Professor Emeritus Hoffman meets Former Student at ACS
Professor Mort Hoffman & Former Student Elisa Miller
Professor Emeritus Morton Hoffman met his former CH111-112 general chemistry student, Elisa Miller (CAS ’05), at the 242nd ACS National Meeting in Denver at the end of August.
Elisa served as a Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) workshop leader in that course as a sophomore, and she conducted undergraduate research for two and a half years on chemical dynamics of high energy molecules with Professor Amy Mullin.
While at BU, she was named the Beckman Foundation Scholar for 2003-2005. She is currently finishing her Ph.D. in physical chemistry with Professor Carl Lineberger on anion photoelectron spectroscopy in the gas phase at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Laursen Fund Halfway to Goal
Professor Richard Laursen Then & Now
When Professor Emeritus Richard Laursen retired in 2009, his students and colleagues wanted to recognize his 43 years of excellent research, teaching, and mentoring by establishing the Laursen Fund in his honor. The goal is to raise $100,000. We are now halfway to meeting that goal.
Led by Chemistry alumnus Luis Ruzo (CAS 1970), a former Laursen undergraduate, the fund will help provide an annual summer research stipend for a graduate or undergraduate student from candidates nominated by their advisors.
Known for his exceptional mentoring, Rich Laursen, who is still actively pursuing his research interests in Chemistry, would very much like to see the capital grow so that the interest can annually support the training and nurturing of exceptional young scientists.
Chemistry’s Renovated Front Office
Chemistry friends and alumni are invited to view our completely redesigned and renovated front office by clicking here or — better yet — by visiting. While looking radically different, the new front office fits seamlessly into the original footprint. The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) commissioned the design from Kristine Stoller and Alan Westman (LEED Green Associate at KSID, LLC) and the construction from JK Blackstone. Led by the Chair of Chemistry, Professor John Straub, and the Director of Operations, Paul Ferrari, staff members were consulted throughout the process and their recommendations and requests informed the new design.
The design highlight of office is the wall-mounted periodic table designed by Professor Dan Dill. Suggested by Kris Stoller, the image brilliantly connects the office to “Chemistry” and immediately points to the mission of the Department. So how did Dan Dill design his periodic table? Read on!
Chemistry’s “New” Periodic Table
Periodic Table in the Reception Area
When we needed a graphically compelling representation of the Periodic Table for the Chemistry front office, we turned to Professor Dan Dill. In addition to his theoretical and physical chemistry expertise, Professor Dill is an accomplished photographer, who received a Kodak Award in 2006. Here is his recounting of the process:
“I received an e-mail from our Chair, John Straub, in which he related designer Kristine Stoller’s idea for a periodic table in the new office. John ended his message with:
I was thinking of the very nice Periodic Table that you created years ago, and that has been much used in our Department.
The tools I used to create that original Periodic Table have been lost in the sands of digital time, and so it was necessary to begin anew, using the latest version of Adobe Illustrator.
Xenon
The first step in the new design was to settle on the format of the element boxes. The box for Xenon shows what we settled on, using the typeface Adobe Myriad Pro. (The dark chevron indicates that at room temperature Xenon is a gas.)
With that done, the next step was to assemble the elements into the traditional periodic table format, adapted to the dimensions of the wall in the new chemistry office. It was then that Kristine mentioned her plan to have the table printed on six resin panels. Her innovative concept allowed us to break with convention by partitioning the table itself into six portions.
Nitrogen
At this point we thought that the only thing left to do was to check and recheck all entries for errors. Everyone in the department enthusiastically helped with this task. Just as we were completing it, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry published its technical report, “Atomic weights of the elements 2009″ (Wieser & Coplen, 12 December 2010). It recommended that atomic weights for Boron, Carbon, Chlorine, Hydrogen, Lithium, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulfur, Silicon and Thallium span intervals (shown, for example, for Nitrogen as 14.00643–14.00728), due to variation in isotopic composition of their stable isotopes.
We consider it good fortune to have been able to incorporate these latest recommendations into the table. After many new rounds of proof reading, the completed design was printed on the resin panels displayed in the office.
PFF Alumnus Receives Teacher of the Year Award
John R. Miecznikowski
In March 2011, John Miecznikowski, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Chemistry, received Fairfield University’s Teacher of the Year Award. He was nominated by the Fairfield student body and selected from among 75 undergraduate professors.
Professor Miecznikowski began his teaching career as a Postdoctoral Faculty Fellow (PFF) in the Boston University Department of Chemistry (2004-2007). At BU, Dr. Miecznikowski taught “General Chemistry” (CH101) and “Inorganic Chemistry” (CH 232).
His research was conducted in Professor John Caradonna’s laboratory and focused on the development, synthesis, and characterization of ligand precursors and iron, gallium and zinc model complexes of phenylalanine hydroxylase and other mononuclear nonheme enzymes with N and O atoms bound to the metal center.
Professor Miecznikowski started his tenure track teaching position at Fairfield in 2007.
Connecting to Chemistry Alumnae in California
In April, Chemistry Professor Emeritus Morton Z. Hoffman was invited by Concordia University Irvine to deliver an International Year of Chemistry (IYC) lecture, “The IYC: Our Life, Our Future,” as well as to serve as a consultant to the Chemistry Department, at Concordia, as they developed their 10-year strategic plan. While in the “the neighborhood,” he caught up with two BU alumnae, Professor Catherine Clark (GRS 1996), whose thesis research he directed, and Ms. Jenny Talbot (CAS 2004), who was a student in his CH111/112 class (2000-01) and served as a PLTL workshop leader (2001-02).
Catherine Clark with Professor Hoffman
Alumna Catherine Clark is now Professor of Chemistry and Associate Dean of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the Schmid College of Science of Chapman University in Orange, CA.
Jenny Talbot with Professor Hoffman
Alumna Jenny Talbot did undergraduate and post-baccalaureate research with Dr. Adrien Finzi in the Biology Department on forest ecology and biogeochemistry. She will receive her Ph.D. from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California Irvine next month, and will begin a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Minnesota at the end of the summer.
Chemistry of Drugs Talk Informs Alumni
Professor Adrian Whitty
Professor Karen Allen
Professor of Chemistry Karen Allen and Associate Professor of Chemistry Adrian Whitty gave a “Discoveries” talk to BU Alumni on December 1, 2010. Sponsored by the BU Alumni Association and the College of Arts & Sciences, the Discoveries lecture series taps the strength of BU faculty to give alumni a deeper look into the world and their lives.
The seminar, Lessons to be Learned from Cells: From Molecular Basis to Disease, highlighted advances and obstacles in current drug discovery and described how work at Boston University on NEMO, a protein in the pathways involved in human inflammatory diseases and cancers, aims to address critical problems.
Chemistry Alumnus Elected ACS President
Professor Bassam Shakhashiri
Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, Professor of Chemistry and the William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was elected 2011 ACS President-Elect. He will serve as ACS President in 2012 and Immediate Past President in 2013. The ACS currently has more than 161,000 members. It is the world’s largest scientific society and one of the leading sources of authoritative scientific information.
Dr. Shakhashiri received his B.A. degree in chemistry from Boston University in 1960 (followed by an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Maryland), and is a recipient of a Boston University Alumni Award.
An international leader in chemistry education, as ACS president, Dr. Shakhashiri’s aims include; enhancing the qualify and supply of chemistry teachers, increasing public and private support for research and education, promoting green chemistry and sustainable development, fostering international cooperation and collaboration in research and education, improving scientific communication within and among various cultures.
Successful ACS Reception Brings together Chemistry Alumni, Friends, Faculty, and Students
One of the boons of having the ACS national meeting in Boston is that it allows us to host a reception and reach out to friends, old and new. Over 150 people attended our Monday, August 23rd reception, co-hosted by BU Chemistry and the BU Alumni Association, which was held during the 240th National Meeting at the Westin Waterfront. The guests represented alumni, friends, and current faculty and students, who were welcomed by the College of Arts and Sciences Dean, Dr. Gina Sapiro. Dean Sapiro kept her comments light and short, touching briefly on the Department’s many accomplishments in 2010-2011 and saying how much Chemistry has contributed to the University’s standing both in education and research. Photos from the reception can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/buchemistry/sets/72157624818780906/
Alumni & Friends Reception at ACS: August 23 2010
The Chemistry Department invites alumni, faculty, and students to a reception during the Fall 2010 National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Boston, MA. Join us for an evening of light appetizers, drinks, and good conversation and a chance to catch up with friends at the Westin Waterfront Hotel beside the Boston Convention Center.
To attend, please register at the BU Alumni Website before August 16th.
Date
Monday August 23rd 2010
Time
5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Location
Westin Boston Waterfront
Harbor Ballroom III
425 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210
The Westin Boston Waterfront is beside the Boston Convention Center and a short walk from the World Trade Center Stop on the MBTA Silver Line.
Questions?
Please e-mail Katinka Csigi.
Connect With Us
