LSU Chemistry Announcements

Zakiya Wilson receives 2009 Outstanding Service Award!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST

From the chair:

Please join me in congratulating Zakiya Wilson on receiving a 2009 Outstanding Service Award! See the list below. It is exciting to see her dedicated service to the department and the university recognized in this way.

Sincerely,

Andrew Maverick

Chairman

LSU Chemistry Department

The LSU Foundation Outstanding Staff Service Awards Committee is pleased to announce the 2009 Outstanding Service Award recipients. Congratulations to each of these individuals for their superior service and dedication to LSU.

LSU Law Center

Cynthia Bland, Instruction Department

LSU Ag Center

Amy Blanchard, SPESS

Mary E. Bradford, LSU Ag Center Southeast Research Station

Claudette Oster, LSU Ag Center Central Research Station

LSU A & M

Clara Butler, Building Services

Mickie D. Butler, University Lab

Peggy S. Miller, Academic Affairs

Tamara L. Mizell, Communications & University Relations

Eduardo Perez, Communications & University Relations

Beverly Rodriguez, Physics & Astronomy

David Rodriguez, Theatre

Zakiya S. Wilson, Chemistry/Office of Strategic Initiatives

A reception honoring the 2009 recipients will be held on Tuesday, November 24 at 3 pm at the LSU Faculty Club. LSU faculty and staff are invited to attend.

John Pojman to sit on Commercial Spaceflight Federation Scientific Advisory Panel

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 CDT

Researcher Featured on Suborbital Flight Article

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 CDT

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Faculty & Staff Focus, Research

LSU Researcher Featured in MSNBC.com Article on Suborbital Flight
John Pojman to sit on Commercial Spaceflight Federation Scientific Advisory Panel

08/24/2009 10:52 AM

BATON ROUGE – John Pojman, LSU professor of chemistry, has been selected to participate in the Commercial Spaceflight Federation’s Suborbital Applications Researchers Group, or SARG. This group is composed of experienced scientists, researchers and educators dedicated to furthering the research and education potential of suborbital reusable launch vehicles under development by the commercial spaceflight sector. The group met for the first time on Aug. 18 in Boulder, Colo.

Pojman was recently featured in an MSNBC.com article focusing on SARG and its anticipated results, which can be viewed at http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/08/21/2042881.aspx.

“I am very excited to contribute to increasing scientific research in weightlessness, especially with the private sector,” said Pojman. “This group has the potential to significantly advance our current technology and drive our nation toward commercial spaceflight in the not-so-distant future.”

SARG is chaired by S. Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute. He previously served as head of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.

The members of the SARG aim to increase awareness of commercial suborbital vehicles in the science and research and development communities, to work with policymakers to ensure that payloads can have easy access to these vehicles and to further develop ideas for the uses of these vehicles for science, engineering and education missions.

“The innovative vehicles being developed by a wide range of commercial suborbital companies, including Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic and XCOR Aerospace, represent valuable new capability for scientists, engineers and educators,” said Stern. “Because some of these vehicles are approaching first flights in 2010 and 2011, it is crucial to start engaging with the broader scientific community as soon as possible to put payloads and scientists on these vehicles.”

In addition to Pojman and Stern, SARG includes the following members:

Steven Collicott, Purdue University – Microgravity Physics
Joshua Colwell, University of Central Florida – Microgravity Physics
Daniel Durda, Southwest Research Institute – Planetary Science
David Grinspoon, Denver Museum of Natural Sciences – Education/Public Outreach
Richard Miles, Princeton University – Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Mark Shelhamer, Johns Hopkins University – Space Life Sciences
Mike Summers, George Mason University – Atmospheric Sciences
Erika Wagner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Space Life Sciences

About the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

The mission of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, or CSF, is to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight, pursue ever higher levels of safety and share best practices and expertise throughout the industry. CSF member organizations include commercial spaceflight developers, operators and spaceports. CSF is governed by a board of directors, composed of the member companies’ CEO-level officers and entrepreneurs.

About SARG

SARG is a coordination and advisory committee of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, composed of scientists and researchers dedicated to furthering the scientific potential of suborbital reusable launch vehicles under development by the commercial spaceflight sector. SARG will seek to increase awareness of commercial suborbital vehicles in the science, research and development and education communities, work with policymakers to ensure that payloads can have easy access to these vehicles and aim to generate new ideas for uses of these vehicles for science, engineering and education missions.

Additional Links:
See article on suborbital flight on MSNBC.com: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/08/21/2042881.aspx

Commercial Spaceflight Federation www.commercialspaceflight.org

John Pojman http://chemistry.lsu.edu/site/People/Faculty/John%20A%20Pojman/item1098.html
http://pojman.com/News.html

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Ashley Berthelot
LSU Media Relations
225-578-3870

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Top New Chemistry Research Faculty

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 CDT

LSU Assistant Professors Named Among Top New Research Faculty
National group grants award to materials scientist and bioengineer

07/20/2009 02:28 PM

BATON ROUGE – Oak Ridge Associated Universities, or ORAU, a consortium of doctoral-granting academic institutions, named assistant professors Donghui Zhang and Michael G. Benton as recipients of this year’s Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award.

The annual Powe award recognizes exceptional academic work by junior university faculty across several disciplines, including engineering, mathematics, life sciences and physical sciences. The award confers a $5,000 grant, plus LSU match, in support of professional growth through the early stages of an academic career.

Chemist Donghui Zhang studies the design and synthesis of new materials, including polymers and molecules, with numerous nanotechnology and biomedical applications. She describes her work as multidisciplinary, addressing issues “that lie at the interface of synthetic chemistry, materials science and biomedical science and engineering.” Zhang will use her award to visit the Oakridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to collaborate with laboratory staff and access user facilities for her experiments.

Michael Benton, the Gordon A. and Mary Cain professor of chemical engineering, studies the expression of genes under varying conditions of cellular growth. His research seeks to identify stresses in the cellular microenvironment that can lead to nutrient depletion, DNA damage and potentially to cancer. Benton’s grant will support travel to Bethesda, Md., and research with a collaborator at the National Institutes of Health. “We are trying to develop experimental procedures that will give us insight into how cells sense and respond to mutagenic and carcinogenic chemicals. Increasing our knowledge in this area … will ultimately lower the death rate from many types of cancer.”

LSU Chancellor Michael Martin and Vice Chancellor for Research & Economic

Development Brooks Keel presented Zhang and Benton with plaques commemorating their awards on July 15.

Said Keel, “The recruitment and retention of young, rising star faculty will keep LSU among America’s top research universities. This award marks Drs. Zhang and Benton as firmly in that category.”

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Professor Kevin Smith Receives Alfred Bader Award in Bioorganic Chemistry

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 CDT

Several Chemistry Faculty Receive University Awards

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 CDT

Several Chemistry Faculty members have received prestigious awards in recent weeks. Please take time to congratulate them on their achievements.

Boyd Professor Emeritus William A. Pryor has been inducted into the College of Basic Sciences Announces Hall of Distinction. Dr. Pryor is a leading world expert in toxicology antioxidative stress and was the founding director of both the LSU Biodynamics Institute and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. He served LSU and the Department of Chemistry for more than 40 years before his retirement in 2007.

Professor Steven A. Soper has won LSU's Distinguished Research Master Award this year. This will be presented to him at a ceremony held on May 14th at the LSU Faculty Club. More information on Professor Soper's research and on the Distinguished Research Master Award can be found in the official press release.

Professor Julia Chan has won the Agnes Fay Morgan Research Award, one of the Professional Awards sponsored by Iota Sigma Pi. This puts her in the company of such distinguished former winners as Alanna Schepartz, Carolyn Bertozzi, Robin Garrell, Jacqueline Barton, Marye Anne Fox, and Mary Good. The award is described athttp://www.iotasigmapi.info/ISPprofawards/ISPprofawards.html

3 members of the Chemistry Faculty have won 2008 Faculty awards. These awards will be presented on Tuesday, May 6th at the Lod Cook Alumni Center from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. The honorees from Chemistry are:

Julia Chan is the recipient of the 2008 Distinguished Faculty Award.

Graca Vicente received the Tiger Athletic Foundation Undergraduate Teaching Award (through the Honors College)

Elizabeth Cook received the Tiger Athletic Foundation Undergraduate Teaching Award (through University College)

Chemistry Professor Barry Dellinger Receives Astellas USA Foundation Award

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 CDT