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| Dr. Petuskey and the Bateman Scholarship winner Amanda Koehler at the 2009 Award Ceremony |
 he end of the 2008-09 academic year is at hand and considering the exceptionally high level of activity all of the department’s members are looking forward to taking time to catch their breath and review the year’s events. There is much to brag about, but the poor shape of the economy has been imposing limitations on the department that cause us some concern for the coming year.
The end of the school year reveals once again the extraordinary accomplishments of our students who have been recognized with equal acclaim for their academic excellence and their extra curricular, and community, activities. Outstanding amongst the news items to be found in this newsletter are the accomplishment of Charlene Bashore and Eric Anderson. These two students were named to USA Today’s top twenty and second twenty academic teams, respectively. The department’s undergraduates are establishing a steady record of winning Goldwater Scholarships, dominating such awards among Arizona’s university level institutions. Joshua Niska and Ben Strauber, both biochemists, won their awards on the basis of their innovative and ambitious research. For the second year, the department won two such awards out of four within the state and about 250 nationwide. Graduate student Sarah Staton won a Fulbright Fellowship to carry out research on biodiversity in Ecuador using technology she developed in Professor Hayes’s research group. We are really proud of these, and the many other, accomplishments of our students.
Our faculty and department research continue to attract significant worldwide attention. Over the last ten years, the Department has been among the top ten departments in the country as ranked by the number of publications in the two highest impact journals, Science and Nature. Austen Angell, previously the recipient of major awards in Chemistry and Materials Science for his pioneering work on the science of liquids and glass, was recognized by the American Physical Society with one of its new “outstanding reviewer” awards. Physical biochemist Mike Thorpe was recently named a Leverhulme Visiting Professor. This is one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious positions in science, and is in recognition of Mike’s extensive research record on the theory and simulation of complex chemical systems, e.g. proteins, virus and biochemical frameworks. He will deliver a series of lectures at Imperial College (London), and Oxford and Cambridge Universities. We are also pleased to announce the addition of Professor Josh LaBaer as director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Medicine. Previously the founding director of Harvard University’s Institute of Proteomics, he comes to ASU to take on the task of innovating new methods of medical diagnostics that focus on the specific chemistry and biological processes of individuals.
The department faculty has also played a leading role in the formation of two new research centers. In partnership with the School of Earth and Space Exploration, environmental geochemist Arial Anbar led a team of scientists to win a $7 million grant to establish a center at ASU as part of the nation’s Astrobiology Institute. It’s purpose is to “follow the elements” to guide exploration of life beyond earth. In the next case, Devens Gust led a team of ten chemists to win a highly coveted grant from the Department of Energy to establish a Center for Bio-inspired Solar Fuel. This Center is the culmination of 20+ years of fundamental research at ASU on artificial photosynthesis. Funded with $14 million, this work now shifts towards designing and optimizing molecules to efficiently transform solar light to other forms of energy.
Lest you think that everything has been all sweetness and light, we must note that the department has struggled throughout the year with sizable budget restrictions imposed by a poor economy. The undergraduate instruction program was well protected, and impact on the faculty and staff has been relatively modest. However, this has come at the expense of activities that openly contribute to the environment of a vital and thriving department. While the full impact will be realized in the future, we look and appeal to our friends for help with sponsoring special academic and extracurricular activities that enrich our students’ professional experiences and the community and research outreach missions of the department.
All in all, this was a very good year for the department and, as ever, we look forward to the future. We are already planning our next homecoming event, which is now taking importance as our premier alumni event of the year. We hope to see you then.
I wish you all best regards and prosperity for the coming year,
Bill
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