Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Three Chemistry Majors Receive Health Profession Awards

Posted on: May 9th, 2020 by nhammer

Three chemistry majors received health profession awards from the HPAO for the 2019-2020 academic year. 

Summer Jefferson

Community Difference Maker Award Recipient

I am a Biochemistry major with minors in Classics & Society and Health.My hometown is Cumming, GA. I am also a  Stamps Scholar, a Taylor Medalist, a member of the Honors College, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a member of Alpha Delta Pi, and Who’s Who for 2020. Some of my most meaningful memories at Ole Miss have been engaging with the campus and local communities through Colleges Against Cancer, Rebels for International Health and Education, and Relay for Life. Academically, my professors have pushed and encouraged me to combine my interests and pursue research in food insecurity that I have been able to present at the Southern Rural Sociological Association’s Annual Meeting (2020) and submit for publication in a journal. As a result, this award specifically means so much to me because of my extracurricular and research interests. During my gap year, I’m so excited to be working at the CDC again while I apply to med schools!

Joey Madison Davis

Servant’s Heart Award Recipient

I earned a degree in B.A. Biochemistry with a minor in Psychology. I am from Brookhaven, Mississippi. I went to Mississippi School of the Arts for high school where I studied classical music and dance, and was awarded with Valedictorian, Hall of Fame and the Lindy Callahan Scholar Athlete Award. I am a first generation student, and will be the first doctor in my family as I am to attend the University of Mississippi School of Medicine next fall. At the University of Mississippi, I was selected for Who’s Who, initiated into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Through the HPAO, I was a student worker, the president of the HPAO Ambassadors and the PR Chair of the Pre-Med Mentorship Program. I volunteered in the Oxford community through the Leap Frog Enrichment Program, and at both the Baptist Memorial Hospital and MS State Veterans Home.

Andrew Groneck

Medical Service Award Recipient

I am a graduating Biochemistry major from Chesterfield, Missouri. I will be attending the University of Missouri School of Medicine in the fall.

 

Two Chemistry Majors Receive ODK Leadership Awards

Posted on: May 6th, 2020 by nhammer

OXFORD, Miss. – Six University of Mississippi students are recipients of the annual Omicron Delta Kappa Freshman Leadership Awards.  This number includes two chemistry majors.  The honors were created in 2010 to identify and recognize outstanding freshman leaders and community servants. Although the society was unable to present this year’s awards in person, each recipient was personally congratulated and featured on the organization’s social media accounts.

Jilkiah Bryant

This year’s award recipients from Chemistry are Jilkiah Bryant of Macon and Matthew Knerr of Paducah, Kentucky.  “We are fortunate to have such engaged students at the university,” said Ryan Upshaw, assistant dean for student services in the School of Engineering and ODK faculty adviser.

“Our society is excited to be able to recognize their outstanding contributions during their first year on campus. We also look forward to their potential membership in our society later in their college career.”

Previous recipients have gone on to serve in roles such as Associated Student Body president, Black Student Union president and Student Activities Association director. Several have been inducted into the university’s student Hall of Fame.

Matthew Knerr

Bryant is a chemistry major in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. She is participating in undergraduate research in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and is a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta health professions society. Bryant is also a Catalyzing Economic and Entrepreneurial Development Innovation Scholar with the McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement. She also serves as an Honors College ambassador and volunteers with Memory Makers.

 

Knerr is a Stamps Scholarship recipient and a biochemistry and psychology major. He is a member of the Honors College and Chancellor’s Leadership Class and works in Joshua Bloomekatz’s research lab in the Department of Biology. He is vice president of the Ole Miss Chess Club, president of Hill Country Roots and a peer mentor for ASB. He was selected to represent the university at the Naval Academy Science and Engineering Conference in Annapolis, Maryland. He recently was selected for membership in Lambda Sigma.

Department Announces 2019-2020 Chemistry Student Awards

Posted on: April 27th, 2020 by nhammer

Recognized Chemistry Students 2019-2020

The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry is proud to announce the names of undergraduate and graduate students who are recognized for their performance in courses and research over the recent school year.  Videos from some of your favorite professors announcing the names of the winners are posted here.  Click here for the complete list of recognized students.

General Chemistry – CLICK HERE!

Organic Chemistry – CLICK HERE!

Analytical Chemistry – CLICK HERE!

Physical Chemistry – CLICK HERE!

Forensic Chemistry – CLICK HERE!

Biochemistry – CLICK HERE!

Inorganic Chemistry – CLICK HERE!

Each Spring, the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Mississippi Recognizes Undergraduate and Graduate Students for their Performance in the Classroom and Research Lab

Graduate Students Research Areas:
Inorganic – CLICK HERE!
Analytical – CLICK HERE!
Biochemistry – CLICK HERE!
Organic – CLICK HERE!
Physical – CLICK HERE!

Student Members of the American Chemical Society (SMACS) 2020 Awards – CLICK HERE!

Outstanding Graduating Chemistry Scholar: Genevieve Verville
 
Graduate Achievement Award in Chemistry and Biochemistry: Naga Arjun Sakthivel

UM Hall of Fame: James “Trip” Johnson, Marie “Scout” Treadwell, Genevieve Verville

Taylor Medal Recipients: Margaret Baldwin, Abigail Barker, Amy Bracken, Reece Crumpler, Christopher Dorroh, Megan Gant, Sydney Hays, Summer Jefferson, James “Trip” Johnson, Chase Lance, Mallory Loe, Kristen Malloy, William Meador, Joy Myers, Micah Stewart

Seventy-Seventh Annual Honors & Awards Convocation

Graphic with text: Honors & Awards, 2020 Convocation

 

Three Chemistry Majors Named 2019-20 UM Hall of Fame Inductees

Posted on: April 25th, 2020 by nhammer

OXFORD, Miss. – Three University of Mississippi chemistry majors have been inducted into the university’s 2019-20 Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors afforded to students at UM.

The inductees were selected by a committee in accordance with policy developed by the Associated Student Body. Selections are based on outstanding contributions in all aspects of campus life.

This year’s Hall of Fame members from the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry are James “Trip” Johnson, of Dyersburg, Tennessee; Marie “Scout” Treadwell, of Dadeville, Alabama; and Genevieve Verville, of Montgomery, Alabama.

“The 2020 class of Hall of Fame inductees represents a wonderfully diverse, incredibly talented group of students who have each left an indelibly positive mark on the University of Mississippi,” said Brent Marsh, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the in-person Who’s Who Among Students and Hall of Fame ceremony to be cancelled, but the students participated in a Facebook Live Who’s Who ceremony followed by a private Hall of Fame celebration via Zoom.

 

 

James ‘Trip’ Johnson

A chemistry major, Johnson is a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. He is an avid runner, and his hobby turned into passion when he participated in the 2019 Great 38 Race benefiting the Chucky Mullins Endowment. Besides his running pursuits, Johnson serves as student director of the Honors College Senate, president of Omicron Delta Kappa and the Columns Society new member education and alumni relations chairs. He has led as a Delta Psi Fraternity secretary, RebelTHON morale captain and Interfraternity Council Rho Alpha. Johnson is a recipient of the Taylor Medal and an inductee of Phi Kappa Phi.

 

 

Genevieve Verville

Verville is a chemistry major, published researcher, organic chemistry teaching assistant and supplemental instruction leader. Besides her scholastic accomplishments, she has served in leadership roles on the Associated Student Body, including external executive assistant to the president and Freshman Council mentor. Verville has worked with the Ole Miss Big Event on its executive board and both the Logistics and the Projects and Placements subcommittees. She is on the volunteer conference staff for National Model United Nations.

 

 

 

Marie ‘Scout’ Treadwell

A biochemistry major and a member of the Honors College, Treadwell has held numerous leadership positions. She served as president, vice president and social chairman of the Columns Society, vice president of administration and academic chairman of Delta Delta Delta sorority, an Ole Miss Ambassador and Leadership Council member. Treadwell has also been an active member of the Student Activities Association Pageants Committee, Mortar Board, the Ole Miss Big Event Logistics Executive Subcommittee and the Associated Student Body Freshman Council.

 
 
 
 

Chemistry Majors Awarded Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship

Posted on: March 27th, 2020 by nhammer

The Office for National Scholarship Advisement is thrilled to announce that JAX DALLAS and WILLIAM MEADOR have been awarded the Goldwater Scholarship!

The Goldwater is one of the oldest and most prestigious national scholarships in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics in the United States. It identifies and supports exceptional sophomores and juniors who show promise of becoming this Nation’s next generation of research leaders in these fields! Last year, Goldwater received 1300 applications and awarded 250 scholarships. 

BS Chemistry Major Jax Dallas

Jax Dallas is a native of Columbus, MS and has been fascinated with NASA since childhood when he would launch model rockets with his father from the cotton fields. Last year he completed an REU at the University of Southern California. He aims to pursue a PhD in physical chemistry. His goal is to work for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.

BS Chemistry Major William Meador

William Meador is junior from Carbondale, IL. He is a pursuing a BS in Chemistry and has multiple publications. Most recently, his first author research paper was published in The Journal of Organic Chemistry where he also received the journal issue cover for his artwork! William aims to pursue a PhD in Chemistry. He wants to become a teacher-scholar with a specialty in organic chemistry while mentoring graduate students to create novel molecules with innovative properties.

Both Jax and William presented an incredible commitment to a career in research, a display of intellectual curiosity and proven contributions in their fields. From all of us at the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, we are so incredibly proud of you!

Congratulations to our 2020 Goldwater scholars Jax Dallas and William Meador!

Original story by .

Congratulations Chemistry Majors for Receiving a Taylor Medal!

Posted on: March 18th, 2020 by nhammer

Taylor Medals, the university’s highest academic award, recognize no more than 0.45 percent of undergraduates for meritorious scholarship and deportment. Recipients of the award must have at least a 3.90 grade-point average. The award was established at UM in 1904 by Dr. William A. Taylor of Booneville in memory of his son, an honored 1871 alumnus of the university.

Level Up: Increasing the number of women in STEM careers through mentorship

Posted on: March 3rd, 2020 by nhammer

Prof. Watkins and former UM graduate student (now professor at Rhodes College) Shanna Stoddard interviewed on Channel 13 News.

Click here for the full story.

 

 

$26 Million Gift Makes STEM Building Reality

Posted on: February 5th, 2020 by nhammer

Chemistry to benefit from Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation

Business professionals Jim Duff (left) and Thomas Duff (right), of Hattiesburg, visit with UM Chancellor Glenn Boyce about their gift of $26 million toward construction of a new STEM facility on the Oxford campus. Ole Miss students, such as those pictured in this Coulter Hall chemistry lab, will benefit from state-of-the-art active learning spaces in the new 202,000-square-foot building. Photo by Bill Dabney/UM Foundation

 

OXFORD, Miss. – With eyes on increasing job opportunities and boosting the economy, business leaders and brothers Jim and Thomas Duff, of Hattiesburg, have committed $26 million to the construction of a state-of-the-art science, technology, engineering and mathematics facility at the University of Mississippi.

Chancellor Glenn F. Boyce announced today (Feb. 5) the top gift for the 202,000-square-foot building, which will be the largest single construction project in Oxford campus history, with a $160 million total project budget. The Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation is projected to be one of the nation’s leading student-centered learning environments for STEM education.

“There is a critical need to increase the number of graduates in STEM fields to support growth and innovation in our state, region and nation, and strengthen the pipeline for training engineers, tech entrepreneurs, and science and math teachers,” Boyce said. “We are deeply grateful to the Duff brothers for this significant investment in our vision to produce graduates who fulfill critical needs, improve STEM teaching in our education systems and contribute as scientifically aware citizens in our society.

“Jim and Thomas are dedicated to enriching educational opportunities in Mississippi, and we guarantee that their investment will have a significant return as its far-reaching impact is felt. In the coming years, STEM job creation will outpace non-STEM jobs, and STEM professionals earn higher salaries, yielding more attractive opportunities for our students in Mississippi and beyond.”

Thomas Duff, a member of the state Institutions of Higher Learning board – the governing body responsible for policy and financial oversight of the state’s eight public universities – shared the motivation behind their gift.

“Jim and I recognize the importance of educating Mississippi students in STEM fields,” he said. “It is absolutely crucial to our state’s future to have an educated STEM workforce. In addition, we want to see talented high school graduates in our state have exceptional opportunities to prepare for some of the most rewarding careers possible. It’s what they deserve, and it’s what Mississippi needs.”

The Duff brothers contributed $1 million previously to support UM’s Flagship Constellations in memory of their father, the late Ernest Duff, who was the first in his family to pursue higher education. He earned an undergraduate and law degree from Ole Miss, where he served as the Associated Student Body president, was inducted into the student Hall of Fame, served on the Mississippi Law Journal staff and graduated first in his law school class.

In addition, Jim Duff’s daughters, Margaret and Caroline, are law and liberal arts students, respectively, at Ole Miss.

Jim Duff said his family values educational opportunities and wants to expand them in Mississippi.

“Tommy and I are impressed that part of the STEM facility’s mission will involve outreach to our state’s kindergarten-through-high school teachers,” Duff said. “We need our teachers introducing the idea of STEM fields to their students, inspiring them to major in STEM fields in college.

“This outreach will also include STEM activities for the community, improving the overall science literacy of our state and region.”

According to the National Math and Science Initiative, 60 percent of jobs created in the 21st century will require skills possessed by only 20 percent of the current workforce. The United States may be short as many as 1 million skilled workers over the next decade. The nation ranks 17th worldwide for the number of science degrees awarded annually.

The Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation will be an important tool to bolster science literacy in Mississippi by providing active learning classrooms and state-of-the-art labs to prepare STEM majors and K-12 teachers of those subjects. The 202,000-square-foot facility is poised to be the crown jewel of the university’s Science District along University Avenue.

 

The additional space and technological advances offered by the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation are critical to serving the student enrollment.

The university’s ability to expand STEM courses, especially those that require laboratory work and other research, is stymied by a lack of classroom and laboratory space – and particularly by a lack of nontraditional teaching spaces that facilitate active learning. Some active learning classrooms have been set up ahead of the building and professors have seen positive responses from students.

With construction slated to begin in 2020, the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation will be located in the Science District, with one side facing the Grove and another facing Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Thousands of people will pass this new campus landmark daily.

It will house lecture halls as well as chemistry, biology, physics, engineering and computer science labs. Lower student-instructor ratios will be in place, and various disciplines will be spread throughout the building to promote interdisciplinary teaching and learning.

Among other building highlights, students will enjoy technology-enabled active learning, or TEAL, labs and a visualization lab, similar to a small IMAX theater for 3D visualization. Engineering students will have access to dedicated lab spaces, including fabrication and testing equipment, for their senior design projects.

Several common areas will give students space to study both individually and in small groups, and a STEM tutoring center will provide additional support.

Such innovations appealed to the Duff brothers, who are widely known for their entrepreneurial spirit and for responding to opportunities with solutions, Thomas Duff said.

What began as a small-town enterprise quickly grew under the leadership of the Duff brothers, who saw unique opportunities for the development of solution-providing companies. That forward-thinking force became Duff Capital Investors, a privately-owned company headquartered in Columbia.

DCI comprises 20 companies, providing more than 13,000 employment opportunities across the nation and exceeding $3 billion in total revenues. The company includes Southern Tire Mart, KLLM Transport Services, Frozen Food Express, TL Wallace Construction, DeepWell Energy Services, Pine Belt Motors and many other companies that were founded as solution providers.

UM will seek other private, state and federal funding, use internally generated cash and borrow funds to cover the costs of the construction. Other private support for the building includes a $25 million gift from the Gertrude C. Ford Foundation in Jackson, a longtime donor to Ole Miss.

For more information on providing support for the STEM facility, contact Charlotte Parks, vice chancellor of development, at cpparks@olemiss.edu or 662-915-3120; or visit http://give.olemiss.edu. Other naming opportunities are available inside the STEM building.

February 5, 2020 by

Prof. Fortenberry Featured in Scientific American

Posted on: February 4th, 2020 by nhammer

Ryan Fortenberry explicates the chemistry of the cosmos—clearly.

Dr. Ryan Fortenberry

Ryan Fortenberry photo by UM Communications

FEBRUARY 3, 2020 BY ABIGAIL MEISEL

“Science should be explained like campfire stories,” said Ryan Fortenberry, assistant professor of astrochemistry, a subspecialty that explores chemistry in outer space. “Any science concept can be talked about in everyday language.”

Fortenberry wants to reduce jargon in scientific prose, as evidenced in the February 2020 issue of Scientific American, “The First Molecule in the Universe.”

In it, he traces the discovery of a new molecule found in space, helium hydride (HeH+), which scientists believe is the first compound ever formed in the Universe.  The bonding of helium and hydrogen atoms was once thought impossible by chemists, but, in space, radically different temperatures and pressures create unpredictable reactions. The discovery of HeH+ calls into question accepted truths about chemistry overall.

Explaining the discovery, Fortenberry wrote: “By studying chemistry in environments so very alien compared with Earth . . . we can find molecules that challenge our usual notions of how atoms interact and bring us to a deeper chemical understanding. Ultimately we hope to learn how chemistry led to the ingredients that ended up in the planets in our solar system and eventually enabled life.”

Fortenberry entered the nascent field of astrochemistry through a back door. He’d known from a young age that he wanted to write about science, and to do that knowledgeably he felt he needed a graduate degree, so he entered the Ph.D. program in chemistry at Virginia Tech.

“The program was way outside my comfort zone, and I wanted to quit,” Fortenberry said. “Then I came across a research fellowship offered through the Virginia Space Grant Consortium that introduced me to astrochemistry.  Discovering this specialty changed my life and gave me a reason for sticking out graduate school.”

As a researcher, Fortenberry explores the interaction of light with molecules in space. He uses supercomputers to predict ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and microwave fingerprints of various chemical compounds.

To crunch the numbers for his research, Fortenberry counts on the high-end computers in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and at the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research. The center provides sophisticated technical resources to Mississippi’s public colleges and universities statewide.

He has published his findings in more than 100 peer-reviewed journals and stands as comfortably in the esoteric realm of Journal of Chemical Physics as he does in Scientific American, ground zero for unpacking new concepts in science and technology to laypeople.

“Dr. Fortenberry is not only an exceptional scientist but also a gifted communicator who can readily explain complex scientific concepts in ways that both students and the general public find easy to understand,” said Greg Tschumper, chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

Fortenberry, who has published a book about science writing—Complete Science Communication: A Guide to Connecting with Students, Scientists, and Journalists (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2019)—would like to teach a journalism class to UM students.

“We are entering an era when understanding complex topics, like the science behind climate change, will be important for everyone to grasp,” he said. “The only way to do that is through clear communication.”

Click here for the original story.

Chemistry Majors Represent at SURC 2020

Posted on: January 26th, 2020 by nhammer

Congratulations Ivy Li, William Meador, Genevieve Verville, and Michael Valencia for receiving awards at SURC 2020 on January 25th, 2020 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  The Southeastern Undergraduate Research Conference is a unique opportunity for students in the SouthEastern region to present their undergraduate research work to other students and faculty members. Both oral and poster presentations are given. Students also network with graduate school recruiters and meet other students and faculty members engaged in chemistry research. Prizes are given for the best posters and oral presentations. The conference allows students to present their work in a friendly environment and obtain feedback and ideas related to their work.