Faculty and Staff Accomplishments, Summer 2008

Associate Professor Spencer Benson Receives Fulbright Scholarship to Train Educational Leaders in Hong Kong
Dr. Spencer Benson, Associate Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics and Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, has been selected to be a 2008-09 Fulbright Scholar in the first cohort of the Fulbright Hong Kong General Education Program. Dr. Benson and three other US educational leaders will travel to Hong Kong this fall to teach, conduct developmental work on general education, collaborate across Hong Kong universities, and lead a series of workshops on general education for academic leaders throughout Asia. These Fulbright awards are designed to bring prominent American faculty to facilitate the move to four-year undergraduate programs at Hong Kong universities and to introduce liberal arts curricula at Hong Kong secondary schools.

Rita Colwell Elected to Governing Council of National Academy of Sciences

Rita Colwell, Distinguished University Professor, was elected to a three-year term on the Governing Council of the National Academy of Sciences. The Academy is governed by a 17-member council, which includes five officers (president, vice president, home secretary, foreign secretary, and treasurer) and 12 councilors elected from among the Academy membership. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that provides science advice under a congressional charter.  The Academy membership is comprised of approximately 2,000 members and 350 foreign associates, of whom more than 200 have won Nobel Prizes. 

Professor Phillip DeShong elected as the University’s 2007-2008 Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year

Nominated by one of his students, Peter DeMuth (the 2008 recipient of the University’s Medal of Honor), Dr. DeShong received the Research Mentor of the Year award at the opening session at Undergraduate Research day, in April.  In his written remarks, Peter DeMuth stated: “Dr. DeShong has fostered my growth as a researcher and scholar by helping me to connect my research and course work, and he has provided me with the opportunity to work in a collaborative research environment in which I was able to develop an interdisciplinary approach to research.  Dr. DeShong has freely given of his time, funding, and advice and without his support I would not have had nearly the amount of success that I have.”

Professor John Fourkas Becomes Member of Nanotechnology Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, NIH

John Fourkas accepted an invitation to serve as a member of the Nanotechnology Study Section at the NIH's Center for Scientific Review from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. Members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated comptence and acheivement in their scientific discipline and have a unique opportunity to contribute to the national biomedical research effort by reviewing grant applications submitted to the NIH, making recommendations on these applications to the appropriate NIH advisory council, and surveying the status of research in their fields.

Professor Sandra Greer to Become Provost and Dean of the Faculty at Mills College

Sandra Greer will formally retire from the University of Maryland College Park on July 1, 2008.  She has accepted an offer from Mills College in Oakland, CA to serve as Provost and Dean of the Faculty.  Sandra built her career at UM and contributed significantly to the stature of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.  She was Chair of the department in its most difficult financial period,  maintained her thermodynamics research, contributed to the realization that ethics in science is an important educational element, and has been a beloved educator for the CHEM 135 course. Sandra has been a core member of COACH and she was the recipient of the Garvin Medal from the American Chemical Society.

Profesor David Inouye’s Paper on Climate Change’s Effects on Wildflowers Recognized by Faculty of 1000 Biology

Profesor David Inouye's paper Effects of climate change on phenology, frost damage, and floral abundance of montane wildflowers was chosen by the Faculty of 1000 Biology as one of the most interesting papers published in the biological sciences, based on the recommendations of a faculty of over 2300 leading researchers.  Inouye’s research showed that flower populations are declining on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains as global warming's earlier springtimes make blooms more vulnerable.  He used data gathered in the Rockies from 1973 to the present to see how earlier spring thaws affect three flowers common to the mountain range and found that early thaws combined with late spring frosts make these perennial wildflowers unable to seed and reproduce. “An individual sunflower can live to be up to 75 years old,” Inouye says, “but we find that these perennials are not producing enough seeds to make the next generation of plants."

Biology Assistant Professor Daphne Soares among 30 to receive the 2008 Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award

Dr. Daphne E. Soares, Assistant Professor of Biology, was awarded the 2008 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award for her work titled, “How crocodilians can help us understand the neural basis of scene analysis.”  Dr. Soares proposes to make a detailed analysis of how the dome receptors, which resemble small buttons in shape and are linked to a dedicated, hypertrophied nerve system pathway, function to enable crocodilians to detect water disturbances. The Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards provide seed money for research by junior faculty at Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), of which the University of Maryland is a member. These awards are intended to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty and result in new funding opportunities. In 2008, ORAU received 107 applications and Dr. Soares received one of the 30 grants awarded.  Dr. Patrick O. Kanold, also of the department of Biology received the award in 2007.

Six Faculty Promoted to Professor, Three to Associate Professor

Congratulations to the following faculty on their promotions:

Michael Cummings	Associate Professor with tenure
Sang Bok Lee	Associate Professor with tenure
Jonathan Simon	Associate Professor with tenure
Jonathan Dinman	Professor
William Fagan	Professor
David Fushman	Professor
Lyle Isaacs	Professor
Sergei Sukharev	Professor
Robert Walker	Professor

In addition to his promotion to professor, Jonathan Dinman has accepted the position of Interim Chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, taking over from Dr. Steve Wolniak, with whom he will work closely to manage the transition. He will also work with the permanent chair when that person is appointed.

Faculty Receive General Research Board Awards

The following faculty received General Research Board awards for 2008-9. These awards provide faculty with time and resources for their scholarly endeavors and contribute to building intellectual community across the campus.

Semester Awards
William F. Fagan,  Department of Biology
Lyle D. Isaacs, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Amy S. Mullin, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Summer awards
Patrick O. Kanold, Department of Biology
Vitali Tugarinov,  Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Research Support awards
Daniel S. Gruner,  Department of Entomology

2008 Faculty/Staff Excellence Awards Highlight Best of College

The College of Chemical & Life Sciences held its annual Faculty and Staff Excellence Awards  Ceremony on May 14, 2008. The following faculty and staff were presented with plaques by Dean Norma Allewell to recognize their accomplishments:

Research Award

Dr. Bryan Eichhorn (Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry) received the Research Award for his work focusing on the synthesis, characterization and properties of new materials and clusters. He is currently co-PI on two UMERC seed grants, co-PI on a DOD fuel cell grant, PI on a NSF grant and has other smaller contracts with Exxon, TEDCO and a collaborative effort with NIST.  

Teaching & Course Development Award

Dr. Todd Cooke (Professor, Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics) received the Teaching & Course Development Award for this work to increase the biological relevance of the introductory physics taken by biological sciences majors by increasing its emphasis on biological applications and examples.

Faculty Service Award

Dr. Anne Simon (Professor, Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics) received the Faculty Service Award for her work in creating a unique graduate training program in both animal and plant virology. The program has received an NIH training grant and involves world-renowned virologists from NIH, UMBI, and other UM departments.

Junior Faculty Award

Dr. Andrei Vedernikov (Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry) received the Junior Faculty Award for his record of accomplishments that serve as a model for new faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He has established a strong reputation in research relating to organometallic chemistry, catalysis, and energy and since his arrival to UM in 2003, Vedernikov published sixteen papers in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, including six in the highest-impact international chemistry journals.

Staff Service Awards

Mr. David Dalo, Director of Facilities, received the Staff Service Award for his tenacity, dedication, and hard work in bringing the Bioscience Research Building from concept to completion over the last four years.

Ms. Kathleen Stauder, Business Service Specialist (CBMG) received the Staff Service Award for her conscientious, reliable, and meticulous management of multiple grant accounts for faculty in the Department of Cell Biology in Molecular Genetics.

Stacy Woycheck Appointed as Chair of Advisory Board for the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA)

Stacy Woycheck, Director of New Student Programs, was the national chair for the 2007 National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Conference in Baltimore, MD. In addition to her role as conference chair, Stacy was an invited presenter for a preconference workshop. Recently, she was appointed as Chair of the National Conference Advisory Board and will serve a two year term in this capacity.

 

Director Hired for New Flow Cytometry Core Facility

The Maryland Pathogen Research Institute is pleased to announce the opening of the new Flow Cytometry Core Facility in the Bioscience Research Building (room 2002). Kenneth Class, the facility's new Director, was a Research Scientist at the Wadsworth Center in Albany, NY from 2002-2008 and has more than twenty years of flow cytometry experience. Kenneth will be maintaining and operating the FACSAria cell sorter in the new Bioscience Research Building and working closely with researchers on campus to effectively use flow cytometry in their research. More information about the facility is available on www.mpri.umd.edu/flow.html.