|
NEWS June 2001
"News
from the College of Life Sciences at the University
of Maryland, College Park"
NEWS ITEMS
- The
Dean's Message
- Upcoming
Events
- Faculty
Recognition
- In
the News
- Student/Alumni
News
- Invitation
to Join the Council of Healthcare Advisors
- Science
Citation Index Expanded
- Funding
Alerts
- How
to Post Your News Here
FROM
THE DEAN
I'm pleased
to announce that Dr. Alexa Bely will be joining the
Biology Department in the Spring of 2003 as an assistant
professor. Dr. Bely studies the evolution of development
in annelids. While an undergrad at Maryland, she worked
with Dr. Margaret Palmer, before going on to obtain
a Ph.D. with Dr. Gregory Wray from the State University
of New York at Stony Brook. She is currently a postdoctoral
fellow in the laboratory of Dr. David Weisblat at
Berkeley.
I'm also
pleased to announce that Dr. Brian Balgley, a recent
Ph.D. graduate of the Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry, where he was a student of Dr. Norm Hansen,
has accepted the position of Interim Director of the
College's mass spectrometry facility in the Plant
Sciences Building. This is the first step in what
I hope will be the evolution of several College instrumentation
facilities. Thanks to the Faculty Advisory Committee,
Drs. Jeff Davis, Catherine Fenselau, Marco Columbini,
Mike Raupp and Dan Stein, and its chair Dr. Norm Hansen.
The College's
graduation ceremony in Ritchie Colosseum was a very
enjoyable event, with hundreds of proud and happy
graduates, families and friends. While our speaker,
Dr. John Holaday from EntreMed had many interesting
things to say, the line that I will remember longest
was one that he attributes to an older friend in science,
who, when asked how he sustained his creativity, replied
"My karma ran over my dogma". Thanks to everyone who
made this event a success, particularly Drs. Lisa
Bradley and Bob Infantino.
Special
congratulations are due to Dr. Brian Farrell, a Ph.D.
student of Dr. Charlie Mitter, Charlie, and the entire
Department of Entomology. Dr. Farrell, who has just
received tenure at Harvard, is the first entomologist
to receive tenure there in 42 years.
Congratulations
to Ms. Robin Berkow, Linda Dalo, Debra Iseli, Maggie
Jenkins, Joanne Lewis and Lori Putman who received
the extra merit awards for non-exempt staff this year.
The College owes this group a great deal for their
loyal, dedicated and unselfish service. The selection
committee consisted of Ethel Dutky, Sandra Greer,
Jeff Jensen, Karen Lasher and Millie Lindenberger.
Our thanks to them!
I have
appointed a search committee to conduct a national
search for an assistant/associate dean for undergraduate
academic programs. Dr. Sara Via is chairing the committee,
comprised of Dr. Katherine Beardsley, assistant dean
in BSOS, Drs. Bruce Jarvis, Sam Joseph, Ray St. Leger,
Mrs. Linda Dalo and Mrs. Millie Lindenberger.
There will
soon be a new voice on the other end of the line in
the Dean's Office; Mrs. Denise Abu-Laban will begin
work as my executive administrative assistant on June
7. She will liberate Millie Lindenberger, not only
to take a well earned vacation in August, but also
to begin to develop a Human Resources Office in the
College this fall.
The final
report from the Faculty Steering Committee which reviewed
our undergraduate academic programs this spring will
be available soon. I have asked the chairs to work
with me this summer to evaluate the recommendations
of the committee and to develop a plan for implementing
changes.
As the
long list below of awards to members of the College
indicates, this has been a wonderful year for the
College. We have accomplished a great deal, and we
are starting the new fiscal year with a clear vision
of our goals for the coming year. I know that all
of you are looking forward to an opportunity to replenish
your reserves over the summer, and I hope that all
of you have the opportunity to enjoy sun, fun, your
friends and families and some contemplative time.
Norma Allewell
Dean
Top of page
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Summer
Classes begin June 4.
Freshmen
Orientation programs begin June 4.
Fall Classes
begin August 29.
Top
of page
FACULTY
RECOGNITION
Dr. Robert
Denno, Entomology, has been appointed an Associate
Editor for Ecology, the leading journal in
this field.
Dr. Charles
Fenster and Dr. Michele R. Dudash, both from Biology,
received an NSF grant from the Population Biology
Panel for research on "Quantifying the Role of Pollinator
Mediated Selection in the Evolution of Pollination
Syndromes in Silene (Caryophyllaceae)." This is a
five-year grant for $342,000.
Dr. Lyle
Isaacs, Chemistry & Biochemistry, has been named
a Cottrell Scholar by the Research Corporation for
his proposal entitled "Hydrophobic Self-Assembly:
Integrated Teaching and Research Initiatives."
Dr. Sam
Joseph was the recipient of the "Contribution to Science"
award representing career achievement by the University
of Maryland Chapter of Sigma Xi on May 1, 2001.
Dr. David
Mosser, CBMG, was awarded a five-year NIH grant for
$1.6 M to study "Modulating Host Responses to Bacterial
Products." David will also serve as chairperson of
the Bacteriology and Mycology Study Section, Center
for Scientific Review beginning in July.
Dr. James
McDonald Stewart, emeritus profess or Chemistry &
Biochemistry, has been awarded the 2001 Fankuchen
Memorial Award in X-Ray Crystallography by the American
Crystallographic Association. The Department will
sponsor a symposium honoring Jim in the Fall at which
a number of internationally recognized crystallographers
will speak. Details of the symposium will be provided
at a later date.
An article
in the April 27 issue of Science (Studying
Humans--and Their Cousins and Parasites, p.628) discusses
Dr. Sarah Tishkoff's paper presentation concerning
the evolution of malaria resistance. Sarah's paper
was presented at the American Association Of Physical
Anthropologists Meeting in Kansas City.
From the
President's Commission on Ethnic Minority Issues,
Dr. Robert Yuan, CBMG, received the faculty award
for his honors seminar, Case Studies in Biology &
Culture, this semester.
Dr. Kate
Macleod, Biology, received an NRSA fellowship from
NIH. Kate joined Dr. Catherine Car's lab as a postdoctoral
fellow in March.
The annual
reports of the department chairs included a number
of additional awards and recognition not previously
noted here. They include:
In
Biology: Dr. Elizabeth Quinlan - a Powe Fellowship;
Dr. Margaret Palmer - Aldo Leopold Fellowship from
the Ecological Society of America.
In
Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics: Dr. Spencer
Benson was elected as a Carnegie Fellow by the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Dr.
Zhonchi Liu received a Sloan Foundation Pre-tenure
Faculty Fellowship. Faculty appointed as editors
or associate editors of scientific journals: Drs.
Anne Simon, Elisabeth Gantt, and Todd Cooke. Faculty
who have recently organized international conferences
include: Drs. Caren Chang, Elisabeth Gantt, and
David Mosser.
From
Chemistry & Biochemistry: Dr. Catherine Fenselau
was appointed to the NRC Board on Chemical Science
and Technology. Dr. Lyle Isaacs received an NSF
Career Award. Dr. Dorothy Beckett is on the Executive
Committee of the Biophysical Society.
Top
of page
IN
the NEWS
The research
of Dr. Doug Gill, Biology, on restoration of coastal
warm-season grassland on the Eastern Shore was described
in a Washington Post article (Flocking Together Through
the Web - Bird Watchers May Be a Harbinger of a True
Global Consciousness, May 9, 2001; Style Section C1).
CONS Director
Dr. David Inouye and Associate Director Dr. Jim Dietz
both appeared on NPR radio shows recently. Jim's interview
on Living on Earth and David's on 3 episodes of Pulse
of the Planet are available through the CONS web site.
http://www.umd.edu/CONS
Dr. Jerry
Wilkinson, Biology, dispelled romantic notions of
animal heroism in the face of tragedies like a burning
home. He was quoted in an article titled "Unbeastly
Behavior" in the Christian Science Monitor, May
29, 2001.
Dr. Tim
Wright, a post doctoral fellow in Biology, was featured
on NPR's All Things Considered, on Wednesday May 30.
Tim was interviewed about his research on parrot poaching,
which is to be published in Conservation Biology in
June. In addition, Science News is preparing an article
and WTOP radio interviewed him.
Top
of page
STUDENTS/ALUMNI
Congratulations
to CONS alum Patti Bright, who received one of 10
Budweiser Conservation Scholarships. Patti is now
a PhD student in UMCP's School of Veterinary Medicine.
Her dissertation research looked at improving modeling
of diseases in wildlife.
Dr. Brian Farrell, who received his Ph.D. in Entomology
ten years ago and was a student under Charlie Mitter,
has just become the first entomologist to survive
the tenure process at Harvard in 42 years! While here,
Brian received the Pelczar Award as an outstanding
Ph.D. student and a Sloan Fellowship.
Reagan
Lake, a CONS student, was named by the Biology Awards
Committee as the recipient of the 2001 Jane Prichard
Memorial Award for excellence in introductory level
teaching in the Biological Sciences.
Lisa Pfeifer,
a Biology Ph.D. student co-advised by Sue Carter and
Sarah Tishkoff, won first place for her oral presentation
at GRID (Graduate Research Interaction Day) in April.
CONS student
Jennifer St. Martin is the winner of the Bernadetta
Sugardjito Prize for the best scholarly paper of 2001.
The prize is awarded in memory of Bernadetta Sugardjito
who was a CONS alumna and the first woman to be appointed
director of a national park in Indonesia.
The Scientific
Coordination Unit of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has awarded $10,000
for additional work on the lignum vitae tree, following
up on work done by a problem-solving class held last
semester in the CONS program. Students Ed Schwartzman
and Shelly Grow will be doing field work in Mexico
and Honduras, and working in herbaria and in libraries
to review the taxonomy and distribution of the genus
Guaiacum.
Dr. Fred
Wasserman, an alum of Zoology, has been awarded the
Metcalf Prize for Exellence in Teaching. This is the
highest award given to a faculty member at Boston
University for excellence in teaching in Behavior,
Ecology, Ornithology and many other courses. Fred
graduated from the Department of Zoology in 1975.
Congratulations
to our alumnus Dr. Marshall Werner, Chemistry &
Biochemistry, who has accepted a tenure-track position
at Lake State University. Marshall obtained his Ph.D.
with Dr. Jeff Davis.
Major Bruce
Williams who received his MS in Biochemistry under
Catherine Fenselau will join the faculty at Westpoint
in June as an Assistant Professor and will teach biochemistry
this Fall.
Top
of page
Invitation
to Join the Council of Healthcare Advisors
Daniel
Mindus, Editor for the Journal of the Councils of
Advisors, has extended an invitation to join the
Council of Healthcare Advisors, an association of
physicians and scientists who are paid to consult
briefly on issues of biomedical technology for investment
managers and venture capital firms. The Council
includes leading basic scientists and clinical investigators
at academic centers including Harvard, Stanford,
Duke, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Yale, Columbia and the
Cleveland Clinic, as well as industry physicians
and scientists. The clients include Morgan Stanley
Dean Witter, Salomon Smith Barney, Fidelity Fund
Management, JP Morgan, and about seventy other leading
investment firms. You can find more information
on the web site at http://www.thecouncils.com. If
you wish to apply to the Council go to http://www.thecouncils.com/hcapp.asp.
Science
Citation Index Expanded
The UM
Libraries is pleased to announce the availability
of the entire back file of Science Citation Index
Expanded via the Web of Science. Coverage is now 1945
to the present. To access Web of Science from on campus,
go to http://wos.isiglobalnet2.com/.
For more
information contact: Alesia McManus at 301-405-9285
or am245@umail.umd.edu
Top of page
FUNDING
ALERTS
New
Web Site - US-Egypt Joint Fund -
There is
a new web site for the US-Egypt joint fund, which
is available for faculty and research staff who are
interested in small research grants. If you need any
assistance regarding the web site, please contact
Tal Shehata at x54774.
http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/grants/Program-Announcement.htm
DOE Funding - Ecosystem Research
The Office
of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) of
the Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE), hereby announces its interest in receiving
applications for research grants in the Program for
Ecosystem Research (PER). Applications should describe
research projects that address the scientific aims
of PER. Applications for research on carbon sequestration
in terrestrial ecosystems were solicited under an
earlier announcement (Carbon Sequestration Research
Program; Notice 00-09), and applications for research
on terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle and carbon balance
were solicited under another earlier announcement
(Terrestrial Carbon Processes (TCP) Notice 00-12).
Applications for research on those topics will not
be considered by PER.
DEADLINE:
Pre-application July 2, 2001; Formal Application August
13, 2001. CONTACT
INFORMATION:
http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html
Dr. Jeffrey S. Amthor (301) 903-2507, Jeff.Amthor@science.doe.gov
List
of funding alerts
Click above
to see a list of funding alerts that may be relevant
to the Life Sciences.
Top
of page
How
to Post your NEWS!
If
you would like to share your accomplishments or other
news, please send a note to Gene Ferrick at gferrick@deans.umd.edu.
|
