Students take first-place awards at regional chemistry convention

3:19 p.m., April 19, 2016--Two University of Delaware students took first-place awards at the 80th Intercollegiate Student Chemists Convention (ISCC), held April 16 at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.

At the convention, the oldest meeting of its type in the United States, 34 undergraduate research papers were presented by students representing 14 colleges and universities in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Honors Stories

National Medal of Science

President Barack Obama recently presented the National Medal of Science to University of Delaware alumnus Rakesh Jain.

Warren Award

Rosalind Johnson, assistant dean for student success in the NUCLEUS Program in UD's College of Arts and Sciences, was presented the John Warren Excellence in Leadership and Service Award during a May 26 ceremony.

• Warren Award
• Athletic training accolades
• Outstanding student teachers
• Library recognition

Hannah Wastyk, a junior honors student from Palmyra, Pennsylvania, majoring in biochemistry with a minor in biochemical engineering, was awarded first place in the Biological I Division. Her presentation, "Characterization of Heat Shock Protein 70 Stabilization of Nod2, an Innate Immune Receptor Mutated in Crohn's Disease," was based on work in the laboratory of Catherine Grimes, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry and biological sciences. At UD, Wastyk is a Eugene du Pont Distinguished Memorial Scholars, funded by the Unidel Foundation.

Nicole Wenzell, a junior honors student from Ashland, Massachusetts, majoring in biochemistry with minors in Spanish and biological sciences, was awarded first place in the Biological II Division. Her presentation, "Understanding a Fundamental Force  in Protein Folding: Tuning the n -> pi* Interaction in Designed Peptides," was based on work done in the laboratory of Neal Zondlo, professor of chemistry and biochemistry. 

Also at the convention, Lucas Onisk, a junior biochemistry major from Bear, Delaware, gave a presentation on "Characterization of the Active Site of Vanadium Chloroperoxidase and its F3978H Mutant using 51V Magic Angle Spinning NMR Spectroscopy,” based on work done in the laboratory of Tatyana Polenova, professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

UD students were accompanied to the convention by Jacqueline L. Fajardo, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

In 2022, the University of Delaware will host the convention. 

Photo by Jacqueline L. Fajardo