Beloit College > Chemistry > Annual Newsletter

1993 Annual Newsletter

CONTENTS

View from the Chair

Biochemistry at Beloit

Faculty Update

Course Enrollments

Honors

Seminars

Student Research Presentations

Off-Campus Experience

Declared Majors in Chemistry and Biochemistry

Majors - Class of 1993

News Notes


VIEW FROM THE CHAIR

Bill Brown, Chair, Department of Chemistry

Brock Spencer has written this piece for the past 14 years. Yes, he has been Chair of Chemistry for that long. The rest of us were more than happy to have him serve in this capacity because he was so very good at it. Organized, efficient, and a good leader with a sense of purpose and vision for the Department. And now he deserving of return to full time teaching and the pursuit of his research.

It is with pleasure that I now exercise one of the privileges of being Chair of Chemistry, namely telling you of the happenings in our department during the past year. It has been a very good year for the department in a number of ways. On May 16th, a beautiful day by anyone's standards, we graduated 12 chemistry and biochemistry majors. As Brock Spencer pointed out in our 1992 Newsletter, we have seen a trend over the past 25 years of more women majors. This year is no exception: two-thirds of our graduating majors are women.

And we were excited for Pa Houa Ly who was chosen for the Martha Peterson Prize, named in honor of the seventh President of Beloit College, and awarded to "The Graduating Senior who best exemplifies the liberal arts tradition at Beloit College". I might add here that Pa Houa is the only student to receive our Edward C. Fuller Award in Chemical Education two years in a row. You will find more information on these and other awards received by our '93 graduates later in this newsletter.

We are impressed with the high quality of our graduates and the degree to which they have taken responsibility for their own eduction, the degree to which they have participated in either their own or faculty-designed research projects, and for their overall academic records at Beloit. Witness the facts that seven majors graduated with departmental honors; and that three graduated cum laude, one magna cum laude, and two summa cum laude. An impressive record.

I am pleased to bring you the news of Laura Parmentier's appointment as Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Martha Peterson Junior Professor in the Sciences at Beloit College. Laura joined our staff in August 1991 on a temporary appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor, and we had expected her appointment to end this Spring. However, this past fall, the College arrived at an opportunity to develop two new positions in the sciences. As some of you may remember, in 1989 the College created an endowed Professorship in honor of former President, Martha Peterson. The intention was to create a succession of one-year visiting positions for senior women faculty in the sciences that would assist the College in meeting its obligations to increase the number of women embarking on careers in the sciences, mathematics, and health-related fields. It has now become clear that the College's interests will be better served by a greater continuity of this position (teaching, advising, research, etc.) with the result that the College has created two Martha Peterson Assistant Professors in the Sciences. Recipients of these tenure-track positions are Laura Parmentier in Chemistry and Carol Mankiewicz in Geology/Biology. We are pleased to have Laura continue with us in this new capacity.

For others of the faculty, this year had the quality of now-you-see-them, now-you-don't. It all began in Fall-92 when George led the Beloit seminar to Glasgow University, Scotland. One of the strong features of this biyearly seminar (at least we hope it will go every other year) is "Chemistry and the Environment", a course designed by Bill when he led the Glasgow seminar in 1990 and now refined by George this time around. The course, offered through the Department of Chemistry at Glasgow, features a series of lectures, field trips, and follow-up seminars relating to current environmental issues in Scotland and the UK. George writes more about his experiences elsewhere in the Newsletter.

We had George back for the Spring term, but then it was Brock's turn for a one-term sabbatical leave. He departed January '93 to work 15 January - 1 April with Professor Jack Lewis at Cambridge University, England on organometallic cluster systems. Following that work, Brock moved to the University of Lund, Sweden, on 1 April to work with Professor Ebbe Nordlander (Beloit '86) on some synthetic/structural/ computational work on model systems for the active sites of several metalloenzymes. More from Brock elsewhere in the Newsletter.

And Rama is almost back with us. With the conclusion of Commencement this year, Rama completed his final year of an administrative appointment. On paper, the arrangement was half-time Director of Academic Computing (why is it that half-time administrative appointments take far more time than that?) and half-time teaching. With the coming of the new academic year, Rama will return to the conditions of his original appointment at Beloit, namely one-half time Chemistry and one-half time Computer Education.

The "new" Chem 117, is now two years old and thriving. For those of you who graduated more than two years ago, this new and innovative course is a laboratory-based investigative/discovery approach to chemistry. It has neither lectures nor examinations, but rather emphasizes laboratory investigations, discussions, laboratory notebooks for daily work, and formal reports for week-long projects. It attempts to model what chemists actually do as they approach new problems and has a clear focus on everyday materials, their properties, and how atomic/molecular models can be used to explain and predict structure and behavior of those materials.

A major focus of our weekly staff meetings this past year has been a review of our curriculum, a review driven in large part by the changes we have been making in General Chemistry (Chem 117). We will continue that review over the coming year. I hope to have a detailed report of these deliberations for you in the 1994 Newsletter.

Kathy Greene, Director of Science Education at Beloit College, continues to direct our "Girls and Women in Science" program. This is an innovative project designed to encourage sixth-grade girls in their study of science and mathematics. On April 2 and 3, 1993, sixty girls (and their teachers and parents) from all over Wisconsin attended the third annual 2-day Girls and Women in Science Conference at the College. The program is planned and "delivered" by the Women of Chamberlin, a group of about 40 female (and 3 male) science majors, under Kathy's direction. The 1993 Project was funded by Beloit College and a Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Program Grant. This spring, Beloit College won the Corporate Award in the 1993 YWCA's Tribute to Women for its sponsorship of the Girls and Women in Science Project.

A couple of other developments. The Chemistry Computer Laboratory is now in full operation with five networked Mac II and SE30s, supported by two printers. The new Hewlett Packard GC/MS system is also fully operative. Much of this was accomplished through Brock's decision to offer an advanced topic course on use of the instrument, and thereby learn its fine points himself and also train a cadre of students in its use. We have now completed a HyperCard bar-coded inventory system of our 1800 or so chemicals and have the capability to print our inventory by location, chemical name, and Beloit ID number.

Those are some of the things that we are doing here. Now, what you are doing? We always enjoy hearing from you by your visits to campus, your letters and postcards, and chances to talk at alumni reunions and professional meetings. And we appreciate your efforts on behalf of our students in helping them to find summer placements, graduate opportunities and work opportunities. And we appreciate your financial support for the College and for the Chemistry Department. Do continue to keep in touch.

Contents


BIOCHEMISTRY AT BELOIT

Recently Dr. Mike Wirt, '85, came to my attention because he has applied to become an astronaut! Then at an alumni meeting, Dr. Phil Christian, '81, mentioned to me that he had served on the National Commission on AIDS. Reflecting back on our many other distinguished biochemistry alumni prompted me to review what has become of our alumni. There are many concerns nationally about the state of scientific education. Among the concerns are the lack of students electing careers in science, the limited numbers of students going on for Ph. D.s, and the lack of women electing careers in science. How does Beloit College do in these areas?

Ranil Harinda Abeysinghe, '94, is the one-hundredth person scheduled to receive a degree in Biochemistry from Beloit College. Looking over the biochemistry majors since the program was instituted in 1979 gives an indication of the quality of the program here and the quality of the students who have majored in biochemistry. Looking at those who graduated from 1979-92 provides the following fates for our first 98 alums:
# % of known alum
Enrolled or completed Ph. D.----------------------------------- 31 33.7
Enrolled or completed M. D., dental, veterinary degree-- 39 42.4
MBA, Law degree, M. S., MAT---------------------------------- 9 9.8
Employment in science/teaching related areas------------- 12 13.0
Other employment------------------------------------------------- 1 1.1
Unknown------------------------------------------------------------- 6 ----


Liberally interpreting these statistics, almost 90% of our graduates went on for advanced degrees, and almost all went on to careers related to science. WOW! I also observe that 47 of the 98, or 48%, were women. WOW! In addition, Biochemistry ranks 13th in number of majors among all the majors available at the College this year, an indication of how many of our students select a science education. In addition to being among the Science 50, (the 50 liberal arts colleges producing the most scientists), our Chemistry Department, including the Biochemistry Program, has been ranked the 16th most productive department in the nation - a ranking based on the number of chemistry and biochemistry majors per 1000 students enrolled at all campuses nationwide.

Finally, I would like to comment about where we go from here. "If you get to heaven, before I do, just drill a little hole, and pull me through!" I hope that our many successful alumni can make the road a little easier for current and future students. There are several ways that you can do this, and there is a special section of alumni requests this year which I hope that you will pay particular attention. While our students usually find research internships after their junior year, many would like to get involved after their first or second year. Are you at some location where they might be able to provide such an internship? Our students could use help selecting the best graduate topics and professors and medical schools to attend. Do you have advice? With electronic mail and computer databases, it is now possible to do much more with networking, and over the coming year we are making a major effort to get maximum use of these resources. All biochemistry majors will be on email, and I would like to find mentors for them among alumni. There is lots of opportunity and challenge for all of us to help our students get the best possible education and future. Your success as an alum of Beloit's Biochemistry Program is appreciated, but we hope you will find time to "drill a little hole" so that our present students can follow in your footsteps.

Contents


FACULTY UPDATE


William H. Brown B.A. St. Lawrence University
Professor and Chair M.A. Harvard University
Ph. D. Columbia University
At Beloit since 1964

Bill assumed the duties of Chair of Chemistry in September, 1992, following Brock's fourteen years of tenure in that office. As he soon discovered, it involves a lot more work than he thought. Bill continues work on an organic text, the final manuscript for which is due in September, 1993. He has been working on a number of departmental projects. These include: 1) the complete cataloguing and bar-coding of all the chemicals in the Department, with the able assistance of Ralph Moore, our Department stockroom director, 2) identification and assignment of the numerous additional responsibilities of the Department faculty, a four-page list of duties including various admissions, accounting, instrumental maintenance, advising, and other tasks, and 3) a complete evaluation of our curriculum, determining where the various skills essential to our majors are taught, how those skills are developed through the progression of courses, and which areas need increased or reduced coverage.

Kathleen Greene B. Sc. University of Lethbridge (Alberta)
Director of Science Education M.S. University of Wisconsin-Madison
At Beloit since 1987

Kathleen Greene is on campus for most of Summer '93. She is Coordinator of the Howard Hughes Young Scholar Summer Research Program, in which six pre-first year and three pre-second year Beloit students work closely with Beloit faculty on their research projects. Kathy is also co-directing, with John Jungnk, another Howard Hughes-sponsored program, the four-week Teacher Workshop. This summer, teachers from middle schools, high school, and universities are participating in this graduate-level (credit-bearing) workshop, "A Problem-posing, Problem-solving, and Persuasion Approach to Developing World Health Perspectives in Biology." Never far from her mind, though, is the fourth year of the "Girls and Women in Science Project," and the Women of Chamberlin, the group of women science students who make the project happen.


George Lisensky B.A. Earlham College
Professor Ph.D. California Institute of Technology
At Beloit since 1980

George was at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, in the fall as director of Beloit's Environmental Science Semester Abroad, and in Beloit in the spring teaching Chemical Equilibrium (a class of 40), Glassblowing (16 students survived to the end!), and Instrumental Analysis. George's entire family made the trip to Scotland along with 15 Beloit students. Laura and Diana attended the city schools there. The seminar visits to derelict land, nuclear reactors, agricultural areas, and waste tips were informative but the family prefered multicolor money, lots of walking, trying to shop for food, and the history, topography, and changeable weather of Scotland.

George continues his research collaboration with Professor Ellis at UW-Madison. They are co-principal investigators of a several institution National Science Foundation grant for "Development of a Materials-Oriented General Chemistry Course." Many introductory chemistry courses focus on small molecules, gases, and liquids, but solids are an important part of our materials-intensive world. The idea of this project is that virtually every topic discussed in a general chemistry course can be illustrated with examples and concepts from materials chemistry. The results will be published in 1993 by the American Chemical Society in a new book, "A Materials Companion to General Chemistry." After several years of work, the Solid-State Model Kit, by L. A. Mayer and G. C. Lisensky, is now being distributed by the Institute of Chemical Education in Madison. The kit makes use of a base with holes, a template to cover a subset of those holes, and various size spheres that slide down rods inserted in holes in the base. The goal of the kit is to improve the teaching of three-dimensional crystal structures.

Presentation of this material has included an afternoon workshop at the NSF Solid State Chemistry Program for Undergraduates and College Faculty, Northwestern University, June, 1992, an entire poster session at the Gordon Research Conference on Solid-State Chemistry, Plymouth, NH, July, 1992, and "A Study in Scarlet and the Sign of Four or How Holmes Deduced the Little from the Big," an invited plenary talk at Research Corporation Detectives in Science program, January 15-16, 1993, Tucson, AZ. He also presented a full morning workshop on solid state chemistry for 60 high school teachers. Megan Reich ('95) did research with George last summer, as will Peter Allen ('96) this summer.

George also found time last summer to again teach science at College for Kids for two weeks (both a second grade and a sixth grade class).


Alfred Bram Ordman B.A. Carleton College
Associate Professor Ph. D. Univ. of Wis.-Madison
Chair, Biochemistry Program At Beloit since 1977

Roc taught Biochemistry and Microbiology this past fall, and Chemistry 117 and Biotechnology and Molecular Biology (Biology 275) in the spring. Biology 275 is a new permanent offering, utilizing the equipment from a National Science Foundation Instrumentation grant of $156,000. The course covers recombinant DNA technology, immunology, eukaryotic genetics, and cell biology. The laboratory portion of the course involves students in Roc's personal research, studying in vivo production of proteins. This year students attempted to clone and express a c-myc-tagged beta-subunit of Na/K ATPase, and ran Western blots and ELISA assays to detect protein. His offering of Chemistry 117 course was also completely revised, in an effort to have the students experience being chemists, rather than studying chemistry texts. The students carried out original research on the excretion of vitamin C, culminating in a poster session where they presented their results.

Next fall, the laboratory portion of the Biochemistry course will also include original research for the students, in which they will be involved in purification and characterization of the c-myc-tagged beta-subunit of Na/K ATPase. Eventually he hopes to have students in Bio 275 constructing plasmids to synthesize novel proteins, with the Biochemistry students characterizing these products. This summer, he will be working with two undergraduates on in vivo production of proteins supported by a College grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.


Laura E. Parmentier B.S. Northland College
Assistant Professor Ph.D. Univ. of Wis.-Madison
At Beloit since 1991

This past year Laura taught two sections of General Chemistry, Scientific Literature and Senior Seminar, and designed a new Advanced Topics course in Pharmacology. The new general chemistry course continues to receive quite a bit of attention, and Laura and George were invited to give a talk about it at the Great Lakes Regional ACS meeting in Marquette, Michigan, in May.

Laura's research on enzyme mechanisms continues to go well. She and Jennifer Smith ('93) have purified large quantities of the urea cycle enzyme ornithine transcarbamylase from E. coli. With lots of enzyme on hand, they have begun to study the kinetic and chemical mechanisms catalyzed by the enzyme using 13C isotope effects. Jennifer presented this work at the Pew Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium in Chicago in October. Working with Pa Houa Ly ('93), Laura has also begun to study the enzyme ornithine cyclase, and is currently working on isolating and purifying the enzyme from Clostridia sporogenes.

This is the end of the second year of Laura's two-year leave replacement position. She will be staying on at Beloit in a tenure-track, endowed Professorship as one of the two Martha Peterson Assistant Professors in the Sciences.


Brock Spencer B.A. Carleton College
Professor Ph. D. Univ. of California-Berkeley
At Beloit since 1965

After teaching at Beloit in the fall, Brock was on sabbatical leave for the spring semester. He spent the first three months at Cambridge University with Prof. Jack Lewis doing molecular orbital calculations on models for metal-acetylene conducting polymers and on osmium clusters. In April he moved on to the University of Lund in Sweden for three months with Dr. Ebbe Nordlander (Beloit '86). In addition to research there on model compounds for metalloenzymes, he gave some lectures in a graduate course on bioinorganic chemistry.


Rama Viswanathan B.S. Bombay University
Associate Professor M.S. Indian Inst. of Technology
Director of Academic Computing Ph.D. University of Oregon
At Beloit since 1983

This was a year of change for me. I started the transition from my current appointment as Director of Academic Computing (back) to full time faculty by teaching Physical Chemistry again in Spring (for the first time since 1989). It was a good year for Academic Computing. We finally moved into new digs in the Kohler Center (what used to be the Science Library), positively palatial (2500 square feet of space!) compared to our old location in the basement of Morse-Ingersoll. In addition, we managed to completely network and connect our facility to the campus ethernet backbone, and installed three IBM RS6000 UNIX workstations to replace our ageing MicroVAX -II. The new facility is state-of-the-art, with Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) ethernet connections for hooking up microcomputers and terminals using phone-style jacks set up at intervals of a few feet along all the walls. It also includes a Mutimedia Computer Laboratory with six Mac IIcis/Centris 610s (each with CD ROM player), a color LCD computer screen display for overhead projection, and a VCR-TV combo for viewing self-training videotapes. On the professional front, I finally got three papers on methyl radical-surface interactions (based on my sabbatical work at Northwestern Univ.) published. Finally, the most exciting news is that my wife Kanchana is finishing her Fellowship in Endocrinology at the University of Illinois and has a position at Beloit Clinic. We will finally end our commuting existence and move back to Beloit in July!


Contents


COURSE ENROLLMENTS

1992-1993

FALL

117 General Chemistry.................................................................61
219 Inorganic Chemistry.................................................................8
230 Organic Chemistry I...............................................................49
300 Biochemistry..........................................................................11
375 Advanced Topics: Pharmacology............................................6
375 Advanced Topics: Glass Blowing..........................................16
380 Senior Seminar........................................................................6
390 Senior Thesis...........................................................................1
394 Research.................................................................................3
_______
Total 161

SPRING

117 General Chemistry..................................................................53
220 Chemical Equilibrium..............................................................29
235 Organic Chemistry II...............................................................30
240 Thermodynamics and Kinetics..................................................7
245 Quantum Chemistry..................................................................4
280 Scientific Literature.................................................................10
360 Instrumental Analysis...............................................................2
375 Advanced Topics: Adv. Organic Chemistry..............................4
380 Senior Seminar.........................................................................8
385 Senior Thesis............................................................................4
394 Research..................................................................................2
_______
Total 153

Contents


HONORS


Departmental Awards

JOHN H. NAIR AWARD honors an alumnus (Class of 1915) and provides membership in the American Chemical Society for one or more seniors who plan careers in chemistry
Lauar Anna Applebaum '93 Vicci Lyn Korman '93

WILLIAM J. TRAUTMAN AWARD IN PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY (Professor at Beloit 1921-1947) given to a senior doing outstanding work in physical chemistry.
Dejan Ilijevski '93

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTS AWARD provides membership in the Institute for an outstanding senior.
Brenda Elizabeth Waller '93

EDWARD C. FULLER AWARD IN CHEMICAL EDUCATION was established by the majors in the Class of 1982 in honor of Professor Fuller and is given to a junior or senior major who has done outstanding work as a teaching assistant.
Pahoua B. Ly '93

MERCK INDEX AWARD is given to an outstanding senior and consists of a copy of the Merck Index from the publisher.
Jennifer Rae Smith '93

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY JUNIOR ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY AWARD recognizes a junior who demonstrates promise in the area of analytical chemistry by providing a year's membership in the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry and a subscription to the journal Analytical Chemistry.

WALTER S. HAVEN FELLOWSHIP to support student research projects.
Pahoua B. By '93

CRC PRESS FRESHMAN CHEMISTRY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD recognizes outstanding work by a first-year student and consists of a copy of the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics from its publisher, the CRC Press.
Katherine Anoush Allikian '96

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY sponsored by the Division of Polymer Chemistry recognizes outstanding work in the introductory organic chemistry course by providing a subscription to Organic Chemistry.
Eleanora Ann Reber '95

J. CARL WELTY AWARD, from the Department of Biology, for outstanding performance and contributions to the Department.

ANN M. VERVILLE SCHOLAR'S AWARD, from the Department of Biology, recognizes the senior with the highest cumulative GPA in the Department.
Laura Anna Applebaum '93

Honors at Graduation

SUMMA CUM LAUDE Laura Anna Applebaum
Jennifer Rae Smith

MAGNA CUM LAUDE Jennifer Kay Freeman

CUM LAUDE Kimberly Jean Hardy
Gregory Lynn Hess
Vicci Lyn Korman


DEPARTMENTAL HONORS Laura Anna Applebaum - Biochemistry
Jennifer Freeman - Biology
Kimberly Jean Hardy - Biochemistry
Gregory Lynn Hess - Biochemistry
Vicci Lyn Korman - Bioche mistry
Pahoua B. Ly - Chemistry
Rekha Ramanathan - Biology


Honor Societies

Phi Beta Kappa Harindra R. Abeysinghe '94 (early election)
Laura Anna Applebaum
Kimberly Jean Hardy
Jennifer R. Smith (elected '92)


Mortar Board Laura Anna Applebaum
Jennifer K. Freeman
Kimberly Jean Hardy
Gregory Lynn Hess
Rehka Ramanathan


Phi Sigma Iota

Other honors

The MARTHA PETERSON PRIZE is one of the top prizes awarded at Commencement. It is given to the student who best exemplifies the liberal arts tradition based on election by the senior class.
PaHoua B. Ly '93

Contents


Seminars


Henry Steven Seifert, '77, a Northwestern University medical school faculty member, spoke on "Neisseria gonorrhoeae: bacterial cells that change their structure" at a September chemistry seminar.

Gene Banucci, '65, President of Advanced Technology Materials, Inc., Danbury CN, presented "The ATM Story" at Beloit's chemistry seminar on Oct. 2nd.

Professor Robert Midden, who was Laura Applebaum's ('93)mentor at the Department of Chemistry at Bowling Green State University, presented a seminar on "Oxygen! Can't Live With It, Can't Live Without It: Mechanisms of Singlet Oxygen Pathology"

Beloit College again hosted a Girls and Women in Science symposium, organized by Kathy Greene, to encourage girls and women to pursue careers in science.

Dean Aguiar, '90, visited from graduate school at the Department of Biochemistry at Rush University and gave a seminar to the Biochemistry class on his research "The Structure of Proteoglycans"

William McIvor, M. D., '85,after completing medical school, visited and presented a seminar to the Microbiology class on "The Medical School Experience"

Dr. Don Neu, Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, presented a seminar on "Solid State Chemistry - A Demonstration Lecture".

Professor John Blanchard, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, gave a seminar on "Enzyme Inhibitors as Drugs".

Professor Ebbe Nordlander, '86, of the University of Lund, Sweden, with whom Brock Spencer is doing his sabbatical, gave a seminar on his research in x-ray crystallography.

Contents


Undergraduate Research Presentations


This year our students again had the opportunity to gain professional experience by presenting their research at various programs. Their topics give an indication of the outstanding research performed by our undergraduates. The following presentations were given:

Pew Biological Sciences Symposium at the University of Chicago, Oct. 23-25

Vicci Korman - Biochemistry '93
The Biosynthesis and Characterization of Fuco Lipids in Human Colon Carcinoma Cells Colo-205 (wrok done at Notre Dame University in the Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry)

PaHoua B. Ly - Chemistry '93
The Comparison of Glutamine Synthetase Activities of a Wild Type and a Mutant Strain of Rhodospirillium rubrum (work done at the Dept. of Biochemistry - University of Wisconsin, Madison with Dr. Paul W. Ludden) (also presented at the Beloit College Symposium)

Jennifer R. Smith - Chemistry '93
Studies of the Urea Cycle Enyzme Ornithine Transcarbamylase: Purification and 13C Isotope Effects to Determine the Kinetic Mechanism (with Professor Laura Parmentier)

Pew Physical Sciences Student Research Symposium at Grinnel College, Nov. 13-15

Manish N. Patel - Chemistry '93
Development of a Chemical Sensor Using Semiconductor Phosphors (work done at Grinnell College)

Beloit College 17th Annual Student Symposium, April 14

Kimberly J. Hardy - Biochemistry '93
Microtubule Motor Kinesin Transports Zymogen Granules in Pancreatic Acinar Cells (work done at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, with Dr. Mark McNiven)

Jennifer K. Freeman - Biochemistry '93
Anabolic Steroid Effects on Growth and Development in Adolescent Male Mice (Mus musculus) (work done with Prof. Marc Roy, Dept. of Biology, Beloit College)

Rekha Ramanathan - Biochemistry '93
Reproductive Behavior in Guinea Pigs Treated Prenatally with a GNRH Antagonist (work done with Prof. Marc Roy, Dept. of Biology, Beloit College)

Contents


STUDENT EXPERIENCES


Mark Brockman, '95, Waukee, IA, will be working in the virology section at the American Type Culture Collection facility.

Gaoussou Diarra, '96, and Bret Summers, '95, are working for David Waller, the Science Division technician, in Chamberlin Hall.

Ashley Eversole, '95, Boulder, CO, plans to work at the Rocky Mountain Analytical Laboratories in Denver, running analytical testing.

Gavin King, '96, Brodhead, WI, will be working with Upward Bound on campus this summer.

Jonathan Lehmann, '94, Whitewater, WI, will spend the summer with Rama Viswanathan at Beloit developing a hypercard stack for physical chemistry laboratories for next year.

Andrew Loria, '94, Rockford, IL, will be doing research at the University of Chicago in the Biology Department.

Kristie Mather, '97, is part of the Howard Hughes Young Scholars Program, and will spend six weeks this summer doing research at Beloit with Roc Ordman on in vivo protein expression in bacteria.

Ann Miller, '95, Kabra, IA, working with Dr. Leslie Lyons at Grinnell College, will be synthesizing ionic, conducting, polymeric materials.

Amira Mirza, '94, Farwaniyah, Kuwait, will be volunteering at Beloit Memorial Hospital working in the Clinical Laboratory.

Manish Patel '94, Elk Grove Village, IL, is returning for a second summer of research on the development of a powdered semiconductor in the Department of Chemistry at Grinnel College.

Sudha Pavuluri, '94, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas, will be doing biochemical/physiological research with Dr. Eddinger at Marquette Univeristy.

Megan Reich, '95, Waterford, WI, will be doing research at Notre Dame University.

Tara Sander, '94, is working as a counselor for Beloit College's Upward Bound Program, and assisting Roc Ordman developing a database on alumni who have attended medical school.

Contents


Declared Majors in Chemistry and Biochemistry

Spring 1993

Michael Beins '96 Biochemistry Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Robert Bergman '94 Biochemistry Janesville, WI
Kelley Bradley '96 Biochemistry Lakewood, CA
Mark Brockman '95 Biochemistry Waukee, IA
Dawn Buschek '94 Chemistry Elgin, IL
Psychology
Gaoussou Diarra '95 Biochemistry Bamako, Mali
Ashley Eversole '95 Biochemistry Longmont, CO
Ranil Harinda Abeysinghe'94 Biochemistry Colombo, Sri Lanka
Dejan Ilijevski '94 Chemistry Merrillville, IN
Gavin King '96 Biochemistry Brodhead, WI
Calvin Kollori '94 Biochemistry Warangal, India
Peggy LaBarge '94 Biochemistry St. Louis, MO
Jennifer Larkin '94 Biochemistry Mount Holly, NJ
Jonathan Lehmann '94 Chemistry
Andrew Loria '94 Biochemistry Rockford, IL
Andrew Matzen '96 Biochemistry Dallas, OR
Andrew McVie '94 Chemistry Shreveport, LA
Creative Writing
Bryony Melville '95 Biochemistry Madison, WI
Arden Meyer '96 Biochemistry Newton, IA
Ann Miller '95 Chemistry Kalona, IA
Anthropology
Caleb Miller '94 Chemistry Washington, DC
Amina Mirza '94 Chemistry Safat, Kuwait
Manish Patel '94 Chemistry Elk Grove Village, IL
Brian Pfister '94 Chemistry Pine, CO
Eleanora Reber '94 Chemistry Indiana, PN
Anthropology
Megan Reich '95 Chemistry Waterford, WI
Environmental Biology
Beth Riley '95 Biochemistry Champaign, IL
Sudha Pavuluri '94 Biochemistry Freeport, Bahamas
Tara Sander '94 Biochemistry Dousman, WI
Bret Summers '95 Biochemistry Washington, DC
Kamesh Surendran '96 Biochemistry Kitwe, Zambia
Kevin Welch '96 Biochemistry Adel, IA
Boon Pin Yeap '95 Biochemistry Penang, Malaysia

Contents


Majors - Class of 1993


ANNA APPLEBAUM - Bowling Green, OH - Biochemistry with Honors and Music - Anna began research following her freshman year, working with George Lisensky on semiconductor photoluminescence at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The summer of 1991 was spent in her home town at Bowling Green State University under Dr. Robert Midden, where she worked on research to determine a sensitive and specific system to detect singlet oxygen. Anna spent the spring semester of her junior year overseas at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where she studied molecular biochemistry. At Beloit, Anna has been a teaching assistant for general chemistry, analytical chemistry, genetics and organic chemistry. After graduation, Anna will be getting married in June, and entering graduate school in the Department of Photochemical Sciences at Bowling Green State University with Dr. Robert Midden. She also plans to enter medical school sometime in the near future.

ERIK ANDERSON - Chemistry - Erik left May 5th for Hong Kong. He will spend six weeks travelling in China, Mongolia, and if the Russian Embassy is nice to him, Siberia. During the rest of the summer he will be working on an ongoing restoration project at the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, IL. He will spend most of his time working with a small team doing inspections and devising methods for bird control for the building. In October, he will travel again, this time to Africa, to visit a friend in the Peace Corps in Guinea and accompany her on a vacation trip to Uganda and Kenya. Afterwards, he may stay in Uganda for consultant restoration work for the Baha'i House of Worship in Kampala. If not, he will return home via Hungary and Germany to start a job to pay off student loans.

STEVE CHAN - Hong Kong - Chemistry - Steve had been struggling to decide his major, and finally selected Chemistry in his junior year, finishing the major in just two years. He was the student representative for the Chemistry Department and helped out in organizing the stockroom. This summer he will be travelling throughout the U. S., Europe, and Costa Rica. This fall he will be entering the Ph. D. program in analytical chemistry at Ohio University in Ohio.

JENNIFER FREEMAN - St. Louis, MO - Biochemistry - Ginger did research on Anabolic Steroids on the Growth and Development of Adolescent Mice with Professor Marc Roy. She will be attending the University of Missouri in St. Louis to pursue an M. S. in Biology.

KIM HARDY - Decorah, IA - Biochemistry with Honors. Kim carried out a summer internship in medicalbiology at the Mayo CLinic in Rochester, MN under the direction of Dr. Mark McNiven. She was Phi Betta Kappa, a member of Mortar Board, an all-conference and academic all-conference cross country runner, Co-captain of the cross country team, an academic all-conference member of the track team, a member of the record holding 4x400 relay team, Personnel Coordinator at the Beloit College Museums, and served as a teaching assistant for Chemistry 117. Next year she will attend the University of Iowa Medical School.

GREG HESS - Janesville, WI - Biochemistry with Honors - Greg spent last summer studying the nesting and predator response behaviors of Red-Winged Blackbirds at Beloit College's Newark Prairie with Ken Yasukawa in Biology. While at Beloit, Greg was involved in the Health Professions Advisory Committee, a mentorship program with an area doctor, Tau Kappa Epsilon (Treasurer), Fencing Club (President), Mortar Board, and intramural sports. Greg will be spending eight weeks of this summer in Ouro Perto, Brazil with Prof. Henry Moy as part of a museum studies field school. He will be attending medical school in the fall at Medical College of Wisconsin, on an Air Force Medical School Scholarship.

VICCI KORMAN - Marion, IA - Biochemistry with Honors - Vicci went on the Scotland Overseas Seminar with Professor Bill Brown. After doing an internship with Dr. Subhash Basu at Notre Dame University, Vicci presented her research on "The Biosynthesis and Characterization of Fucolipids in Human Colon Carcinoma Cells Colo-205" at the Pew Biological Sciences Symposium at the University of Chicago last October. Next fall she will be entering the Ph. D. program in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Iowa College of Medicine with a research fellowship.

PAHOUA B. LY - Kimberly, WI - Chemistry and Government and Asian Studies Minor. She served on the Budget Co mmittee through ComSen and is Senior Class Treasurer. She worked as a TA for organic chemistry and Chem 117 for which she won the Edward E. Fuller Award. She has been active in Jazz Band, Pep Band, and the Model United Nations. Through her participation in the Model UN, she interned at the UN in New York during the summer of her sophomore year. The summer of her junior year she was involved in a Pre-Med program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The summer before her senior year PaHoua conducted research with Dr. Paul Ludden in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She presented this research at the PEW Midstate Biological Conference. PaHoua will be returning in the fall for an Honors Term to help develop other laboratory exercises for the new Chem 117. She was elected by the Senior Class for the Martha Peterson Prize, one of the top all-college honors, at Commencement.

REKHA RAMANATHAN - Kuala Lumpur, W. Malaysia - Biochemistry. Rekha was a member of the Beloit College Track and Soccer Teams, Mortar Board, and International Club. During her sophomore year she had an internship in the Cardiovascular Department at Beloit Memorial Hospital. Her senior year was spent doing a Special Project with Dr. Marc Roy where they studied the "Effects of Antide on the Sexually Dimorphic Reproductive Behavior of Guinea Pigs." Upon graduation, she plans to attend medical school.

JENNIFER R. SMITH - Brooklyn Park, Minnesota - Chemistry - Jennifer spent last summer doing research with Beloit College Professor Laura Parmentier at the Institute for Enzyme Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jennifer spent the spring semester doing research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She will continue her work at Oak Ridge through the summer, and plans to attend medical school in the fall. While at Beloit, Jennifer was a student athletic trainer, participated in a mentorship with a local neurologist, studied piano in Italy during the summer of 1990, and performed a senior piano recital in December, 1992. Jennifer's achievements were recognized when she gained early acceptance into Phi Beta Kappa in May, 1992.

WILLIAM TROST - Cleveland, OH - Biochemistry - Bill had his primary interest in neuropharmacology and neuropathology, but also had varied interests in philosophy, religion, and ethical issues in science. He is working this summer for the Ohio Public Interest Research Group, with the primary goal of getting the Clean Water Act passed. Eventually he plans to enter medical school.

BRENDA E. WALLER - Durand, Illinois - Chemistry - Brenda transferred to Beloit in the Spring of 1990. She spent the fall of 1990 in Glasgow, Scotland as part of Beloit's World Outlook Program. Last summer, Brenda worked for the Geology Department where she used Beloit's ICAP Spectrophotometer to analyze trace metals in inorganic chemicals. In the fall she will begin graduate school at the University of Idaho Department of Chemistry working towards a Ph. D. in Environmental Studies. While at Beloit she has been involved in Community Senate, serving on the committees of Executive Board, Constitution Committee, and Election Committee (Chair). Other extracurricular activities she has been involved with are Social Board, Zeta Kappa Zeta Sorority, Model United Nations, S.L.O.B.S., Gold Key, Intramural Volleyball, Chemistry Club (President), General and Organic Chemistry TA, and the Girls and Women in Science Conferences. In May, 1992, she was honored by the Chemistry Department with the ACS Junior Analytical Chemistry Award.


Contents


Alumni News Notes


31 We are sorry to report that Dr. James Gray died in 1991.

32 Fred Leeson was elected Vice-Chair of his 60th Reunion Class last September. He will also be the Class Agent.

32 H. Dudley Porter, aa retired Eastman Kodak chemist, of Hendersonville, NC, won gold medals in the 100-meter dash and 25-yard freestyle swim in the '91 State Senior Games after capturing four golds and two silvers in the county competition.

32 Charles Sperry retired from International Harvester Co., which he had joined as a plant metallurgist. He lives in Evansville, IN

37 Barbara Roth of Chapel Hill, NC, retired from Burroughs Wellcome Co. as a senior research scientist and group leader, continues to write scientific papers while finding an exciting avocation: "I'm writing ahistory of a small area south of Chapel Hill, most of which was impounded as a reservoir and dam by the Corps."

39 Mary Riddell Morgan has been elected an elder in the Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Las Vegas.

42 Mary Jane Tewes Braun of Tallahassee was Beloit's delegate to the inauguration of Dale Lick as president of Florida State University.

42 Robert Kline Richmond, VA, is chairman of the U. S. Historical Society, a nonprofit organization engaged in historical research and sponsor of projects and objects with artistic and historic significance, and of Omnia, Inc. a firm producing and marketing decorative stained glass.

43 Lyle Smith, M.D., Kingsport, TN, was Beloit's delegate at the September inauguration of Richard Stanislaw as president of King College.

47 Robert and Marilyn Peacock Swick reside in Cambridge, WI; both are retired, he as UW-Madison professor emeritus and former nutritional sciences department chair and she as executive assistant of United Cerebral Palsy.

48 Donald Taylor, M.D., is a surgeon in Temple, TX.

49 William Monson has returned to Portage, WI, after retiring as vice president-research and development for Pet-Ag, Inc. a former division of Borden, Inc; he still does consulting for the firm.

49 William J. Monson, Ph. D., has retired from his position as Vice President of R & D for Pet-Ag, Inc. and has moved back to Portage, WI where he and his wife were raised. He continues as a consultant for Pet-Ag.

50 Theodore Collier, M.D., represented Beloit at the inauguration of John McCardell as president of Middlebury (VT) College in September.

52 Norman Standish of Solon, OH, continues as a fulltime consultant for BP America, Inc., from which he retired in June as senior resarch associate; he also serves on the Texas A & M School of Science advisory board and owns Standish House, Inc., bed and breakfast in Lanark, IL. He was elected co-vice chair of his 45th reunion class at Beloit.

52 Leland Cratty, Deansboro, NY, is a chemistry professor at Hamilton College, with current research interests in the area of inorganic chemistry, and president of the College's sewer commission.

52 Arthur Dalton, Venice, FL, is retired and involved in volunteer projects with Alzheimer's and homeowners associations and Selby Gardens.

52 Walter Fratt lives in Missouri City, TX; he retired this year from sales duties with Nalco Chemical Co.

52 Richard Freeman, Rockford, IL, is now Director of R & D at M. C. Chemical Company, developing new coating for tire manufacturing.

55 Oliver Webb, reitred plant engineer, Rockford Division of U. C. Industries, has returned from Quito, Ecuador, where he served as a volunteer with the International Executive Service Corps, assisting a lock manufacturer with obtaining die-casting technology and making die-casting molds.

56 Joan Graves Stewart of Pheonix is executive director of the Academy of Technology Entrepreneurs and Innovators, in addition to being vice president-administration for Small Business High Technology Institute.

57 Donald Ferlic, MD, of Denver is president of a 10-member orthopedic specialty office, with his practice limited to surgery of the hand, elbow, and shoulder.

58 Michael Agin of Falcon Heights, MN, is professor emeritus of science education at Michigan Technological University; he may do part-time teaching and consulting in the Twin Cities area.

58 Martin Stabb, Janesville, WI, has retired after 30 years of teaching chemistry in the UW system, the last 26 in Rock County.

61 Tom Tisue went on two research cruises, and delievered papers at the SIL meeting in Barcelona and the ERF symposium in Plymouth, UK. "The lab is full to overflowing: 3 grad students, a couple of senior majors, and two NRC postdocs. They keep me hoppin!" He has a chapter coming out in Advances in Chemistry on the environmental chemistry of lakes and reservoirs. He will be on leave from teaching this year helping an old friend start a DEO "watchdog" lab at the WIPP site in Carlsbad, NM.

65 Gene Banucci, President of Advanced Technology Materials, Inc., Danbury CN, presented "The ATM Story" at Beloit's chemistry seminar on Oct. 2nd.

67 K. William and Barbara (Wiley'69) Fuge reside in Pittsford, NY; he is product manager for Xerox Corp. and she is an assistant vice president for Columbia Banking Federal Savings & Loan, both in Rochester.

67 Eric Gordon and his family have relocated to Palo Alto, where he is vice president of research, Affymax Research Institute, which is engaged in accelerating the drug discovery process.

69 Alan Rocke, Cleveland Heights, published a book titled The Quiet Revloution: Herman Kolbe and the Science of Organic Chemistry through the University of California Press.

74 Joseph Donofrio, MD, who has been in family practice in La Grande, OR, planned to return to Wisconsin this summer to begin training in emergency medicine at Milwaukee County Hospital.

77 Michael Baldwin of New York, who had been an executive with Ammirati and Puris, Inc., has been named senior vice president and worldwide account director on Apple Computer with BBDO Worldwide.

77 Henry Steven Seifert, a Northwestern University medical school faculty member, spoke on "Neisseria gonorrhoeae: bacterial cells that change their structure" at a September chemistry seminar at Beloit College. He has a position in the Class of '77 and will serve through the 20th Reunion.

78 Beth Rezet, M.D. Having practiced pediatrics in rural West VA under the Public Health Service for three years, she works part-time at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

78 Sandy (Althshuller) Hughes is now Director of National Accounts for Griffith Laboratories in Alsip, IL. Scott Hughes continues with Herzog/Varian.

81 Peggy Arnsten Popp and her husband Derek had a daughter, Mariah Colleen Popp, on Sept. 16, 1992. She is an account executive with Hazleton Environmental Services, Inc.

81 Priscilla Miller Fox and her husband, Padraic, had a daughter, Alyson L. Fox, on March 7, 1991.

81 Phil Christian, MD, is a specialist in public health medicine, and is principal and CEO of Riley & Assoiates, Chicago, a health-care consulting firm; he has co-authored a manual on HIV and AIDS.

81 Joon Choo - The All India Printing Ink Manufacturers' Association welcomed Mr. Joon Choo, M. S.,Technical Director of M/s. Shamrock Technologies, Inc. on his first visit to India as the Chief Guest speaker on "Criteria on the Selection of a Slip Additive".

82 Elizabeth Dietmeyer Johnson of Lilburn, GA, is a U.S. Army Crime Laboratory forensic chemist.

82 Brent Wurfel, who is with the Institute of Physical and Theorectical Chemistry in Garching, Germany, has a Ph. D. degree from UC-Berkeley and has done post-doctorate work at the Munich Technical University.

82 Beatrice Kelsey Stein had a son, Jack Stein, on Oct. 3, 1991.

82 Brian Davis, who spent a year as an environmental volunteer in Bucharest, Romania assisting in disaster relief efforts there after his post doc in Switzerland, has started his own business, GREEN EAST, concerned with import export, attracting American business to Romania, and scientific and personnel exchanges between Romania and the U. S. He is also serving as a post doc in Madison, WI, engineering new yeast strains to ferment wood to produce ethanol.

82 Christine Delfeld has moved to Berlin and travels around Europe setting up and monitoring clinical trials in oncology.

83 Shari Paul married Gregory Beck in Juneau, Alaska, on June 14, 1992.

83 Peggy Barth of Arlington, MA , has received her master's degree in literacy education from the University of Southern Maine, Gorham campus.

83 Reno Novak, who is President of his own research biochemical manufacturing company, ProChem, Inc. in Rockford, IL writes "I'm sure you were quite surprised to have a daughter of a former student show up in class!" His daughter, Erica Severson, '96, took Microbiology and Chemistry 117 with Roc Ordman this year.

84 Judith Becherer Jennings of Sheridan has been promoted to director-administration and contracting, medicaid policy and planning, Indiana State Family and Social Services Administration. (ed. note: a far cry from planning in Cairo!)

85 Joe Carroll, having completed his doctorate in cellular and molecular biology at SUNY-Stony Brook, is in London, UK, for post-doctoral work at the Imperial Cancer Research Foundation. (ed. note - I guess sitting under that pine tree turned out okay.)

85 William McIvor, MD, of Cape Elizabeth is a resident in anesthesia at the Maine Medical center.

85 Mat Isham - Currently based in Pearl Harbor, he started the year working for a commmodre in the Navy, sailing throughout the Pacific Ocean to American Samoa, New Caledonia, Tonga, Australia, Bali, Singapore, Japan, Korea, and back home to "paradise", Hawaii.

85 Dr. Michael D. Wirt II completed his Ph. D. in Bioinorganic Chemistry at Georgetown University and is now a post doc in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

86 Gerard Hoehn has been doing lung cancer research at the University of Rochester, NY. He just moved to a position at Johns Hopkins. (ed. note: Congratulations!!)

86 James Lacock will enroll in medical school at Michigan State University in the fall. (ed. note: I bet playing the lead in Rocky Horror Picture Show your senior year helped!)

86 Paschal Sciarra and Diane Peterman were married in Sheboygan, WI on Oct. 10, 1992.

86 Prof. Ebbe Nordlander has hired a new technician, Brock Spencer, to assist him in his inorganic chemistry lab at the University of Lund in Sweden.

87 Patricia Forsythe, and Anthony Catching, had a son, Philip Troy Catching, on Aug. 11, 1990.

87 Mark Roszkowski, and Kristine Kolar, '87, had a son, Max David Roszkowski, on April 9, 1991.

87 James Selkirk works in the bureau of laboratory services, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, in Madison.

88 Eric Brown is at Rush University, where he is working on an M.D./Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Department

88 Pete Clausen is finishing up his Ph. D. in the Department of Biochemistry at Rush University, and reports that he was offered every post-doc for which he applied. He will be starting a position at the National Institutes of Health this fall.

88 Sonia O'Dell is a research assistant and graduate student in the University of Georgia chemistry department in Athens.

89 LIsa Staiman Fullerton has moved to Fairview Park, OH; she works as a chemist for Matrix Essentials.

90 E. Lynn Ryland of University City is an enzyme chmist at Sigma Chemical in St. Louis.

90 Linda Zuckerman reports from the Dept. of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology at the Univ. of Chicago where she is in graduate school they are using John Jungck's GCK software to teach genetics. She published a paper in J. Immunol. "The CD28 Ligand, B7, Enhances IL-2 Production by Providing a Costimulatory Signal to T Cells"

90 Dean Aguiar continues in graduate school in Biochemistry at Rush University working with Drs. Warren and Cheryl Knudson.

90 Karin Molander is a student at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center.

91 Conni Savor of Chicago is a second year medical student at Northwestern University, and will take the first part of the U.S. medical licensing exam in June before starting two years of clinical clerkships; she spent the last two summers doing research in pharmacology.

91 Christopher L. Smith - email address: smithc@ams.sunysb.edu (Christopher L Smith) I will be remaining as a full-time doctoral student (I recieved my MS this month) in applied mathematics at SUNY at Stony Brook. I will also be beginning work on a MDiv as a student in the extended program at Yale Divinity School, where I have recieved a Merit Scholarship. My guess is that I will live in Conneticut and commute to Stony Brook once, or possibly twice, a week. I am quite excited about these possibilities. I am still involved in the church and community. This summer I will be working on a national project where we will tie in with Los Alamos under Navy funding. My address will remain: Department of AMS, SUNY at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3600.

92 Anthony Chi is attending law school at American University in Washington, DC, while working as a Patent Examiner in the U. S. Patent Office.

92 Nimalika Weerakoon, after visiting Northern Ireland, worked at the Mayo Clinic this spring on cytoskeleton structure. She will be attending graduate school in Australia starting this fall.

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