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 From
the Dean
July 1 marks the change in name of the College to the College of Chemical
and Life Sciences. This name change recognizes the major role of the
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College, and the many
linkages between Chemistry and the Life Sciences. It will empower us to
strengthen those linkages in the years to come.
During the academic year that has just ended, our faculty, staff, and
students received an unprecedented number of campus and System awards. The
announcements this month, that Professor Jerry Miller in the
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry won the President's Medal, and Gene Ferrick in the Dean's Office
won the President's Distinguished Service Award, are particularly gratifying. Jerry and
Gene are two of the unsung heroes of the College. Both have
done an extraordinary amount of work for the College and University,
generally without any fanfare, but with tremendous dedication and commitment, and incredible patience and perseverance.
Jerry has been a leader over many years in designing the Charles E. White Memorial (Chemistry) Library,
defining and refining University policy, and consistently offering
academically rigorous courses to students in the Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry. Gene brings us, sophisticated analytical skills, wonderful
people skills and a flair for staging events. Our heartfelt thanks to both
of them. Thanks also to everyone who helped with the nominations.
An impressive number of faculty have contributed in the past month to increasing our external funding for research. Among the many awards listed below, a few deserve special mention. Alexa Bely received her first major federal grant from NSF; and Catherine Fenselau received corporate funding from MedImmune; Hey-Kyoung Lee received a large sub-contract from Johns Hopkins; Margaret Palmer received a new grant from the EPA; Steve Rokita received a new NIH award; Sara Via received two substantial grants, from NSF and the Department of Agriculture. The number of proposals that have flowed through the Dean's office in the past month has also been impressive; one faculty member submitted three to NSF! Congratulations to all the awardees, and many thanks to everyone who is rising to the challenging of increasing our external funding for research at a time of belt tightening at both the state and federal level.
Searches are underway for two undergraduate advisors, director of new student programs, assistant director of communications and publications, and assistant dean for finance. Offers are out to two candidates for the undergraduate advising positions, finalists for the director of new student programs are being interviewed, candidates for the assistant dean for finance position will be interviewed in the next two weeks, and the ad for the assistant director of communications and publications will also go out in the next two weeks. We have had a large number of excellent candidates for each position, and we look forward to being fully staffed by the beginning of the fall semester.
The robustness of our administrative and financial team was tested during the past month, as we closed out FY05 without an assistant dean for finance. I'm pleased to report that it was a very smooth landing, thanks to many people, but particularly Bill Katsereles, Lorraine Charity, Bob Infantino, Gene Ferrick, Sharon Hodgson, Jennie Dang, and Kathy Sciannella. Thanks to all!
In preparation for our next HHMI proposal, a distinguished team of external reviewers has just visited campus. Susan Olesik (Ohio State), George Barthalmus (NC State), and Jeanne Narum (Project Kaleidoscope) talked with faculty mentors, faculty, postdoc, and graduate student members of our curriculum redesign teams, undergraduate research students, Kaci Thompson and myself about all aspects of our program. They had many valuable insights and suggestions. They will be preparing a written report that will be shared with all faculty and other participants. Thanks to Kaci Thompson for organizing this, with the support of Bobbi Donley and Diane Grady.
On a recent trip to California, I had the opportunity to meet with some very impressive alums--Doug Bingham, Executive Vice President of The Scripps, Research Institute; Mark Nasoff, Group Leader for Advanced Technologies at The Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation; Marye Anne Fox, Chancellor of UCSD--and Anita Frazer, a major donor to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. We can take pride in having such accomplished and generous people affiliated with the College.
My best wishes for an enjoyable and productive summer.
Norma
Allewell
Professor and Dean
Academic
Calendar and Upcoming Events
September 24: Academically Talented Open House
September 30: Visit Maryland Day
October 10: Visit Maryland Day
October 22: Academically Talented Open House
November 11: Visit Maryland Day
November
17: Bioscience
Research and Technology Review
Day. More information: www.bioscienceday.umd.edu.
LFSC contact: Gene Ferrick (gene@umd.edu)
December 22: Graduation in the Memorial Chapel at 9:00 a.m.
February 20, 2006: Open House for Juniors
April 29, 2006: Maryland Day
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President's Medal to be Awarded to Dr. Miller
 Dr. Gerald 'Jerry' Miller, Chemistry & Biochemistry, has been selected to receive the 2005 President's Medal, the highest honor the university community can bestow on one of its own. This award acknowledges Professor Miller's exemplary record of sustained and acknowledged contribution to the quality of life on the campus.
Dr. Miller has dedicated himself over his forty-year academic career to making the University of Maryland a better environment for research and education. Among his many contributions to the university, Miller was instrumental in the creation of the university's Academic Planning Advisory Committee. He served as Acting Dean for Undergraduate Studies from 1986-88, was Chair of the Faculty Senate, led efforts to enhance the university's libraries, and most recently chaired the committee charged with revision of the university's Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure (APT) policy. He has contributed greatly to the department in teaching and service, championing mentoring efforts and taking on tasks that are essential to the effective functioning of this department. Furthermore, he administered the NSF Graduate Fellowship program in the 1970's and is currently engaged actively in applied research associated with detecting explosives in airline luggage and in detecting land mines. The award will be presented to Professor Miller at the 22nd Annual Faculty and Staff Convocation on Wednesday, September 21, 2005, at 3:00 p.m. in the Memorial Chapel.
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Faculty
Recognition and In
the News
Please
send faculty news items to gene@umd.edu. 
Dr. Alexa Bely, Biology, received a 3-year, $390,000 grant from NSF to study "Evolution of Regeneration: a Comparative Study in Annelids.” She also gave birth to a baby girl, Amara Angelique Bely Shapiro on June 9. Congratulations!
Dr. Gerald Borgia, Biology, expert on the bowerbird, reviews The Bowerbirds: Ptilonorhynchidae for the American Ornithologists Union. "This 10th Oxford Bird Families of the World volume treats the 20 species of bowerbirds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. The unique and fascinating behavior of building and decorating bowers has brought much attention to this family, for which there has been no serious book-length treatment since Gilliard's 1969 classic." Red Nova, May 24
The work of Dr. Avis Cohen, Biology, and Dr. Ralph Etienne-Cummings, Maryland adjunct professor of engineering and professor at Johns Hopkins, was featured on an Australian television science program, Beyond Tomorrow, on June 15. They are collaborating to develop a computer chip that could help restore leg motion to paraplegics. Their work is based on the spinal workings of the lamprey eel. http://www.beyondtomorrow.com.au/stories/ep3/lamprey.html
Dr. Galen Dively, Entomology, received a 1-year, $24,000 grant from Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. to study the "Field-scale Effects of Bt Rootworm Corn on On-target Arthropods."
Dr. Bryan Eichhorn, Chemistry & Biochemistry, represented the University at a  press conference on June 28 convened by Congressman Albert Wynn on hydrogen fuel as an energy option. Behind the Rayburn Building in Washington D.C., amid hydrogen fueled motorcycles, a car, an army vehicle, and a pump, Dr. Eichhorn spoke along with three members of Congress.
Dr. Catherine Fenselau, Chemistry & Biochemistry, received two corporate grants. She will receive $60,000 for the summer from SESI, Inc. for “AP/MALDI Based Broadband and Fast Acting Biological Agent Detection.” MedImmune, Inc. will fund her work on “Rapid Characterization of Vaccines by Mass Spectrometry” for $22,000 over 6 months.
As featured on the cover and reported in the June 10 issue of Molecular Cell, Dr. David Fushman, Chemistry & Biochemistry, and his research team used nuclear magnetic resonance to explain, for the first time, why the linkage between the cell-regulating protein molecules called ubiquitins determines their function. The paper was authored Dr. Ranjani Varadan (Ph.D. Biochemistry, 2004) and Michael Assfalg, both in Chemistry & Biochemistry; along with Drs. Shahri Raasi and Cecile Pickart of the Johns Hopkins University.
http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/scitech/release.cfm?ArticleID=1082
Dr. William Jeffery, Biology, was awarded a Laura and Arthur Colwin Fellowship to conduct research this summer at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. The Colwin Summer Research Fellowships support scientists in the fields of cell biology and developmental biology. Dr. Jeffery studies sea squirts, sea cucumbers, and worms to understand the evolutionary origin of neural crest cells--stem cells that, in humans, can develop into a variety of different cells, including nerve cells, pigmented skin cells, cells in the adrenal gland, and various skeletal and connective tissues of the head.
Dr. Hey-Kyoung Lee, Biology, received a 5-year grant, $240,000 grant from the Johns Hopkins University to study “Alzheimer’s Disease: Mechanism & Experimental Therapeutics.”
Dr. Margaret Palmer, Biology & Entomology, received a 3-year, $278,000 grant from the EPA for “Ecological Sustainability in Rapidly Urbanizing Water.” In addition, a description of the work of Dr. Palmer and her doctoral student Brooke Hassett is noted in “Highlights of the June 2005 issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.” They have compiled the first comprehensive database of more than 4,700 existing river and stream restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Innovations Report, June 14
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/environment_sciences/report-45384.html
 A Chinese export no one wants is the Asian longhorned beetle. Dr. Michael Raupp, Entomology, spoke at the annual New England Grows trade show in Boston and warned that global trade makes exotic pests a big threat. (Newton Tab, June 1)
Mike also confirmed in a Washington Post article that the red-eyed insect discovered by a local boy is indeed a straggler from last summer's 17-year cicada brood. (Washington Post, June 15) Working with another insect, Mike sacrificed himself on Good Morning America to show the audience how mosquitoes can produce an ugly crop of bites very quickly if one is not treated with insect repellent. June 29 (Transcript)
Dr. Steven Rokita, Chemistry & Biochemistry, received a 4-year, $1.05 million grant from NIH to “Target Promoted Alkylation of Nucleic Acids.”
The journal Nature calls Dr. Steven Salzberg "a big-picture biologist trapped in a computer scientist's body." The director of the new Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (Chemical & Life Sciences; Computer, Mathematical & Physical Sciences) says in the past "learning enough molecular biology to be effective in bioinformatics” was a goal. "But turning the new Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the University of Maryland into a world-class centre is his next big career challenge. He will take over as its director in July and is keen to ensure that bioinformatics stays closely tied to genomics.” Dr. Salzberg comes to UM from The Institute
for Genomics Research (TIGR) in Rockville.
Nature, May 26
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7041/full/nj7041-534a.html
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New College Name and Celebration
Beginning July 1 the College has a new name! We look forward to an exciting year as the University begins the celebration of its 150 th anniversary and the College celebrates its first year as the College of Chemical and Life Sciences. Several events planned for the coming year will highlight both the 150th anniversary and our first year with our new name, including Bioscience Day on November 17, 2005, Maryland Day on April 29, 2006, and other alumni events. Stay tuned to join in on the fun.
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UM Hall of Fame Inducts College Alums
The University of Maryland inducts distinguished alumni into the Hall  of Fame every five years. During the 2005 ceremony on June 4, three of the sixteen inductees were alumni of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry:
Dr. Raymond Davis Jr. (BS’37, MS’40, Chemistry) won the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics for pioneering a method to detect solar neutrinos, leading to the discovery that nuclear fusion generates the sun’s energy.
Dr. Russell Marker (BS’23, PhD’87/honorary/, Chemistry), inducted posthumously, discovered that Mexican yams were an economical source of hormones, which led to development of arthritis and kidney treatments and the birth control pill. He also invented the gasoline octane rating system.
Dr. Tobin Marks (BS’66, Chemistry) is the Vladimir N. Ipatieff Professor of Catalytic Chemistry at Northwestern University. His research has been used in the development of new plastics and the improvement of high-speed data transmission.
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 Gene Ferrick, Assistant to the Dean, has been selected to receive one of the 2005 President's Distinguished Service Awards at the Faculty and Staff Convocation to be held in September. The award will be given as recognition of the many contributions that Gene has made to the University during his career. Some of his activities include coordinating Bioscience Day and Maryland Day, serving on college and campus committees including the Senate, teaching UNIV 100 and being the advisor to students and student groups, the Pre-Dental Society and the Delta-Delta-Delta Sorority. Gene’s latest campus and personal success was completing a triathlon and announcing the names of the College’s graduates at commencement on the same day!
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Ann Smith and the CBMG Undergraduate Programs
 After nine years of outstanding service to the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics as Director of Undergraduate Programs, Dr. Ann Smith has decided that it is time to step out of that role and take on a different set of educational activities and challenges in the department and the university.
As many of you know, Ann has been one of the most effective members of our instructional faculty, and the department and university have been enriched by her presence. Her responsibilities have varied extensively, but overall they have centered on undergraduate education and the management of our undergraduate programs. Although she was appointed initially to take charge of the laboratories of the old MICB200 (General Microbiology), she gradually acquired a broader range of responsibilities due to her abilities, interest in undergraduate education, and seemingly boundless energy and commitment to the continual enhancement of our teaching programs.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, as Director of Undergraduate Studies Ann has chaired the department’s Undergraduate Curriculum Committee; she has worked with individual faculty members on the development of new courses; she has administered the department’s undergraduate advising and trained faculty members to become advisors; she has been responsible for course scheduling and the supervision of our Office of Undergraduate Studies; she has participated in the College’s open houses and has been active in the College’s undergraduate recruiting efforts.
Ann’s interests in education have extended beyond activities in the department and the college. To cite few examples, she chaired a panel at the 5th Mid-Atlantic Microbiology Educators Conference in 2000; she has spoken at several UM conferences on the creation and dissemination of educational material online and on WebCT design strategies for large classes; in 2002 she was a Session Leader in the Faculty 21 National Assembly of Project Kaleidoscope, and in 2003 she served on the Project’s Planning Committee; she has been a co-Investigator on UM Improvement of Instruction grants for developing teaching strategies for students in large classes (in 2001) and for the establishment of a Center for Teaching and Learning in Bioinformatics (in 2002), and in 2004/05 Ann played key roles in the management of two HHMI curriculum development grants. Ann has also contributed to community activities meant to promote education in the Montgomery County public school system.
In summary, as a departmental colleague and one with deep commitments to education, Ann has been a gem. The department is fortunate in having her on the faculty.
-Written by Dr. Albert Ades, who recently stepped down as Chair of CBMG.
Amy Finch, a doctoral student in the lab of Dr. Steven Rokita, Chemistry & Biochemistry, received a two-year Science, Mathematics, and Research Transformation (SMART) Scholarship, which is sponsored by the Department of Defense and administered by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). After completing her doctorate she will have a two-year position with the DOD.
The work of Dr. Margaret Palmer and her doctoral student Brooke Hassett is noted in “Highlights of the June 2005 issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.” See note under Faculty listing.
 Jenna Jadin, doctoral student in the BEES program and a member of Dr. Kerry Shaw's lab in Biology, received an $12,000 NSF dissertation grant to study "Reinforcement Behavioral Isolation and the Evolution of Male Choice in the Hawaiin Cricket Genus Laupala."
Holly Menninger, a doctoral student in Entomology, appeared on CNN on Memorial Day to tell readers about the climate and bugs, bug repellents, and why anyone would want to buy a bag of 1,500 ladybugs on line for $5.95. Her recommendation for a fun bug to play with is the Madagascar hissing cockroach. "Those are a lot of fun-you can actually find those at your local pet store. And they're great. They don't really bite. They're really charismatic and fun for the kids to play with."
CNN: American Morning, May 30 (Transcript)
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Alumni
News
For
more alumni notes, check out the Alumni
Notes Web page. Please
send alumni notes to gene@umd.edu.
Dr. Matthew Holman, Ph.D. in Chemistry (2000) and an interdisciplinary sciences team leader with the FDA was quoted in the Washington Post. In the article "Less than Full Protection" he comments on the lack of understanding that exists in regard to sunscreen products. Dr. Holman worked in the lab of Dr. Steve Rokita, Chemistry & Biochemistry. The Washington Post, June 28 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/27/AR2005062701099.html
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The Office of University Communications receives a number of calls every week from newspaper, television, radio and magazine reporters looking for experts to interview for a story. To make faculty more accessible to reporters, a new Web-based database of faculty experts has been created. If you have not already signed up, take a minute and fill in your profile and include your topics of expertise.
Go to http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/experts/expert_signin.cfm and click on the "Experts Sign-Up/ Log-In." Using your University Directory ID and password, follow the instructions to fill in your profile and even add a photo. Your information can be as public or as private as you desire. You can read more about the database in the last issue of Outlook at http://www.outlook.umd.edu/article.cfm?id=1914 .
They are building a great list but it would be better with your profile included. It only takes a few minutes. If you have any questions or problems with the site, call or e-mail Ellen Ternes, 301-405-4627, eternes@umd.edu.
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Gifts to the College, Recognized with Thanks
A special thank you to Dr. William B. Walters*,Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry for his generous gift of $31,708 to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Fund to support research.
Corporate and foundation support: Whitehall Foundation Inc., $225,000, Binational Science Foundation $19,024, Leakey Foundation, $12,000, McLaughlin Gormley King Company, $6,000 for the Department of Entomology General Fund, Four Lakes Colorgraphics, Inc., $600 and N.S. Enterprises, Inc.
Annual Fund Gifts and Pledges
Support of the annual fund of the College of Life Sciences is essential to the progress of the College, and we thank those who have stepped forward in this important effort. Gifts are to the Dean's Fund except as noted.
Mr. & Mrs. William L. Anderson, Dr. & Mrs. Carl W. Dieffenbach (BS’76, Biochemistry), James Fisher, Elwood F. Hill, PhD’81, MS’75, William A. Hook, PhD'65 BS'53 (Microbiology), Mr. & Mrs. Albert J. Karas (MS'52, BS'50), R. Scott Knode, BS'78 (Chemistry), Frank R. Lisciotto, BS'48 (Biological Sciences), Helen S. Naviasky, BS'55 (Chemistry) Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Fund, June F. Taylor, BS'71 (Microbiology) Scholarship Fund, and Dr. Donna Vogel. Gifts to the Glen E. Gordon Memorial Fellowship Fund by Dr. Allen P. Davis, Dr. Russell R. Dickerson, Dr. George R. Helz* and one additional anonymous faculty member.
* Faculty or staff of College of Chemical & Life Sciences
If you are interested in learning more about supporting the College of Chemical & Life Sciences, please contact Bruce Shatswell, Assistant Dean for Development and Corporate Relations, bashatswell@umd.edu, 301-405-0295.
Funding
Alerts
How
to Post Your News
If
you would like to share your accomplishments
or other news, please send a note (and
any accompanying photos)
to Gene Ferrick at
gene@umd.edu. Issues are usually sent at the beginning
of each month.
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