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2002 - Departmental News and Highlights
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Dec. 30, 2002
Professor Sheldon Shore was honored in the Chancellor's
Remarks to the Ohio Board of Regents in mid November for the "Longest Winning Streak": "Dr. Shore
recently received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation--marking his 44th straight
year of NSF
funding." The Chancellor also noted Shore's 12 patents, multiple awards, status
as university Distinguished Scholar and Lecturer, and his long-standing commitment to
graduate student research.
Dec. 30, 2002
Professor Arthur J. Epstein's work
on plastic magnets with fractal magnetic fields was featured in Yahoo News'
NewsFactor -- Technology section. The article concentrates on the unusually shaped
magnetic fields produced by the plastic magnets Epstein is researching and it indicates that
the reseach may lead to radical improvements in the miniturization of data storage.
Nov. 13, 2002
Professor Arthur J. Epstein
was one of seven Ohio State faculty members to have just received the rank of Fellow
from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The text of the
announcement in OSU Today describes Professor Epstein and impact his research:
"Arthur J. Epstein, Distinguished University Professor of physics and
chemistry and director of the Center for Materials Research. Epstein
has invented plastics and devices that could one day replace metals in
electronics and lead to light, flexible video screens and high-density
computer memories. His extensive publications and patents are among
the most cited in the field."
Nov. 13, 2002
Professor Sheldon Shore
was profiled recently in OSU Research News
for his four decades of support by the National Science Foundation ( NSF ).
He was also interviewed for an October article by science writer David Lore, in the
Columbus Dispatch.
Additionally, an article
( html |
pdf ) by
Professor Shore in the October 21 issue of Inorganic Chemistry is the subject on the
cover
of that issue.
Oct. 1,
2002
October 9,
Professor Arthur J. Epstein was featured in
OSU's Research News for his work
in "spintronics," which uses magnetic fields to control the spin of
electrons. Epstein and his colleagues report using a magnetic field to make
nearly all the moving electrons inside a sample of plastic spin in the same
direction, an effect called spin polarization. Achieving spin polarization is
the first step in converting the plastic into a device that could read and
write spintronic data inside a working computer. As this science develops,
this research could result in computers that store more data in less space,
process data faster, and consume less power.
May 1,
Professor Arthur J. Epstein, Distinguished University Professor of Physics and Chemistry,
presented the University Distinguished Lecture, "Nanotechnology, Plastics, and
Your Investments," in the Wexner
Center Film/Video Theater.
Professor Epstein's talk was broadcasted live, worldwide, via the
Internet and archived for future downloading.
You can find information on the lecture series and the details and an archive of Prof. Epstein's lecture
here.
Professor Arthur J. Epstein and
Prof. Joel Miller (University of Utah)
collaborated to develop the first plastic magnet in which different
colors of light can alter its magnetism. Their research is summarized
in
an article in the Salt Lake Tribune. The online "Science Update" to
Nature magazine contains an
article
exploring applications of this research to improving computer memory.
Oct. 1,
2002
An
article in The Washington Times, which examines alternative possibilities
for combatting the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, featured Professor
Dehua Pei as an expert in the field.
Dr. Pei was interviewed for his expertise
on peptide deformylase (PDF) inhibitors, a new class of antibiotics
less susceptible to resistance.
Aug. 16, 2002
Professor Andy Wojcicki was recently honored
with a "Festschrift" issue of the journal Inorganica Chimica Acta (Vol. 334,
2002) in honor of his retirement. Andy has long served on the Advisory
Board of this international journal. This edition of the journal was
edited by John Alexander of the University of Cincinnati and includes more
than 50 contributions from colleagues and former students of Andy. As
John Alexander states in his opening remarks, "The number and quality of
contributions to this volume of Inorganica Chimica Acta are a measure of
the esteem and affection in which Andy Wojcicki is held by his fellow
scientists and reflect our collective good wishes to him and Marba on the
occasion of his retirement."
June 26, 2002
Professor Pat Hatcher and Sam Traina
were awarded a Dow SPHERE grant of $25,0000 in
January 2002, for activities related to
The Ohio State University
Environmental Molecular Science Institute (OSU-EMSI).
The Dow Chemical
Company, with support from a $500,000 annual grant from the Dow Chemical
Foundation, established the SPHERE (Supporting Public Health and
Environmental Research Efforts) grants program. The SPHERE grants program
supports university-based research addressing critical environmental and
public health questions associated with the production and use of man-made
chemicals and typically complements Dows in-house testing and research
efforts.
May 31, 2002
Professor Michael Chan lead one of two
teams of researchers from Ohio State that have identified the 22nd
genetically encoded amino acid, a discovery that is the biological equivalent
of physicists finding a new fundamental particle or chemists discovering a
new element. Two papers describing the discovery appear in the May 2002 issue
of the journal Science (
overview article,
Chan and Krzycki's article ).
Prior to this, scientists had believed that there
were only 21 natural amino acids -- the key building blocks of proteins.
Also see the
OSU Research News article.
For general articles in this field see
here.
For discussion of OSU's contributions see
here.
May 21, 2002
Professor Ming-Daw Tsai's research on
the mechanism of DNA polymerases and DNA ligase, which involves collaboration
with Professor Michael Chan, was
featured in the
Science & Technology section of the May 13, 2002 issue of
Chemical & Engineering News. The work was performed by several current and
former graduate students from the Department of Chemistry: Alex Showalter,
Xuejun Zhong, Chris Dunlap, Joe Arndt, Mei-I Su, and others.
May 3, 2002
The S. T. Li Foundation has selected Leo A. Paquette,
Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry, as the recipient of the S. T. Li Prize for
Achievements in Science and Technology for 2002-2003. The award honors
Paquette's contribution to synthetic methodologies and natural product
synthesis. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Paquette has more
than 1,100 research publications, holds over 40 patents, and has advised more
than 125 Ph.D. candidates.
President Kirwan presented the 2002 Faculty Award for Distinguished University Service to
Professor Bruce Bursten,
Distinguished University Professor and chair of chemistry.
Bursten currently serves on the President's Council on Women's Issues,
President's and Provost's Advisory Committee, the Academy of Teaching, and
the Faculty Hearing Committee. "Bruce is a tireless and committed worker on
behalf of high academic standards and the university's interests," a
nominator wrote.
Graduate student Michael Lufaso received a National Research Council (NRC) Research Associate fellowship to
carry out postgraduate studies at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD.
The highly competitive fellowships carry a stipend in excess of $50,000.
He plans to finish here and start his new
position sometime around the first of the year.
Mike also recently recieved the
Gold Award
for graduate students at the 2002 Spring Meeting
of the Materials Research Society.
There were more than 100 graduate
applicants for the graduate student award from which only 8 reciepients of
the Gold Award were selected.
Professor Bruce Bursten was featured
in articles in the
Columbus Dispatch (Sunday, Mar 2, 2002) and
Science (Feb 22, 2002)
for his work with University
of Virginia chemistry professor
Lester Andrews
on Argon metallurgy. Their research may signal a breakthrough in the use
of inert gases for the cleanup of high-level radioactive wastes.
Professor Matthew Platz is the most
recent recipient of the Remsen Award, presented by the Maryland Section of the
ACS. He will receive his award and give the award address at Johns
Hopkins in May.
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