Organic Division Initiatives:
M. A. Battiste Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Tarrant Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Organic Chemistry
Tarrant Summer Graduate Research Scholarship
W. M. Jones Award for Originality and Creativity
Award Background
The M. A. Battiste Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry is generously sponsored by Petra Research, Inc. in honor of the late Professor Merle A. Battiste. Professor Battiste obtained his B.S. degree (1954) from The Citadel (Charleston, SC) and an M.S. degree (1956) from Louisiana State University. After obtaining his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1959 from Columbia University (as Prof. Ronald Breslow’s first Ph.D. student), and a research position at UCLA (1960), Dr. Battiste became a professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Florida where he served for 42 years. Prof. Battiste is remembered as a dedicated, passionate teacher and consummate scientist.
Originally established in 2005 as the Petra Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, the award name was changed in 2007 to honor Professor Battiste.
Award Winners
| Megan Lott 2024 | Cole Stearns 2024 | Aniket Sole 2023 |
| Chieh-Yu Chang 2022 | Zaafir Dulloo 2022 | Subhradeep Dutta 2021 |
| Shengkang Yin 2020 | Will Henderson 2019 | Gaurav Dahiya 2019 |
| Edward Laguna 2018 | Primali Navaratne 2017 | Jagadeesh Manda 2017 |
| C. Adrian Figg 2016 | Ji Liu 2016 | Lindsey DeRatt 2015 |
| Bryan Tucker 2015 | Paulo Paioti 2014 | Raghida M. Bou Zerdan 2013 |
| Thomas Ghebreghiorgis 2013 | Flavio Cardoso 2012 | Kinga Chojnacka 2011 |
| John Ketcham 2010 | Jongwoo Park 2009 | Berenger Biannic 2009 |
| Ampofo Darko 2008 | Yongjun Li 2007 | Tammy Low* 2006 |
| Xiaoyong Zhao* 2006 | Heather Hillebrenner* 2005 | Andrew Lampkins* 2005 |
* Petra Award recipients
Eligibility and Terms of The Award
The M. A. Battiste Award recognizes creative work in synthetic organic chemistry by 3rd year graduate students who have completed their oral qualifying examination. The competition is not limited to students in the organic division; students working in bio-organic, organometallic, and polymer/materials areas are also eligible.
The award will be announced by the end of the summer C semester and presented formally at the fall departmental meeting. It will consist of $500 and a plaque.
Application Information and Selection Criteria
In response to a Departmental e-mail soliciting applications for the award (typically in spring/summer A), eligible candidates for the award must submit the following items to support their application:
- A two-page research summary written by the student that outlines their “creative work in synthetic organic chemistry.” The document should highlight their contribution to the research project and how it fits into the larger context of the literature.
- A letter of recommendation from their advisor.
- Applications should be delivered to the graduate coordinator’s office by 5:00 pm on the day specified.