Prof. Daniell Mattern, a renowned organic synthetic chemist in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is the newest recipient of the Margaret McLean Coulter Professorship at the University of Mississippi.

Daniell Mattern is the fourth UM faculty member to be awarded the endowed position, which was established in 1983 through a bequest in the will of the late Victor Aldine Coulter, for whom Coulter Hall is named. Coulter served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 1936 to 1957 and was a professor of chemistry.

“I was stunned,” Mattern said after receiving the news from his department chair. “I thought perhaps he was joking, but he assured me he was not. The previous holders have been so impressive; it did not cross my mind that this was in the cards.”

The Coulter Professorship recognizes a professor in the department who has excelled in teaching and research. The award includes the honorific title “Margaret McLean Coulter Professor” and includes a yearly stipend that can be used as a salary supplement or for research support and travel.

Mattern was chosen for this distinction as a result of his outstanding achievements in research about organic electronic materials and his unparalleled success in teaching a difficult branch of chemistry to a myriad of UM students. Previous recipients include the late Charles A. Panetta, retired professor Jon F. Parcher and associate provost Maurice R. Eftink.

Daniell Mattern, Professor of Chemistry

“It is rare to find anyone who has graduated from our university and pursued a career in the health professions, such as pharmacy, medicine or dentistry, who has not been touched in some way by Dr. Mattern,” said Charles Hussey, chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “He is well known for his engaging teaching style in which he makes a game out of learning organic chemistry. Students quickly forget that they are studying a subject which had seemed so formidable to them in the beginning.”

Mattern joined the UM faculty in 1980, when Coulter Hall was just a few years old.

“Victor Coulter was alive at the time, although I never met him,” he said. “The position offered a good blend of teaching and research opportunities, and I have been able to keep engaged with both of those facets of being a professor for my 35 years here.”

Mattern was promoted to professor in 2004 and is a founding member of the UM chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He has a long record of instructional excellence, having received the UM Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 1992. He was recognized as College of Liberal Arts Teacher of the Year in 1998.

“The Coulter Professorship is the first recognition I have received that speaks to the full spectrum of a professor’s responsibilities: research, teaching and service,” Mattern said.

The honoree has published extensively about the synthetic routes to organic molecular rectifiers, (such as electronic components that are composed of certain arrangements of organic chemical compounds instead the usual silicon-based electronic materials). Mattern’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation.

“Making a particular molecule a tiny bit smaller, solely by putting deuteriums in place of its hydrogens, has to be among the most personally fulfilling among my research achievements,” Mattern said. “I’d been fascinated with this concept as a graduate student and saw a way to demonstrate it by modifying a molecule we were using in another study. So this little side project satisfied a longtime quest for me.”

Equally gratifying for Mattern was a service task he took upon himself when he was on the Undergraduate Council: a complete revision of the undergraduate catalog.

“It had been assembled piecemeal over the decades and had accumulated a great deal of conflicting, awkward and obsolete passages,” he said. “I found it hard to use as a council member, and I’m sure students found it difficult, too. It took a couple of years, but we got every section reworked and approved.”

When it comes to instruction, Mattern said probably the most fun he has in teaching organic chemistry is on the last day of class.

“We have a course review in the form of a quiz show,” he said. “Teams of students try to answer questions to expose the ‘hidden reaction’ so they can ‘name that product.’ I wear a tux, and we give away goofy prizes to the winners.”

Mattern received a bachelor’s degree from Kalamazoo College in Michigan and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Stanford University. He did postdoctoral research at Tufts University Medical School in Boston and the University of California at San Diego before joining UM as an assistant professor in 1980. Mattern teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in organic chemistry.

He is married to Elaine Gelbard, a dance teacher and arts educator. They have two adult daughters, Sierra and Jillian.

Mattern has been a cellist for 50 years and plays with the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. An author, he has written a few Ten-Minutes Plays that have been produced by Theatre Oxford. Mattern also enjoys hiking in mountains and riding his bike around campus.

See https://news.olemiss.edu/daniell-mattern-chosen-coulter-professorship/ for the original Ole Miss news story by Edwin Smith.

Dr. Davita Watkins

First-year assistant professor Davita Watkins has been awarded the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU).  ORAU invests in the careers of junior faculty at member institutes by providing seed funding via this awards program.  This competitive research award annually recognizes faculty members of various disciplines in science and technology. Recipients, each of whom are in the first two years of a tenure track position, receive $5,000 from ORAU with an additional $5,000 institutional match.  Prof. Watkins was awarded the Powe Award to examine non-covalent interactions between organic semiconducting molecules to increase their efficiency in devices used as alternative forms of energy.

Charles Hussey accepts the University of Mississippi’s Distinguished Research Creative Achievement Award. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications.

Whether or not it’s true that good things comes in threes, that’s certainly been the case for Charles L. Hussey, who received the University of Mississippi’s 2015 Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award on Saturday (May 9).

The UM chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry was presented the prestigious honor, which includes $7,500 and a personal plaque, during the university’s annual Commencement ceremonies in Tad Smith Coliseum. Hussey also received the Electrochemical Society’s Max Bredig Award in Molten Salt and Ionic Liquid Chemistry last October and the Southeastern Conference’s Faculty Achievement Award in April.

“I think this is the most important of the three because it recognizes a lifetime of scientific achievement at UM resulting from hard work, sacrifice, as well as a bit of good luck,” Hussey said upon learning of his third accolade this academic year. “There are many deserving researchers/scholars on this campus, and I was very fortunate and humbled to be chosen from this pool of very accomplished people.

“I have been very privileged to work with a number of outstanding colleagues across the U.S. and Europe, as well as great doctoral and postdoctoral students. And most importantly, I have a very tolerant family who put up with my extra hours at work, many business trips and military reserve duty, too.

Alice Clark, UM vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs, said Hussey is most deserving of the award.

“In Dr. Hussy’s prolific career, he has produced more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, including several that have been cited more than 100 times and a seminal article leading to the birth of ionic liquids that has been cited more than 1,500 times,” Clark said. “He has an impressive track record of extramural competitive funding and his lab was recognized recently by R&D Magazine for developing a novel aluminum plating system that was considered to be one of the 100 most technologically significant products in 2014.

“His many accomplishments demonstrate his leadership in the field, his scientific creativity and his instinct for innovative thinking.”

Hussey, who holds a doctorate in chemistry from UM, joined the faculty in 1978 after serving a four-year active duty term as a military scientist at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Frank J. Seiler Research Lab. For more than 30 years, he has researched the electrochemistry and transport properties of ionic liquids and molten salts, an outgrowth of the work he began at the Seiler Lab.

He has authored or co-authored more than 140 refereed journal articles, book chapters, patents and government technical reports. His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Alcoa, U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Defense. He is technical editor of the Electrochemical Society journals.

“Dr. Hussey’s research record is truly impressive, and he is a model for other faculty in the college,” said Rich Forgette, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and professor of political science. “Chuck is a leader in his field of electrochemistry, and our chemistry department has flourished under his leadership.”

Hussey said he already has plans for how he will spend funds that come with his award.

“My three grandchildren, Olivia, Charles and Maddie, have requested another trip to Disney World,” he said. “This trip should take care of the stipend money.”

Created in 2008, the annual honor recognizes a faculty member who has shown outstanding accomplishment in research, scholarship and/or creative activity. Much like Hall of Fame inductions, recipients can receive the honor only once. Nominees must be an associate or full professor (including research associate professors or research professors who are not tenure-track faculty) and must have been continuously employed full-time by the university for at least five years.

Past honorees include Sam Shu-Yi Wang, F.A.P. Barnard Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering; Larry Walker, director of the National Center for National Products Research; Charles Reagan Wilson, the Kelly Gene Cook Chair of History and professor emeritus of Southern studies, Dale Flesher, Arthur Anderson Lecturer in the Patterson School of Accountancy; Atef Elsherbeni, professor of electrical engineering and associate dean of research and graduate programs in the UM School of Engineering; and Robert Van Ness, Bruce Moore Scholar of Finance and director of the Doctor of Finance program.

Story by Edwin Smith

Charles Hussey, UM chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, (right) was awarded a 2015  SEC Faculty Achievement Award.

The winners of the 2015 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Awards were announced by the league office on Wednesday. These annual awards honor one faculty member from each SEC university who has excelled in teaching, research and scholarship.  Prof. Hussey was recognized as the University of Mississippi’s recipient.

Each award winner will become his or her university’s nominee for the 2015 SEC Professor of the Year Award and will receive a $5,000 honorarium from the SEC. The SEC Professor of the Year, to be named later this month, receives an additional $15,000 honorarium and will be recognized at the SEC Awards Dinner in May and the SEC Symposium in September.

“The SEC Faculty Achievement Awards give us a unique opportunity to not only showcase the work of our outstanding faculty members, but to also support their future research and scholarship,” said Nicholas Zeppos, Chancellor of Vanderbilt University and President of the Southeastern Conference. “These 14 men and women are some of the most accomplished and influential leaders in their disciplines, and I offer each of them my sincerest congratulations.”

To be eligible for the SEC Faculty Achievement Award, a professor must be a teacher or scholar at an SEC university; have achieved the rank of full professor at an SEC university; have a record of extraordinary teaching; and a record of scholarship that is recognized nationally and/or internationally.

 SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said, “This year’s SEC Faculty Achievement Award recipients are to be commended for their unwavering dedication to higher education. The SEC is pleased to recognize 14 individuals who have made such a positive impact on our students.”

 The SEC Faculty Achievement Awards and the SEC Professor of the Year Award are both selected by SEC Provosts, and the program is administered by SECU, the academic initiative of the Southeastern Conference. SECU serves as the primary mechanism through which the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of SEC students and faculty are promoted and advanced.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Mississippi has begun offering two different pathways for students seeking a bachelor’s degree in chemistry.  Click here for the full UM press release.

“Our B.S. in Chemistry degree has been modified to have two tracks for students to choose from,” said Nathan Hammer, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “The first option is a traditional chemistry track that prepares students well for graduate school in chemistry or a career in the chemical industry. The second track has a biochemistry emphasis and is specifically designed for students who wish to go on to medical school or graduate school in biochemistry.”

The department has a suggested four-year course outline with electives that count toward the degree and are required for medical school admissions. These requirements are covered by the Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT. The modified

UM BS Chemistry majors (from left) Ashley Williams, Sarah Sutton and Katelyn Allen conduct undergraduate research.

degree went into effect this spring.

“Both tracks are certified by the American Chemical Society and are among the most rigorous in the country,” Hammer said.

By modifying its B.S. in Chemistry degree, the department better serves the growing number of pre-med students who wanted a rigorous bachelor’s degree in the physical sciences, he said. These students typically enjoy chemistry, physics and math, but eventually wish to serve others in a medical profession.

“Prior to modifying our B.S. degree, these students had two options,” Hammer said. “The first was to satisfy our previous B.S. (in) Chemistry degree requirements and then take additional biology and biochemistry classes. The second option was to pursue our B.A. (in) Biochemistry degree and supplement it with calculus-based physics, additional advanced math courses and additional advanced chemistry courses.”

Most students opted to pursue the B.S. degree and take additional biochemistry and biology courses. Creating a B.S. in Chemistry degree track incorporates these additional biochemistry courses as well an advanced biology elective.

“We have substituted these courses for other chemistry courses that are useful for a career in chemistry, but not helpful in preparing for the medical profession,” Hammer said. “We have essentially taken what our best and brightest pre-med students have been doing on their own the last few years and crafted a degree that serves them. We have approximately 20 students total that are pursuing the new B.S. (in) Chemistry degree with the biochemistry emphasis. Most of these are pre-med students associated with the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.”

As a result of the additional students pursuing a B.S. degree each year, more space is needed for physical chemistry and inorganic chemistry laboratories. Coulter Hall’s new research annex includes a state-of-the-art molecular spectroscopy research lab that will serve CHEM 337 classes. CHEM 402 will be moved to a larger room that will be able to serve the larger number of students each year.

Since students in the new emphasis will be receiving a well-rounded chemistry degree, they will be taking courses in every area of chemistry and will have opportunities to take classes from almost every faculty member in the department, Hammer said.

“In their freshman year, they will take two semesters of general chemistry from Greg Tschumper, Steve Davis, Maurice Eftink, Jason Ritchie, Kerri Scott, Murrell Godfrey, John Wiginton, Jim O’Neal or Gerald Rowland,” Hammer said. “Students will take two semesters of organic chemistry in their sophomore year from Dan Mattern, Jared Delcamp or Davita Watkins.”

They will also take a number of advanced classes, including physical chemistry from Hammer, analytical chemistry from Amal Dass and Jim Cizdziel, biochemistry from Susan Pedigo, Randy Wadkins and Mike Mossing, and inorganic chemistry from Ritchie, Jonah Jurss and Walt Cleland.

“Students will also be required to perform original research with a faculty member in chemistry during their senior year, which could be with any research active faculty member,” Hammer said. “For this reason, this new degree track is especially popular with pre-med honors students who can get senior research credit for their honors thesis.”

Charles Hussey, chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is enthusiastic about having two undergraduate degrees within the department.

“The new Bachelor of Science degree with emphasis in biochemistry is more versatile than our existing Bachelor of Arts degree in biochemistry,” he said. “It not only prepares students to compete for postgraduate opportunities in the pre-health professions, but also provides them with a solid foundation in advanced chemistry. With this foundation, they are well equipped for graduate studies in biochemistry as well as the research-based M.D.-Ph.D. programs offered by elite medical schools.”

For more information about the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, visit http://chemistry.olemiss.edu or call 662-915-7301.

Ole Miss Forensic Chemistry graduate Melissa McFeeters (Class of 2013) recently accepted a position as chemist at the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department in Texas.  Melissa will work in controlled substances and toxicology.  The Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department is the oldest law enforcement agency in Texas. The area was initially colonized by Stephen F. Austin and 300 Settlers in 1821. The first sheriff was elected in 1836 and commanded a Calvary company during the battle of San Jacinto.  Brazoria is a rural county located south of Houston and just west of Galveston.

A recent paper from the Dass group in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (JPCL), “X-ray Crystal Structure and Theoretical Analysis of Au_25-xAg_x(SCH₂CH₂Ph)₁₈^– Alloy” has been identified by Thomson Reuters as a “Highly Cited Paper,” meaning that it is in the top 1%.

Based on data from the UM Office of Institutional Research & Assessment. From HottyToddy.com

Chemistry was recently cited as the best Ole Miss major to finish in four years.

Graduating from college in four years with a degree in hand is something that many parents want their children to accomplish.  So, what big programs at Ole Miss do the best job of getting students to finish in four?  According to HottyToddy.com, the top three majors are chemistry, social work, and exercise science.

“It is a team effort. Graduation rates are rising for a number of reasons. For example, our successful students rise to the challenge of the major and do not accept setbacks easily as a reason to give up or change to another major.   They network with each other to create a strong support system,” said Associate Director of Forensic Chemistry Kerri Scott.

Social work is also one of the Top 3 and has been for the last three years.  Remy Dargin is a senior, majoring in social work. She not only expects to graduate at the end of four years and feels that getting a job in social work may be quite easy.  “There are constantly increasing social problems and poverty rates are consistently increasing, and there is always a need for people to be helping out other people,” said Dargin.

Nearly 62 percent of social work majors who entered the program in August 2010 had graduated by May 2014 – a percentage that’s been increasing every year for the past three. However, the No. 1 major for four-year graduation rates in programs with more than 500 majors is chemistry. For the class that entered in 2008, 62.1 percent graduated in four years, by 2010, fully three quarters, 75 percent, got their degree in May 2014 “on time,” as some describe it.

Rounding out the Top 3 is exercise science, which ranks third when it comes to graduating the largest percentage of students in the four year time span. For this program, too, the percentage has increased every year for the past three, for freshmen who entered in 2010, 62.5 percent left campus with their degrees in 2014.

“I planned to graduate in four years because I dedicated my time doing internships and gaining experience in and out of the classroom to assure I graduated within four years,” exercise science graduate Jason Anderson.

The less time it takes to graduate, the better, for obvious reasons. Students who finish in four years typically spend less money and take out fewer loans than students on the five or even six-year plan. Plus, they get into the working world faster and start earning money.

“Working as a trainer is not something I was unprepared for. I feel I did my best as a student at Ole Miss to make a promising future for myself in my field,” said Anderson.

The four-year graduation rate for Ole Miss as a whole is 33.9 percent, which means it was tied at the 78^th spot in the nation among public universities.

Robert Mantz (left), chair of the Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry Division of the Electrochemical Society, presents Charles Hussey (right) with the society’s Max Bredig Award in Molten Salt and Ionic Liquids.

A University of Mississippi professor’s lifetime of successful research in molten salt and ionic liquid chemistry has brought him the ultimate international honor in his field.

Charles L. “Chuck” Hussey is the 14th recipient of the Electrochemical Society’s Max Bredig Award in Molten Salt and Ionic Liquid Chemistry. The UM chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry was presented the award this month at the 226th annual ECS convention in Cancun, Mexico.

“This is the highest international recognition that is given to people working in my particular research area,” Hussey said. “The society held a special session in the molten salt symposium at the meeting in my honor and hosted an award dinner, where I was presented with the recognition. I was very surprised and pleased to receive this honor.”

Paul A. Kohl, the society’s president and the Hercules Inc./Thomas L. Gossage Chair and Regents Professor of Electrochemistry at Georgia Institute of Technology, said his colleague is most deserving of the honor.

“An intellectual leader in this unique field for more than 30 years, Professor Hussey has made significant contributions to both the fundamental understanding and applications of molten salts and ionic liquids,” Kohl said. “He is a model and inspiration for many of us.”

UM administrators also praised Hussey’s achievements.

“The chemistry department has flourished under his leadership,” said Richard Forgette, professor of political science and interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “We are proud of his many accomplishments and grateful to have him as a colleague.”

The Bredig award is external validation of Hussey’s noteworthy accomplishments, Provost Morris Stocks said. “He is an outstanding faculty member and a distinguished scientist who strengthens our learning community.”

Bredig, for whom the award is named, was a pioneer in the study of phase equilibria, thermodynamic phenomena and transport properties of molten salts. A researcher at the Fritz Huber Institute in Berlin and the James Franck Institute in Gottingen, he conducted the first X-ray and neutron diffraction studies on molten salts while employed at Oak Ridge National Laboratories. The award was initiated in 1987 by the late Gleb Mamantov, professor and chair of chemistry at the University of Tennessee, with support from ARCO Metals and ALCOA. Mamantov was himself the fourth recipient of the award.

Hussey earned his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in chemistry from UM in 1971 and 1974, respectively. From 1974 to ’78, he was a research chemist and active duty military officer at the Frank J. Seiler Research Laboratory (Air Force Systems Command) at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Hussey joined the UM chemistry department as an assistant professor in 1978. Concurrently, he served as a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve and was assigned to the Battery and Propulsion Directorate, Wright Laboratory, Air Force Materiel Command, retiring in 1994 as a lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to professor in 1987 and became department chair in 1997.

During his academic career, Hussey has served as vice chair and chair of the Gordon Conference on Molten Salts and Liquid Metals, as a consultant for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, as a member of the National Research Council Committee on Electrometallurgical Techniques for DOE Spent Fuel Treatment, as a member of the University of Chicago Review Committee for the CMT Division of Argonne National Laboratory and as a member of the Board of Visitors for the Army Research Office.

An ECS fellow, Hussey has been a member of the organization’s editorial board since 2000. As an associate editor and technical editor, he has handled manuscripts in many topical areas for the Journal of The Electrochemical Society and ECS Electrochemistry Letters, but mainly those articles involving electrochemical and electro-less deposition and electrochemistry in molten salts and ionic liquids.

He also organized ECS symposia about electrochemistry in molten salts and nonaqueous solvents and the electrochemistry and spectroscopy of surface-bound molecules. Hussey’s scientific research with molten salts and ionic liquids has been directed at the electrochemistry and spectroscopy of d- and f-block elements, the electrodeposition of aluminum and corrosion-resistant aluminum-transition metal alloys and the electrochemical treatment of spent nuclear fuel. He also has published extensively about the physical and transport properties of molten salts and ionic liquids.

More than 25 students have earned advanced degrees in his laboratory, and many of them hold significant positions in industry or academia.  For more details see the official Ole Miss news story.

John Wiginton, Instructional Assistant Professor & Director of Undergraduate Laboratories

The Mississippi Science Teacher’s Association has selected John Wiginton, Instructional Assistant Professor & Director of Undergraduate Laboratories, as the 2014 Mississippi Outstanding College Science Teacher.

Wiginton will receive a plaque Oct. 21 at the MSTA’s annual convention awards banquet in Jackson. The organization uses its annual convention to allow teachers to present ideas to fellow teachers and to glean information and ideas from each other to better equip themselves for their classroom.

“I am excited and humbled to receive this award,” Wiginton said. “I used to think that the Teacher of the Year was the ‘best’ teacher of the year, but I’ve since come to understand that many of the best educators are far too humble to recognized easily. There are many more individuals far more deserving than I am.

“It is a supreme honor to be included in the same group with such awe-inspiring and selfless individuals.”

The honoree began teaching non-majors chemistry lecture courses at Ole Miss as an instructor in 2003. After Wiginton received his doctorate and was promoted to instructional assistant professor in 2008, he added General Chemistry, Chemistry for Teachers I and II, and Graduate Chemistry for High School Science Teachers I. He has been a laboratory manager since 2003 and the director of undergraduate labs since 2010.

“As the director of our undergraduate laboratory program, Dr. Wiginton has responsibility for 56 sections of laboratory courses,” said Charles “Chuck” Hussey, chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the university. “He works hard to keep abreast of the latest developments in laboratory instruction and has worked with prominent publishing companies to write laboratory manuals for his courses. His hard work is very much appreciated, and we are glad to see him recognized with this award.”

Wiginton reflected upon his teaching career.

“I come to work every day excited about the possibilities and leave every day feeling like I have done good, meaningful work,” he said. “Receiving awards is motivating to be sure, but none of us do what we do for the recognition. We do it because we love and care about our rising generation.

“At then end of the day, my reward is seeing my students graduate and become successful individuals and colleagues.”

MSTA award recipients are nominated by peers, students and parents. At the close of the annual convention, MSTA recognizes seven teachers. The Distinguished Science Teacher is one who has previously won an award from MSTA and has continued to be an exemplary teacher. An Informal Science Teacher award is presented to a person who is not employed as a science teacher, but who has contributed to science education in some manner.

Awards are presented for an outstanding new science teacher at any educational level, and for an outstanding elementary teacher, an outstanding middle school teacher, an outstanding high school teacher and an outstanding college teacher.