Chemistry Major Awarded ACS International REU

The Department of Chemistry is pleased to congratulate Ms. Laura Fox, a sophomore chemistry major, on her acceptance of an American Chemical Society (ACS) International Research Experiences for Undergraduates.

For 10 weeks this summer, Laura will conduct research in the analytical chemistry department at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. She will then present the results of her research at the undergraduate poster session during the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C. from August 16-17.

Support for her travel and research comes from the ACS and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Congratulations, Laura!

NSF Grant Awarded to Faculty

Dr. Mike Brigss and Dr. George Long were awarded a National Science Foundation grant of $148,000 to support research into a method of evaluating teaching methods based on the theoretical concept of construction of mental models of chemical concepts.

The title of the proposed research is “Student Construction of Mental Models: A Framework for the Evaluation of Inductive Teaching Methods in Chemistry”. The grant will be used to recruit participants into the research project and to hire student workers to assist in the research work.

The investigators are pleased to be awarded this peer reviewed research grant because it confirms interest in their theoretical perspectives and the correctness of the methodological framework. The grant runs for two years and is a Phase I grant with the possibility of obtaining a Phase II grant after the current work is completed.

IUP Chemistry Student Presents Research in Osaka, Japan

Ms. Beth Leverett presented her research findings at the 21st Congress and General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography in Osaka, Japan August 23-31, 2008. The IUCr was established in 1948 to promote international cooperation in crystallography and it organizes the largest crystallographic conference in the world. Ms. Leverett was one of nearly 300 students to attend and was one of the only attendees from a non-Ph.D.-granting institution. Close to 3,500 crystallographic professionals attended this year’s meeting.

Ms. Leverett's presentation entitled "Twinning in the Adamantine-Like Quaternary Chalcogenide Li₂ZnSnS₄: A Crystallographic Detective Story" was well received and attracted the interest of a number of world-class scientists. This work has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Solid State Chemistry and will be published later this year. This is Ms. Leverett's first scientific publication.

To attend the conference, Ms. Leverett earned a $1,000 Pittsburgh Diffraction Society Travel Bursary Award. She received additional funding from the Robert E. Cook Honors College Enhancement Fund, the Department of Chemistry, the College of Natural Science and Mathematics, and the School of Graduate Studies and Research.

ACS Club Receives 2006-07 Honorable Mention

The Student Affiliate American Chemical Society of IUP (aka the ACS Club) was recognized by the National American Chemical Society for its performance and contributions during the 2006-07 academic year. The chapter was awarded the Honorable Mention Chapter Award. This is the first national award that the chapter has received.

At the end of each academic year, the club's officers submit a written report to the national organization and are evaluated on several criteria by faculty advisor volunteers from across the country. Example criteria include active members, local activities, money raised and donated, and participation in local, regional, and national meetings.

The 2006-07 Club Officers were:

• Mr. Joe Zewe, President
• Ms. Sara Krull, Vice-President
• Ms. Kaycie Butler, Secretary
• Ms. Elizabeth Paladin, Treasurer

With this award came many constructive ideas for improvement so that the chapter may improve to Commendable or the top recognition, Outstanding Chapter. The report for the 2007-08 academic year will be submitted this month.

40th Annual Chemistry Department Awards

Friday, April 25 marked the 40th Annual IUP Department of Chemistry Awards Ceremony & Reception. At 3:30 in Weyandt 32, students and their families, staff, and faculty gathered to recognize students in the department for their academic achievements in the 2007-08 year.

The 2008 Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh Award for Outstanding Achievement was given to Ms. Kaycie Butler. In addition, she was recognized by her peers and presented the ACS Student Affiliate Member of the Year.

The Division of Analytical Chemistry American Chemical Society 2008 Undergraduate Award was presented to Ms. Beth Leverett.

The William I. Heard Memorial Scholarship was given to Ms. Lacie Buxton.

The Edward N. Brown Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Ms. Elizabeth Paladin.

Both Mr. Andrew Kerr and Ms. Tracey Baker were awarded Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Assistant.

The Graduate Teaching Assistant award went to Ms. Francisca Sekyere.

The Graduate Research award went to Mr. Einstein Djabeng.

The Graduate Academic Excellence award went to Mr. Sean Smith.

The Freshman CRC Handbook Award was given to Mr. Jonathan Henninger.

The following students, by year, were recipients of Academic Achievement Awards:
Seniors:

• Ms. Brittany Baird
• Mr. Robert Bauer
• Ms. Kaycie Butler
• Mr. John Crandall
• Mr. Andrew Kerr
• Mr. Jeffrey Layton
• Ms. Nicole Morozowich
• Mr. Antonio Scatena

Juniors:

• Ms. Tracey Baker
• Ms. Brittany Buterbaugh
• Ms. Lacie Buxton
• Ms. Jane Calvert
• Mr. Andrew Friday
• Mr. Brandon Jones
• Ms. Beth Leverett
• Ms. Olivia McGovern
• Mr. Chad Meyers
• Ms. Jessica Nichol
• Ms. Elizabeth Paladin
• Ms. Galit Regev
• Ms. Aubree Webb
• Mr. Joseph Wiley
• Ms. Caitlin Williamson

Sophomores:

• Ms. Olumayowa Azeez
• Ms. Maura Barrett
• Ms. Jennifer Beveridge
• Mr. Justin Williams

First Years:

• Mr. David Ankney
• Ms. Deanna Belsky
• Ms. Kimberly Boonie
• Mr. Chris Chambers
• Mr. Stephen Christensen
• Ms. Victoria Constant
• Ms. Alex Daughenbaugh
• Ms. Laura Fox
• Mr. Jonathan Henninger
• Ms. Samantha Leone
• Mr. Andrew Lightner
• Ms. Mairi Lindsay
• Ms. Lisa McCombie
• Mr. Joseph Reichard
• Mr. Stephen Shiring
• Mr. Cory Stahlman
• Ms. Andrea Strein
• Ms. Ashley Swiderski
• Ms. Nadia Szymanski
• Mr. Christopher Taylor
• Mr. Kevin Taylor
• Mr. Rongjin Weng
• Mr. James Zewe

Two Chemistry Students Win Awards at College Event

Two chemistry department students won awards at last week's NSM Women in Mathematics, Science, and Technology program.

Ms. Beth Leverett won a $100 Co-Op Store gift certificate for her research poster "A Crystallographic Detective Story: Solving the Li₂ZnSnS₄ Structure"

Ms. Elizabeth Paladin won a $50 Co-Op Store gift certificate for her research poster "Modifying the Physical Properties of Indomethacin by Co-Crystallization".

Other winners were undergraduate Ms. Olivia McGovern ($75 g.c.) and graduate student Ms. Heather Meloy ($100 g.c.).

Congratulations!

Undergraduate Scholars Forum Awards

Congratulations to our CHEM/BIOC students who won the following awards on April 1 at the 3rd Annual IUP Undergraduate Scholars Forum.

Ms. Beth Leverett (Chemistry) won a Best In Session Award for her oral presentation of "A Crystallographic Detective Story: Solving the Li₂ZnSnS₄ Structure"

Mr. Antonio Scatena (Biochemistry) won $100 and First Place in the Sigma Xi Award for his poster presentation "Polymerase Chain Reaction: Amplification of RNA from Tomato Mosaic Virus"

Ms. Caitlin Williamson (Chemistry) won $50 and Third Place in the Sigma Xi Award for her poster presentation "Homology Modeling of Influenza A Virus Polymerase Basic 2 Subunit"

Chemistry Professor Recognized for Teaching

Dr. Jonathan Southard, a biochemistry faculty member, has been recognized for his teaching by IUP's Center for Teaching Excellence.

Each year, the CTE Advisory Board accepts nominations of faculty by their peers for their contribution to teaching in several areas. These areas are: General Practice, Expository Instruction, Content Pedagogy, and Innovation.

Dr. Southard was selected as the 2007-2008 Faculty Recognition Award winner in General Practice.

The faculty, staff, and students of the chemistry department and biochemistry program congratulate Dr. Southard on this achievement.

IUP Undergraduate Wins Chung Soo Yoo Award

Beth Leverett, an IUP undergrad in the Chemistry Department, has earned the Chung Soo Yoo Award at the 65th Pittsburgh Diffraction Conference held at the Hauptman-Woodward Institute in Buffalo, NY. The Chung Soo Yoo Award is given to the top graduate student presenter. Dr. Tim Umland, the awards committee chair, commented that her presentation entitled "Twinning in the Adamantine-Like Quaternary Chalcogenide Li₂ZnSnS₄" (pictured above) was "an outstanding detective story".

Her research demonstrated that the currently accepted interpretation of the diffraction data associated with these compounds was incorrect. Ms. Leverett was the first undergraduate student in the history of the society to win the award. She had stiff competition from Ph.D. graduate students studying at the University of Rochester, University of Buffalo, Hauptman-Woodward Institute, The Ohio State University, Cornell University, Stanford University, University of Toledo, McMaster University and the University of Western Ontario, amongst others.

The Pittsburgh Diffraction Society (PDS) was founded in 1941 to bring scientists together to discuss the use of X-rays to investigate the structure of matter at the atomic level. The PDS is oldest diffraction society in the United States and its membership includes leading scientists from around the world including Nobel Laureate Herbert Hauptman (pictured above).

Chemistry Prof Investigates Biomass Conversion to Fuel & Plastics

IUP will receive $650,000 in federal funding in order to further study the conversion of biomass to biodegradable plastics and biofuels. A project already started by Dr. Keith Kyler will be funded through this appropriation. Congratulations, Keith.

For IUP press release, click here.

39th Annual Chemistry Department Awards

Today at 3:30, in 32 Weyandt, the 39th Annual IUP Department of Chemistry Awards Ceremony took place for our students (both graduate and undergraduate), their families and friends, and the faculty and administration. The awards were hosted by Dr. Wendy Elcesser, Dr. John Woolcock, and Dr. Lawrence Kupchella.

The Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh Award for Outstanding Achievement was given to Mr. Joseph Zewe, who also was given an academic achievement award and the ACS Student Affiliate Member of the Year.

Mr. Andrew Kerr was awarded the Division of Analytical Chemistry American Chemical Society 2007 Undergraduate Award, the Edward N. Brown Memorial Scholarship, and an academic achievement award.

The Ronald Marks Scholarship was given to Mr. Michael Deible.

Ms. Tracey Baker received the William I. Heard Memorial Scholarship.

Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year was awarded to Mr. Einstein Djabeng.

The Graduate Research Award was presented to Ms. Dongmei Zhang.

Mr. Sean Smith won the Graduate Academic Excellence award.

Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Assistant was given to Ms. Kelly Haldeman and Ms. Caitlin Williamson.

The freshman CRC Handbook Award went to Mr. James Shellhammer.

The following, by year, is the list of Academic Achievement Awards also granted:

Seniors

Mr. Justin Blake

Ms. Lindsey Cox

Ms. Amanda Davis

Ms. Catherine Gumm

Ms. Kelly Haldeman

Ms. Jennifer Morral

Ms. Nadia Penrod

Mr. Andrew Smith

Ms. Jessica Wishard

Mr. Joseph Zewe

Juniors

Ms. Brittany Baird

Mr. Robert Bauer

Ms. Kaycie Butler

Mr. Andrew Crawford

Ms. Yang Dai

Mr. Andrew Kerr

Ms. Nicole Morozowich

Mr. Chad Myers

Sophomores

Ms. Tracey Baker

Ms. Brittany Buterbaugh

Ms. Martha Conners

Mr. Brandon Jones

Ms. Beth Leverett

Ms. Olivia McGovern

Ms. Jessica Nichol

Ms. Elizabeth Paladin

Ms. Nicole Peterson

Ms. Whitney Simmons

Ms. Aubree Webb

Ms. Caitlin Williamson

Freshmen

Ms. Olumayowa Azeez

Ms. Maura Barrett

Ms. Laura Becker

Ms. Tori Corosu

Mr. Andrew Friday

Ms. Jenna Gazzola

Mr. Jason Grimm

Mr. John Kanyan

Mr. Daniel McDermott

Ms. Melissa-Jean Moore

Ms. Katelyn Myers

Mr. Paul Putala

Ms. Brittany Rodgers

Mr. James Shellhammer

Mr. Justin Williams

A reception with refreshments followed immediately after.

Elizabeth Paladin Named 2007 Goldwater Scholar

Congratulations!

Elizabeth Paladin has been named a 2007 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. Elizabeth is a sophomore at IUP studying chemistry. She is a part of the Robert E. Cook Honors College. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry after graduation, aiming toward a career in pharmaceuticals. She enjoys participating in an independent research study with Dr. Heba Abourahma, examining co-crystal formation as a method of preparing active pharmaceutical ingredients. Elizabeth serves as the treasurer for the IUP American Chemical Society student affiliate, and is part of the IUP cello choir.

The Goldwater Scholarship (official site) is awarded annually to approximately 300 students in the natural sciences and mathematics, out of a pool of over 1,000 students. The selection committee looks for students who plan to pursue Ph.D. degrees in the sciences or mathematics, and develop careers in research. The award consists of $7,500 annually for up to 2 years, to cover school expenses. Sophomores or juniors are eligible to apply for the scholarship award.

This is the second Goldwater awarded to an IUP chemistry student in recent years. Tom Baker (BS '05) received one in 2004.