President Obama's commencement speech (with introduction by Dr. Michael Crow)
May 15, 2009 Department celebrates the spring 2009 graduation...
At ASU's Spring 2009 Commencement on May 13th, 9000 students celebrated graduation with President Obama, who was the keynote speaker for this historic event. Nearly 70,000 people attended this ceremony. A total of 69 chemistry and biochemistry students received their bachelor's degrees, along with 3 students being awarded master's degrees. During the ceremony, the 10 chemistry and biochemistry doctoral students all had the opportunity to receive their diplomas from President Crow and meet President Obama. Also honored at the Commencement ceremony, were two chemistry and biochemistry undergraduate students, Charlene C. Bashore and Michael M. McDowell, who received Moeur Awards and also met the President. The Moeur Award was named for Dr. B. B. Moeur, who was a physician and businessman in Tempe in the early 1900s. Since 1901 the Alumni Association has presented the Moeur Award to those graduates with the highest academic standing who have completed their course work toward their degree while attending ASU with 8 consecutive fall and spring semesters.
After the hype of Commencement, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Convocation Ceremonies were held on Friday May 15, at the Wells Fargo Arena. The Spring 2009 undergraduate and Master's degree candidates were asked to RSVP and had the opportunity to share the name of a faculty or staff member who has made a difference to them or enhanced their experience during their time at ASU. Chemistry and biochemistry faculty and staff recognized by the students included James Allen, Andrew Chizmeshya, Wilson Francisco, Ian Gould, Anne Jones, Marcia Levitus, Chad McAllister, Gordon Moore and Christine Pruis.
President Barack Obama autographs the neck tie of Obama Scholar Yobani Mejia-Lopez at the Spring Commencement 2009 - Pre-ceremony May 13, 2009
Photographer: Tim Trumble
May 13, 2009 Yobani Mejia-Lopez, one of the first Obama Scholars will major in biochemistry...
Yobani Mejia-Lopez is a resilient young man who has overcome many obstacles. An orphan at the age of 8, his grandparents have raised him in a household of eleven. He currently works part-time to assist his family with household expenses.
A senior at Mesa's Westwood High School, Yobani was actively involved in sports until a heart illness prevented him from playing last year. After undergoing emergency heart surgery, he returned to school after a two-month absence. Although he was no longer able to participate in sports, Yobani focused his energy on academics and will now graduate with a 3.25 GPA.
The next phase of his life will take him to Arizona State University where he will major in biochemistry with an ultimate goal of becoming a dentist. Yobani was influenced by his first dental visit in the United States at the age of 9 and since then has continued to have conversations with his dentist about this career choice. He says, "I want to do something with my life that I will enjoy and I think that giving people pretty smiles will make me happy."
Despite the challenges he has faced throughout his life, Yobani is determined to earn his bachelor's degree at Arizona State University. The President Barack Obama Scholarship will be instrumental in assisting him to achieving that goal. He says, "The Obama Scholarship is a great blessing for me and my family. With this scholarship I know I can be successful and accomplish my goals and turn my dreams into reality."
May 10, 2009 Philip Ball's "Crucible" column highlights Angell group research
Philip Ball for many years was the senior editor of the premier science journal Nature. These days he is science-writer-at-large, famous for his books on Materials Science ("Made to Measure:New Materials for the 21st Century", Water ("H2O, a biography of water"), Color ("Bright Earth: Art and the Invention of Color") and other subjects. He also contributes opinion and news columns to Nature Materials and the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal "Chemistry World", twelve of them each year. In the most recent of his "Crucible" columns in the latter journal, he features ASU research on proteins and biomolecules.
He writes about the finding that the globular proteins (the molecules that nature uses to catalyze the intrinsically slow processes vital to life) can sometimes misfold into toxic versions that cause various "folding" diseases, like Parkinson's, Huntington's, Alzheimer's, etc. These fibril versions of the normal protein are actually more stable, thermodynamically, than the globular forms. (It's only a matter of time, this means, before anyone's proteins fibrilize - scary). Ball then writes: "Nolene Byrne and C Austen Angell at Arizona State University, US, have discovered that not only can at least one type of fibril - made from a globular enzyme - be undone, but the original enzymatic activity can also be restored." He then points out that this trick has been pulled, not in the normal aqueous environment of a cell, but in a very non-aqueous medium called a "protic ionic liquid". In these there is a high concentration of large ions, with both hydrophobic and hydrophyllic groups in close proximity. Folded proteins seem to very happy in such a milieu when the "proton activity" is properly tuned by choice of PIL anion. Ball further observes: "Dissolution of amyloid fibrils has occasionally been achieved by other means, for example using concentrated solutions of the protein denaturing agent guanidine hydrochloride, but to recover bioactivity is very striking. It's not exactly unscrambling an egg, but it's close."
In a final commentary on the ASU work, Ball notes Angell's recently published observations on possible connections to abiogenesis - life origins. A major problem here is how to understand the birth of biomolecules in an aqueous "primordial soup" against the forces of hydrolysis that chemically chop up the biopolymer linkages. Ball's article concludes with the question: "Might the ability of these pILs to untangle and dissolve amyloid-like aggregates, coupled to their benign solvation properties, have offered a medium for nurturing the appearance of proto-proteins as life began?"
April 30, 2009 DOE funds Bio-Inspired Solar Fuel Center at ASU New $14-million center will focus on using fundamentals of photosynthesis to unlock new sources of energy
Eleven Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty involved...
ASU will be home to a new Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) announced by the White House in conjunction with a speech delivered by President Barack Obama.
The ASU center, one of 46 new EFRCs, will pursue advanced scientific research on solar energy conversion based on the principles of photosynthesis, the process by which plants capture sunlight and convert it to useful energy. All 46 centers and are being established by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of an overall effort to tackle the "grand challenges" and accelerate scientific advances needed to build a 21st century energy economy. DOE plans to fund ASU's EFRC for Bio-Inspired Solar Fuel Production at a level of $14 million over a five-year period.
Devens Gust, an ASU professor of chemistry and biochemistry who is director of the new center said, "This grant will allow us to put together a complete system that starts with the absorption of sunlight and ends with the creation of a clean fuel, such as hydrogen."
April 29, 2009
Outstanding achievements: Charlene Bashore and Eric Anderson were named today to USA Today's high achieving 2009 All - USA College Academic First and Second Teams respectively
Charlene, who is a biochemistry senior in our department, about to graduate on May 13, was named to the All - USA College Academic First team. This award is the icing on the cake of Charlene's extremely successful undergraduate career here at ASU.
"Charlene Bashore is one of the most interesting and versatile young women ever to study at ASU," says Janet Burke, associate dean of Barrett, the Honors College, where she also is enrolled. "She has enormous potential to make an impact in an important field, not only because she has accomplished so much already, but because she has the focus, drive and talent to propel herself to the top."
We congratulate Charlene and wish her well as she continues her work at UC Berkeley's doctoral program in molecular and cell biology in the Fall.
Eric, a bioengineering, biochemistry and biological sciences major, is continuing at ASU to complete concurrent degrees in Biological Sciences and Medicinal Biochemistry. He has the honor of being named to the All - USA College Academic Second team.
Over the past three years Eric has experienced many clinical situations that have made him aware of the challenges and rewards that await him as a future physician. He has also had the opportunity to work on a number of research projects at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in downtown Phoenix and at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. Eric plans to "continue my clinical and translational research involvement throughout my undergraduate career and explore the intimate and vital process of translating scientific discoveries into bedside applications that will directly affect patient care. After obtaining my undergraduate degree, I plan to attend medical school and earn an MD or MD/PhD degree."
We congratulate both Charlene and Eric as these are extremely prestigious honors for both our department and ASU.
From Left: Thomas Moore, Ana Moore and Devens Gust
April 22, 2009 Professors develop light activated molecular keypad
In a recent article in New Scientist, entitled "Light pulses could release "locked" drugs", Colin Barras describes research by professors Devens Gust, Thomas Moore and Ana Moore of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Along with their colleague, professor Joakim Andreasson at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden they have developed a molecular lock that is triggered by ultraviolet and visible laser light.
The lock is a complex molecule with three components and is activated when the two light-sensitive portions are switched on in the correct order. In essence, the lock opens when exposed to one out of eight possible two-digit codes. The third component of the molecule can then be used to turn on or release a drug orother molecule designed to be sensitive to it. The lock has advantages overchemical molecular locks in that it can be reset many times, operated quickly, and activated remotely.
Gust says the most obvious application of the molecule is as a lock to ensure secure drug delivery at the right location in the body. He also thinks that light could beused to activate any number of chemical processes from a distance if coloredlaser beams are used to open the lock. For example, chemicals like explosives could be activated from a distance, says Andreasson.
Information: Devens Gust, gust@asu.edu (480) 965-4547, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Media contact: Jenny Green, jenny.green@asu.edu, (480) 965-1430, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
April 22, 2009 Annual Student Awards and Recognition Ceremony
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department's Annual Awards and Recognition Ceremony was held during the afternoon of Wednesday, April 22nd in the Carson Ballroom of Old Main. Professors William Petuskey, Department Chair, and Devens Gust shared the role of master of ceremonies. Approximately 200 faculty, staff, students, family and friends were in attendance. Scholarships and awards ranged from national to local in origin. All the students demonstrated great ability as well as commitment and dedication to their work. Sixty-six senior level chemistry/biochemistry majors (almost twice as many as last year) made the honors circle with a GPA of 3.8 or greater. For each award, a faculty member stepped up to extol the accomplishments of the recipient. This year members of the department, the Biodesign Institute and, for the first time, the School of Social and Family Dynamics, presented awards. Also honored were 69 students who will receive their bachelor's degrees in either chemistry or biochemistry in May along with 3 master's and 11 doctoral students. Dr. Petuskey presented T-shirts to the undergraduates and master's students, and laptop cases to the doctoral students, to commemorate their achievement. This was an outstanding year. The department took great pride in recognizing these students who have a bright future ahead of them - we wish the seniors, master's and doctoral graduates well as they leave to continue their exploration and look forward to learning of their future accomplishments and contributions to society.
April 20, 2009 Graduate student Sarah Staton receives Fulbright to study Ecuadorian biodiversity
ASU continues its record as one of the top producers of Fulbright Awards for students in this country. Sarah Staton, graduate student in the department, has recently been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study biodiversity from aerosolized biological material in Ecuadorian rainforests with technologies developed right here at ASU.
Janet Burke, Director of the ASU Office of National Scholarship Advisement, observes that ASU students are more successful than most at winning student Fulbrights because of strong support from faculty mentors and the university's emphasis on global studies and foreign languages.
Sarah's mentor and advisor in the department is Associate Professor Mark Hayes, who describes her in the following manner, "Sarah has amazing intellectual capacity, interpersonal capabilities, physical skills, vision and work ethic. She has chosen an incredibly creative and insightful application of new technology coming out of our laboratory. One of the unique qualities that stand out with Sarah is a quiet, self-assured ambition. This may seem like an oxymoron, that ambition and quiet are rarely connected, but she does not preach or trumpet her aspirations, she simply thinks long and hard about visions and goals, and then executes the detailed and pragmatic steps to make those good things happen."
The respect is mutual as Sarah states that, "Mark has been instrumental both in supporting my application for this award as well as through the ups and downs of everyday research. Where other advisors would not have been as willing to support a student using their technology as part of a cultural exchange, Mark has been wonderful and very supportive."
While in Ecuador Sarah will be working with Dr. Kelly Swing of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and director of the Tiputini Biodiversidad Station as well as Dr. Tod Swanson, Professor of Religious Studies at ASU, who is also the Director of the Andes and Amazon Field School in Napo Province, Ecuador. Sarah will be collecting bioaerosol samples in various forest settings in Ecuador including the pristine forest at the Tiputini Biodiversidad Station and a mixed forest environment near Tena. From these bioaerosol samples she will be quantifying the amount of protein found, along with performing basic chemical characterization. Building on the research she conducts at ASU looking at organism identification through bioaerosol characterization and high resolution separation technology she hopes to evaluate these methods as a means of determining biodiversity in rainforest environments.
Sarah's ebullience is contagious, "This is a once in a lifetime experience. I cannot wait to learn about the culture, science, and environment in Ecuador."
The proteins on which Sarah's work will focus are the keratins. Keratins are the major protein components of hair, wool, nails, horn, hoofs, and the quills of feathers. There are distinct variations from species to species. The proteins are released into the atmosphere and become bioaerosols. In the environment these bioaerosols can be detected rapidly, cheaply and remotely using new methods that are being developed here at ASU.
Sarah echoes the sentiment of many people in the department when she says, "Too many people think there is a gulf between chemistry and the real world. I intend to utilize technology and chemistry to make the environment and world around us a little bit better."
MEDIA CONTACT: Jenny Green, Jenny.Green@asu.edu 480-965-1430
April 14, 2009 Graduate student Michelle Meighan has received a fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to participate in the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) program
Michelle Meighan, a fourth-year analytical chemistry graduate student in Mark Hayes's group, has received a fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to participate in the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) program. The EAPSI program offers graduate students in science and engineering a unique opportunity to study abroad with foreign researchers.
Michelle will be studying with Dr. Michael Breadmore at the University of Tasmania. Dr. Breadmore's research focuses on enhancing electrophoretic techniques using counterflow to aid in disease diagnosis. "I am really excited about this opportunity, and I believe that Dr. Breadmore's work correlates well with the electrophoretic exclusion work that I am doing with Dr. Hayes. Also, the opportunity to be exposed to the science and policy infrastructure of Australia will be a truly stimulating experience," says Michelle.
The East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) strives to "introduce U.S. graduate students to East Asia and Pacific science and engineering in the context of a research setting, and to help students initiate scientific relationships that will better enable future collaboration with foreign counterparts." More information on the program can be found at www.nsfsi.org.
April 8, 2009 New Goldwater student awards continue the Chem/Biochem record...
Joshua Niska
Ben Strauber
It has just been announced that biochemistry undergraduate students Joshua Niska and Charles "Ben" Strauber are among the three ASU 2009 Goldwater Scholars. The $7,500 awards (per year for up to two years) are the nation's premier undergraduate awards for students in the natural sciences, math and engineering. This is the third time in four years that two of the winners of this prestigious scholarship are biochemistry students. In 2006 James Cronican and Shannon Fortin were winners as well as Eric Anderson in 2007 and Charlene Bashore and Lara Cardy won Goldwater awards last year. Over the last 16 years ASU has won 41 total Goldwater awards, and of those, 37 percent (a total of 15) have been chemistry/biochemistry students.
Niska, 21, has been doing biomedical research on brain and breast cancer at Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) for three and a half years, first as a volunteer and a TGen Helios Scholar and fellow, then as a fellow in the ASU School of Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Program. Currently he works about 15 hours a week on his own project, investigating the role of a gene/protein in breast cancer.
"Josh is a very bright and talented student, one of the best I have taught," says Ian Gould, President's Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "This is especially impressive in consideration of the time he spends in the research lab, doing high-quality research work. He also has been an enthusiastic teacher to junior high students in an outreach program."
Strauber, 21, came to ASU as a Flinn and a National Merit Scholar, and he soon began working in the Biodesign Institute, learning lab techniques and investigating methods for analyzing nanowires for bloodstream drug delivery. He also created a video presentation explaining the research being done at the Department of Bioelectronics and Biosensors and edited his supervisor's textbook.
Currently he works 30 hours a week in the developmental neuroscience lab of Carsten Duch, associate professor in the School of Life Sciences. He is performing molecular tests to examine the dynamics of potassium channel regulation.
"Ben is unusually proactive, and he has actively sought top international research experiences," says Duch. "Upon his return from Japan, he presented his project in an outstanding research seminar to my group. I was impressed by the academic rigor he applied to the interpretation of his results. "Within a few weeks of starting his own research project in my lab, he has produced exciting data. His work has the potential for a publication in a high ranked peer review international journal. He is also a great pleasure to work with. I anticipate a great scientific future for him."
The scholarship program honoring Senator Barry Goldwater was created to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in math, science and engineering. Full story from ASU ...
April 8, 2009 Success comes to Charlene Bashore, biochemistry undergrad researcher
Charlene Bashore is a biochemistry major and senior in the department. She is one of three 2008 national Goldwater scholarship winners at ASU. Bashore began her undergraduate research experience in a general chemistry course where she was offered a position in the laboratory of Peter Williams.
"Dr. Williams has been incredibly patient and helpful throughout my time here at ASU," says Bashore. "The research I am doing is interesting, pertinent, and I am glad to be there."
Williams' lab group is a part of the National Human Genome Research Institute project. The goal is to develop a more cost-efficient, quick way to sequence DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic code for all living things. The lab's work with DNA sequencing focuses on a process called sequencing by synthesis. The process is used to determine the order of the nucleotide bases - adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine (A,G,C,T) - within a molecule of DNA. The nucleotides are a sort of genetic alphabet. Different combinations of these bases are used to make proteins, the building blocks of life.
"My aspect of the project deals with the enzyme DNA-polymerase, a molecular machine in charge of taking in the bases that constitute DNA (A,G,C,T) and pairing them up with those on an existing DNA strand," says Bashore. "By feeding in fluorescently-labeled nucleotides we can measure if the added base corresponds to the base on the other strand," she explains. Bashore is looking at energy levels of the DNA-polymerase molecules and examining where they attach themselves to other molecules. "With some work, I can measure the molecules gathered from our sequencing method," says Bashore. The skills she is learning now are important. They will help her in future projects to study the behavior of DNA-polymerase in specific situations.
Bashore plans to continue her research while working on a doctorate in molecular pharmacology or biochemistry. Full story...
April 6, 2009 Sidney Hecht: JACS Beta podcast on nucleic acids
Nucleic Acids: Expanding the Structural and Functional Horizons
In a recent JACS Beta podcast Sidney Hecht talks about the Journal of the American Chemical Society's special issue containing 20 articles that are broadly representative of current cutting edge research on nucleic acids.
Here is an excerpt from his editorial...
"The study of nucleic acids has been of interest to chemists and biochemists for several decades. The challenges associated with the preparation of the nucleoside building blocks of DNA and RNA, and their structural analogues, have attracted great attention due to the novel chemistry involved as well as the biochemical and biological activities associated with many of these compounds. The complexity of DNA and RNA oligonucleotide synthesis has included the need to define suitable protecting group strategies for the nucleobases and (deoxy)ribose moieties, efficient methods of establishing phosphate diester linkages, and pioneering methods for the purification of the elaborated DNAs and RNAs, which are polyanions and freely soluble only in water and other polar solvents. The analysis of nucleic acid primary, secondary, and tertiary structure, and of its interactions with ligands large and small, has likewise progressed dramatically in parallel based on the development of innovative biophysical and biochemical techniques.
The biochemical community has provided a steady stream of discoveries involving nucleic acids that have extended the initial horizons of workers in this field into new realms. The early findings that nucleic acids actively participated in the decoding, as well as storage, of genetic information proved central to our developing understanding of the mechanisms of DNA decoding, RNA splicing, and protein synthesis. The landmark discovery that RNA molecules could direct their own biosynthetic processing provided evidence for the existence of an early world in which RNAs were the primary catalysts and led promptly to techniques for identifying nucleic acids capable of highly selective substrate binding and catalysis. In recent years, the findings of regulation of gene expression by transposition of genes, RNA interference, microRNAs, and riboswitches have further enriched our understanding of the several ways in which nature uses nucleic acids and provided opportunities for more sophisticated intervention in natural systems."
Mar 25, 2009 Anne Jones awarded a Camille and Henry Dreyfus 2009 Special Grant in the Chemical Sciences...
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation has recently informed Anne Jones, that she has been selected to receive a 2009 Special Grant in the Chemical Sciences. The $25,000 award will support Dr. Jone's project entitled Development of a Student Driven Interest Course, Topics in Sustainable Chemistry.
"Sustainability and the implications of global warming are perhaps the most urgent scientific challenges we face. Young people are motivated to tackle these challenging issues, but are they being effectively educated. Chemistry is and must play a central role in addressing sustainability," says Jones.
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Special Grant Program in the Chemical Sciences supports proposed projects that aim to advance the chemical sciences in a variety of ways. They typically originate from scientific societies, educational institutions, and organizations that promote science to the public.
"The Special Grant is essentially a seed program that is unique in that it annually solicits from the chemistry community, and from those who advocate for science, innovative ways to advance the chemical sciences," states Dr. Mark Cardillo, Executive Director of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. "Through this program the Dreyfus Foundation is often able to help start programs that deal with the most contemporary issues in the chemical sciences." Since its inception in 1946, the program has provided over $45,000,000 in funding.
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is a leading non-profit organization devoted to the advancement of the chemical sciences. It was established in 1946 by chemist, inventor, and businessman Camille Dreyfus. He directed that the Foundation's purpose be "to advance the science of chemistry, chemical engineering and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and circumstances."
For more information about the program and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, see www.dreyfus.org .
Mar 3, 2009 The department welcomes new faculty member from Harvard Medical School...
Joshua LaBaer, a Phoenix native, is in the process of relocating his lab to the Biodesign Institute as director of the new Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics. Dr. LaBaer most recently served as director of the Harvard Institute of Proteomics.
"In the future, we will look back at our current list of illnesses as a gross oversimplification," said LaBaer. "Already, in our modern era of molecular medicine, we are learning that what we have thought about as single diseases like inflammatory bowel disease or breast cancer actually include many different molecular variations, each with a different root cause, a different prognosis and a response to specific therapies. Our lab hopes to help develop new diagnostic tools that pinpoint the specific molecular disease for each patient and direct physicians to the right therapeutic strategy for that individual."
Feb 18, 2009 Everett Shock has been named a Fellow of the Geochemical Society and the European Association for Geochemistry. A first for ASU...
In 1996, The Geochemical Society and The European Association for Geochemistry and the Geochemical Society established the honorary title of Geochemistry Fellow, to be bestowed upon outstanding scientists who have, over some years, made a major contribution to the field of geochemistry. This is a significant honor; the number of Fellows elected each year is limited to less than 1% of the membership of the combined societies and is typically significantly fewer. Shock's work has been recognized by his colleagues as rising to this stature.
Feb 2, 2009 Arjan van der Vaart receives career award from the National Science Foundation...
Arjan van der Vaart has received a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation. The 5 year, $600,000 award will be used to study the binding mechanism of sequence specific DNA-binding proteins. These proteins are crucial for gene regulation, transcription initiation and DNA replication. Their binding is characterized by large conformational changes, involving the (partial) folding or unfolding of the protein and the bending or kinking of the DNA. Dr. van der Vaart will develop and apply new computational techniques to elucidate the causes of these massive structural rearrangements, to uncover the coupling between the motion of the protein and the DNA, and to establish the sequence of events in the coupled binding-bending-folding process. The studies will focus on two representative proteins: the lac repressor and the Ets-1 transcription factor. The program also involves the mentoring of minority undergraduate summer students, the development of new high school teaching modules, and the introduction of visualization labs in the class room.
Van der Vaart's award makes a total of 6 active awards in the department. Currently Giovanna Ghirlanda, Hao Yan, Ulrich Hausserman, Marcia Levitus and Julian (Jiunn-Liang) Chen all have NSF career awards.
Feb 2, 2009 Prof. Thorpe Awarded Prestigious Leverhulme Visiting Professorship
Michael F. Thorpe, Foundation Professor of Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry at Arizona State University, has been awarded Great Britain's prestigious Leverhulme Visiting Professorship. Thorpe will spend time in residence at the three leading universities in the United Kingdom Imperial College, London, Oxford and Cambridge during 2009 and 2010. He will deliver a series of Leverhulme Lectures focusing on the theme, "Flexibility and Mobility of Frameworks" which will address questions as to why some structures are stable while others are flexible, using examples from chemistry, materials science and biology. He also will engage in close collaboration with members of the three universities on research topics including proteins, viruses, deformations in framework structures and flexibility windows.
Thorpe is one of the world's leading experts on rigidity theory and geometrical simulation techniques which have found applications in many areas of science. His approach to theories on flexibility and floppy modes are considered groundbreaking. Before coming to Arizona in 2003 as the Founding Director of the Center for Biological Physics, he was previously University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University.
The Leverhulme Trust was founded by William Hesketh Lever, a successful Victorian entrepreneur. He formed the Lever Brothers Company, now known as Unilever, PLC. The Leverhulme Visiting Professorship is one of the most prestigious awards in the United Kingdom.
Jan 31, 2009 Alexander Pines, the Glenn T. Seaborg Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley, to present Eyring lecture series on February 12 & 13
Pines is a pioneer in the development and applications of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. His current program is composed of two complementary components. The first is the establishment of new concepts and techniques in NMR and MRI, in order to extend their applicability and enhance their capability to investigate molecular structure, organization and function from materials to organisms. The second component of his research program involves the application of such novel methods to problems in chemistry, materials science, and biomedicine. Many of the concepts, methodologies and instrumentation emanating from the Pines lab continue to be adopted worldwide by research groups in academia and industry to investigate molecular structure and organization from the nanoscale dimensions of catalysts and polymers to the macroscopic proportions of human imaging and oil exploration. In terms of education and training, hundreds of scientists (the self-dubbed "Pinenuts") have passed through the lab, and many now hold leading research and teaching positions worldwide.
Jan 28, 2009 Angell receives recognition as APS "outstanding referee"...
The American Physical Society has recently initiated a program to recognize a small percentage of their 42,000 referees each year as "Outstanding Referees". Austen Angell has been chosen by the editors for his reviewing work for Physical Review and Physical Review Letters Journals. To quote the editors, "Your reports and advice have helped us to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics, while creating a resource that is invaluable to authors, researchers, librarians, students and readers. We could never have done this without the generous and wise contributions of superb referees like you. Thank you and congratulations!" Angell will receive his award during the prize and award sessions at the 2009 APS March Meeting in Pittsburgh.
Jan 13, 2009 New faces in chemistry/biochemistry advising...
Nancy Mapes has joined the advising staff. Although she is new to this position, she has been a part of the Chemistry and Biochemistry department for over a year. She is excited about this career move and is looking forward to assisting students throughout their academic careers. Nancy earned her Master's Degree in Elementary Education at ASU and taught in the Tempe School District for 11 years. She brings valuable experience as a student, teacher, and parent. In addition to work, Nancy likes reading, writing and puzzles. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends and shopping with her daughters. She likes attending ASU softball games and cheering for the Sun Devils espe- cially #12.
Amber Soergel recently joined the department as an Academic Success Specialist. She has been with ASU since June 2008. She enjoyed her 6 years of advising physiology undergraduates in the College of Medicine at University of Arizona. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Indiana State University and a Master of Arts in Higher Education from University of Arizona. Amber has been very active in the advising community. In 2003, she earned the Third Best Presentation Award at the regional conference for her presentation on the disconnect between student expectations and advising methods. She helped to plan the state conference in 2004. She has been an active member of NACADA, two Councils for advisors at University of Arizona, and various advisory committees . When not doing what she loves (advising undergraduates), she enjoys exploring Phoenix, traveling, and attending college and professional sports. She devotes much of her free time to the House Corporation of Sigma Kappa Sorority and is the local President.
Jessica Brungardt Pauls has joined the department as an Academic Success Specialist. Jessica earned both her bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1999 and her master's degree in Higher Education Administration in 2005 from The University of Kansas. She also worked at The University of Kansas for nine years as an Assistant Director in the Office of Ad- missions and Scholarships. Along with her full-time position in admissions, she worked as a adjunct advisor for the University Advising Center. She most re- cently worked for the University of Pittsburgh where she was an academic advisor in the Arts and Sciences Advising Center. Jessica enjoys spending time with her friends and family, running, doing yoga, and taking her German Shepherds to the dog park.
Dec 18, 2008 Department celebrates the graduation of chemistry & biochemistry students…
On December 18 record numbers of graduates and their guests, faculty, staff and other members of the department attended a graduation reception/ holiday party.This was held for the first time in the atrium between the C and D wings of the Physical Sciences Building, and was enriched by the celestial strains of Carlos, the cellist. Immediately preceding the reception, in the Wells Fargo Arena, 48 students received their bachelor's degrees in either chemistry or biochemistry along with 14 master's and 13 doctoral students. At the reception Dr. William Petuskey, Chair of the department, presented T-shirts to the undergraduates and master's students, and laptop cases to the doctoral students, to commemorate their achievement. This was followed by a synopsis of each student's future plans. We wish everyone success in their future endeavors. To quote Dean Quentin Wheeler, "We literally are educating students for jobs not yet conceived, using technologies not yet invented, to solve problems not yet known." A final and outreaching touch was added by our glassblowers who, this year, coordinated a canned food drive with St. Mary's Food Bank, contributed elegant raffle prizes (e.g. beaker mugs) that they had made in their facility. Their awarding to the raffle winners brought the reception to a quality conclusion. Many thanks to the department and everyone who helped organize this successful event.
Dec 18, 2008 Thomas Moore is one of eight ASU faculty to be elected as a new AAAS Fellow...
Thomas Moore, a biochemist, is cited by AAAS for "pioneering research in artificial photosynthesis including the design of artificial reaction centers, antenna and assembling an energy-converting artificial photosynthetic membrane." Moore is director of the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis. Most recently, he served on the U.S. Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences Grand Challenges Committee, which produced "Directing Matter and Energy: Five Challenges for Science and the Imagination," outlining research priorities for the foreseeable future. Professor Moore and his long- time colleagues, Professors Ana Moore and Devens Gust, collaborate on research in artificial photosynthesis, which is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of natural photosynthesis and the design, synthesis and assembly of bio-inspired constructs capable of sustainable energy production and conversion for human use.
Dec 5, 2008 Stuart Lindsay inducted as Regents' Professor...
Congratulations are in order for Stuart Lindsay who was recently inducted as a Regents' Professor. The title of Regents' Professor at Arizona State University is reserved for selected members of the faculty who have achieved, and are sustaining, the highest level of distinction within the national and international community of scholars.
Lindsay is the Carson Presidential Chair in Physics and has appointments in the departments of physics as well as chemistry and biochemistry. He directs the Center for Single Molecule Biophysics in the Biodesign Institute. His research is internationally acclaimed in the area of experimental physics and chemistry. For nearly three decades, he and his research groups at ASU have led the field of single molecule biophysics.
Professor Lindsay has also made key contributions to the understanding of electron transfer in single molecules.This work is important for processes such as photosynthesis and molecular electronics. In addition, he is an international leader in nanoscale science and has developed nanotechnology approaches to explore problems at the interface of biological, chemical and solid materials.
Professor Lindsay has been committed to graduate student research and education. He has a long list of doctoral and master's students, many of whom have been highly successful in their own careers. In addition he has been a force in curriculum development and reform. Despite his heavy research commitment, he has willingly taught dozens of courses at all levels in physics and recently chemistry and biochemistry.
With regard to teaching pedagogy, Lindsay has developed the university's first class on nanoscience. The highly interdisciplinary course is one of the key elements of the new degree program, the Professional Science Master's in nanoscience.
Dec 5, 2008 2008 Alumni reception and Homecoming a success...
The annual chemistry and biochemistry alumni homecoming reception was held on the afternoon of November 13 in the Carson Ballroom of Old Main. This year the celebration was a special one as it was honoring the 50th anniversary of the Bateman Physical Sciences Center. Approximately 80 alumni, faculty and staff attended, with about 15 graduate students presenting posters of their current research. William Petuskey, department chair, updated all present on recent faculty achievements, research successes and service awards for faculty and staff.
ASU homecoming was held on November 15 and the department was out in force welcoming thousands of campus visitors. Our glassblowers, Christine Roeger and Janice Kyle impressed many people with their artistic creations. Members of the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS) were also in attendance, dehydrating gummy bears, freezing bubbles with dry ice, making bouncy balls with a polymerization reaction and having some fun with liquid nitrogen.
Nov 19, 2008 Congratulations to Ian Gould who is currently being highlighted by KAET (ASU professor profiles) as one of Arizona State University's outstanding faculty
"Teaching isn’t very different from good research in a sense and that is one of the things which I was quite pleasantly surprised to find out. In research, we do work and discover something. And it’s only useful if you then teach somebody else what you have discovered. So constructing a good teaching lecture is very much like constructing a very good research lecture … Both involve taking a large amount of material and distilling the essence and figuring how does that relate to something they already know." Ian Gould
Oct 15, 2008 Julian Chen receives R21 grant from NIH to find potential cures for cancer and telomerase-dysfunction diseases.
Telomerase plays a crucial role in cellular immortality and is expressed in most tumor cells as well as stem cells and germ lines. Mutations in several telomerase genes, e.g. telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), have been genetically linked to human diseases such as dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) and aplastic anemia (AA) that have symptoms of bone marrow failure. The biological consequences of telomerase deficiency have been studied mostly using cultured human cells or mice as an animal model. Teleost fish, such as zebrafish and medaka fish, have emerged as powerful genetic model systems in the past few decades. They are attractive vertebrate models for biomedical research because of their small size and large number of progeny per generation. Chen's group has successfully generated a mutant fish that contains a mutation in the TERT gene. This is the first telomerase-deficient fish model ever created. The overall goal of this proposed program is to develop and use the fish model for the study of telomeres and telomerase, and their role in DKC and tumorigenesis. The first specific aim of this project will focus on characterization of telomere length phenotype and germ cell defect of the mutant fish. The second specific aim will focus on the role of telomerase deficiency and telomere dysfunction in hematopoiesis and tumorigenesis.
Oct 3, 2008 NASA picks ASU team, headed by Ariel Anbar for $7 M center
Humans have long pondered the possibility that life exists beyond Earth. The quest for habitable worlds has focused on searching for water, but “following the water” turns out to be too general a criterion. The list of planets and satellites that possess liquid water is growing faster than can be explored. As one of the new NASA Astrobiology Institute teams, Arizona State University researchers intend to boost extraterrestrial exploration to the next stage by refining the criteria that guide the search for life.
NASA announced Oct. 2 that ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration is one of 10 research teams from across the country to be awarded five-year grants, averaging $7 million each. ASU previously operated as an NAI team and was a charter member of the NAI when the program was founded in 1998. The team is centered in the School of Earth and Space Exploration, an academic unit in ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, but also involves several faculty members from other college units including the School of Life Sciences, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Beyond Center.
The ASU team, under the direction of principal investigator Ariel Anbar, a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the department of chemistry and biochemistry, attributes much of its recent success to the original ASU NAI team for the positive precedent that it created.
Oct 1, 2008 Hao Yan is recognized as one of six faculty "rising" stars by President Crow
Each year, following review of all tenure and promotion cases throughout the university, individuals are selected to represent the group as exemplars. Hao Yan, as previously described has been promoted from assistant professor to full professor with tenure in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Biodesign Institute and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
"Professor Yan has produced a rapid and constant stream of innovative ideas and patents, an extreme rate of first-rate publications, impressive new approaches to teaching and training and an astounding rate of winning research funding," says William Petuskey, chair of chemistry and biochemistry. "A large part of his success can be attributed to the rich intellectual and resource environment of the Biodesign Institute."
Sep 30, 2008 Books by Three chemistry/biochemistry faculty support students and researchers alike...
Petra Fromme, Pamela Marks and James Allen have written books entitled "Photosynthetic Protein Complexes", "Introduction to Chemistry" and "Biophysical Chemistry" respectively.
Professor Petra Fromme is the editor of "Photosynthetic Protein Complexes" (published by Wiley-Blackwell) with contributions from other members of the department viz. Ingo Grotjoham, James Allen, JoAnn Williams and Raimund Fromme. This book is essential for anyone involved with photosynthesis and structural biology. The very complex photosynthetic process, apart from its obvious importance, is proving to be key as we strive to replace fossil fuels with renewable resources. This book should prove very attractive to teachers and researchers not least for its intricate color pictures of protein structures that are freely available to download.
Pamela Marks, who is to be congratulated for her recent promotion to principal lecturer in the department, is co-author of "Introduction to Chemistry" (2nd edition to be printed 1/09 and published by McGraw-Hill Higher Education) with Richard Bauer and James Birk. The style and format of the textbook are based on the authors' many years of experience in the classroom as well as educational research on how students learn. The book is very interactive with a conceptual molecular - level emphasis. Many examples are introduced in each chapter to show how chemistry impinges on our daily lives.
Professor James Allen is the author of "Biophysical Chemistry"
(published by Wiley-Blackwell) that is oriented specifically towards students with a biochemistry or biophysical background with extensive examples from biological systems. This book enables students to understand the importance of thermodynamics and physical chemistry in relation to recent advances in biochemistry. The text lays out the necessary calculus in a step by step fashion for students who are less mathematically inclined, leading them through fundamental concepts, rather than simply stating outcomes. The author adds, "There are a few books that are comparable in scope and audience but these are largely older books and they are missing a key part of my book, namely the extensive inclusion of recent research examples."
Sep 30, 2008 Record number of graduate students join the department this fall
Forty-two students have joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and are beginning their graduate studies for the 2008-2009 academic year. Three of these students are in the course entitled "Integrated BS/MS Biochemistry with a Concentration in Medicinal Chemistry Program" . They completed their bachelor of science degree in the Spring 2008 semester.
Our new students are almost an even mix of domestic and international, making for very diverse backgrounds. They all share an eagerness to begin their studies at Arizona State University in the College of Liberal Arts and Science. One of our incoming students is a Fulbright scholar, three have received the Science Foundation Arizona Research Fellowship and four were awarded a special Graduate Research Fellowship from the Graduate College. All of the students are very well qualified and were painstakingly chosen from a pool of over 430 applicants.
The new students are actively involved in research, some participating in our lab rotation program and others in laboratories that they are sure they will join. They are very interested in our interdisciplinary approach to science and interactions with other programs including life sciences, geology, physics and materials. By the end of the semester all of our students will have joined a research group, contributing and growing in their abilities as they become knowledgeable chemists/biochemists.
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry warmly welcomes these new students and looks forward to guiding them through their academic careers.
Sep 24, 2008 Department welcomes Randall Robinson as a lecturer this fall
As an undergraduate Randall attended Texas Lutheran College in south Texas, majoring in chemistry. After graduating he moved on to graduate study at the University of Utah and completed a doctorate in physical/organic chemistry. The University of Oregon was the next stop in his professional journey where he began an ongoing association and love affair with azulene chemistry that continues today. Two years later, Dr. Robinson relocated to Luther College, a four-year private college in rural Iowa, where he taught for 21 years. For most of this time he was the entire organic division. In addition he taught general chemistry, nursing chemistry, biochemistry, chemical kinetics, as well as two courses for non-science majors which he developed. During these years he took leaves of absence at Tufts, UT-Austin, and Kansas doing research and teaching organic or organic lab. He also wrote a lab manual for the micro-scale organic lab. Since leaving Iowa he has worked in various research labs at KU and ASU and additionally had some interesting experience in two commercial environmental analysis labs.
In his own words..."This all brings me here to ASU to lecture in organic chemistry and oversee organic labs. On a personal note, I am married (35 years) and have two grown children, Tad a Philosophy Prof. at Muhlenberg and Zac an aspiring engineer and Army reservist heading to Iraq for the third time as I write. Whenever time, and temperature in the garage permit, I sculpt in stone, mostly marble and alabaster."
Sep 8, 2008 ASU researchers, biochemists and engineers, win not one but two EUREKA awards from the National Institute of Health (NIH)
John Chaput, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and a Biodesign Institute researcher, as well as associate professor Rudy Diaz from the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, have each received $1.2 million from the new, exciting NIH program. Also involved are Professor Hao Yan (from chemistry/biochemistry and the Biodesign Institute) and Tom Moore, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. EUREKA, the acronymn, stands for Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration. "The National Institute of Health's decision to fund these key biomedical research projects not only speaks to the intellectual merits of ASU's outstanding proposals, but also confirms ASU's success in attracting federal investment in bold, high-risk, high-impact research central to our mission," said ASU president Michael Crow. full story...
Sep 5, 2008 Department welcomes new Laboratory Safety Inspector
Robert Scavetta has accepted the position of Laboratory Safety Inspector in the department.
Robert holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a doctorate in biochemistry. He has worked in both academic and non-academic settings where he has managed labs as well as research facilities. His duties included developing and maintaining safety programs.
While in academics, Robert’s research interests enveloped macromolecular X-ray crystallography and structure-based rational drug design.
Sep 4, 2008 Three graduate students from chemistry/biochemistry win Science Foundation of Arizona (SFAz) graduate research fellowships (GRFs)
Benjamin Sherman
Wei Wang
Zhao Zhao
Benjamin Sherman, Wei Wang and Zhao Zhao have just been awarded SFAz
graduate research fellowships that are given for up to two
consecutive years (up to $40,000 annually) to outstanding graduate
students in science, engineering and biomedical research. This is the
second year that SFAz is funding the GRF program which is the largest
of its kind in the United States.
"The Science Foundation Arizona fellowships have allowed ASU, and
other sister institutions in Arizona, to compete nationally and
globally for the brightest and best Ph.D. students in the sciences
and engineering," says Maria Allison, ASU's vice provost and dean of
the Graduate College. "The forward-thinking leaders who have helped
build this program for Arizona understand the critical role that
graduate students play in building the research engines that power
tomorrow's industry and economy."
"In the 21st century, it is all about brain power," adds William
Harris, SFAz's president and chief executive officer. "...SFAz has
the largest non-federally funded graduate research fellowship program
in the United States focusing on science and engineering. That is a
brainpower pipeline that creates excellence for our universities and
ensures our state's future competitiveness."
May 27, 2008 Rebekka Wachter receives Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers, $ 45,000 (2008 - 2010).
Wachter states that the fellowship will allow her to spend a total of six months at the Technical University in Munich as a visiting scientist. "I will be working with Prof. Maria Michel-Beyerle in the Department of Chemistry on a variety of research projects focused on the investigation of biophysical properties of proteins," adds Wachter.
May 21, 2008 Ariel Anbar receives $1,000,000+ grant to help astronauts and osteoporosis sufferers alike
Ariel Anbar has received a $1,000,000+ grant from NASA's Human Research Program for a project involving the use of calcium (Ca) isotopes to study bone mineral balance. "The near-term application is to monitor bone loss in astronauts, but in the longer term we hope the methods we will develop would be useful for osteoporosis research and diagnosis," says Anbar.
When a person breaks a bone and it is immobilized in a cast, when an astronaut experiences zero gravity, or whenever a person simply lies down, the weight-bearing bones of the body such as those in the spine and leg, are relieved of their burden, a condition known as skeletal unloading.
When skeletal unloading persists for several weeks, bones start to deteriorate: the number of bone cells decreases and movement into the bone of such minerals as calcium and phosphorous slows.
Anbar's group proposes to develop a method to rapidly detect changes in bone mineral balance by measuring the natural (i.e., tracer-less) isotope composition of calcium in blood and/or urine. This method would provide a way to detect incipient bone loss before changes in bone density are detectable by conventional X-Ray methods.
The work is a collaboration between Anbar's group and Dr. Joseph Skulan, at U. Wisconsin; Dr. Scott Smith, at Johnson Space Center; and Dr. Thomas Bullen, at the USGS in Menlo Park.
May 13, 2008 Computational biochemistry: Old enzymes, new tricks - Giovanna Ghirlanda's article in Nature News and Views
"Although enzymes are superb catalysts, their range of reactions is limited to those that support life. Their repertoire could be expanded by a method that allows artificial enzymes to be made from scratch," says Ghirlanda in her May 8 Nature News and Views article.
Two recent papers from the same group, one in the May 8 issue of Nature (Röthlisbergeret al., page 190) and another in Science (Jiang et al.), show how these limitations can be overcome.They describe a method for designing enzymes that catalyse unnatural reactions, and demonstrate its use for two different chemical transformations.
Röthlisberger et al. have computationally designed and prepared the first enzyme capable of catalysing a non-biological reaction. The design process involves modifying the amino-acid sequence of a naturally occurring protein.
These results are a milestone in biochemistry. For the first time, artificial enzymes have been designed for non-biological reactions, providing rate accelerations that are about 1,000 times faster than previous examples of computationally designed enzymes. Biochemists have long wanted to build artificial enzymes to identify and validate the minimal requirements for enzyme-like catalysis. These reports provide an accurate framework for this enterprise to which further features can be added. As Röthlisberger et al. note, the ability to design enzymes will truly test our understanding of enzyme catalysis.
"Computational biochemistry: Old enzymes, new tricks", Giovanna Ghirlanda , Nature 453, 164-166 (8 May 2008) | doi:10.1038/453164a; Published online 7 May 2008
May 9, 2008 74 students graduated in spring 2008 with degrees in chemistry and biochemistry
ASU's Wells Fargo Arena was recently host to both the spring commencement ( 9 a.m. May 8) and The College of Liberal Arts and Science's convocation ( 8 a.m. May 9) ceremonies. The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry proudly graduated 74 students. Four students were awarded Ph.D. degrees in chemistry, three received Masters degrees in chemistry and 67 students were awarded B.A. or B.S. degrees in the disciplines of either chemistry, biochemistry, medicinal or environmental chemistry.
The department held a reception to honor its new graduates immediately following the convocation. Guests, faculty, staff and other members of the department joined together to congratulate them. Dr. William Petuskey, Chair of the department presented a T-shirt to each graduate to commemorate their achievement. In turn, each graduate gave those in attendance a brief synopsis of their future plans. We wish them all well in their future endeavors.
May 7, 2008 Neal Woodbury receives 2008 Gary Krahenbuhl Difference Maker Award
The Gary Krahenbuhl Difference Maker Award is an annual award that recognizes and celebrates faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who personify the spirit of difference-making and excellent campus citizenship demonstrated by the former Dean, Gary Krahenbuhl.
Neal Woodbury (A professor in Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry), an insightful scientist, is well-deserving of this award, a fact that is demonstrated by the following quote from him, talking about his teaching philosophy, "We are approaching a point where we will have the power to alter not only our environment, but to control the evolution of our species and that of the other life forms on the planet. This is not your grandfather's science and it can no longer be taught that way. We need to prepare our students for a world 30 years from now that will be radically different from our current world, much more so than the current world is from the one that I grew up in."
Hao Yan's research group
May 1, 2008 Hao Yan is promoted to full professor with tenure
Congratulations to Hao Yan who has been promoted to full professor with tenure, effective Aug. 16, 2008. Hao started his tenure track Assistant Professorship in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Single Molecule Biophysics in the Biodesign Institute at ASU in August 2004. He and his research group have made important contributions in the field of structural DNA nanotechnology, an interdisciplinary field with focus on controlling matters on the nanometer scale using self-assembling DNA scaffolds. Yan's work has appeared in prestigious journals such as Science and Nature, and frequently been published in top chemistry journals such as J. Am. Chem. Soc.,Angew Chem Int Ed and Nano Letters. He has been a recipient of the National Science Foundation Early Career Award, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award, the Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship and the Arizona Enterprise Innovator of Tomorrow Award. Yan's research is well - defined, well-developed, internationally recognized and supported by the NSF, AFOSR, ONR and NIH.
April 25 , 2008 Annual Student Awards Ceremony - Celebration of Salient Achievements
Wayne W. Luchsinger and the recipient of the Wayne W. Luchsinger Chemistry Scholarship
Department chair William Petuskey and all awardees at the ceremony
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department's Annual Awards Ceremony was held during the afternoon of Friday, April 25th in the Carson Ballroom of Old Main. Professor William Petuskey, Department Chair, was master of ceremonies, which included about one dozen faculty members to present awards. Approximately 150 faculty, staff, students, family and friends were in attendance. Special guests included Professor Wayne W. Luchsinger and LaReal Eyring who oversaw for the presentation of the Wayne W. Luchsinger Chemistry Scholarship, the Eyring Undergraduate Award and the Leroy Eyring Memorial Graduate Fellowship. Scholarships and awards ranged from national to local origins. All the students having demonstrated great ability as well as commitment and dedication to their work. Thirty eight senior level chemistry/biochemistry majors made the honors circle with a GPA of 3.8 or greater. For each award, a faculty member stepped up to extol the accomplishments of the recipient. This was an outstanding year. Professor George Wolf went so far as to say that in the twenty years he had been teaching at ASU, this may have been the best group of students he has taught. The department took great pride in recognizing these students and who have a bright future ahead of them - we wish the seniors well as they leave to continue their exploration and look forward to learning of their future accomplishments and contributions to society.
April 22 , 2008 Graduate student Gabrielle Malo receives the 2008-2009 NSF GK-12 "Down to Earth" fellowship award
NSF GRADUATE TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS IN K-12 EDUCATION enable graduate students in NSF- supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to acquire additional skills that will broadly prepare them for professional and scientific careers in the 21st century. Through interactions with teachers in K-12 schools, graduate students can improve communication and teaching skills while enriching STEM instruction in K-12 schools.
"Down to Earth Science" is a collaborative project that brings together Arizona State University scientists, engineers, graduate and undergraduate students to enrich learning experiences for the K-12 community. The main goals of this project are to improve communication and teaching-related skills for graduate and undergraduate fellows, strengthen partnerships between ASU and the K-12 community, and provide new opportunities for K-12 students and teachers to work with practicing scientists and engineers.
Malo began her PhD in biochemistry in the fall of 2006. Her advisor is Rebekka Wachter. She will receive a stipend of $30,000 per calendar year (June 1, 2008 to May 31st 2009). The fellowship also includes an out-of-state tuition waiver, health insurance coverage, and in-state tuition.
More information about the Down to Earth Science project is available at http://gk12.asu.edu/
April 15 , 2008 Ian Gould receives special recognition award from ASUPA
The ASU Parents Association (ASUPA) annual award (for professor of the year) spotlights the contributions of excellent ASU professors. This endowed professorship, presented by the ASUPA, honors those who best exemplify a passion for teaching and who excel in both undergraduate teaching and in their area of research and/or creative activity. The award promotes a culture that values and rewards members of the academic community who also contribute substantially to scholarship and undergraduate education.
Ian Gould is one of six nominees who were awarded special recognition for their exceptional dedication and service to ASU this year. "As a testament to Dr. Gould's passion and dedication to the success of his students, he has undertaken a weekly review of class material on Saturday afternoons. I have never before seen 100+ students voluntarily show up for class on Saturday with no incentive other than knowledge. His personal sacrifices have inspired me and many other students to become devoted weekly attendees," says Damon Sacks, the student who nominated Gould.
The Department has been honored for two consecutive years with Neal Woodbury receiving a special recognition award from ASUPA in 2007.
April 15 , 2008 Arjan van der Vaart awarded visiting professorship in France
Arjan van der Vaart has been awarded a visiting professorship starting May this year for a six week period at the University of Rheims Champagne-Ardenne in France. Van der Vaart will work with a team of theoretical as well as organic chemists on the rational design of new α-galactosylceramides, glycolipids that elicit a strong antitumor response from natural killer T cells. Van der Vaart and the theoreticians will perform computer simulations to direct the design and the organic chemists will synthesize and test the resulting drug leads. No doubt their research will be enhanced by the wonderful, champagne producing country surrounding the university.
Charlene Bashore
Lara Cardy
April 11 , 2008 Two biochemistry students receive national Goldwater Scholarships
It has just been announced that biochemistry undergraduate students Charlene Bashore and Lara Cardy are the 2008 Goldwater Scholars. The $7,500 awards are the nation's premier undergraduate awards for students in the natural sciences, math and engineering. This is the second time in three years that two of the winners of this prestigious scholarship are biochemistry students.
Charlene Bashore is a junior from eastern Washington State. She's majoring in biochemistry with a minor in spanish and is working on rapid DNA sequencing under Peter Williams. She plans to pursue a PhD and go into medical research. Charlene is the current president of the ASU Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS), and enjoys sleeping, baking, playing her violin, and yoga. Her favorite classes include Polish, Latin ballroom dancing, capoeira, and medicinal chemistry.
Lara Cardy grew up in Mesa, Arizona and attended Dobson High School before becoming a student at Arizona State University in the Fall of 2005. Originally intending to be a Speech and Hearing Science major and work with children with developmental and intellectual disabilities, she began research on the language development of autistic children. Following this she was an intern at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, focusing on the genomic and proteomic basis of autism and other developmental disorders. These experiences influenced her to change her academic focus to biochemistry. Currently, she is participating in cochlear implant research and enjoying her rigorous physical chemistry course with Dr. George Wolf. She will be graduating in May 2009 with the intent to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience.
The scholarship program honoring Senator Barry Goldwater was created to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in math, science and engineering.
April 10, 2008 Biochemistry student Ke Wu wins grant to study around the world
Congratulations to Ke Wu, who was recently awarded an around-the-world study trip from the Circumnavigators Club Foundation. The $9,000 grant is given to just four students in the country each year.
This summer Wu will travel from Columbia to Ecuador, then to Mongolia, Romania, Thailand, India, Tanzania and Liberia to study childhood education. Her study will focus on how to teach disadvantaged children and motivate them to stay in school.
Wu graduated from Tucson’s University High School in 2006, and entered ASU as a Flinn Scholar. She is currently a biochemistry major with a 3.95 GPA.
Tong Wang joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at ASU as an adjunct faculty in March, 2008. He is currently a principal medicinal chemist at TGen. Prior to joining TGen, Dr. Wang had worked for AMRI, Inc and Schering-Plough (Neogenesis Pharmaceutical). Wang's research focuses on small molecule drug discovery in therapeutic areas including anti-viral, CNS diseases, and more recently, anti-cancer. Wang earned his B.S. degree from Beijing University in 1995 and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Syracuse University in 2000.
Recent Research highlights:
Novel therapeutic agents
Discovery and development of novel and personalized anti-cancer agents is the goal of the medicinal chemistry unit at TGen/TD2 since its foundation in August, 2007. Tong Wang, the principal chemist of the unit, is interested in identifying, among others, inhibitors of histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes. HDACs are an emerging therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer and inhibition of HDACs regulates gene transcription and inhibits cancer cell proliferation. By modifying known inhibitors, Wang and coworkers have identified a series of new and potent small-molecule compounds with potentially better biophysical profiles. The lead compounds in the series exhibit sub-micromole activities against several cancer cell lines and one of the leads has been scaled up for in vivo studies.
Wang and co-inventor Stephen Gately (Chief Scientific Officer of TD2) have filed provisional patent application under the title "Pharmaceutical Compositions and Methods of Use of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors" in February, 2008.
April 4, 2008 General Chemistry Is Bringing The THUNDER!
The General Chemistry Redesign Plans (see Nov. 7 news story) have received a significant upgrade. Collaborations with Steelcase, Walsh Bros. and multiple ASU offices (including the University Architect’s Office and University Technology Office) have transformed a modest $100,000 project into a $650,000 partnership for a new cutting-edge educational classroom to be housed in PS H-135. The cornerstone of this new room will be the Polyvision Thunder collaboration system, which incorporates 6 multimedia projection systems, tablet PCs, and a central instructor plasma display to make collaborative learning activities more engaging and effective. Janet Bond-Robinson, Ron Briggs, Pam Marks, and Shelly Seerley are leading this effort for the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department at the Tempe campus. The room will be ready for the 2008/2009 academic year and used for all sections of CHM 101, 113, 114, and 116.
March 26, 2008 Daniel Barr received the 2008 GPSA Teaching Excellence Award
Congratulations to chemistry graduate student Daniel Barr who has been recently awarded the 2008 GPSA Teaching Excellence Award. The Teaching Excellence Program recognizes graduate and professional students at ASU-Tempe that exemplify excellence in education and classroom instruction. Teaching Assistants and graduate student instructors are eligible for nomination by faculty, staff, or students at the ASU-Tempe campus.
After nomination, each eligible nominee is solicited to submit a formal application for the program by a pre-determined deadline shortly following the close of nominations. These applications are peer-reviewed by the GPSA Teaching Excellence Award Selection sub-Committee, and each applicant is observed teaching by a member of the TEA committee. Evaluation criteria include, but are not limited to, classroom/session organization and content, instructor/TA presentation style, instructor/TA-student interaction, and effective use of materials and media.
These awards are prestigious, and recipients are recognized and announced on the GPSA website, gradstu listserv and through a Press Release to ASU Insight. No fewer than twenty awards are announced during the Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week. This year, out of 90 nominees, 22 awardees were selected.
Daniel taught freshman chemistry (CHM 113) last fall and was nominated for this award by his students. He was the only TA from chemistry or physics selected to receive the award this year.
Feb 22, 2008 Hao Yan named Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow
Congratulations are due to Hao Yan who was recently named an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow. These extremely prestigious awards are intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in specified fields of science. Currently a total of 118 fellowships are awarded annually in seven fields: chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics. Hao’s was one of 23 awards in chemistry across the USA and Canada. The fellowship comes with a research grant of $50,000 over two years.
According to Hao this fellowship will support his research in using self-assembled DNA nanostructures to deterministically position photonic elements to study their distance dependent interactions, with potential applications in energy and biosensing. Hao also says: "Both the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and The Biodesign Insititue have been truly supportive of my research over the years, the Sloan Research Fellowship not only is a prestigious honor and recognition, it also will provide some financial freedom for me to work on new ideas that have not been tested before."
Feb 11, 2008 Department welcomes new faculty member Dan Buttry
Dan Buttry accepted the position of Professor of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and started from spring 2008.
Professor Buttry earned a B. A. with highest distinction in chemistry, magna cum laude, in 1979 at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. He subsequently attended the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, receiving a Ph. D. degree in Electrochemistry in 1983. After graduating, he accepted a position as a Member of the Research Staff at IBM’s San Jose Research Lab (now the Almaden Research Lab). In 1985, he moved to the University of Wyoming as an assistant professor, where his research effort was initially focused on applications of the quartz crystal microbalance in electrochemistry and chemical sensor research and development. He became a professor in 1992 and served as head of the department from 1999-2002. His research interests have broadened to include new materials for battery and fuel cell applications, interfacial chemistry in corrosion, and electrochemical behavior of nanoscale materials and nanocomposites. His group has been supported by many agencies and companies, including the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Department of Energy.
Jan. 29, 2008 Kouvetakis receives grants to develop solar cells
New materials and more efficient components for solar cells as well as cheaper high-brightness LEDs are the focus of several new multidisciplinary research initiatives supported by the US Department of Energy (Solar America Initiative), Science Foundation Arizona (small business catalytic fund) and National Science Foundation (phase I and II small business technology transfer awards-STTR). Novel materials synthesis, device fabrication, advanced spectroscopic characterization and state-of-the-art supercomputer simulations are being synergistically combined to promote innovation in future generation of photovoltaic's and solid state lighting. The DOE project will utilize materials that have been developed at ASU for laser applications and explore their photovoltaic potential. The project will focus on high efficiency, multi-junction based devices produced on Si platforms for a dramatic cost reduction compared to current technologies. New material combinations will feature enhanced absorption of sunlight by perfectly matching the solar energy spectrum. The SFAZ funded technology uses a buffer layer system invented at ASU to structurally match silicon wafers with nitride-based materials to produce renewable energy systems. The NSF funded projects are in collaboration with Voltaix Corporation/Si-Photonics and include scaleable industrial syntheses of new families of molecular compounds and their use to form materials for applications in advanced substrates for strained Si channels, CMOS-integrated MEMS and solar cells. Participants include Professors John Kouvetakis (Chem/Biochem), Jose Menendez (Physics) and Andrew Chizmeshya (Chem/Biochem). Full story from ASU News..
There are many research projects are part of an ongoing effort at ASU to research alternative and renewable energy sources. A lot of chemistry & biochemistry faculty members are involved in these projects. View a list of ongoing projects.
Jan. 17, 2008 Michael O’Keeffe's paper in Science has won the Newcomb Cleveland prize
Congratulations to Professor Michael O’Keeffe whose paper in Science ("Designed synthesis of 3-D covalent organic frameworks", H. M. El-Kaderi, J. R. Hunt. J. L. Mendoza-Cort/s, A. P. C?t/, R. E. Taylor, M. O'Keeffe & O. M. Yaghi. Science 316, 268-272 (2007)), along with collaborators from UCLA, has won the Newcomb Cleveland prize. This is the oldest prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is awarded for the best paper of the year. The paper reported the first synthesis of 3-D organic framework crystals. These are the most open and lightest crystalline materials ever prepared and have many potential applications. Professor O'Keeffe contributed mathematical insights that assisted in the design and unambiguous determination of the atomic structure of these materials that were made by Professor Omar Yaghi's group at UCLA. The awards will be presented to the authors at a ceremony at the annual meeting of the AAAS in Boston this February.
Jan. 14, 2008 Kevin E. Redding has joined the department
Kevin E. Redding started in spring 2008 as an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Dr. Redding received his Ph.D from the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University, where he studied intracellular protein transport and sorting in the secretory pathway of yeast cells. He decided to move into electron transfer processes, specifically in photosynthetic proteins, when he started his postdoctoral research in the group of Jean-David Rochaix at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. He continued working on several problems in photosynthesis upon returning to the US as an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Alabama. He was promoted to associate professor in 2004. He has been working at the IBPC in Paris on a variety of topics, including an in vivo analysis of electron transfer reactions within heliobacterial cells.
Melissa McLauchlin received her Ph.D in Chemistry
Dec. 13, 2007 44 Students graduated with chemistry & biochemistry degrees this fall
Seven graduate students and 37 undergraduate students received degrees in chemistry and in biochemistry on Dec. 13, 2007. The ASU commencement ceremony was held on a brisk Arizona morning at the Wells Fargo Arena. The ceremony was followed by a reception / holiday luncheon in the department for graduates and their guests, faculty, staff and other members of the department. Dr. James Allen, Associate Chair and Dr. William Petuskey, Chair of the department presented T-shirts to the graduates to commemorate their achievement. A good time was had by all 150 plus people in attendance.
Nov. 20, 2007 Department welcomes new undergraduate advisor Tom Avants
Tom Avants has accepted the position of undergraduate academic advisor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Avants has been at ASU for 10 years serving most recently as Director of the Transfer Center and Honors Alliance coordinator at the Downtown Phoenix campus (2004-2007). For eight years he was an academic advisor in the College of Education.
Tom received his Doctorate of Education in Higher and Postsecondary Education at ASU in 2004. He also has two masters degrees; MS in Counselor Education and a Masters of Divinity. He received a bachelor’s degree with a double major in psychology/sociology. Avants teaching experience includes: Introduction to Psychology, Developmental Psychology, UNI 101 Academic Success, and UNI 194 Student Success.
Dr. Avants has been active in the academic advising community serving as president of ASU’s Council of Academic Advisors (CAA) in 1999-2000 and a presenter at eight National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) national conferences. He was the ASU Transfer Student Ombudsperson and has served on the Arizona Academic Advising Articulation Task Force (2004-2007). His academic interests include issues in higher education, student success strategies, academic advising models, and multiple intelligences/learning styles.
Tom’s hobbies are cheering for Sun Devil student athletics, college sports, and travel. He has sponsored student groups to Russia, China, Brazil, Belize, Canada, Romania, and Mexico. He most enjoys spending time with his wife Cathy, their six children and 5 grandchildren.
Nov. 7, 2007 General Chemistry Program To Get a Boost!
General Chemistry faculty across three ASU campuses have begun an ambitious Learner-Centered Education (LCE) course redesign with the purpose of improving the impact and effectiveness of our 100-level courses. Janet Bond-Robinson, Ron Briggs, Pam Marks, and Chris Pruis have collaborated with educators from the ASU Polytechnic and Downtown campuses on redesigning our general chemistry curriculum to improve quality of instruction through the encouragement of active student learning and collaboration among faculty. Our chemical education group was recently awarded a $100,000 grant and will begin the redesign process in the Spring with a major renovation of PS H-135 and development of new active-learning activities for our CHM 101, 113, 114, and 116 courses. The fundamentals of this program are also expected to be applicable to our upper-division courses (particularly organic chemistry) in the future.
Oct. 30, 2007 Devens Gust was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
In October, the AAAS Council elected 471 members as Fellows of AAAS. These individuals will be recognized for their contributions to science and technology at the Fellows Forum to be held on 16 February 2008 during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston. The new Fellows will receive a certificate and a blue and gold rosette as a symbol of their distinguished accomplishments. Devens Gust , Foundation Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is honored for pioneering contributions to photochemistry and nanotechnology, and for the design and development of novel intramolecular electron transfer devices and related biomimetic schemes.
Oct. 22, 2007 Anne Jones received AFOSR Young Investigator Award
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) announced Oct. 19 it will award $9.5 million in grants to 29 scientists and engineers who submitted winning research proposals through the Air Force's Young Investigator Research Program.
The program is open to scientists and engineers at research institutions across the United States. Those selected will receive the grants over a three-year period.
Anne Jones, assistant professor of Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was one the 29 winners. Her research will focus on engineering oxidoreductases: utilization of an unnatural amino acid to create artificial hydrogenases. (full story on Air Force Press Release)
Nov 2, 2006
Professor Joe Wang has developed a highly sensitive technology to rapidly detect liquid peroxide explosives in as little as 15 seconds. The results are published as a research communication online in this week’s edition of the leading international analytical journal, The Analyst. full story...
Oct 20th, 2006
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry 2006 Homecoming Reception
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry 2006 Homecoming Reception was held on Oct 20 at the University Club. Alumni, faculty, staff and members from the Chemistry Graduate Student Council attended the event. Dr. William Petuskey, Interim Departmental Chair, announced the Wayne Lusinger Scholarship and gave updates on the Department’s growth. All alumni received official “Graduate of ASU Chemistry & Biochemistry” T-Shirts.
This is the first departmental annual event for alumni. The Department has decided to make this as a new tradition to link our alumni.
August 31, 2006
Dr. Francisco Received the Stanley C. Israel Award from the American Chemical Society
Dr. Wilson Francisco has been selected to receive the Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Fall 2006 from the American Chemical Society. The award is in recognition of his efforts to advance diversity in chemical sciences and to significantly stimulate and foster activities that promote inclusiveness with the Rocky Mountain region. The award will be presented to Dr. Francisco at the 19th Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting that will be held October 14-18th in Tucson AZ.
34 new graduate students for Fall 2006!
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry welcomes 34 new graduate students for Fall 2006. These ambitious new students come from over 20 different schools across the United States and six international countries bringing with them a diversity of backgrounds and an eagerness to begin their studies at Arizona State University. Several students requested to begin their program early and participated in lab rotations during the summer.
Students will work toward one of four degrees offered by the department: an M.S. in Chemistry, Ph.D. in Chemistry, M.S. in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. Since there are over 45 faculty members researching within the field of chemistry and biochemistry, and on interdisciplinary projects with life sciences, geology, physics and materials, they will have a wide variety of interesting projects to select from for their graduate research.
The Chemistry and Biochemistry Programs have a lot to offer and will support the new students as they develop their skills and become professional researchers.
Don Seo has won a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award for 2006
Dr. Seo received a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 2006 for his contribution in "Theoretical and Experimental Studies on Itinerant Electron Magnetism in Intermetallics". The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc., was established in 1946 by chemist, inventor and businessman Camille Dreyfus who directed that its purpose be "to advance the science of chemistry, chemical engineering and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and circumstances around the world." Since its first years of activity, the Foundation has sought to take the lead in identifying and addressing needs and opportunities in the chemical sciences. With the introduction of the Teacher-Scholar Awards Program in 1969, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation launched an initiative to provide talented young faculty with significant, flexible support during the early stages of their careers. From the program’s inception, Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars have been selected for their research and teaching accomplishments, their commitment to education, and the promise they show of continuing strength as independent investigators. More than 28 Teacher-Scholars have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and two have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
August 21, 2006
Dr. Angell Received David Turnbull Lectureship Award from Materials Research Society
Dr. Austen Angell has been selected to be the recipient of the 2006 MRS David Turnbull Lectureship. The Turnbull Lectureship is awarded to recognize the career of a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to understanding materials phenomena and properties through research, writing, and lecturing. Dr. Austen Angell was chosen from a group of outstanding nominees “for pioneering contributions to the fundamental understanding of the formation, dynamics, and properties of glasses, and particularly his development of fragility as an essential tool for characterizing glass forming materials, coupled with a comprehensive understanding of the field effectively communicated through lectures and publications.”
Chemistry and Biochemistry professors contribute to ‘Digital Magnetofluidics’…
Critical advances in medicine and environmental protection promise to emerge from a new method for biochemical analysis of fluids developed by an international science team led by Arizona State University researchers. Called “Digital Magnetofluidics,” it promises more rapid, more accurate and less costly analyses of water and biological fluids – blood, urine, saliva – that require only miniscule amounts of fluids.
Digital magnetofluidics enables tiny drops of fluids to be manipulated on a silicon chip in ways that produce clearer pictures of the proteins, DNA, bacteria, viruses and chemicals present in liquids. The key to the method’s effectiveness is using nanoscale surface patterns to create a “superhydrophobic” (or water-repellent) surface on which to collect extremely tiny droplets of fluids – a surface formed by mimicking the natural self-cleaning process exhibited by the leaves of the Lotus plant, Hayes explains.
Water and biological fluids typically bead up like a ball on superhydrophobic surfaces, but the introduction of a magnetic field produced by injecting tiny magnetic particles into the droplets keeps the ball from rolling off the surface.
This allows for the fluids to be controlled through exerting magnetic force, and moved with extreme precision across the tips of nanowires, which are only about 200 atoms in diameter and less than a hundredth of the width of a human hair in length. The research can accelerate the development of microfluiditic devices that would, for instance, allow as many as 20 to 30 various tests to be performed using a single, tiny drop of blood. A major goal is to refine the technology to create point-of-care devices that would provide rapid diagnoses for people who live far from hospitals, or in cases of emergency medical care in which there is an urgent need for speedy medical analysis.
At ASU, Garcia is among scientists and engineers developing microfluidic and test-surface techniques. The team includes Mark Hayes and Devens Gust, both professors of chemistry and biochemistry, and Tom Picraux, who spent the past four years on the ASU chemical and materials engineering faculty before recently becoming chief scientist for the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at the Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico. full story..
Dr. Robert Blankenship, former chair of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, accepted a position at Washington University in St. Louis as the “Lucille P. Markey Professor of Biology and Chemistry” and will leave ASU in August 2006.
Dr. Blankenship has worked for ASU for 21 years. He served as the chair of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry for 4 years from 2002 to 2006. During the past four years, the number of tenure-track faculty members, the number of high-quality graduate students admitted to the department, and the number of curriculum offerings were doubled. Dr. Blankenship also founded the “ASU Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis (Photosynthesis Center)”. This led to world-wide recognition for photosynthesis research at ASU.
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry appreciate Dr. Blankenship’s commitment. A farewell reception was held at the University Club on July 27, 2006. Dr. Blankenship received an “Award of Appreciation” from Faculty, Staff, APs, and students; he also received a gift from the Photosynthesis Center.
June 23, 2006 New graduate degree programs - MS and PhD degrees in Biochemistry have been approved
The Arizona Board Regents voted to approve MS and PhD degrees in Biochemistry at its meeting on June 22, 2006. The new degree programs are now officially operational and existing students who wish to can transfer into them from their current degree program. The requirements for the new degrees are the same as the Chemistry degrees. Existing students who are interested in transferring should consult with their advisor. These degrees are designed for students whose research is in biochemically oriented areas and who wish to have their degree in Biochemistry instead of Chemistry.
May 11, 2006 47 students graduated from ASU in Spring 2006 with degrees in Chemistry or Biochemistry.
The ASU commencement ceremony was held in Wells Fargo Arena on May 11, 2006 followed by a reception for all graduates and their guests in the department. The department Chair, Dr. Robert Blankenship, and Associate Chair, Dr.William Petuskey, along with other faculty were in attendance at the reception. Dr. Cheryl Shavers, a past graduate of ASU with both a B.S and Ph.D. degree in Chemistry, was invited as the guest speaker at the reception. Dr. Shavers shared her vast experiences in business, industry and government with the newly graduated students.
President's Professor: Ian Gould Photochemist embraces teaching
This year ASU is honoring the first class of ASU President's Professors. This new prestigious award, is designed to reward enthusiasm and innovation in teaching, the ability to inspire original and creative work by students, mastery of subject matter and scholarly contributions.
Organic photochemist Ian Gould has distinguished himself in industry and academia. While at Eastman Kodak, Gould attained an international reputation for his research into the interaction of light and matter. His studies helped uncover the basic chemical principles underlying photography and photosynthetic solar energy harvesting. Full story from ASU Insight
April 12 , 2006
Joseph Wang has been selected for the 2006 ACS (Division of Analytical Chemistry Cole Parmer) Award in Electrochemistry
Dr.Joseph Wang, professor of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at ASU, is the 2006 Recipient of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Analytical Chemistry ColeParmer Award in Electrochemistry. The Award will be presented to Prof. Wang during the Fall 2006 ACS Meeting in San Francisco (Sept. 2006). Wang has been recognized for his life-long contributions to the fields of electroanalytical chemistry and electrochemical biosensors. He has authored of 700 papers, 8 books and 25 chapters. He was a recipient of another ACS Award (for Chemical Instrumentation) in 1999. Full story from ASU Insight
James Cronican
Shannon Fortin
March 27 2006
University lands 4 Goldwater Scholars For the first time in ASU history, four young undergraduate students – all but one just turning 21 years old – have scored big in the competitive world of science and math awards, winning national Goldwater Scholarships.
They already are deeply involved in research projects at the Biodesign Institute, TGen and the Center for Solid State Electronics Research, where they are studying cancer cell biology, thermonuclear fusion, enzyme catalysis and proteins.
The winners – all of them juniors at ASU – are:
James Cronican, a biochemistry major from Omaha , Neb.
Shannon Fortin, a biochemistry major from Phoenix .
Lawrence Mickelson, a materials science and engineering major from Mesa.
ASU engineers, scientists in line to receive almost $9 million for Dept. of Defense research
Two teams of ASU researchers will lead major projects funded by highly sought-after grants from the U.S. Department of Defense Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program. Four Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering faculty members will be the lead team for a major aerospace research project. A maximum of $6 million in MURI grant funds will support work to develop more advanced sensor systems to better assess the structural health of aircraft. And, a team from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which includes faculty and graduate students, could receive as much as $2.6 million to develop inexpensive lasers based on a new family of silicon-based semiconductors. Enabling silicon to perform optical functions will impact virtually all sensing, security, communication and computing systems, according to the Department of Defense.
One of the MURI-funded projects is the outgrowth of several years of collaboration between ASU professors José Menéndez, in the physics and astronomy department and John Kouvetakis, in the chemistry and biochemistry department. full story...
Giovanna Ghirlanda,Assistant Professor of Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, receives NSF CAREER award: “Towards the Rational Control of Redox Potential and Catalytic Activity of Designed Functional Membrane Proteins”
Dr. Ghirlanda ’s research focuses on the de novo design, i.e. design from scratch, of artificial model proteins that can perform a desired function. Possible applications include the preparation of novel drugs, catalysts, biosensors, and smart materials. With the support of this five year $ 450,000 grant, Dr. Ghirlanda will focus on designing metal binding membrane proteins. A deeper understanding of the relationship between protein structure and function in the membrane environment will permit the preparation of artificial miniaturized proteins tailored to specific biological and non-biological applications. As part of this program, Dr. Ghirlanda will partner with “Science is fun” to bring classroom experiments in K-12 schools. The program relies on undergraduates participating in this service learning activity to perform demonstrations in the classrooms, thus integrating the outreach aspect with the training of future science teachers.
February 27, 2006
Hao Yan received NSF Career Award on "DNA Directed Self-Assembly of Multicomponent Nanoarchitectures"
Dr. Hao Yan, assistant professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has received a Faculty Early Career Development Program grant from the National Science Foundation.
Hao Yan’s research centers on self-assembly of nanostructures, particularly using DNA as an assembly element to develop molecular motors, sensors and templates for more complex nanostructural systems and biotechnology applications. With this five-year $400,000 grant, Dr. Yan will develop a research and education program in the area of directed molecular self-assembly. The program, he believes, will advance our understanding and capability to self-assemble rationally designed nanoarchitectures from nanoscale building blocks with increased complexityand will provide a unique environment to prepare students for careers in the rapidly growing area of bionanotechnology. This program will also leverage the outreach of DNA based nanobiotechnology research to high school students through a partnership between Dr. Yan’s lab and local high schools.
February 21, 2006
Company licenses ‘designer molecule' technology (Top Story from ASU Insight)
Voltaix Inc., a leading manufacturer of chemicals and gases for the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries, has obtained worldwide exclusive rights to an advanced materials technology developed at ASU.
The innovation, which provides “designer molecules” for the production of devices such as cell phones, computers and other wireless devices, helps reduce power consumption and increase system performance. It also could play an essential role in the next generation of solar cells and photonic devices such as lasers and photodectors.
The approach deploys new, custom-built molecules that are used to create materials to build semiconductor devices. The molecules were designed and produced by John Kouvetakis, an ASU professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and his coworkers at the university. full story...
January 20, 2006
ASU research selected by Science magazine for Editor’s Choice
Research done at ASU characterizing the morphology of soot, with important implications for climate science, was featured by Science magazine (2006, 311, 305) in its Editor’s Choice highlights of recent literature. The work was published in Geophysical Research Letters (2005, 32 , L24811, doi: 10.1029/2005GL024461 ) and was a collaborative project with the group of Regents’ Professor Peter Buseck of the ASU Chemistry and Biochemistry and Geological Sciences Departments and colleagues at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and California Institute of Technology.
ASU research was chosen as one of most important advances in chemistry of 2005
Two dimensional femtosecond spectroscopy of a photosynthetic antenna complex that was prepared at ASU was chosen by Chemical and Engineering News as one of the most important advances in the area of physical chemistry for 2005. (http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/ 83/8351chemreview.html.) The work was published in Nature (2005, 434, 625-628) and was a collaborative project with ASU Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Professor and Chair Robert Blankenship and Prof. Graham Fleming from the University of California at Berkeley.
ASU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry excels in publications in Science and Nature
From 2000-2005, twenty five papers have appeared in the prestigious journals Science and Nature with authors who are faculty members in the ASU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Oct 27, 2005 Dr.Joseph Wang, professor of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at ASU, won Electrochemistry Communications Award 2005
Dr. Wang's paper " Low-potential stable NADH detection at carbon-nanotube-modified glassy carbon electrodes" published in Electrochemistry Communications in 2002, Volume 4, Issue 10 pages 743-746 , is the best cited paper published in 2002 and therefore winner of the Electrochemistry Communications Award 2005. The award was initiated in acknowledgement of high quality papers and is awarded on a yearly basis.
A direct free link to this article will appear on the journal homepage, as the winner of the award in 2005, and a Publisher's Note will be published in the journal announcing the award.
42 New Graduate Students!
It is an exciting time for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry! The fall 2005 graduate student incoming class is the largest ever with 42 students! The new class is a diverse one with students from 18 states and 3 countries, including China, Nepal and India. The students come from a variety of schools:
Asian Institute of Technology ( Thailand)
Ohio University
Baylor University
Peking University ( China)
Boise State University
State of New York College at Brockport
Center for Biotechnology ( India), Chatham College
Southern Virginia University
Colorado State University at Fort Collins
Tsinghua University ( China)
Drake University
University of California Davis
Fudan University ( China)
University of California Riverside
ITT Madras ( India)
University of California Santa Barbara
Indiana State University
University of Connecticut
Midland Luthern College
University of Guelph ( Canada)
Nankai University ( China)
University of Oregon
Northern Arizona University
Whitworth College
North Georgia College & State University
Wuhan University ( China)
Zhejiang University ( China)
The 42 students are already proving to be an ambitious and talented group! Ten of the incoming students began their research in summer 2005. Four students are IGERT ( Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training Program) fellows. Three of the students are University Graduate Scholars award recipients. And, one student has received the Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship award. The year is shaping up to be a fun and interesting one for graduate programs in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry!
July 25th, 2005 Graduate Student Raul Rivera has been awarded NHI Fellowship
The National Institutes of Health (NHI) has awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service fellowship to Raul Rivera.
This is a graduate fellowship administered by NIH PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP AWARDS FOR MINORITY STUDENTS. The award is in support of Raul's research in Dr. Peter William’s group titled "Reactive Sequencing of DNA".
More information on NIH PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP AWARDS FOR MINORITY STUDENTS is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/
June 22, 2005 - From ASU news
Researchers find photosynthesis deep within ocean In the inky blackness of the ocean depths, a newly discovered bacterium is living despite its natural need for light. Researchers, including ASU biochemist Robert Blankenship, say the organism’s photosynthesis adaptations 1.5 miles under water could provide valuable clues in the resiliency of life – and the search for life forms on other planets. Read more..
June 20, 2005 from PhysOrg.com - The latest physics and technology news Researcher Fashions DNA to Further Advances in Nanotechnology
Hao Yan, a researcher at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University and an assistant professor in ASU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, recently created unique arrays of proteins tethered onto self-assembled DNA nanostructures.
While other efforts in recent years have focused on learning how to build DNA-based nanostructures, Yan's work is novel because it makes it feasible to attach any desired biomolecule onto DNA nanostructures. Such work is an important step and can serve as a future foundation for biocatalytic networks, drug discovery or ultrasensitive detection systems.
"Rationally-designed DNA nanoscale architectural motifs have for a long time been envisioned as scaffolds for directing the assembly of biomolecules such as proteins into a functional network," said Yan. "However, the methods to control such assemblies are still scarce. A robust and modular approach is needed. " full story..
May 13, 2005
Chemistry doctoral student claims national fellowship honors
Source: ASU Insight May 13,2005 . By Nora Coronado
ASU graduate student Wilton Virgo has claimed the Eastman Kodak Dr. Theophilus Sorrell Fellowship Award for his outstanding research work by the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE).The fellowship award supports outstanding African-American doctoral students in chemistry,chemical engineering and life sciences who have made significant contributions to science and engineering research at the graduate level. The fellowship will fund Virgo’s research assistantship during his final semester at ASU, and he will travel to Kodak headquarters in New York to visit the company’s research and development division this summer.
Virgo will receive his doctorate in chemistry in December. His thesis adviser is professor Timothy Steimle.“It is an honor to receive the Kodak fellowship and be recognized for my research,” Virgo says. “Professor Steimle’s lab at ASU compares favorably with the top laboratories in the country. The fellowship will be a great aid in my pursuit of the Ph.D.”
Virgo conducts research in spectroscopy, or the interaction between light and molecules.His research involves using laser spectroscopy to probe the structure and bonding in metal that contain molecules known as radicals, which serve as a catalyst for chemical reactions. Measuring their properties provides insight about chemistry at the molecular quantum level.Furthering understanding at this level is critical to developing new catalysts to meet increasing demands on a dwindling chemical feedstock and reduce the degradation of the environment, Steimle says.“The ephemeral nature of transient metal containing molecules makes the laboratory detection and characterization pursued by Wilton extremely challenging,” Steimle says. “Although there are innumerable predictions of the properties of metal containing radicals in the literature, his results provide the first determination of fundamental electrostatic and geometric properties for these species.”Virgo’s and Steimle’s collaboration has produced nine publications in the field’s top journals,as well as invitations to present at international meetings. Their work is funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Basic Energy Science Division of the Department of Energy.
May 13, 2005
Phoenix ARCS Foundation rewards 14 ASU doctoral students
Source: ASU Insight May 13,2005 . By Nora Coronado
Fourteen ASU doctoral students have won the 2005 Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholarship. The $6,000 fellowships are awarded by the Phoenix ARCS Foundation to top graduate student researchers at Arizona’s three state universities.
The Phoenix ARCS Foundation, one of 12 chapters in the nation, supports graduate students in the fields of natural science, medicine and engineering who have exceptional academic promise and whose scholastic endeavors demonstrate potential for widespread benefits.
Justin Searcy (organic chemistry), who is working on the isolation and synthesis of new anti-cancer drugs, is one of the 14 winners. Justin was one of the 15 winners of 2004 ARCS Award.
Four exceptional professors who have made outstanding contributions to undergraduate education at ASU are the first to receive the President’s Professor Awards, in recognition of the level of excellence they bring to ASU.
Inaugural awardees are Randall Cerveny, professor of geography; Alice Christie, associate professor of technology and education; Ian Gould, professor of chemistry and biochemistry; and the late Paul Rothstein, associate professor of industrial design who died unexpectedly on March 8, after he had been nominated for the award.
Gould joined ASU in 1998 after spending 12 years at the research laboratories of Eastman Kodak and has quickly established a reputation as one of the finest teachers on the faculty. He gets rave reviews from students for his ability to help them understand organic chemistry, yet he has a worldwide reputation for his research into the interaction of light and matter. He has 10 patents and more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals, yet is known for the generous amounts of time he spends helping students outside class. full story..
April 28, 2005 ASU professor creates novel technique to identify DNA mutations ( from ASU Web News)
A new method to identify DNA mutations may shepherd in an era of small, portable, electronic devices for the rapid screening and identification of genes that harbor disease.
Joseph Wang, director of the Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors at the Biodesign Institute at ASU, led a team that successfully merged efforts in the fields of biosensors, electronics, and nanotechnology to fashion nanocrystals that can act as “DNA biosensors” by electronically recognizing subtle mutations in the DNA. This creates enormous potential for applications such as the diagnosis and treatment of genetic diseases, detection of infectious agents and reliable forensic analysis. full story...
April 13, 2005
Harnessing the Sun- ASU’s website featured Dr. Blankenship’s Research. Sunlight provides a vital energy source that scientists have spent decades attempting to harness. Now a team of researchers, including ASU chemist Robert Blankenship, has developed a technique that provides a better understanding of photosynthesis and may lead to more efficient sunlight to energy conversion devices, like solar cells. full story... April 4, 2005 Shedding Light On Photosynthesis - Chemical & Engineering News announced Dr. Blankenship's new paper “2-D method directly measures electronic coupling in a photosynthetic complex” (Brixner T, Stenger J, Vaswani HM, Cho M, Blankenship RE and Fleming GR) that appeared in Nature2005, 434,625. full story…
March 9, 2005 Stephen Straight and Michael Hambourger have been selected to attend the 55th Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students
Stephen Straight and Michael Hambourger, Graduate Students of ASU department of chemistry and biochemistry, were selected in a in a national competition for support by the National Science Foundation Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (NSF MPS) to attend the 55th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students in Lindau, Germany, June 2005. They will have the opportunity to spend about a week with many Nobel Laureates and other students selected from around the world.
Since 1951, Nobel Laureates in chemistry, physics, and physiology/medicine convene annually in Lindau , Germany , to have open and informal meetings with students and young researchers. Information on this year’s meeting is available at http://www.orau.gov/lindau2005/meeting/default.htm
ASU, Mayo Clinic fund ambitious health projects
ASU and the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale are teaming up to fund five ambitious projects that will tackle several of today’s most challenging human diseases and afflictions. Each project is geared toward a specific medical condition or problem. Dr. Jiunn-Liang (Julian) Chen, Assistant Professor of Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will work with Dr. David F. Smith of Mayo’s biochemistry department to develop a system where the enzyme can be created and manipulated outside of the cell. The technique could allow numerous experiments to be performed on the enzyme, which could then provide major insights into the aging process and diseases associated with it. full story...
February 28, 2005 Welcome aboard! Athena Kennedy has joined us as the Graduate Programs and Recruitment Coordinator
Athena Kennedy, Graduate Programs and Recruitment Coordinator, comes to ASU Chemistry and Biochemistry from Colorado State University and California State University, San Bernardino. She is originally from Wyoming where she received her Bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and Communication from the University of Wyoming. She is also earning her Master’s degree in Communication from UW. Athena’s experience lies in the area of Student Services, including Student Activities, Student Life, Admissions, Student Recruitment, and Advising. Also, her background includes Public Relations, Marketing, and Interpersonal Communication. Athena is excited to be a part of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department! Her hobbies include painting and drawing, camping, biking, running, aerobics classes, traveling, playing with her two Greyhounds, and spending time with her husband.
January 18, 2005
Dr. Everett L. Shock has been elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). One of the few honors that AGU confers, Fellowship is awarded to scientists who have acknowledged eminence in one or more branches of geophysics. The number of Fellows elected each year is limited to no more 01.% of the total membership of AGU.
The presentation of the Fellows certificate will be made during the "Honors Ceremony" on 25 May 2005 in New Orleans.
Fifteen ASU doctoral students have won the 2004 Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Scholarship.
The $6,000 fellowships are awarded by the Phoenix ARCS Foundation, one of 12 chapters in the nation. The Phoenix chapter grants the awards to top graduate student researchers at Arizona ’s three state universities in support of their dynamic research projects. For the second year in a row, ASU has the most ARCS Scholars among the three universities.
Justin Searcy is one of the fellowship recipients.
Justin Searcy, organic chemistry, is working on the isolation and synthesis of new anti-cancer drugs. Full story..
Sequencing of the human genome is one of the major scientific advances of our time. But with 3 billion base pairs, initial sequencing of the human genome took 11 years and cost $1 billion to complete in 2002. Today, it costs up to $50 million to sequence 3 billion base pairs.
That may soon change as the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health, awarded a $1.7 million grant to a team of researchers led by Peter Williams, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Arizona State University.
The grant, one of two awarded to ASU in this program, is part of a round of NIH funding totaling $38 million going to several research teams to spur the development of innovative techniques to dramatically reduce the cost of DNA sequencing, a move aimed at broadening the application of genome information in medical research and health care. Full story...
Oct 26th 2004
Chemistry faculty receive awards from AAAS, I-APS, and Blaise Pascal
Dr. Robert E. Blankenship, Chair and professor of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Each year the Council elects members whose “efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished.” Dr. Blankenship is honored for distinguished contributions to understanding photosynthesis, including studies on antenna processes, primary photochemistry in reaction centers, and the origin and evolution of the process.
Dr. Devens Gust, Foundation professor of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has received the 2004 I-APS Awards in Photochemistry from the Inter-American Photochemical Society.
The Inter-American Photochemical Society Award in Photochemistry was established in 1988 to recognize outstanding contributions by members of the Society to the advancement of the photochemical and photophysical sciences.
Dr. Thomas Moore, professor of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is the recipient of the International “Blaise Pascal” Research Chair 2004.
The Blaise Pascal Research Chairs were established in 1996 by the State and the Ile-de-France region. Each chair allows highly qualified, internationally acclaimed, foreign research scientists in all disciplines, accompanied if they wish by other research workers, to continue their work on a scientific project for a 12-month period that could be spread over two years in a higher learning institution or research institution in Paris/Ile-de-France.
Oct 22, 2004
ASU Featured Faculty- Students honor Francisco for mentorship, friendship
Dr. Francisco has been teaching chemistry and biochemistry at ASU since 1999. Entering his sixth year, he enjoys the quality and diversity of the students that the ASU campus offers. He believes that he gets the opportunity to teach, interact and mentor some of the best students in the nation.
The student that nominated him for Featured Faculty stated that, "Professor Francisco has contributed outside his classroom through mentorship, research in his laboratory, but importantly through his conscious efforts to provide opportunity to students who are driven to succeed."
Karl Booksh won the 4th Elsevier Chemometrics Award
Dr. Karl S. Booksh, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is the recipient of the 4 th Elsevier Chemometrics Award. The award is presented every four years to a chemometrician, younger than 40 years of age, who has contributed significantly to the development of chemometrics in the last 5 years. This prestigious award was established to stimulate the careers of young scientists by recognizing noteworthy accomplishments in the field. Booksh is the first scientist of the award from North America . The award will be presented at the 2004 Chemometrics in Analytical Chemistry conference in Lisbon , Portugal .
Booksh joined the ASU in 1996 as an Assistant Professor after 2 years as an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of South Carolina . He received his PhD from the University of Washington in 1994. Booksh is North American Editor of the Journal of Chemometrics and on the editorial advisory board of Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems and Talanta. He has published over 60 scientific papers, mostly in the field of chemometrics and chemical sensor development.
Previous winners of the Elsevier Chemometrics Award are:
2000: Dr. Rasmus Bro, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University Denmark
1996: Dr. Terje Vegard Karstang, Norsk Hydro, Porsgrunn , Norway
1992: Dr Lutgarde Buydens of the University of Nijmegen , Nijmegen ,
The Netherlands
This year’s award is split between Booksh and Dr. Anna de Juan Capdevila from the University of Barcelona, Spain.
From left: Andrew Kalador(ExxonMobil),
Dr. C. Austen Angell, Charles P. Casey (President of the ACS)
April 22, 2004
Regents Professor C. Austen Angell, of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is honored at the recent National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) with the Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry of Liquids (Sponsored by ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company and ExxonMobil Chemical Company). The award is in recognition of Angell's "pioneering experimental studies of supercooled and glassy water, and the introduction of seminal ideas of liquid fragility, liquid and vitreous polyamorphism, and non-aqueous electrolytes.
The Award was presented by Andrew Kaldor- Manager, Downstream Research ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company.
Charlene, who is a biochemistry senior in our department, about to graduate on May 13, was named to the All - USA College Academic First team. This award is the icing on the cake of Charlene's extremely successful undergraduate career here at ASU.
Eric, a bioengineering, biochemistry and biological sciences major, is continuing at ASU to complete concurrent degrees in Biological Sciences and Medicinal Biochemistry. He has the honor of being named to the All - USA College Academic Second team.
Graduate student Sarah Staton receives Fulbright to study Ecuadorian biodiversity 
Graduate student Michelle Meighan has received a fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to participate in the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) program 
April 6, 2009
Prof. Thorpe Awarded Prestigious Leverhulme Visiting Professorship 
Pines is a pioneer in the development and applications of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. His current program is composed of two complementary components. The first is the establishment of new concepts and techniques in NMR and MRI, in order to extend their applicability and enhance their capability to investigate molecular structure, organization and function from materials to organisms. The second component of his research program involves the application of such novel methods to problems in chemistry, materials science, and biomedicine. Many of the concepts, methodologies and instrumentation emanating from the Pines lab continue to be adopted worldwide by research groups in academia and industry to investigate molecular structure and organization from the nanoscale dimensions of catalysts and polymers to the macroscopic proportions of human imaging and oil exploration. In terms of education and training, hundreds of scientists (the self-dubbed "Pinenuts") have passed through the lab, and many now hold leading research and teaching positions worldwide. 
Nancy Mapes has joined the advising staff. Although she is new to this position, she has been a part of the Chemistry and Biochemistry department for over a year. She is excited about this career move and is looking forward to assisting students throughout their academic careers. Nancy earned her Master's Degree in Elementary Education at ASU and taught in the Tempe School District for 11 years. She brings valuable experience as a student, teacher, and parent. In addition to work, Nancy likes reading, writing and puzzles. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends and shopping with her daughters. She likes attending ASU softball games and cheering for the Sun Devils espe- cially #12.
Amber Soergel recently joined the department as an Academic Success Specialist. She has been with ASU since June 2008. She enjoyed her 6 years of advising physiology undergraduates in the College of Medicine at University of Arizona. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Indiana State University and a Master of Arts in Higher Education from University of Arizona. Amber has been very active in the advising community. In 2003, she earned the Third Best Presentation Award at the regional conference for her presentation on the disconnect between student expectations and advising methods. She helped to plan the state conference in 2004. She has been an active member of NACADA, two Councils for advisors at University of Arizona, and various advisory committees . When not doing what she loves (advising undergraduates), she enjoys exploring Phoenix, traveling, and attending college and professional sports. She devotes much of her free time to the House Corporation of Sigma Kappa Sorority and is the local President.
Jessica Brungardt Pauls has joined the department as an Academic Success Specialist. Jessica earned both her bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1999 and her master's degree in Higher Education Administration in 2005 from The University of Kansas. She also worked at The University of Kansas for nine years as an Assistant Director in the Office of Ad- missions and Scholarships. Along with her full-time position in admissions, she worked as a adjunct advisor for the University Advising Center. She most re- cently worked for the University of Pittsburgh where she was an academic advisor in the Arts and Sciences Advising Center. Jessica enjoys spending time with her friends and family, running, doing yoga, and taking her German Shepherds to the dog park. 
On December 18 record numbers of graduates and their guests, faculty, staff and other members of the department attended a graduation reception/ holiday party.This was held for the first time in the atrium between the C and D wings of the Physical Sciences Building, and was enriched by the celestial strains of Carlos, the cellist. Immediately preceding the reception, in the Wells Fargo Arena, 48 students received their bachelor's degrees in either chemistry or biochemistry along with 14 master's and 13 doctoral students. At the reception Dr. William Petuskey, Chair of the department, presented T-shirts to the undergraduates and master's students, and laptop cases to the doctoral students, to commemorate their achievement. This was followed by a synopsis of each student's future plans. We wish everyone success in their future endeavors. To quote Dean Quentin Wheeler, "We literally are educating students for jobs not yet conceived, using technologies not yet invented, to solve problems not yet known." A final and outreaching touch was added by our glassblowers who, this year, coordinated a canned food drive with St. Mary's Food Bank, contributed elegant raffle prizes (e.g. beaker mugs) that they had made in their facility. Their awarding to the raffle winners brought the reception to a quality conclusion. Many thanks to the department and everyone who helped organize this successful event. 
Dec 18, 2008
Stuart Lindsay inducted as Regents' Professor...
Dec 5, 2008
Telomerase plays a crucial role in cellular immortality and is expressed in most tumor cells as well as stem cells and germ lines. Mutations in several telomerase genes, e.g. telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), have been genetically linked to human diseases such as dyskeratosis congenita (DKC) and aplastic anemia (AA) that have symptoms of bone marrow failure. The biological consequences of telomerase deficiency have been studied mostly using cultured human cells or mice as an animal model. Teleost fish, such as zebrafish and medaka fish, have emerged as powerful genetic model systems in the past few decades. They are attractive vertebrate models for biomedical research because of their small size and large number of progeny per generation. 
Hao Yan is recognized as one of six faculty "rising" stars by President Crow 
Petra Fromme, Pamela Marks and James Allen have written books entitled "Photosynthetic Protein Complexes", "Introduction to Chemistry" and "Biophysical Chemistry" respectively.
Sep 30, 2008
As an undergraduate Randall attended Texas Lutheran College in south Texas, majoring in chemistry. After graduating he moved on to graduate study at the University of Utah and completed a doctorate in physical/organic chemistry. The University of Oregon was the next stop in his professional journey where he began an ongoing association and love affair with azulene chemistry that continues today. Two years later, Dr. Robinson relocated to Luther College, a four-year private college in rural Iowa, where he taught for 21 years. For most of this time he was the entire organic division. In addition he taught general chemistry, nursing chemistry, biochemistry, chemical kinetics, as well as two courses for non-science majors which he developed. During these years he took leaves of absence at Tufts, UT-Austin, and Kansas doing research and teaching organic or organic lab. He also wrote a lab manual for the micro-scale organic lab. Since leaving Iowa he has worked in various research labs at KU and ASU and additionally had some interesting experience in two commercial environmental analysis labs.
Sep 5, 2008
May 27, 2008
May 13, 2008
"Although enzymes are superb catalysts, their range of reactions is limited to those that support life. Their repertoire could be expanded by a method that allows artificial enzymes to be made from scratch," says Ghirlanda in her May 8 Nature News and Views article.
May 9, 2008
The Gary Krahenbuhl Difference Maker Award is an annual award that recognizes and celebrates faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who personify the spirit of difference-making and excellent campus citizenship demonstrated by the former Dean, Gary Krahenbuhl. 
Congratulations to 
NSF GRADUATE TEACHING FELLOWSHIPS IN K-12 EDUCATION enable graduate students in NSF- supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to acquire additional skills that will broadly prepare them for professional and scientific careers in the 21st century. Through interactions with teachers in K-12 schools, graduate students can improve communication and teaching skills while enriching STEM instruction in K-12 schools. 
The ASU Parents Association (ASUPA) annual award (for professor of the year) spotlights the contributions of excellent ASU professors. This endowed professorship, presented by the ASUPA, honors those who best exemplify a passion for teaching and who excel in both undergraduate teaching and in their area of research and/or creative activity. The award promotes a culture that values and rewards members of the academic community who also contribute substantially to scholarship and undergraduate education. 
April 15 , 2008
Congratulations to Ke Wu, who was recently awarded an around-the-world study trip from the Circumnavigators Club Foundation. The $9,000 grant is given to just four students in the country each year. 
April 9, 2008
Congratulations to chemistry graduate student Daniel Barr who has been recently awarded the 2008 GPSA Teaching Excellence Award. The Teaching Excellence Program recognizes graduate and professional students at ASU-Tempe that exemplify excellence in education and classroom instruction. Teaching Assistants and graduate student instructors are eligible for nomination by faculty, staff, or students at the ASU-Tempe campus. 
Feb 22, 2008
Dan Buttry accepted the position of Professor of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and started from spring 2008.
New materials and more efficient components for solar cells as well as cheaper high-brightness LEDs are the focus of several new multidisciplinary research initiatives supported by the US Department of Energy (Solar America Initiative), Science Foundation Arizona (small business catalytic fund) and National Science Foundation (phase I and II small business technology transfer awards-STTR). Novel materials synthesis, device fabrication, advanced spectroscopic characterization and state-of-the-art supercomputer simulations are being synergistically combined to promote innovation in future generation of photovoltaic's and solid state lighting. The DOE project will utilize materials that have been developed at ASU for laser applications and explore their photovoltaic potential. The project will focus on high efficiency, multi-junction based devices produced on Si platforms for a dramatic cost reduction compared to current technologies. New material combinations will feature enhanced absorption of sunlight by perfectly matching the solar energy spectrum. The SFAZ funded technology uses a buffer layer system invented at ASU to structurally match silicon wafers with nitride-based materials to produce renewable energy systems. The NSF funded projects are in collaboration with Voltaix Corporation/Si-Photonics and include scaleable industrial syntheses of new families of molecular compounds and their use to form materials for applications in advanced substrates for strained Si channels, CMOS-integrated MEMS and solar cells. Participants include Professors 
Jan. 17, 2008
Jan. 14, 2008
Tom Avants has accepted the position of undergraduate academic advisor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Avants has been at ASU for 10 years serving most recently as Director of the Transfer Center and Honors Alliance coordinator at the Downtown Phoenix campus (2004-2007). For eight years he was an academic advisor in the College of Education.
In October, the AAAS Council elected 471 members as Fellows of AAAS. These individuals will be recognized for their contributions to science and technology at the Fellows Forum to be held on 16 February 2008 during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston. The new Fellows will receive a certificate and a blue and gold rosette as a symbol of their distinguished accomplishments. 
Oct. 22, 2007
Nov 2, 2006
August 31, 2006 
34 new graduate students for Fall 2006!
Don Seo has won a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award for 2006
August 21, 2006
July 27, 2006
May 11, 2006
April 14, 2006
Giovanna Ghirlanda
January 20, 2006
December 23, 2005
000-2005, twenty five papers have appeared in the prestigious journals Science and Nature with authors who are faculty members in the ASU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
July 25th, 2005 
June 22, 2005 - From ASU news
June 20, 2005 from PhysOrg.com - The latest physics and technology news 
May 13, 2005
May 13, 2005 
April 29, 2005
April 28, 2005
April 13, 2005 
March 9, 2005
ASU, Mayo Clinic fund ambitious health projects 
February 28, 2005
January 18, 2005
November 8, 2004 
Oct 29th 2004
Dr. Robert E. Blankenship
Dr. Devens Gust
Oct 22, 2004
