Announcement Archives

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Dr. Philip Kumler Chemistry Award
c/o Fredonia College Foundation
272 Central Avenue
SUNY Fredonia
Fredonia, NY 14063-9986

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• Andrea Carlson
  
• Michael Cifuentes
  
• Julia Glovack
  
• Amanda Hochman-Miga
• Ryan Landis
  
• Richard Lee
  
• Kathleen Lindstrom
  
• Corey Ptak
  
• Dale Wilger
  

        We Wish You All The Best!!!

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• Best Teaching Assistant: Corey Ptak
  
• Thumm Analytical Award: Andrea Carlson
  
• Best Researcher: Michael Cifuentes
  
• Maytum Award: Henry Milliman
  
• Outstanding Senior: Dale Wilger
  

        Thank you all for a job well-done!!!

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      Once a year the plethora of undergradaute student research being conducted on the SUNY-Fredonia campus is shown off in the SCREE exhibit.

From our Department we have:

• Christine Ander, advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
  
• Roberta Kaczor, advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
  
• Bryan Kroon, advisor: Dr. Michael Milligan
  
• Kathleen Lindstrom, advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
  
• Nathan Slate, advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
  
• Dale Wilger, advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
  

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We are saddened to note the death of one of our departments early graduates, Gerald A.Machajewski. Gerry received his BS in Chemistry (after his AAS from Erie Community College) in 1979 and was one of Phil Kumler's early research students. Gerry worked as a manufacturing chemist for Delphi Thermal Systems in Lockport prior to his retirement in 2001. He was a member of the Cambria Volunteer Fire Department and suffered a fatal heart attack on May 21, 2006 while helping victims of a three-vehicle crash. He was also a member of the Buffalo Choral Arts Society and the Chopin Singing Society. A link to his obituary follows:
Machajewski Obituary

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Taken from the Berkley Website http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/Publications/news/spring2006/marletta.html

Michael Marletta, Chemistry Chair and Aldo DeBenedictis Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Marletta joins four others from the UC Berkeley campus and eight from other UC campuses who were also elected on April 25, 2006.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare. It was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation signed by Abraham Lincoln that calls on the Academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology.

The Academy announced the election of 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from 16 countries in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. The election brings the total number of active members to 2,013, and the total number of foreign associates to 371. Foreign associates are nonvoting members of the Academy, with citizenship outside the United States.

"Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in American science and engineering," said Ralph Cicerone, former chancellor of UC Irvine, who became president of the Academy in 2005. Barbara Schaal, an NAS member since 1999 who was elected last year as the Academy's first woman vice president, noted, "This year's new class represents outstanding accomplishment in a wide variety of disciplines."

The other new members of the Academy from UC Berkeley are Jillian F. Banfield, earth and planetary sciences and environmental science, policy, and management; Robert P. Lin, physics, director of the Space Sciences Laboratory; David Patterson, electrical engineering and computer science; and Dan-Virgil Voiculesc, mathematics.

Marletta's academic career has taken him from coast to coast. Born in 1951 in Rochester, New York, Marletta earned his A.B. in biology and chemistry at the State University of New York at Fredonia, in 1973. He completed his Ph.D. at UCSF in 1977 under research advisor George L. Kenyon, followed by postdoctoral training at MIT from 1978 to 1980 under mentor Chris Walsh.

After his postdoc, Marletta remained at MIT and taught as both an assistant and associate professor in toxicology from 1980 to 1987. He then jumped halfway across the country to the University of Michigan, where he taught in both the College of Pharmacy and the Medical School. While in Michigan, in 1995, he was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and in 1997, he became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Marletta completed his westward journey in 2000, when he came to the Department of Chemistry as a Miller Visiting Research Professor. He was hired as a professor in 2001, and since 2002, he has been the Aldo DeBenedictis Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. In July, 2005, Marletta became the Chair of the Department of Chemistry.

Marletta holds joint appointments at Cal's Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, and at UCSF's Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology. He is also a Faculty Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Among the active college faculty, Marletta becomes the 25th member of the National Academy of Sciences. He remains the only faculty member who has also been elected to the Academy's Institute of Medicine.

"To say that I am very pleased and honored seems like such an understatement," remarks Marletta. "I am also grateful beyond words to the students I have worked with and learned from over the years. Their excitement, dedication and ideas are responsible for the recognition given by the NAS election."

This new honor may necessitate a few more trips each year to Washington, DC, for Marletta and his family. He intends to spend as much time as possible exploring the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum with his wife Margaret and son Matthew, and admiring the view from the Lincoln Memorial.

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On May 3, 2006, Phil Kumler was one of 44 SUNY faculty members receiving a Research & Scholarship Award from the SUNY Research Foundation.

A link to a news release describing the event is given below:
http://observertoday.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=496

Congratulations, PHIL!!!!

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We are excited to announce that Matt Gronquist, an alumnus of our department, will be “coming home”. As a result of the impending retirement of Phil Kumler, who will officially resign at the end of this academic year, an extensive search process has now been completed and Matt has been hired effective with the Fall 2006 semester. Matt received his BS from Fredonia in 1995 with a double major in chemistry and biology. He completed his Ph.D. with Jerrold Meinwald at Cornell in 2002, where his thesis was entitled “Synthetic and Analytical Studies of the Biological Chemistry of Insects and Plants”. Matt joined the faculty of the Chemistry Department at SUNY Cortland in 2002. His research interests focus primarily on chemical-based biological interactions. A few of Matt’s most recent publications are cited below. His research should be of wide interest to students majoring in chemistry, biochemistry, and biology.

Phil Kumler will officially retire in August 2006 but will maintain office and research space for at least one more year. He will continue to work with research students and will be involved in alumni development activities as well.

“Shunning the Night to Elude the Hunter: Diurnal Fireflies and the Femmes Fatales” ; Gronquist, M.R., Schroeder, F.C., Ghiradella, H., Hill, D., McCoy, E.M., Meinwald, J., Eisner, T. Accepted for publication in Chemoecology.

“Exploring Uncharted Terrain in Nature’s Structure Space Using Capillary NMR Spectroscopy: 13 Steroids from 50 Fireflies”; Gronquist, M.R., Meinwald, J., Eisner, T.Schroeder, F.C., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 10810.

“Direct Binding of the Quorum Sensing Regulator CepR of Burkholderia cenocepacia to Two Target Promoters in vitro.” Weingart, C.L., White, C.E., Liu, S., Chai, Y., Cho, H., Tsai, C., Wei, Y., Delay, N.R., Gronquist, M.R., Eberhard, A., Winans, S.C. Mol. Microbiol. 2005, 57(2), 452.

“Nutritional Requirements of Allisonella histaminiformans, a Ruminal Bacterium that Decarboxylates Histidine and Produces Histamine.” Garner, M.R., Gronquist , M.R., Russel, J.B. Curr. Microbiol. 2004, 49(4), 295.

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Our spring seminar series was initiated by Dr. Mark Bailey (BS 1977) on January 18, 2006. Mark presented a seminar entitled “Modern Design of Experiments”. From Fredonia Mark completed his PhD with George McLendon at the University of Rochester and then spent two years at Eastman Kodak. From Rochester he went to Abbott Labs in Chicago where he helped launch two separate business ventures. In 1998 Mark joined SAS Institute [http://www.sas.com] as a trainer and consultant in a variety of statistical subjects. When Phil Kumler introduced Mark he quoted from an e-mail that Mark sent him in 1998: “I must say that I never forget what a strong and positive experience I had in the Chemistry Department at Fredonia. I learned a lot more than chemistry. After all these years I still talk about it. I hope that current students appreciate how special the department is.”

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One of the newest faculty members in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is James Kempf. Jim is a 1993 chemistry graduate who trained in chemical physics with Prof. Dan Weitekamp at Caltech, followed by a year with John Marohn at Cornell using force-directed NMR. Just prior to joining RPI Jim was a postdoc at Yale with Pat Loria doing NMR on large proteins. Jim intends to continue his NMR studies of biomolecular dynamics at RPI. Check out Jim’s website at
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/chem/chem_faculty/profiles/kempf.html

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Early this academic year Randy Sparer visited the department and presented a seminar entitled “Bioerodible Polymers for Controlled Release”. Dr. Sparer received his BS in chemistry from Fredonia in 1977 and his PhD in Macromolecular Science from Case Western Reserve University. Randy is Research Director at Medtronic Inc. in Minneapolis MN; the company is the world’s largest producer of biomedical devices. Randy has 28 years of experience in biomedical polymers, and has many publications and patents.

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Dr. Jonathan Martz, a 1976 graduate of our department visited campus in late October and presented a seminar entitled “PPG Polyurethane Coating Systems”. Jon received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Penn State in 1982. From Penn State Jon joined PPG Industries and has been there ever since. He is presently a senior research associate in polymer synthesis for coatings and resins at PPG. During his visit Jon shared stories about Fredonia faculty (Paul Weller, George Evans, Jerry Supple) as well as some great stories about his “lab mates” Ernie Linek, Lesley Palmer (Czochor), and Jim Muccigrosso.

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Dr. David Palmer a 1968 graduate of our department (and one of the very few BA graduates) visited campus in November and presented a seminar entitled “The Challenges of Azaline B, A Novel GnRH Antagonist: Peptide Process Chemistry from A to Z”. Dave is a Dunkirk native and earned his PhD from the University of Vermont in 1978. He is currently a research fellow in the drug evaluation chemical development department at the Johnson & Johnson Co. in Raritan, NJ. When asked about his undergraduate experience he had fond memories of both his chemistry and biology professors: Jerry Supple, Paul Weller, Allen Benton, Willard Stanley, Sal Cudia (recently deceased), Barb Polacek, and Ken Wood. He also shared stories and reminiscences of several of his classmates, including Jim Kaminski, Tim Roy, J. Elton Dewhurst, Lendon Pridgin, Russ DiPalma, and George McLarty.

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Jackie Hanaka James (BS 1985) visited the department in May 2005. After leaving Fredonia she worked with Shimadzu in Columbia, MD as a product specialist for instrumentation. A native of Tonawanda, Jackie moved back to this area in the early 90’s and started her own business selling scientific instruments for companies such as Agilent, Horiba, and Microfluidics. Jackie has recently undertaken a master’s program in environmental science at University of Buffalo working with Dr. Joseph Gardella. During her visit it was discovered that she and Sherri Mason of our department have similar interests which has led to a collaboration of the Gardella and Mason research groups. Jackie lives with her two sons Evan (8) and Rhys (5) in the Buffalo area.

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Byron Ashley Thumm was born on January 2, 1923 in Malden, West Virginia, the fourth of six children of a minister. Between his birth and graduation from high school, the family lived in ten different homes in West Virginia.

Before graduation from Morris Harvey College in 1945, he served in the U.S. Army for three years as an air force radio operator and mechanic, an infantry rifleman, and a chemical warfare service laboratory technician. At Morris Harvey College he majored in chemistry with a minor in mathematics. He graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the Chi Beta Phi science medal.

He received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, with a minor in Physics, from Duke University in 1951. His research mentor was Professor Douglas Hill and his Ph.D. thesis dealt with the catalyzed mutarotation of glucose in water-methanol mixtures; his thesis work was published [J. Amer. Chem.Soc. 74, 1380 (1952)]. While at Duke he was elected to membership in Phi Lambda Upsilon, an honorary chemical fraternity, and also to Sigma Xi, an honorary research society.

Immediately upon receipt of his Ph.D. he accepted a position with American Viscose Corporation (a division of FMC Corporation) in Marcus Hook, PA as a research chemist. He remained at American Viscose Corporation for 12 years until 1963. Some of the projects he worked on included: (a) testing and development of additives for viscose, (b) development of spinning conditions for super rayon tire yarn, (c) effect of bath additives on rayon spinning, and (d) the reaction of xanthates with formaldehyde. His productive career at American Viscose was highlighted by the earning of 20 patents and one additional publication [J. Org.Chem. 29, 2999 (1964)].

Byron joined the chemistry department at SUNY-Fredonia in 1963 as Associate Professor of Chemistry and taught a variety of courses in the area of analytical chemistry and physical chemistry during his 24 active years in the department. He retired from the faculty in June 1987.

In 1956 Byron married Marianna Blackburn of Chester, PA. Marianna died unexpectedly on May 28, 2005 after a brief illness. Byron died on June 25, 2005.

The chemistry department’s analytical chemistry award, which has been awarded annually since 1969, was renamed as the Thumm Analytical Chemistry Award in 1990. This award is given to the full-time chemistry major who attains the highest grades in Analytical Chemistry and shows evidence of interest and potential success in analytical chemistry.

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The search is over and our department is especially excited to welcome our new dean. David W. Ewing will assume his position on July 1, 2005. David received his BA in Biology from Hiram College and his PhD in Physical Chemistry from Ohio University. He began his academic life at John Carroll University in Cleveland in 1985 and has remained at JCU his entire career. He became full professor in 2001 and served as chemistry department chair from 1994-99. He was intimately involved with planning and construction of the Dolan Center for Science & Technology, the largest capital project ever undertaken by JCU. He is currently serving as the first director of the John Carroll Collaborative with Industry. We are pleased and excited as David joins us at Fredonia.

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In response to our recent request to alumni to help us create material we can use in our recruiting efforts, alumnus Gene Sarek recently spent the day on campus meeting with faculty and students. Gene has recently retired after a long and productive industrial career and now has more time to pursue his passions for tennis and organic gardening.

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Jason has recently accepted a faculty appointment to the new Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan. He will move to Ann Arbor this summer after completing his postdoctoral assignment in the medical school at Stanford. Take a look at what Michigan has to say about Jason’s appointment:
http://www.lifesciences.umich.edu/institute/news041805.html

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Mike continues to expand his directions and has recently been appointed the chair of the Chemistry Department at UC Berkeley. Take a look at what Berkeley has to say about Mike’s appointment:
http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/editor/Publications/news/spring2005/marletta_chair.htm

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On March 17, 2005 one of our alumni, Keith Mesch (BS 1974), spent the day on campus and presented a seminar entitled "Milligrams to Megagrams: What are Objectives for Large Scale Reactions?”. After receiving his BS in Chemistry from Fredonia he worked in organic synthesis for the FMC Corporation for two years before enrolling in the Ph.D. program in Chemistry at Duke University. He received his Ph.D. from Duke in 1980; his thesis work focused on the use of ³¹P NMR.

His industrial career began in 1980 with Carstab Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio. Though the company has changed names several times (it is now Rohm & Haas Chemicals) Keith has stayed in the same building/facility. In 2000 Keith was promoted to Plant Chemist and Quality Systems Manager in Manufacturing and led several significant quality improvement projects throughout the plant. Keith was recently promoted to the new role of Environment, Health and Safety Manager.

Dr. Mesch has been invited to speak throughout the world on many topics related to formulating and processing vinyl plastics. In addition to holding twelve US patents and authoring several papers on vinyl heat stabilizers, he wrote the Heat Stabilizer section for the Kork-Othmer Encylcopedia of Chemical Technology.

Keith was also responsible for arranging the recent donation by Rohm & Haas of an X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometer to our department (see earlier story).

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"The Rochester Section of the American Chemical Society honors Michael A. Marletta (B.S. '73), Aldo DeBenedictis Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Uinversity of California, Berkeley as the 62nd Harrison Howe Awardee. The award recognizes his work in chemistry, his impressive work in the fields of bioorganic chemistry and enzymology, and especially for his work on nitric oxide biochemistry."

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Thanks to chemistry department alumnus Dr. Keith Mesch (BS 1974; PhD from Duke), we now have an X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer. Keith was instrumental in arranging the donation of this instrument by his employer Rohm & Haas in Cincinnati, Ohio; Keith is the EHS & Quality System Manager. The spectrometer is an Asoma 200 manufactured by Spectro. It is a basic desktop unit that will analyze a single sample for almost any element between Al and U in the periodic table. Before the instrument was transferred to Fredonia, Rohm & Haas sent it to the manufacturer for a tune-up. The instrument will be used in the teaching and research programs of the Chemistry Department and the Geosciences Department.

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Captain Jason J. Nowak recently returned to Germany from Iraq where he changed command of the 26th Quartermaster Supply Company based in Hanau, Germany.  During his 12 month tour of Iraq Jason successfully commanded over 115 soldiers while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and earning the Bronze Star medal.  Jason is excited to be back home in Germany with his wife the former, Michelle E. Vitanov, a 1991 Alumna.

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The 12/20/04 issue of Chemical & Engineering News features an article entitled "Chemistry Highlights 2004".  Recent work by 1997 alumnus Jason Gestwicki was one of those highlights.  Jason is a 1997 alumnus with a double major in Chemistry and Recombinant Gene Technology (RGT).

Following are excerpts from that article:

"Important advances in chemistry are made each week by researchers in academia, government, and industry. At the end of each year, C&EN editors take a look back at the developments that we've reported on during the year and review some of the most significant achievements among them. We especially seek to identify long-sought or surprising breakthroughs, first-of-a-kind achievement, and findings of potentially wide-ranging influence. We've found about 45 developments reported in 2004 that we believe meet those criteria."

"The ability of a bifunctional molecule to inhibit a disease-related protein-protein interaction was demonstrated by Jason E. Gestwicki, Gerald R. Crabtree, and Isabella A. Graef at Stanford University Medical School [Science, 306, 865 (2004)]. They showed that a small molecule with one part that binds tightly to a helper protein and another part that interacts with beta-amyloid peptide prevents aggregation of the peptide into fibrils - a process associated with Altzheimer's disease. Small molecules don't normally have sufficient bulk to block such an interaction, so the team borrowed the surface area of another protein to help the small molecule do the job."

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For the second time, work by 1997 Chemistry alumnus Jason Gestwicki has been featured in Chemical & Engineering News. This time the story describing Jason's work (and a great picture of Jason) was the lead article in the November 1 issue.

This lead story talks about Jason's work as a postdoc with Gerald Crabtree at Stanford University Medical School using small molecules to prevent protein-protein interaction. They have shown that they can prevent formation of amyloid peptide fibrils and this work has very significant implications in the treatment/prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

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Dale Wilger's presentation to the NERM-ACS went very well. He had an attentive audience of about 25 people, kept his talk within the time limit, and handled both questions from the audience very well. He was a great ambassador for both Fredonia and Case. A special thanks to the faculty who came to Dale's preview talk...it was good for him to get that constructive criticism.

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• Lisa Carlson
  
• Gayle Gawlik
  
• Joel Moore
  
• Rob Spitale
  
• Tom Warner, Master of Science in Education Candidate
• Jackie Winter
  
• Louise Wolfe
  

        We Wish You All The Best!!!

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• Best Teaching Assistant: Louise Wolfe
  
• Thumm Analytical Award: Julia Glovack
  
• Best Researcher: Jackie Winter
  
• Outstanding Senior: Lisa Carlson
  

        Thank you all for a job well-done!!!

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      Once a year the plethora of undergradaute student research being conducted on the SUNY-Fredonia campus is shown off in the SCREE exhibit. This year 12 of the poster presentations highlighted some of the exciting research being done right here in the chemistry department!

From the Chemistry Department we have:

• Meghan Dove, advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
  
• Nicolette Ender, advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
  
• Gayle Gawlick, advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
  
• Julia Glovack, advisors: Drs. Michael Milligan and Roger Byrne
  
• Scott Leddon, advisor: Dr. Matthew Foutain
  
• Joel Moore, advisor: Dr. Matthew Fountain
  
• Robert Spitale, advisor: Dr. Mark Janik
  
• Brian Wilson and Bryan Kroon, advisor: Dr. Michael Milligan
  
• Jaclyn Winter, advisor: Dr. Matthew Fountain
  
• Louise Wolfe, advisor: Dr. Holly Lawson
  
• Louise Wolfe, advisor: Dr. Sherri Mason
  

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• Meghan Dove, Advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
        Automated Synthesis of a Peptide
• Gayle Gawlik, Advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
        Steroid Scavenging for the Mitsunobu Reaction
• Timothy Grant, Advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
        Resveratrol Concentration in Grapes
• Scott Leddon, Advisor: Dr. Matthew Fountain
        The Determination of Importance of the Spacer Region of CIRCE to HrcA/CIRCE Binding Affinities
• Joel Moore, Advisor: Dr. Matthew Fountain
        Synthesis of Modified Nucleotides to Study Interactions in Nucleic Acids
• Dale Wilger, Advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
        Comparison of Ring and Ball Softening Temperatures
• Louise Wolfe, Advisor: Dr. Sherri Mason
        Comparison and Validation of a Biomass Burning Smoke Plume Model

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• Lisa Carlson, Advisor: Dr. Sherri Mason
         Comparison of Biomass Burning Smoke Plumes

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• Jaclyn Winter and Scott Leddon, Advisor: Dr. Matthew Fountain

         In vivo and In vitro Studies of Class I Heat Shock Protein
  Regulation in Bacillus Subtilis

• Robert Spitale, Advisor: Dr. Mark Janik

         A Novel and High Yield Synthesis of the Antimitotic Compound
  2-methoxy-5-(2',3',4'-trimethoxyphenyl)tropone(AC)

• Dayle Acquilano and Joel Moore, Advisor: Dr. Matthew Fountain

         Synthesis of Metal Binding C-Nucleosides
  for Study of Novel Nucleic Acids

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• Jaclyn Winter and Scott Leddon, Advisor: Dr. Matthew Fountain

         In vivo and In vitro Studies of Class I Heat Shock Protein
  Regulation in Bacillus Subtilis

• Robert Spitale, Advisor: Dr. Mark Janik

         A Novel and High Yield Synthesis of the Antimitotic Compound
  2-methoxy-5-(2',3',4'-trimethoxyphenyl)tropone(AC)

• Dayle Acquilano and Joel Moore, Advisor: Dr. Matthew Fountain

         Synthesis of Metal Binding C-Nucleosides
  for Study of Novel Nucleic Acids

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• Sarah Bolton
  
• Paul DeBurgomaster
  
• Sarah Foster
  
• Nathan Genung
  
• Amanda Petrus

        We Wish You All The Best!!!

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      Once a year the plethora of undergradaute student research being conducted on the SUNY-Fredonia campus is shown off in the SCREE exhibit. According to Roger Byrne, Dean of the Natural Social Sciences and Professional Studies, the 2003 SCREE exhibit was the most diverse in the program's history with over 100 students participating.

From the Chemistry Department we have:

• Dayle Acquilano, advisor: Dr. Matthew Fountain
  
• Chris Andolina, advisor: Dr. Michael Milligan
  
• Sarah Bolton, advisor: Dr. Sherri Mason
  
• Paul DeBurgomaster, advisor: Dr. Michael Milligan
  
• Sarah Foster, advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
  
• Gayle Gawlik, advisor: Dr. Philip Kumler
  
• Heidi Kuziak, advisor: Dr. Michael Milligan
  
• Joel Moore, advisor: Dr. Matthew Fountain
  
• Alex Shrader, advisor: Dr. Michael Milligan
  
• Jaclyn Winter, advisors: Drs. Matthew Fountain and Mark Janik
  
• Louise Wolfe, advisor: Dr. Sherri Mason
  

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       As part of the events of Homecoming Weekend at SUNY-Fredonia, the Chemistry Department will host an open-house on Saturday morning October 11, 2003 from 10:00 am until noon. Refreshments will be served, and all research and teaching laboratories will be open. There will be equipment demonstrations, and the Chemistry Club will provide tours and perform a series of chemical demonstrations. The event is open to the public and we extend a special invitation to area high school science students. The open house will take place on the second floor of Houghton Hall on the SUNY-Fredonia campus. If interested teachers and/or their students would like to attend, please “register” in advance by calling either Shirley Woch (673-3281) or Connie Duff (679-1581) by Friday October 3. Campus maps will be provided upon request.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR VISIT!!

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Donald E. Higgs, who received his BS from our department in 1993, becomes the first alumnus of our department to receive both a Ph.D. (in Chemistry) and an M.D. Both degrees are from SUNY at Buffalo. Don completed his Ph.D. in 2001 and completed his M.D. in 2002. He is currently doing a residency in pathology at Buffalo. Don and his wife Marcy reside in Angola, NY.

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Dr. Jeffery W. Kelly (BS in Chemistry 1982) was featured in an article entitled "A Few Weeks in The Life of Scripps" which appeared in the Nov. 25, 2002 issue of Chemical & Engineering News. Jeff is the Lita Annenberg Hazen Professor of Chemistry and this article talks about his work on Gaucher’s disease, the most common genetic disorder of people of Eastern European Jewish background.

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Suellen Sack (BS in Chemistry 1993) was featured in an article entitled "Grad's Dog Sled Adventure Will Benefit Outward Bound School" which appeared in the December 2002 issue of the Fredonia Statement. Since graduating magna cum laude from Fredonia, Suellen has taught in Nepal as a Peace Corps volunteer, completed her MS in Chemistry at Cornell, and is currently working for Voyageur Outward Bound.

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Michael Marletta (1973) has been named as the first Aldo DeBenedictis Distinguished Professor at UC Berkeley. DeBenedicitis was a 1937 chemistry graduate from Berkeley who had a distinguished career at Shell Chemical Company and was also a founding investor in Applied Materials, the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer. DeBenedictis died in 2001 and left an extraordinary $3 million bequest to Berkeley which has endowed this professorship, a second professorship, and two fellowships.

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Nanotechnology is a term just beginning to receive public attention, but the top researchers and communicators in the scientific discipline already have awards to strive for, and the latest group of winners was named in October 2002.

Donald W. Brenner has been selected to receive one of the two Feynman Prizes in Nanotechnology for 2002. The Foresight Institute Feynman Prizes, announced at the 10th Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology, are given in honor of Richard Feynman, the physicist who sparked interest in manipulating atoms and molecules at the nanometer scale in 1959, during a presentation entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom".

Don is a 1982 graduate of our department (with a physics minor) and did undergraduate research with Professor Philip Kumler before heading to Penn State to complete his PhD with Barbara Garrison in 1987. From 1987 to 1994 he was a research scientist in the theoretical chemistry section of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. He joined the faculty of the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at North Carolina State University in 1994 where he is currently an Associate Professor.

Don won the Feynman Theoretical Nanotechnology Prize (there is also an Experimental Nanotechnology Prize) for modeling machines made of only a few molecules. Brenner said his interest in the field came from reading descriptions of nanoscale interactions and realizing physical models of the activity were possible. "Researchers like me didn't get into it to make a big change or generate a lot of funding," Brenner said in accepting the award. "I really enjoy the research- it's kind of like a hobby, like stamp collecting." Professor Kumler has noted Don's prolific research and publication record. He has over 100 refereed publications, 13 invited book chapters or major review articles, and his publications have been cited more than 1800 times.

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The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation was established and endowed by Mrs. Charles S. Payson (the former Joan Whitney) in 1943 and named in honor of her mother, Helen Hay Whitney. Originally established to stimulate and support research in the area of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, the Foundation later expanded its interests to include diseases of connective tissue and, ultimately, all basic biomedical sciences. To attain its ultimate goal of increasing the number of imaginative, well-trained, and dedicated medical scientists, the Foundation grants financial support of a three year duration to young men and women planning careers in biomedical research. Under this program, 21 three-year research fellowships are awarded annually, resulting in a total of 63 fellowships active every year. Since its inception the Foundation has awarded 850 research fellowships. Whitney fellows have gone on to become some of the most highly regarded medical and scientific professionals in their respective fields, and have served as mentors to succeeding generations of scientists.

Jason Gestwicki has been selected to receive one of the Whitney fellowships for 2003. Jason graduated from our department in 1997 with a double major in both chemistry and recombinant gene technology. Jason finished his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin in May of 2002 and is currently in his first year of a postdoctoral appointment in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University. There he is working in the laboratory of Professor Gerald Crabtree and is investigating chemical approaches to regulate transcription in specific genes. As an undergraduate at Fredonia Jason did undergraduate research for four semesters with Konrad Kabza, presented several papers, and co-authored two publications. At Wisconsin Jason was co-author of six research papers and two review articles. Professor Kumler notes that competition for the Helen Hay Whitney fellowships is intense. Less than 7% of those who apply receive awards after the extensive application process and a personal interview with the full Scientific Advisory Committee of the Foundation.