The OSU Women’s Giving Circle is currently accepting proposals for grants to be awarded in May 2015. The applications are due by Friday, Jan. 16. For more information please visit http://osufoundation.org/howtogive/annualgiving/womens/apply_grant.htm. Questions contact Kellie Parker at 541-737-4691 or Kellie.Parker@oregonstate.edu.
Author Archives: Luanne Johnson
Request for Nominations – Graduate School Fellowships/Scholarships
P.F. and Nellie Buck Yerex Graduate Fellowship
Deadline for Nominations February 2, 2015
Information and Nomination Instructions: http://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/finance/awards/yerex-graduate-fellowship
Lenore Bayley Graduate Fellowship
Deadline for Nominations February 2, 2015
Information and Nomination Instructions: http://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/finance/awards/lenore-bayley-fellowship
Thurgood Marshall Graduate Scholarship
Deadline for Nominations February 16, 2015
Information and Nomination Instructions: http://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/finance/awards/thurgood-marshall-scholarship
Graduate Diversity Recruitment Bonus
Deadline for Nominations February 16, 2015
Information and Nomination Instructions: http://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/finance/awards/graduate-diversity-recruitment-bonus
Diversity Advancement Pipeline Fellowship
Deadline for Nominations February 16, 2015
Information and Nomination Instructions: http://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/finance/awards/diversity-advancement-pipeline-fellowship
To see a matrix of all scholarships/fellowships administered by the Graduate School, click here: 2015-16 Scholarships and Fellowships
Leah Chibwe awarded 2015 Graduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry
Congratulations to Chemistry Graduate Student Leah Chibwe for receiving a 2015 Graduate Student Award for Environmental Chemistry from the American Chemical Society.
Jeff Gautschi and OSU Cascades featured in Bend Bulletin
OSU-Cascades faculty members are working hard to bring science students more opportunities to apply concepts learned in the classroom.
Using undergraduate students to conduct research is an up-and-coming trend at OSU-Cascades that has slowly garnered more funding opportunities over the past few years.
Traditionally, most university research is conducted by tenure-track professors and graduate students. But OSU-Cascades doesn’t have graduate students in science, and many within the Oregon State University system say bringing undergraduates into research projects benefits everyone. Read more…
Who Am I? Wednesday – Margie Haak
Name: Margie Haak
Area of study: Chemistry Education (although I am a physical chemist by training)
Position title: Senior Instructor II
Why chemistry?: It’s all Mr. Smith’s fault! (Mr. Smith was my high school chemistry teacher) UCLA didn’t have a Pre-med major, so I had to pick something to major in. My thought process was something like this “Well, chemistry was fun, I guess I’ll be a chemistry major.” And then I got sucked in by the beauty of chemistry, especially physical chemistry, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties: I teach mostly general chemistry and my interests lie in active learning strategies and ways to increasing student success in general chemistry courses.
One thing that I truly love about my job: The students! Both undergraduate and graduate students. I also love that virtually every day is different – it is NEVER boring.
One interesting/strange factoid about myself: In whatever free time I can find I like to quilt.
Funding Available—Proposal Due Date Extended
The Center for Teaching and Learning funds instructors for the redesign of established on-campus courses as hybrid courses through the Hybrid Course Initiative. These funds are in support of participation in a faculty learning community in Spring term and the development of a hybrid course. See Request for Proposals; due date extended to Jan. 20. Questions? Contact cub.kahn@oregonstate.edu
Who Am I? Wednesday – Bettye Maddux
Name: Bettye LS Maddux
Area of Study / Position Title: Managing Director, Center for Sustainable Materials Chemistry (CSMC)
Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): I’ve always been interested in math and science. It was easier for me than English or History. I didn’t realize just how much, until my high school physics class conflicted with band. So, I dropped band to study science. Initially, I focused on marine science, so my B.S. is in zoology and physiology. After graduating, I moved to Texas and worked as a technician in a cancer research lab for a few years. I respected my boss and his work, so when I decided to go to graduate school, I stayed in his lab and got a Ph.D. in chemical carcinogenesis. Thus, began my transition from marine science to biophysics / biochemistry.
Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? I manage a large Center for Chemical Innovation grant funded by the National Science Foundation. The CSMC explores new solution-based methods for producing very high-quality thin films and patterns as building blocks for these next-generation devices. Check us out here: http://csmc.us I work closely with our business center and NSF on the Center’s budget; organize group meetings, conferences, workshops and help coordinate outreach events. I basically try to keep things running smoothly. It’s a very busy Center. I also collaborate with faculty in Chemical and Biological Engineering on a research project in my spare time. We have a grant to study diatoms. Diatoms are marine or freshwater algae that have silicon (glass) shells. The goal of our project is to harness the biosynthetic capacities of algae to make unique and valuable co-products in addition to advanced biofuels in scalable photobioreactor systems. So, I guess you could say that I’ve come back around to marine science.
One thing you truly love about your job? I love being part of cutting-edge research that advances technology without harming the planet.
One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I also worked as a forensic scientist. I was a firearms and tool-mark examiner.
2015 National TA Workshop
We are writing to ask that you consider sending a departmental team to a national workshop on physics and chemistry graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). As you know, GTAs play a pivotal role in the teaching mission of research universities; however, best practices for preparing/supporting GTAs are not widely known or implemented in many departments. (The need for more comprehensive career development efforts for GTAs was recently discussed here: http://chronicle.com/article/We-Must-Prepare-PhD-Students/142893/.)
The workshop, “Mobilizing the Forgotten Army: Preparing TAs for Leadership in STEM Education” (sponsored by Research Corporation for Science Advancement and co-sponsored by the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association of Physics Teachers) offers the opportunity for a small group of departmental teams to interact together with colleagues who have expertise in supporting GTAs in physics and chemistry. The workshop, which will be held May 27-29, 2015 on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA, is designed for departmental teams consisting of one “mentor/master” TA and one faculty member. Ground costs (lodging, meals, registration) for a single team per department (up to about 15 teams) will be covered through a grant from the Research Corporation. Multiple teams from each department are welcome to apply, but only one team per department will receive financial support. Please note that applications for the workshop must include a letter of support/commitment from you, the Department Chair, as described on the workshop website: http://www.physics.utah.edu/~jgerton/CSC_TA_Workshop/.
The nomination deadline is February 13, 2015. The online nomination form and additional information can be found here: http://www.physics.utah.edu/~jgerton/CSC_TA_Workshop/apply-now.html
We look forward to working with you to identify appropriate candidate teams for this workshop. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Jordan Gerton (U of Utah) and Mike Schatz (Georgia Tech)
Workshop Co-chairs
csc.ta.workshop@gmail.com
Fall 2014 Chemistry Honor Roll Students
Congratulations to our Fall 2014 Honor Roll students! Keep up the great work you guys!
Albrecht, Amy
Alrubh, Ali Hassan
Backus, Dakota
Barnard, Amberlie
Best, Scott
Buswell, Caitlyn
Cayton, Jared
Chen, Kathryn
Chitwood, Abigail
Cobb, Tora
Davis, Lissa
Delgado, Mark
Diaz-Hui, Nicholas
Downey, Gillian
Durfee, Brandice
Erickson, Blake
Fong, Eaton
Gatimu, Brian
Hanson, Erin
Hinds Cook, Althea
Jolley, Maria
Kim, Joeun
Kinser, Reid
Kohan, Joseph
Kurapova, Regina
Lafave, Derek
Lansing, Shan
Laskos, Jeffrey
Lew, Cassandra
Liu-May, Rachel
Marble, Benjamin
Muto, Kota
Ng, Chen
Nguyen, Dang
O’Neil, Dakota
Osborn, Michael
Palmiter, James
Pham, Thu
Potter, Kristin
Qian, Eric
Ramsey, Jacob
Rebman, Jamie
Ruark, Collin
Samhan, Ashraf
Sandwisch, Jason
Stiegler, Ryan
Stout, Kenneth
Turner, Jake
Umezawa, Daisuke
Van Scoyk, Alexandria
Walker, Mesa
Zhang, Tianqi
Who Am I? Wednesday – Jeff Gautschi
- Jeff T. Gautschi
- Organic/Bioorganic Chemist/Instructor
- During my first year as an undergraduate biology major I took General Chemistry and quickly became fascinated by the endless variety of molecules, and by the elements of the periodic table from which those molecules are comprised. This fascination became more profound when I entered organic chemistry in my second year. Through this course, I realized that it is the diversity of the structure and function of organic molecules that makes life possible, and it is their biological activity that imparts to life its mystery, misery, and remedy.
- While my primary function is to teach organic chemistry for pre-professionals at the undergraduate level, I am also engaged in Bioorganic Chemistry and Natural Products research activities with undergraduate students. Currently, my group seeks to uncover molecules that have never been discovered before. We do this by isolating pure compounds from genetically-modified fungi that we grow in the laboratory. Additionally, I am currently the only chemist at OSU-Cascades (OSU’s branch campus in Bend, Oregon) and thus helping to lead efforts to establish and grow the chemical sciences at that rapidly expanding university.
- I truly love interacting with undergraduate students as they navigate their early-stage careers within the sciences. It is a sincere joy to introduce them to the intriguing world of theoretical and practical organic chemistry, to provide them expert insight to the many career paths there are within the chemical sciences, and to learn from and about them.
- I was fortunate enough to participate on a deep sea expedition and dive over 1000 feet deep in a scientific research submersible named Clelia. Yes, it was a yellow submarine.