UD Receives First Annual Outstanding Chapter Award in the Northeast Region From Undergraduate Affiliate Network
The Undergraduate Affiliate Network (UAN) of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) sponsors chapters on campuses across the country. The University of Delaware Chapter, has received the First Annual Outstanding Chapter Award in the Northeast Region as well as the National Outstanding Chapter Award. http://www.faseb.org/asbmb/epd/UAN.html. The awards were be presented Sunday, April 6, at the ASBMB National Meeting in San Diego. There to receive the awards were Aly Bourreza, president, Sergey Sulima, vice president, Professor Hal White, adviser, and 15 other University of Delaware students who are presenting research posters at the meetings.
Trofimenko Memoral Prize
The first of the annual Trofimenko Memorial Prize was awarded onWednesday, March 26, 2008 to Matthew T. Kieber-Emmons. Mr. Kieber-Emmons is currently a graduate student in Dr. Charlie Riordan’s, University of Delaware, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, laboratory. He has been recognized for his work on nickel dioxygen complexes and molecular nickel sulfides.
An undergraduate from St. Joseph’s University, Mr. Kieber-Emmons is about to graduate (thesis defense on April 4, 2008) and will then be going on to Stanford, where he will be a postdoc with Professor Ed Solomon.
This award honors Dr. Swiatoslaw ‘Jerry’ Trofimenko, who joined Dr. Klaus Theopold’s research group as a Visiting Scholar in 1996. Dr. Trofimenko remained an active part of the Dr. Theopold’s group until his untimely passing in February 2007.
To honor Dr. Trofimenko’s memory, the Department has established the ‘Trofimenko Memorial Prize’, to be awarded annually to a graduate student for creative inorganic synthesis. Read More about Dr. Trofimenko
26th Annual Dyer Award Winners, Luke Ceo and Heather Schmidt 
The 26th annual Elizabeth Dyer Excellence in Teaching Awards were presented to two outstanding Chemistry and Biochemistry graduate student teaching assistants at the departmental graduate recruitment seminar on March 7, 2008. The graduate students honored were Luke Ceo and Heather Schmidt. Luke received his bachelor’s degree from Skidmore College and is currently working on his doctorate in the laboratory of Professor John Koh. Luke served as a TA in CHEM-321, Organic Chemistry, during the fall of 2006 and CHEM-322, Organic Chemistry, during the spring of 2007. Heather received her bachelor’s degree from Loyola College and is currently working on her doctorate in the laboratory of Professor Douglas Doren. Heather served as a TA in CHEM-111H, Honors General Chemistry, during the fall of 2006 and in CHEM-103, General Chemistry, during the spring of 2007. The Dyer Award honors the memory of Professor Elizabeth Dyer, a member of the Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty from 1933-1971. This award has been given to outstanding teaching assistants since 1981.
University Graduate Fellows Award Given to Juan Carlos Rodrigez-Reyes
We are pleased to announce that Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Reyes has received a University Graduate Fellows Award for the 2008-2009 academic year.
This fellowship is given in recognition of his prior academic achievements and his potential for success in his field of study. Juan Carlos is a 4th year graduate student in the Teplyakov laboratory.
UD Chemistry and Biochemistry Assistant Professor Receives NSF Career Award
Svilen Bobev, UD assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, has been awarded the highly competitive Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The 5 year grant from the solid-state chemistry program from the Division of Materials Research (DMR) will support the Bobev group research activities, aimed at better understanding the relationships among the composition, structure, and electronic structure in complex intermetallic compounds and their properties. Read More on UDaily
Award-Worthy Research Conducted by a UD Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate Student
Chemistry and Biochemistry graduate student, Mayura Dange, working in the Laboratory of Professor Roberta F. Colman, has received the Pincus Award of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, as well as a Travel Award from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to present her research in April at the 2008 Experimental Biology (EB 2008) meeting in San Diego, California.
Mayura’s research is on the human isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDHs). She is currently engaged in an interdisciplinary study involving the biochemistry laboratory of Roberta Colman (at the University of Delaware) and the genetics laboratory of Professor Thaddeus P. Dryja of Harvard Medical School. She has been studying two families with autosomal recessive Retinitis Pigmentosa causing blindness, but no other major symptoms. The affected family members are homozygous for two different mutations in the beta subunit of mitochondrial NAD-dependent IDH, the enzyme thought to catalyze the oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate in the citric acid cycle. Using lymphoblast cell lysates from the patients and from normals, Mayura has shown that the patients exhibit very low activity for NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase, with a Km for NAD that is ~300 times that of normal. The results can be explained by postulating that in most tissues the mitochondrial NADP-specific IDH, rather than NAD-IDH, is the major enzyme catalyzing this step of the citric acid cycle, thus accounting for the general health of the patients. The retina is the exception. The results from these patients with retinitis pigmentosa indicate that NAD-IDH is essential for normal retinal function and that mutations in the gene encoding the beta subunit of NAD-IDH can cause Retinitis Pigmentosa.
UD Paper Receives Consideration as ‘Exceptional Contribution’ to the Journal of Organic Chemistry
The paper by Prof. Robert D. Bach, Dr. Olga Dmitrenko, and Prof. Colin Thorpe on the mechanism of thiolate-disulfide interchange reactions was selected by Editor-in-Chief C. Dale Poulter and the JOC Associate Editors for special consideration as exceptional contribution to the Journal of Organic Chemistry.See a special JOC Featured Articles page: More on this
Chemistry Graduate Student's Artwork Featured on Cover of ACS Journal Langmuir
The paper by Xiaochun Zhang and Andrew Teplyakov (Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware), Adsorption of C60 Buckminster Fullerenes on an 11-Amino-1-undecene-Covered Si(111) Substrate was featured on the cover of Langmuir (Volume 24, Issue 3 February 5, 2008). The cover illustration was collected and created by Xiaochun Zhang. More on this.
Professor Burnaby Munson To Receive 2008 Chemical Pioneer Award by the American Institute of Chemists Details
The American Institure of Chemists announced that University of Delaware, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor and C. Eugene Bennett Chair of Chemistry Burnaby Munson will be awarded the 2008 Chemical Pioneer Award at the May 16, 2008 meeting in Philadelphi, PA. Read more at: http://www.theaic.org/DesktopDefault.aspx and http://www.theaic.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=117
Professor Roberta F. Colman Awarded 2-Year Mentor-Based Predoctoral Fellowship
Professor Roberta F. Colman has just been awarded a 2-year Mentor-Based Predoctoral Fellowship as the mentor by the “Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now Associations” for the project “Molecular Basis of Autism Associated with Human Adenylosuccinate Lyase Gene Defects.”
Adenylosuccinate Lyase Deficiency is a metabolic disorder that results in autistic features. It is caused by mutations that decrease the activity of the adenylosuccinate lyase enzyme (ASL) which is essential for nucleotide biosynthesis. Numerous disease-related ASL mutations have been identified, but their effects are unknown because the instability of human ASL has made experimentation difficult.
Dr. Colman’s lab has recently found a solution for stabilizing human ASL, and her research program is now poised to characterize normal and mutant ASL. Dr. Colman’s fellow will conduct experiments to compare the functions of normal and mutant ASLs. The mutant forms will be engineered to mimic several of those found in ASL Deficiency Disease. The enzymes will be characterized by catalytic activity, binding studies and biophysical measurements to evaluate their size, shape and stability. The hope is that understanding the differences in the properties of these various enzymes will illuminate one cause of autism. This project may also lead to the development of novel drugs that bind to mutant enzymes, change their unstable structures and potentially treat adenylosuccinate lyase deficiency disease.
Chemistry Professor Receives Award at The Eastern Analytical Symposium
The 46th Eastern Analytical Symposium, the United States’ second largest meeting on analytical chemistry, was held last week at the Garden State Convention and Exhibit Center in Somerset, New Jersey. Professor Cecil Dybowski served as program chairman. This year over 3500 chemists and other analysts participated, with the presentation of 642 papers.
The major award, the EAS Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Fields of Analytical Chemistry, was presented to Professor M. S. Burnaby Munson, Eugene C. Bennett Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Delaware. Read More
Dr. Michael Stemniski, Tillmanns-Skolnik Award Winner
The Delaware Section of the American Chemical Society has announced that Dr. Michael Stemniski, part-time instructor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Delaware, will be awarded the 2008 Tillmanns-Skolnik Award. This award, established in 1984, recognizes and encourages singular achievements in service to the Delaware Section. The award is granted for outstanding contribution to the content of Section programs, to the administrative function of the Section or to the improvement of the public perception of the Section. Either a single noteworthy achievement or long, continuous service may be recognized. In addition to teaching chemistry at the high school and university levels, Dr. Stemniski has performed several hundred science demonstrations for students and adults at community events. Stemniski's service to the Delaware Section of the ACS in this capacity has been invaluable.
The award will be presented at the January meeting to be held at the Blue and Gold Club at 6PM on Wednesday, January 30, 2008. More info
Professor Cecil Dybowski to Receive 2008 Delaware Section Award
The Delaware Section of the American Chemical Society has announced that Professor Cecil Dybowski, University of Delaware, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will be the 2008 recipient of its Delaware Section Award. The award is given annually to one person. According to the letter received from the awards chair of the local Section, “the purpose of the award is to recognize conspicuous scientific achievement in an area of chemistry or chemical engineering by a Delaware Section member. It was established in 1956, is funded by the Delaware ACS Section and consists of a certificate and honorarium.” The award will be presented at the January meeting, where Professor Dybowski will give a talk at the Delaware Section, to be held at the Blue and Gold Club at 6PM on Wednesday, January 30, 2008.
It is one of two awards given by the Delaware Section. The other award, called the Carothers Award, is given for innovation in polymer chemistry. (This is a highly prestigious award for people from around the world who work on polymers.) The Delaware Section Award is only given to a member of the local section for scientific achievement without regard to field. More info
Professor Kate Scantlebury Awarded Outstanding Science Teacher Educator of the Year Award
The Association for Science Teacher Educators (ASTE) (see http://theaste.org/) has recognized Professor Kate Scantlebury, Professor & Secondary Science Education Coordinator at the University of Delaware, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry for her efforts in science education, with their Outstanding Science Teacher Educator of the Year Award, which recognizes the individual achievements and contributions of persons beyond the first ten years of their academic career in science teacher education.
Professor Kate Scantlebury Awarded Innovation in Teaching Science Teachers Award
The Association for Science Teacher Educators (ASTE) (see http://theaste.org/) has recognized Professor Kate Scantlebury, Professor & Secondary Science Education Coordinator at the University of Delaware, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry along with collaborator Dr. Sonya Sonya Martin (from Drexel University) of a paper entitled, “More Than a Conversation: Using Cogenerative Dialogues in the Professional Development of High School Chemistry Teachers,” that they presented at the ASTE 2007 annual international conference, for the ASTE Award IV: Innovation in Teaching Science Teachers. This award seeks to encourage the development and dissemination of new designs for courses and curricula, new instructional methods or approaches, and other types of innovations in the pre- or in-service education of teachers of science.
Professor and Chair Klaus Theopold and Former Grad Student Synthesize New Quintuple Cr-Cr BondUniversity of Delaware, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor and Chair Klaus Theopold, former graduate student, Kevin A. Kreisel, and other collaborators have been recognized by the Journal of American Chemical Society and Chemical and Engineering News for their advances in multiple bonding calling it The Shortest Metal-Metal Bond Yet. Other collaborators included, Glen P. A. Yap, X-Ray Crystallographer and Olga Dmitrenko, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Delaware, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Professor Clark R. Landis, University of Wisconsin, Chemistry Department. Read more from C&EN. Read more from J. Am. Chem. Soc.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry recognized by Department of Occupational Health and Safety
OHS recognized the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for its high level of compliance to the University Eye Protection Policy. All laboratories were found to be 100% compliant. University policy states that "Every person shall wear eye protection devices when entering, participating in, observing or performing any function in connection with, any course or activity taking place in eye protection areas". Through the combined cooperation of departmental staff, principal investigators, teaching and research assistants, peer pressure and signage, the department has actively enforced the University Eye Protection Policy. For more information, please go to: http://www.udel.edu/OHS/
Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry Master Glass Technologist Article Published
University of Delaware, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Master Glass Technologist, Doug Nixon, was recently published in Fusion,
a journal geared toward glassblowing technology. In his article, he notes
concerns of individuals throughout the industry, but especially University
and other research glass technologists, about outsourcing. he offers advice
to ensure security for his profession and colleagues, primarily through
developing customer service skills.
Doug is committed to providing quality service to the Department and University.
you can read more on this at: http://www.udel.edu/chem/GlassShop/articlesofinterest.html
Doug's article, "Enhance the Service: Eliminate the Competition," can
be also found in the Fusion Journal of The American Scientific Glassblowers Society,
May 2007, Vol LIV No. 2, 25-27
Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry Master Glass Technologist Article Published
University of Delaware, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Master Glass Technologist, Doug Nixon, was recently published in Fusion,
a journal geared toward glassblowing technology. In his article, he notes
concerns of individuals throughout the industry, but especially University
and other research glass technologists, about outsourcing. he offers advice
to ensure security for his profession and colleagues, primarily through
developing customer service skills.
Doug is committed to providing quality service to the Department and University.
you can read more on this at: http://www.udel.edu/chem/GlassShop/articlesofinterest.html
Doug's article, "Enhance the Service: Eliminate the Competition," can
be also found in the Fusion Journal of The American Scientific Glassblowers Society,
May 2007, Vol LIV
No. 2, 25-27
New
Chair Appointed
Dean Tom Apple has announced the appointment of Professor Klaus H. Theopold as
the next chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Professor Theopold
has been on the Delaware faculty since 1990 and is a fellow of the AAAS. His
five-year term commences September 1, 2007. Professor Theopold takes his position
at an exciting time for the Department and University. The $28 million renovation
of Brown Laboratory will be completed by the end of 2007 and Patrick Harker assumes
the University Presidency on July 1st.
