eastern Seaboard, both by land and sea. Our thanks information science and research coordination. Donors. and best wishes go to Len as a loyal alumnus of our When she retired in 1989 after 37 years at 3M, "Thank you very much. I'm deeply department and to his lovely wife, Judy. she had become Executive Director of honored to be a member of the Builders' Corporate Technical Planning and Society and to receive this Coordination. Julie was also very beautiful sculpture in recognition active for many years in the MN of my gift. You've asked that I Section of the ACS and in 1986, share my reasons for the gift. Very she received the sections simply, it's my way of recognizing Minnesota Award. the much greater gift that I Steve and Julie have made a received from the University some very generous commitment to the 35 years ago--a superb graduate future of the Chemistry education in Organic Chemistry.