Chemistry

“We are pleased to announce the winner of the 2013 Herbert and Marjorie Laitinen Graduate Fellow. Established by Professor and Mrs. Laitinen in 1996, this award recognizes overall excellence in research, teaching and service for a Ph.D. student in the analytical chemistry division. This year’s recipient is Mr. Da Han, a member of the Tan research group and a 2009 graduate of Xiamen University. Da’s dissertation research involves the molecular engineering of photoresponsive three-dimensional DNA nanostructures. He expects to complete his degree in the summer, 2013 semester. Congratulations Da!”

“We are pleased to announce the recipient of the 2013 Roger and Jo Bates Graduate Fellow. Established by Professor and Mrs. Bates in 1996, this annual award recognizes overall excellence in research, teaching and service for a Ph.D. student in the analytical chemistry division. This year’s winner was Ms. Whitney Stutts, a member of the Yost research group and a 2008 graduate of North Carolina State University. Whitney’s research involves the development of novel MALDI-MS and mass spectrometric imaging techniques for the analysis of lipids and their oxidation products in biological tissues. She expects to graduate in the summer, 2013 semester. Congratulations Whitney!”

“The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce the recipient of the first James and Laura Winefordner Summer Research Fellowship. This award, for graduate students in the analytical chemistry division, recognizes overall excellence in research, scholarship, teaching and departmental service and will be a lasting tradition in the department. The first recipient is Ms Tao Chen, a graduate of Wuhan University and a member of Prof. Weihong Tan’s research group. Tao will complete her Ph.D. degree this summer, supported by the Winefordner Fellowship. Her dissertation will focus on the use of functional nanostructures for bioanalysis and biomedical research. Congratulations Tao!”

“The Carolina-Piedmont Section of the American Chemical Society is pleased to name Professor of Chemistry Lisa McElwee-White from the University of Florida as the 2012 winner of the Charles H. Stone Award. This award is given biannually by the section to the most outstanding chemist in the southeastern United States, recognizing contributions to the field of chemistry through activities in the scientific community, public outreach, education, and research.”

“Megan Hill and Amanda Patrick, first-year graduate students seeking a Ph.D. within the Department of Chemistry at UF, have been honored with National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships. The total value of each award exceeds $100,000 over a three-year period. Widely regarded as one of the most prestigious honors a graduate student can receive, this year, just 2,000 award recipients were chosen from more than 13,000 applicants nationwide.”

“Da Han, a graduate student of Chemistry in Professor Weihong Tan’s research group, has been selected to receive a 2013 ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) Summer Graduate Fellowship. This award is given only to seven graduate students in the US and Canada annually. Da is the only graduate student to receive this prestigious award from the University of Florida in 2013. This fellowship carries a stipend of $7,000 with the sponsorship of the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP).”

“Prof. Ron Castellano has been named one of about ten Young Observers in the United States who will attend the 47th IUPAC General Assembly and 44th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress to be held in Istanbul, Turkey. Established in 1977, the program allows participants under the age of 45 – from industry, academia, and national laboratories – to experience the global efforts that impact the scientific community and furthers their careers and international reputation with networking opportunities.”

“Distinguished Professor George Christou has been re-appointed as an Honorary Professor at the London Centre for Nanotechnology and University College, London, for the 2013-2017 period for his work on single-molecule magnetism. The LCN was set up in 2007 by the UK to solve important challenges in various fields such as information processing, energy, the environment, medicine, and others, by bringing together the necessary expertise in nanoscience and nanotechnology from the underlying disciplines within the physical sciences, engineering, and biomedicine. It has been spectacularly successful, and it celebrated its 5th anniversary in September, 2012. Prof. Christou was originally appointed as Honorary Professor for the 2008-2012 period, during which time he built up significant associations with several LCN research groups, particularly physics groups interested in nanomagnetism. His research involves the synthesis of molecules that can function as single-molecule magnets, and other magnetically-interesting species, and the detailed study of their classical and quantum properties relevant to applications in spintronics and quantum computing. His work is funded by the National Science Foundation.”

“Professor Miller gave a presentation titled “Redesigning Petroleum-Based Plastics with Renewable Feedstocks” at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting, held in Boston, Massachusetts. Following this symposium on “Sustainable Chemical Manufacturing in a Resource-Limited World”, Professor Miller was interviewed by Science Magazine and the interview is now available as a Science Podcast.”

“Roberto Car and Michele Parrinello will be honored at a three-day symposium during the 53rd Sanibel meeting being held February 17-22, 2013, at the King and Prince Resort, St. Simon’s Island, GA. The names of Dr. Car and Dr. Parrinello are synonymous with several of the most frequently used molecular dynamics methods and their application to fundamental biological and materials problems. Previous Sanibel meetings have honored such luminaries as Robert Mulliken, Egil Hylleraas, John C. Slater, Henry Eyring, Clemens Roothaan, William Lipscomb, and Enrico Clementi, among others.”