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NEWS January
2002
"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
- Alumni
& Student News
- Staff
News
- Funding
Alerts
- How
to Post Your News Here
FROM
THE DEAN
Happy New Year! I hope that you all
had a terrific holiday and are returning with renewed
enthusiasm and energy for what is likely to be a pivotal
year for the country, the University and the College.
Just as an example, we have three offers out now to
prospective faculty members that we are very eager
to recruit.
Congratulations are in order to Dr. Earlene Armstrong,
who received the Presidential Award for Mentoring
last month; Dr. Chuck Delwiche, who has published
a landmark article in Science demonstrating that land
plants are direct descendents of stoneworts (a group
of green algae); and Dr. Steve Wolniak and colleagues
for making the cover of the Journal of Cell Science.
I am delighted that Dr. Bob Infantino will be joining
the Dean's office as Associate Dean in the middle
of January. Bob has an outstanding track record as
both an advisor and administrator, and I am sure that
he will have a great deal to contribute. My thanks
to the members of the search committee--Sara Via (chair),
Kathy Beardsley from BSOS, Lisa Bradley, Linda Dalo,
Bruce Jarvis, Sam Joseph, Millie Lindenberger, and
Ray St. Leger for carrying out a very thorough and
successful search. Bob is off to a strong start, having
been just named University of Maryland Faculty Advisor
of the Year by the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic
Council and the Panhellenic Association.
As most of you know, Linda Ringer, assistant dean
for finance, is moving to the Philip Merrill School
of Journalism as assistant to the dean at the end
of January. In her four and a half years in the College,
Linda has done a great deal to impose order on our
financial affairs and business processes, and I am
very grateful to her for all that she has contributed.
Her professionalism, courtesy and sincerity will be
hard to match.
Roll up your sleeves for Clean-up Week, January 14-18!
Last year we disposed of many tons (literally) of
non-functional equipment and unnecessary paper. Let's
try to beat that record this year!
During December, a group from the Center for International
and Security Studies at Maryland, led by Dr. John
Steinbruner, met with a group of faculty in the College
to discuss strategies for monitoring and combating
bioterrorism globally. A second group of faculty met
with a group from Children's National Medical Center,
led by Dr. Eric Hoffman, to discuss mutual interests
and potential collaborations in proteomics. If you
were unable to attend these meetings but are interested
in participating in either activity, please let Denise
Abu-Laban in the Dean's office know.
The College has received some seed money to begin
to develop a Center for Biodiversity, and a group
of interested faculty is beginning to develop a plan.
If you are interested in participating, please let
Denise Abu-Laban in the Dean's office know.
The College undergraduate PCC committee is off to
a strong start and appears to be well on the way to
developing some proposals that will be well worth
considering. Consult your representatives for further
information.
The College Advisory Council has met and will be reviewing
and probably revising the College's governance document
this year. See Ray St. Leger, chair of the committee
for further information.
My very best wishes for a happy and prosperous New
Year!
Norma Allewell
Dean
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UPCOMING
EVENTS
Schedule of Classes
January 28: First day of Spring 2002
classes
February 8: Last day of Schedule Adjustment (Last
day to drop classes without a W)
March 25 — 31: Spring Break
Events
January 18, 22, 24: Orientation Days
for Spring 2002.
January 14 - 18: Clean Up Week! The
second annual LFSC clean up week will be held in January
before classes begin. Start marking your old equipment
for removal!
January 21: University Closed for
Martin Luther King Holiday
February 18, March 8, April 8 and
19: Spring Open Houses
February 28 - March 2: Graduate Diversity
Program Visitors. We will host faculty from historically
black institutions who are interested in visiting
the University and meeting with faculty.
March 11: Junior Science & Humanities
Symposium
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FACULTY
RECOGNITION
Dr. Earlene Armstrong, Entomology,
is one of 10 national recipients of the 2001 Presidential
Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering
Mentoring awarded by the Bush administration. The
award is given to individuals and institutions who
display excellence in promoting participation of women,
minorities and persons with disabilities in science,
mathematics, and engineering studies. Earlene received
her award, which includes a $10,000 grant, on December
12 at the St. Regis in Washington, D.C. A faculty
member in Entomology since 1976, Earlene developed
and runs a very effective program, PRAEP, for preparing
minority students for College-level science. She estimates
that she has mentored more than a thousand students.
"A lot of these students are like diamonds in
the rough. They just need a little polish. I've been
able to help them polish their raw talent." Congratulations,
Earlene!
In a study published in the December 14th issue of
Science, Dr. Charles Delwiche, CBMG, and doctoral
student Kenneth Karol confirm that the closest living
relative of the first land plants is a group of green
algae called the Charales, which survives today in
fresh water around the world.
Drs. Matthew Hare, Biology, and Kennedy
Paynter, MEES, received a Sea Grant award with
other collaborators in VA and DE for $122,692 annually
for two years for the "Cooperative Regional Oyster
Selective Breeding (CROSBreed) Project: Comprehensive
strategy for genetic rehabilitation and conservation
of oysters." They propose a strategy for the
continued development and use of disease resistant
strains for oyster restoration.
Dr. Robert Infantino, Associate
Dean, was recognized as the University of Maryland
Faculty Advisor of the Year (2001-2002) by the Interfraternity
Council, the Panhellenic Council, and the Panhellenic
Association at their 5th Annual Scholarship banquet
in December.
Dr. Bill Jeffery, Biology, has been appointed
the International Journal of Developmental Biology’s
Associate Editor for North America. The North American
Editorial Office will be moving to the Department
of Biology during 2002.
In the wake of intensified national security at airports,
Dr. Gerald Miller, Chemistry & Biochemistry,
has been doing some work in this area with colleagues
at the Naval Research Laboratory. At the Federal Aviation
Agency's Third International Aviation Security Technology
Symposium in Atlantic City, Jerry presented the paper
"TNT Crystallography: Implications for Detection
of TNT by NQR or X-ray Diffraction" (Gerald Ray
Miller, Michael L. Buess, Stanley M. Caulder, and
Allen N. Garroway). Also completed was a major review
article on the crystal structures of the five most
common organic explosives: "A Review of the Crystal
Structures of Common Explosives. Part I: RDX, HMX,
TNT, PETN, and Tetryl" (G. R. Miller and A. N.
Garroway, Naval Research Laboratory Memorandum Report,
October 15, 2001).
Congratulations to Chiawei Tsai and Dr. Stephen
Wolniak, CBMG, for making the December 1 cover
of the Journal of Cell Science! Their article "Cell
cycle arrest allows centrin translation but not basal
body formation during spermiogenesis in Marsilea"
can be found at
http://jcs.biologists.org/content/vol114/issue23/cover.shtml
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IN
THE NEWS
Dr. Earlene Armstrong, Entomology,
was interviewed on WOL Talk Radio in December. Earlene
spoke about Entomology and the mentoring program.
She said she had a wonderful time describing recent
successes of both the University and the College.
Dr. Gerald Borgia, Biology,
was interviewed in December on PBS’ NOVA. Highlighted
was his work regarding the bowerbird and studies concerning
their ornately constructed dens and mating habits.
These Flying Casanovas have been an interest of Dr.
Borgia since 1980. Text of his interview can be found
at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bowerbirds/trail.html
The work published in the journal
Science by Dr. Charles Delwiche, CBMG, and
doctoral student Kenneth Karol was noted in the news.
The Knight Ridder Newswire (Seattle Times, December
16) reported, "Redwood trees and radicchio, cactus
and carnations all owe their existence to a single,
ancestral land plant ˜ a pioneer that emerged from
a pond more than 470 million years ago and colonized
what was then a desolate, nearly lifeless landscape,
scientists believe." Chuck was interviewed by
NewsFactor.com about the work. NewsFactor.com,
December 27
Dr. David Lineback, director
of the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition (Life Sciences), was quoted in the Australian
press, saying that "a new paradigm" is needed
in approaching the complex issues of food safety and
research and development. Australian
Business Intelligence, December 11
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ALUMNI
& STUDENT NEWS
Dr. Peter Balint, who graduated
from CONS and then went on for a Ph.D. in PUAF has
been given a tenure track position at George Mason
University. He is an assistant professor of environmental
policy - a joint appointment in the Department of
Public and International Affairs and the Department
of Environmental Science and Policy.
Tracy Hart (1999 CONS alumna)
researched and co-authored "Conservation coast
to coast. Comparing state action on marine protected
areas in California, Washington and the US Gulf of
Maine." (Atkinson, J. and Hart, T. 2001. Conservation
Law Foundation. www.clf.org) For her contribution
to this project and her work on proposed management
guidelines for the Maryland Coastal Bays National
Estuary, she received a Walter B.
Jones and NOAA Award for Excellence in Coastal and
Marine Graduate Study. She is now monitoring humpback
whale population dynamics in Glacier Bay National
Park, and has studied sea turtles, sea lions, and
humpback whale populations in Mexico.
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STAFF
NEWS
Robin Berkow,
Administrative Assistant II for the Biological Sciences
Program, has been admitted to Alpha Sigma Lambda,
the national continuing higher education honor society.
The society recognizes exceptional academic accomplishments
by students earning baccalaureate degree credit.
Congratulations, Robin!
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FUNDING
ALERTS
List of
Funding Alerts - The list of funding alerts is
lengthy.
Community of Science Database of
Funding -
If you want information about the Community of Science
database of funding sources go to the Office of Research
Administration and Advancement at http://www.umresearch.umd.edu/ORAA/.
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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.
Future issues will initially be at the beginning of
each month .
Maintained by
Gene Ferrick - gferrick@deans.umd.edu.
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