We have recently learned that Jack Whitney, longtime Chemstores Ordering Manager passed away Tuesday (June 24th). AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. He will be greatly missed.
In Remembrance
Author Archives: Luanne Johnson
NSF CAREER Grant Call for Proposals
Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program
Full Proposal Deadline Date: July 21, 2014
BIO, CISE, EHR
Program Guidelines: NSF 14-532
CAREER: The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating …
More at http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214&WT.mc_id=USNSF_39&WT.mc_ev=click
Chemistry Class of 2014
Aaron C Anderson BS (Adv Chem), Chadd Armstrong BS (Adv Chem), James Donald Barnes BS (Mat), Kayla Marie Bell BS (For), Jordan Daniel Bergstrom BS (For), Monica Taylor Best BS (For), Sierra Lynne Breckenridge BS (For), Kristen Marie Brewster BS (Biochem), Derek Francisco Franco BS (Pre-Med), Nicholas Burke Goldring BS (Adv Chem), Jared Michael Harzan (BS (Adv Chem), Jacquellyn Helm BS (Adv Biochem), Brad Hilt BS (Pre-Med), Joshua Aaron Holmes BS (Adv Chem), Michael Paul Hughes BS (Adv Chem), Adam Paul Huntley BS (Adv Chem), Ashley Christine Kastner BS (Env), Nizan Kenane BS (Chem Eng), Kevin Andrew Kovalchik BS (Env), Jordane Elizabeth Lampi BS (Biochem), Min June Lee BS (Adv Chem), Stefan Enrique Lucchini BS (Mat), Tsz Pang Lui BS (Adv Chem), Phillip Gordon Marks BS (Chem Eng), Nick A Martin BS (Adv Biochem), Meghan Rose Megowan BS (For), Ashley Marie Moon BS (Adv Chem), Gary Lee Points BS (Biochem), Jordan M Rains BS (For), Stephanie Marie Sherman BS (Pre-Med), Halley Lynne Todd BS (Bus), Adeniyi Abiodun Adenuga (PhD), Maha Daifullah Alghamdi (MS), Lei Chen (MS), Nathan D Collett (PhD), Thomas Day (MS), Rosa Lea Grajczyk (PhD), Jae Seok Heo (PhD), Amanda L Hoyt (MS), Song Yi Kim (MS), Joseph Lee Lapka (PhD), Xiaochao Liu (MS), Melissa Luana Mc Intosh (MS), Sasidhar Naga Nirudodhi (PhD), Muhammed Quamar Salih (PhD), Whitney LeeAnn Schmidt (PhD), Subrata Shaw (PhD), Weekit Sirisaksoontorn (PhD), Sara D Townsend (MS), Shin-Cheng Tzeng (PhD), Christopher David Walsh (PhD), Chao Wang (PhD), Wei Wang (PhD), Liping Yang (PhD)
Reminder for Reimbursements, Invoice Payments and Checks/Billing
In order to help meet fiscal year-end deadlines, please do the following ASAP:
TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENTS
- If you want reimbursed for travel that occurred on or before June 30th, you must submit your reimbursement within in the next couple weeks so we can get it processed before fiscal year-end deadlines. (To ensure it can be processed in time, please make sure you provide the required itinerary, business purpose, documentation, receipts, index to charge, and approval).
- Remember, travel policy states that “Requests for reimbursement are to be submitted within 60 days after the trip has been completed, but no later than the close of the fiscal year in which the travel occurred.” Don’t miss the chance to get reimbursed by waiting too long to submit your reimbursement!
- If you have a trip that starts in June but ends in July you can submit that for reimbursement upon your return and it will be processed in July as a FY15 expense.
BUSINESS EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS
- Submit business expense reimbursements ASAP for expenses incurred on or before June 30th . (To ensure it can be processed in time, please make sure you provide the required business purpose, receipts, other documentation that may be needed, index to charge, and approval).
- Remember that if you have purchased an item and are requesting reimbursement, the item must be received by June 30th to use FY 14 funds.
INVOICES
- Submit any invoices to be paid ASAP with departmental approval and the index to charge
- If you have contractors/consultants and haven’t already done so, please prompt them to submit invoices ASAP for all services performed/goods received by June 30th.
CHECKS / RECEIVABLES
- If your department has received any checks (even small amounts), get them to us ASAP. We have to have everything deposited first thing in the morning on June 30th.
- If your department is owed money by another unit within OSU or by external parties, let us know ASAP so we can get the billing processed and recorded by fiscal year-end deadlines.
Thanks for your assistance in helping us meet fiscal year-end deadlines. If you have any questions, please contact Jackie Thorsness or your accountant.
Undergraduate of the Quarter – Spring 2014 – Cassandra Lew
Cassandra Lew has been selected as one of our Undergrads of the Quarter for Spring 2014. Cassandra grew up in Rock Springs, WY where she has lived her entire life prior to coming to OSU. She graduated from Rock Springs High School and it was a high school teacher (John Gamble) that peaked her interest in chemistry – commenting that she really enjoyed how applicable his classes were (She took 2 years of chemistry from Mr. Gamble). Cassandra accredits much of her success to the support and encouragement she has received from friends and family. She decided to come to OSU because of its reputation as an excellent science school and the generous scholarships she received. While Cassandra is only a freshman (one of the first freshmen to ever win Undergrad of the Quarter), she has already found her way into a research lab. She has been working with Professor Sandra Loesgen where she loves how hands on the science is and the real world applications of it all. When describing her research experience to date, Cassandra said “Sandra has been awesome!” All her professors at OSU have been helpful. She particularly enjoyed Professor Chris Beaudry’s O Chem course last term. Cassandra is excited for the future chemistry classes she will have the opportunity to take at OSU. After graduation, she would like to pursue a career in forensic chemistry and work in a lab. We are so excited to have talented, enthusiastic students like Cassandra in our program. Congrats to her for this award and we wish her continued success during her time at OSU!
Update: Cassandra was the recipient of the 2nd Keith McKennon Memorial Scholarship. The Chemistry Department is grateful for the support of alumni and friends who established this Scholarship. Cassandra, will do a wonderful job of honoring this long-time friend of the Department through her contributions to the state, nation, and world.
James White Honorary Symposium Hugely Successful
This year’s James D White Lecturer was Professor Dale Boger from the Scripps Research Institute. He is a world-renown synthetic organic and medicinal chemist who has successfully taken multiple compounds into advanced clinical trials. His talk was on the important anticancer compound vinblastine. Professor Boger’s lab has developed an amazing (and short) synthetic approach to make this compound. Equally impressive, they have discovered an analogue that is active in vinblastine resistant cell lines. The afternoon before the seminar, we had a wonderful gathering at Jim’s house where all the students got to interact with Dale in a casual setting over some great food. Dale is a wonderful, engaging individual and was a great choice for this event!
REMINDER: Graduate, Postdoctoral & Senior Research Awards
More detailed information and an online application can be found at www.nationalacademies.org/rap.
The National Research Council of the National Academies sponsors a number of awards for graduate, postdoctoral and senior researchers at participating federal laboratories and affiliated institutions. These awards include generous stipends ranging from $45,000 – $80,000 per year for recent Ph.D. recipients, and higher for additional experience. Graduateentry level stipends begin at $30,000. These awards provide the opportunity for recipients to do independent research in some of the best-equipped and staffed laboratories in the U.S. Research opportunities are open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and for some of the laboratories, foreign nationals.
Detailed program information, including online applications, instructions on how to apply, and a list of participating laboratories, are available on the NRC Research Associateship Programs Web site (see link above).
Questions should be directed to the NRC at 202-334-2760 (phone) or rap@nas.edu.
There are four annual review cycles.
Review Cycle: August; Opens June 1; Closes August 1
Review Cycle: November; Opens September 1; Closes November 1
Review Cycle: February; Opens December 1; Closes February 1
Review Cycle: May; Opens March 1; Closes May 1
Applicants should contact prospective Adviser(s) at the lab(s) prior to the application deadline to discuss their research interests and funding opportunities.
Undergraduate of the Quarter – Spring 2014 – Chris Heron
Chris Heron has been selected as one of our Undergrads of the Quarter for Spring 2014. Chris was born in Corvallis, OR. Prior to coming to OSU, Chris was in the United States Army – serving 3 separate tours in Iraq and was stationed in both Georgia and Colorado – finishing at the rank of Staff Sergeant. After 7 years in the military, Chris decided to return back to school and enrolled at Columbia Gorge Community College in Hood River for one year. He then came to Oregon State University as a biology major. His time as a life sciences major was short lived – once he took Professor Margie Haak’s CH 220 course he was hooked on chemistry. He commented that Margie was an excellent presenter and she stimulated him to think about everything. Chris also had a wonderful lab course experience in CH 361/362 which he describes as “just fabulous.” He particularly commented that Professor Emile Firpo was “fun and had great energy” and that “you learned a ton” from him. The labs were key for Chris as it helped the lecture classes really make sense – they made him feel like “now I really get it!” The P Chem series was really hard, but both Professors Glenn Evans and Wei Kong were great. He loved Professor Kevin Gable’s dry sense of humor in O Chem. He has been doing research in Professor David Ji’s lab recently. Chris describes the research environment as “very inviting and simulating… Professor Ji has been very open with his lab.” His time at OSU has been supported through the US GI Bill from his military service. Outside of class, Chris enjoys racing bicycles with the OSU team on campus. This year, he has starting flying with the OSU Flying Club. He hopes to earn his pilot license prior to graduation and become a crop duster. The FAA now wants crop dusters to have a chemistry background and that job will allow him to get enough hours to achieve his long term goal of being a pilot for a major airline.
Chris comments that OSU has a fabulous chemistry (and science) program and all the faculty are great. We are honored to have amazing students like Chris as part of our program and we are grateful for his service to our country. We congratulate Chris on all his achievements to date and we hope he continues to have a wonderful experience at OSU!
Spring Term Departmental Safety Memorandum
Dr. Paul Blakemore and the Chemistry Department Safety Committee have released the Spring Term Safety Memorandum and announced his succession to Michael Burand as the new Committee Chair.
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Spring Term 2014: Safety Memorandum
• Safety Training Records: A Reminder (copies to Talley Richardson by June 13, 2014)
It is imperative that all lab workers receive adequate training to enable them to conduct their
research work safely. That such training has occurred must be documented. Unfortunately,
although a majority of our faculty do an excellent job of safety training, it is rarely adequately
documented. Training records are a required component of a lab specific chemical hygiene
plan (CHP) and can be captured in various ways (e.g., see link to form below). Dept. of
Chemistry PI’s/lab managers are asked to generate safety training records for ALL of their lab
coworkers (inc. graduate/ undergraduate students & post-doctorals) and to provide copies to
Talley Richardson in Gilbert 153 by June 13 (2014).
http://chemistry.oregonstate.edu/blakemore/Downloads/BRG_safetytrainingrecord.pdf
• Spill Kit Materials Now Stocked in Chem Stores
All laboratories must be equipped with appropriately stocked spill kits to deal with accidental
releases of potentially hazardous material. To make the construction and maintenance of spill
kits easier, Chemistry Stores now stocks all necessary items. The following safety instruction
details how to construct a spill kit.
http://oregonstate.edu/ehs/sites/default/files/pdf/si/spill_response-chemicals_si.019.pdf
• Safety Shower and Eye Wash Station Testing
Safety showers in a majority of OSU laboratories are now regularly tested by EH&S; however,
the testing of eye wash stations remains the responsibility of PI’s/laboratory managers. Eye
wash stations are easy to test without special gear and these units should be flushed on a
regular basis (every ca. 1-2 weeks) to avoid water stagnation. An inspection tag should be
attached to the station to document when tests are completed and by whom.
http://oregonstate.edu/ehs/sites/default/files/pdf/si/shower_and_eyewash_units_si076.pdf
• Michael Burand is the New Chair of the Departmental Safety Committee
Michael Burand is the new chair of the Departmental Safety Committee. The committee
meets on a regular basis to oversee the implementation of safety policy within the
Department of Chemistry. Do not hesitate to contact a relevant member of the committee to
obtain safety advice and/or to alert the committee to any safety related issues that may
arise. Normal business meetings take place once per term, please email Dr. Burand if you
would like an issue added to the agenda for discussion at the next meeting. The composition
of the safety committee and contact information for each of its members can be found on
SafetyWeb:
http://chemsafety.chem.oregonstate.edu
Letter Writing: A Pathway to Better Laboratory Comprehension
Instructor Michael Burand will give a presentation titled, “Letter Writing: A Pathway to Better Laboratory Comprehension” at the 2014 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, August 3-7 at Grand Valley State University.
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General chemistry students in honors and majors-only laboratory courses are required to write a letter in lieu of a traditional laboratory report for one of their laboratory projects. The students use the letter to explain their results to a recipient whom they are told does not necessarily have background in science. This requirement to explain their laboratory results in nonscientific terms causes the students to think more thoroughly about the underlying concepts involved. Indeed, survey results indicate that 94% of the laboratory students polled felt they had gained a deeper understanding when they wrote the letter as opposed to a traditional laboratory report. The details of the assignment will be discussed along with students’ survey responses.
The laboratory activity chosen for this letter-writing project involved testing for lead contamination in urban soils via atomic absorption spectroscopy. This provided a viable means of incorporating a service-learning aspect into the project. Students indicated that they put forth a more substantial effort in writing the letter knowing it would be sent to an actual recipient, not only the student’s TA and/or laboratory instructor. Thus, this project combines the nontraditional laboratory pedagogical approach of letter writing with a service-learning component. How this leads to students attaining a deeper understanding and facilitates better student engagement and ownership will be discussed.