Science at Beloit
Biochemistry at Beloit
Faculty Update
Seminars
Course Enrollments
Honors
Student Research Presentations
Student Experiences
Declared Majors in Chemistry and Biochemistry
Majors - Class of 1996
Alumni News Notes
Gifts to Chemistry and Biochemistry
Back
Beloit College was one of 50 colleges and universities (and
one of only two national liberal arts colleges) invited by the
National Science Foundation and the National Research Council
to participate in their conference "Shaping the Future: Strategies
for Revitalizing Undergraduate Education" held in Washington,
D.C. on July 11-13. The participating schools, selected because
of their success with educational reform in the sciences and mathematics,
were assembled to review the recommendations of major year-long
studies by NSF and NRC, and to help disseminate them. Each school
also provided an exhibit highlighting the reform efforts on its
campus. President Ferrall was also one of six participants selected
for the "Presidents Panel" that closed the conference.
Other members of the team representing Beloit were Dean Nancy
McDowell, Kelly Knudson (Chemistry, 1997, student representative),
Gene Banucci (Chemistry, 1965, industry representative), Brock
Spencer (Chemistry faculty), and Ken Yasukawa (Biology faculty).
Instead of our usual "View from the Chair" summarizing
activities in the Chemistry Department, we thought the following
materials prepared for the NSF/NRC conference would provide an
interesting and broader perspective on the state of science and
mathematics education at Beloit.
Overview of the Plan for Institutional Reform
Beloit College science and mathematics faculty have been major
participants in a number of inter-institutional reform efforts
over the past decade, which have stimulated significant local
innovation in the way students learn science and mathematics.
An institution-wide curricular review is underway, a quarter of
our faculty will be replaced within a period of a few years, and
renovation of our 30 year-old science/mathematics building is
scheduled to begin in the year 2000. Thus, we are in the midst
of asking fundamental questions about how we will structure student
learning experiences, faculty effort, and physical facilities
for the coming decades. We are developing a plan to use our historical
strengths in on-campus student-faculty research and off-campus
experiential education, combined with our growing commitment to
active and collaborative approaches to classroom and laboratory
learning at all levels, to reshape how all students experience
science as undergraduates.
Institutional Strategies for Reform
Institutional reform through inter-institutional collaboration
has been the hallmark of our faculty and curriculum development
experience over the past decade. The BioQUEST national biology
curriculum reform project and the ChemLinks Coalition, one of
five NSF Systemic Change Initiatives in Chemistry, are based here.
Significan portions of the NSF-supported Teaching General Chemistry:
A Materials Science Companion and its related CD-ROM were produced
and tested on campus. The Keck Research Consortium of eleven of
the most productive geology departments in liberal arts colleges
has been based at Beloit College. The Journal of Undergraduate
Mathematics and its Applications is edited here, as was one of
the volumes of the NSF-funded calculus reform project of the Associated
Colleges of the Midwest and the Great Lakes Colleges Association.
Membership in the Pew Midstates Science and Mathematics Consortium
has provided opportunities for regional collaboration with other
liberal arts colleges and research universities on student-faculty
research, faculty development, and curriculum reform. Beloit College
has helped to provide leadership for the Project Kaleidoscope
national alliance and has taken good advantage of its workshops
and networking. To an unusual degree, Beloit College continues
to be involved in national efforts directed toward educational
reform in the sciences and mathematics.
This national involvement has encouraged a number of local models
for reform. The BioQUEST philosophy and materials permeate our
biology curriculum. Our "Lab-First" approach to general
chemistry for all students is recognized as one of Project Kaleidoscope's
"Programs that Work," and its success has led to establishing
"Workshop Human Biology" here. Howard Hughes Medical
Institute grants support a highly successful "Girls and Women
in Science" program for our students and sixth grade girls,
summer research opportunities for entering students, and workshops
for secondary teachers, as well as curricular innovation in the
sciences. Our math modeling teams have placed among the top few
internationally in recent years by building on their class experience
with group approaches to solving real problems. A new "Ethno-Mathematics"
course is highly popular and is receiving attention elsewhere.
Institutionally, we are addressing a number of issues of curriculum
and pedagogy through a "Year of Dialog" this past year,
to be followed by action to restructure the curriculum this coming
year, and an ongoing series, "Talking About Teaching,"
to discuss issues of pedagogy. The role of science and mathematics
in the liberal arts education of all students, and the role of
interdisciplinary, experiential, and international dimensions
to that education, are issues that are all on the table. The paramount
institutional concern for effective student-centered teaching
seems well agreed upon and informs institutional decisions on
staffing and resource allocation.
This summer we are installing a fiber optics network for all academic
and residential buildings, which will bring to the rest of campus
the ready access to people and information that science and mathematics
students and faculty have enjoyed in Chamberlin Hall for the past
eight years. Training faculty to use this resource effectively
is beginning, and discussions of the future role of communications
technology for students and faculty are underway.
Next fall, we will begin planning for a major renovation of Chamberlin
Hall, our 30 year-old building that houses all the sciences and
mathematics. Construction is scheduled to begin in the year 2000.
Our strategy is to use this planning process, in conjunction with
campus-wide curriculum and pedagogy discussions, to make specific
judgments about the role science and mathematics will play on
campus in the coming decades and about how our students will learn.
Translating programmatic ideals into physical spaces within budget
constraints will force us to set priorities for staffing, class
size, the kinds of activities we expect to accommodate in classes
and laboratories, the relative importance of student-faculty research,
our expectations for departmental and interdisciplinary involvement,
the social and physical structures needed to foster a community
of scholars among students and faculty, and the technology required
to support these approaches.
We will start the specific planning process for the building with
local discussions of curriculum and pedagogy, and with visits
from and to other schools with recent experience in both curriculum
reform and facilities renovation. We expect to find that our prior
involvement with other institutions and reform efforts has provided
us with a reasonable basis for guiding these discussions. Our
experience in local curriculum reform has already produced small
projects to renovate teaching spaces to accommodate new active
and collaborative approaches to learning, and to incorporate new
technologies as they emerge. We are accustomed to change, so an
essential part of our planning process will be to anticipate the
need for continuing change.
Thus, we expect a shared commitment to emerge that supports a
model of hands-on and collaborative learning for all students
from the start, and a corresponding model for faculty involvement
in student learning. However, we also expect that the collaborative
process of reaching that shared commitment, as with the process
of doing science itself, will be at least as important as the
resulting model and its implementation.
Contents
Roc Ordman, Chair, Biochemistry Program
The Biochemistry Program continues its enthusiastic and energetic
atmosphere thanks to continued support and success of our alumni
and students. With more than 40 declared biochemistry majors,
a graduating class of 16 this year, more than 60 students considering
a biochemistry major, and a host of first-year students entering
Beloit next fall interested in biochemistry, including a rising
number of talented minority students whom the Admissions Office
has been actively assisting us to recruit, the program has built
on the enthusiasm and talent of students present and past. Thank
you for the donations to the Biochemistry Fund from many of you
we have started an endowed fund to purchase the numerous expensive
little tools needed to make lab work pleasanter. Thank you for
the donations of equipment and supplies so that we have first
rate facilities. Thank you for providing the alumni speakers and
contacts so that we have exciting information and internships
for most of our students this summer. As the news notes and senior
paragraphs and summer experiences pages in this newsletter testify,
the achievements of our students and alumni are awesome, and it
is not surprising that so many prospective students are attracted
by the success and enthusiasm of so many of you who have broken
the ground and led the way!
Email and the World Wide Web are making major changes in how we
all communicate, and I'd like to share a little of what's happening.
The College is installing fiber optic cable this summer to speed
up the processes. The biochemistry web site at https://www.beloit.edu/biochemistry
has proven a great resource for students looking for internships,
advice, and connections to all of you. I hope you'll check it
out and suggest updates on your personal file at https://www.beloit.edu/biochemistry/alumni.html
While you are there, you may wish to check out the activities
of the ChemLinks coalition headed by Brock Spencer, which is a
consortium of schools trying to transform how chemistry is taught,
"doing what chemists do" instead of listening to lectures.
The ChemLinks site is at http://chemlinks.beloit.edu/ These, combined
with our growing network of over 120 alumni on email, are a precious
resource.
Entering my twentieth year at Beloit, the greatest part of this
job is hearing about the progress and achievements of so many
of you, and I would like to brag about just a few of you - I could
fill the whole newsletter if I mentioned all I would like to -
but I hope highlighting a few will bring up names you remember,
encourage you to send in information about your latest adventures,
and give you information to spread the word about Beloit to a
few friends.
I was delighted that Ken Katzen, D.O.,'79, who has a hospital
and clinic in Texas, finally received his degree after straightening
out a missing English course after all these years. I consider
Nell Davis, M.D. (who I think is still in practice in Colorado),
and Ken to be the first in the long line of those interested in
biochemistry at Beloit. Joe Verdi, Ph.D. '83, is planning to come
to Beloit and give a seminar next year on his neuroscience research
at the Amgen Institute in Canada, where he has a distinguished
position based on an awesome list of publications. Blaine Kloeckner,
'83, came to visit from Florida this year to share stories about
his business and life in the real world. Liz Dietmeyer Johnson,
'82, wrote from the Army Forensic Crime Lab. Erica Black Periman,
'89, is a veterinarian, working in the Peace Corps in Ecuador
these days. Mat Isham, '85, is finishing his stint in the Navy
teaching submarine warfare in San Diego, and has completed an
MBA in Health Administration for his move to the private sector.
Eric Brown, M.D./Ph.D. '88, and Pete Clausen, Ph.D. '88, have
both finished up at Rush University's Department of Biochemistry,
where we continue close ties for graduate and medical school and
internships. Pete has moved on to NIH, where Dan Gentry, Ph.D.,
is finishing up and moving into industry. Linda Zuckerman, '90,
has finished her Ph.D. and is moving on to a post-doc in the San
Francisco area. Mike Wirt, '85, is now pursuing his M.D. at Einstein
to accompany his Ph.D. from Georgetown in medical imaging - the
inspiration for a seminar this spring on medical imaging techniques
in our senior seminar. Barry Elswick, M.D., '89, sent along a
great photo of himself overlooking the Pacific where he's doing
a residency in emergency medicine, just like the TV show ER. Dean
Aguiar, '90, is finishing his Ph.D. at Rush and moving on to Minnesota,
after being the mainstay of the Rush connection - opening doors
for so many internships and graduate school acceptances there!
Yoon Hang Kim, '91, received a Howard Hughes Medical Research
Fellowship, the first medical student at Medical College of Wisconsin
ever to do so, probably opening the door for Mike Beins, '96,
who will be starting there this fall after a distinguished internship
in DNA telomerase in Texas. Tara Sander, '94, is also at MCW,
where she'll be starting on her Ph.D. in biochemistry after a
year there as a technician. Andy Loria, '94, is a technician at
the University of Chicago working with Dr. Tao Pan, and arranged
for Dr. Pan to speak at our Careers in Chemistry series this spring,
a new seminar series which was the brainchild of Rama! And then
there's Mark Brockman, '95, pursuing his Ph.D. at Harvard, who
will be joined next fall by Kevin Welch, '96, also headed for
Harvard for graduate study.
The Biochemistry Program has come a long way since it began in
1979, and I and the other faculty here are fortunate to be able
to share the joys of challenge and success so many of you communicate
to us. Your stories inspire our present students that they too
can graduate and continue Beloit's outstanding tradition of success,
and find positions where they will someday be able to provide
the support and opportunities so many of you have to future generations
of students here. On behalf of our students and faculty: Thank
you all!
Contents
Tom Brauch B.S. Colorado State University
Visiting Instructor at Beloit since 1993
I continued in my permanent temporary assignment as a member of
the Chem117 team by teaching two sections of Chem117 in the fall.
This was a rewarding experience because it forced me to look at
the curriculum from two distinct vantage points. The tremendous
difference between two sections of the same class is a constant
source of amazement to me. The open ended, student driven format
of the course only served to amplify this difference. One section
focused on the details and data, the other section focused on
the thought processes involved. It once again showed me that often
students are very effective teachers and that maybe I should be
taking the course for credit as well. The other faculty member
involved in the Fall offering was George Lisensky. This was my
first opportunity to teach in a team approach with George and
I consider myself much richer for the experience. During the semester,
George and I developed a new module in the chemistry program that
centered around scientific ambiguity. We introduced a debate about
weather-stripping which was supported by recent, very technical
articles relating to relevant scientific issues. The student response
was tremendous. In fact, the debate was so successful that we
presented the results at the American Chemical Society National
Meeting in March, 1996 in New Orleans. Combining the debate with
a radon lab we had been using in previous semesters and information
available on the World Wide Web led to our submission of the debate
package to the ChemLinks Consortium as a new module. It was readily
accepted and we have been given funding to fine tune the module
after it has been tested at other consortium member institutions.
In the Spring term, I again taught a section of Chem117 as well
as team teaching Chemical Equilibrium with George Lisensky. Our
initial intention was to restructure the course by basing it on
computer software that would handle all the nasty calculations
involved in studying equilibrium from first principles. "Let
the computers do the tedious calculations so that the students
can focus on the concepts," became our objective. After reaching
a point in the middle of the semester in which we had all but
concluded that we had chosen the wrong software we emerged at
the end of the semester, relatively unscathed, with a new approach
that the student "experimental group" seemed to enjoy
and appreciate. I look forward to the next offering of this course
so that we can refine the changes we implemented.
I also attended the Pew Midstates Science and Mathematics Consortium
Curriculum Conference entitled "Connections in Science"
in April, 1996 in Chicago. Brock Spencer and I gave a presentation
on concept tests in science education. This was a particularly
rewarding experience for me as it provided my first opportunity
to network, on a large scale, with faculty from all over the United
States. I look forward to continued involvement and collaboration
with this group.
This summer I will be finishing the elusive thesis and preparing
to teach Inorganic Chemistry and my requisite section of Chem117
in the Fall.
William H. Brown B.A. St. Lawrence University
Professor and Chair M.A. Harvard University At Beloit since 1964
Ph.D. Columbia University
Another year of teaching Organic, now two full sections each fall
and spring, and continuing to grow. This year, I again took full
advantage of the student versions of ChemDraw and Chem3D offered
as a package with my text and required all organic students to
use it. With only brief instruction from me and then practice
on their own, many become amazingly adept at preparing Chem3D
files and incorporating ChemDraw structures and stereo pairs into
their lab reports and term papers. I plan to do even more with
molecular modeling programs next year. If you have ideas, please
pass them along to me.
This academic year has been a productive one for me in that I
completed a manuscript for a new book, Introduction to Organic
Chemistry. This text has been through four editions over the past
15 years, first with Willard Grant Press and then Brooks/Cole.
Saunders College Publishing has now acquired the copyright and
will publish the text as a first edition under their imprint.
The publication date is scheduled for 26 July of this summer,
and as I write this piece for the newsletter, we are on schedule
with galleys, page proofs, art proofs, index, etc. Saunders is
confident this text will bring an entirely new level of graphics,
use of color, and visual attractiveness to the one term course
in organic.
As this academic year ends, I look forward to the coming year
as the first of what is called "phased retirement."
A new term to me, and I think to the College. What it means in
my case is that I will continue half-time teaching, but with no
administrative responsibilities. I am very pleased with this arrangement
because it gives me the opportunity to devote my time at the College
to working with students. In addition, I have several writing
commitments with Saunders. Under the terms of my agreement with
the College, phased retirement is an ideal combination of teaching
and opportunity for professional development. In addition to teaching
Organic each year, I also hope to offer Advanced Organic with
some frequency. How long will I continue in phased retirement?
Hard to say now, but for at least the next couple of years. I
dearly love teaching, and am in no hurry to give it up.
George Lisensky B.A. Earlham College
Professor Ph.D. California Institute of Technolog
At Beloit since 1980
George taught General Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry in the
fall and Chemical Equilibrium, Instrumental Analysis, and Glassblowing
in the spring. Twenty students survived glassblowing! He continues
to work with Arthur Ellis at UW-Madison on their National Science
Foundation grant for a Materials-Oriented General Chemistry Course.
While many introductory chemistry courses focus on small molecules,
gases, and liquids, solids are an important part of our materials-intensive
world. Virtually every topic discussed in a general chemistry
course can be illustrated with examples and concepts from materials
chemistry. A history of this project has been published (You Do
Teach Atoms, Don't You? A Case Study in Breaking Science Curriculum
Gridlock by L. Lyons and S. B. Millar, LEAD Center, 1995, Madison,
WI) and excerpted in the June 1996 Beloit Magazine. Most recently
he has produced a CD-ROM that includes slide shows, overhead masters,
and 100 movies to accompany Teaching General Chemistry: A Materials
Science Companion. The Macintosh CD version is available now and
the Windows version is in press.
George has continued to present papers and workshops elsewhere,
on a variety of topics including both solid state chemistry, environmental
chemistry, and chemical education. This again was a very busy
year: June: a half-day workshop on "Semiconductors and Laboratory
Demonstrations" at the NSF Solid State Chemistry Program
for Undergraduates and College Faculty at SUNY Binghamton, and
a two week chemistry class for sixth and seventh graders at UW-Rock
County. August: co-chair of an environmental chemical education
symposium at American Chemical Society National Meeting in Chicago,
and a talk on "Environmental Analyses For Lead, Chloride,
And Radon: Three First Year Chemistry Experiments." October:
a workshop on Materials Science for high school teachers at the
American Chemical Society Western Regional Meeting in San Diego,
CA. February: an invited speaker for a symposium on environmental
chemistry at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. March:
a presentation on "The Solid-States Resources CD: Quicktime
movies in the classroom" at the American Chemical Society
National Meeting in New Orleans as well as chairing a "New
Ideas for Teaching Chemistry" session in which Tom Brauch
presented a joint paper on "Ambiguity in science: A group
debate on weather stripping." Tom and George have also written
up this activity as a module for the ChemLinks project. April:
a weekend in Seattle and San Francisco meeting alums.
Publications:
· G. C. Lisensky and A. B. Ellis, "Solid-State Resources
CD-ROM," Journal of Chemical Education Software. Reviewed
in J. Chem. Ed., 72, 918 (1995).
· K. D. Kepler, G. C. Lisensky, M. Patel, L. A. Sigworth,
and A. B. Ellis, "Surface-Bound Carbonyl Compounds as Lewis
Acids. Photoluminescence as a Probe for the Binding of Ketones
and Aldehydes to Cadmium Sulfide and Cadmium Selenide Surfaces,"
J. Phys. Chem., 99, 16011, (1995).
· R. Viswanathan, G. Lisensky, and D. A. Dobson, "Off-the
shelf portable data acquisition: Interfacing a serial-equipped
multimeter," J. Chem. Ed., 73, A41 (1996).
George Lisensky wins Catalyst Award !
In June, George was one of eight teachers in the nation awarded
a 1996 Responsible Care Catalyst Award sponsored by the Chemical
Manufacturers Association. The Catalyst Award "honors individuals
who have the ability to inspire students toward careers in chemistry
through their excellent teaching in and out of the classroom."
George is the third Beloit College professor to receive this honor.
Brock Spencer won the award in 1991, and Paul Boutwell won the
award in 1958.
Alfred "Roc" Bram Ordman B.A. Carleton College
Professor Ph. D. Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison
Chair, Biochemistry Program
At Beloit since 1977
Teaching, professional development, and personal life have all
been full the past year. I taught biochemistry and microbiology
this fall as usual, but in the spring had a very busy time with
innovations. I taught 1) molecular biology with 24 students where
we tried PCR for the first time using a thermal cycler donated
by alumnus Derek Magnuson, 2) scientific literature and literacy
with 23 students (which will be described in an article appearing
in J. Chem. Ed. this summer), 3) senior seminar with 10 students
in a new format of panel discussions on the technology, public
and ethical issues relating to global warming, gene therapy, medical
imaging methods and careers in chemistry, 4) a new course, FEP
101: Community Leadership, designed to provide 15 students with
an introduction to leadership studies, policy studies, and experiential
learning, team taught by Richard Berman and Julie Swanson of Field
and Career Services, Rob Koulish of our Community Research and
Policy Studies Center, and Executive Directors of five area non-profit
agencies with which the students did volunteer projects, and 5)
a Special Projects with 10 students who helped me analyze calcium
excretion in urine, determining a rational dose of calcium similar
to our vitamin C studies last year - a total of 87 students in
my classes, along with about 59 biochemistry majors to advise.
Professionally it has been a thrilling, exceptional year. Besides
two papers accepted to J. Chem. Ed., giving a talk on vitamin
C at the New Orleans ACS meeting, and working on Project Enhance
to attract minority students to Beloit, I have been venturing
into the business world as an entrepreneur. Last October a manufacturer
approached me to make a line of nutritional supplements with me
as a result of my vitamin C research. As a result, I am now Chief
Scientific Officer of Personal Health Corporation (PHC), a corporation
I have launched with a number of extremely talented business partners
with experience in biomedical start-up companies. "Personal
Health Corporation provides safe, proven products for individuals
who want to do something today to improve their present and future
health and the health of those for whom they care." We expect
to be selling stock (at $5,000 per share) this summer, and launch
a line of nutritional supplements within the coming year. It promises
to be a successful venture, as this spring I received a patent
on my vitamin C research - perhaps the first patent ever received
by a Beloit professor (our archivist Fred Burwell is checking)
- and will shortly be filing for a related patent on the calcium
research currently underway.
On the personal front, Eliza and I reached our 10th anniversary
this May. In addition to my daughter Katrin who will be a senior
at Beloit next year, our three daughters Majka, Gretel, and Carly
all received National Merit Scholarships, and will be off to college
next fall. Between our four girls' scholarships, they will fortunately
be earning more next year than Eliza and I combined.
Laura E. Parmentier B.S. Northland College
Assistant Professor and Ph.D. University of Wisconsin - Madison
Martha Peterson Junior Professor in the Sciences
At Beloit since 1991
Teaching highlights for me this year include two collaborative
efforts. In the Fall, I teamed up with Brock Spencer and Suzanne
Cox in the Psychology Department to lead a cluster of First Year
Seminars on issues relating to food. This was my first FYI, and
I enjoyed it very much. The collaborative teaching style works
well for this seminar type of course as well as for Chem 117,
which I taught in the Spring with Brock Spencer and Tom Brauch.
I had been away from Chem 117 for three semesters (which is a
long time!), and it was great to be back and incorporate the new
debate and other changes that Tom mentioned in his paragraph,
above.
The sociological research project on academic women in the sciences
combining careers and mother hood that I began last summer with
Kim White ('96) has really taken off. Kim worked with me throughout
the academic year, and together we presented our findings at two
professional meetings this spring, the National Meeting of the
American Chemical Society in New Orleans and the Annual Meeting
of the Midwest Sociological Society in Chicago. With funding obtained
from a Keefer Fellowship for Junior Faculty that I was awarded
this spring, I am continuing to collect and analyze data this
summer with the help of Kris Zimmermann ('96), a biochemistry/sociology
double major interested in public health.
I am also the editor of this Newsletter again this year, so please
let me know what you think, especially of the new photo section
on pages 26-30!
Brock Spencer B.A. Carleton College
Kohnstamm Professor of Chemistry Ph. D. Univ. California-Berkeley
At Beloit since 1965
Brock continues to teach Chem 117, which has gained some national
prominence as a Project Kaleidoscope "Program That Works"
and has provided discovery-based labs (with Laura and George)
for a new general chemistry laboratory manual being published
by John Wiley. Brock had the unusual experience of being the guest
for a Wisconsin Public Radio call-in show to discuss our lab-based
approach and found that a surprising number of people, with strongly
held opinions, wanted to talk at 6:00 AM about teaching and learning
chemistry. He also taught a First Year Seminar on issues related
to food, collaborating with Laura Parmentier and Suzanne Cox (Psychology).
As a member of the program planning group for Project Kaleidoscope
workshops on "Revitalizing Introductory Chemistry,"
Brock participated in workshops at Hendrix College in Arkansas
and at Columbia University, presenting materials from Chem 117
and the ChemLinks project. This summer he will chair the Gordon
Research Conference on "Innovations in Teaching College Chemistry."
Brock continues as project director for the ChemLinks Coalition,
a 5-year $2.7 million project bringing together 20 colleges and
universities to produce and test a topical modular approach to
teaching chemistry. In this capacity, he has made a number of
presentations on the project at the Midwest Association of Chemistry
Teachers in Liberal Arts College, Project Kaleidoscope workshops,
Gordon Research Conferences, the Conference of Academic Deans,
a Pew Midstates Consortium workshop, and will make presentations
this summer at a National Science Foundation Education and Human
Resources conference and the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education.
He has also served on the National Visiting Committees for two
of the related NSF projects centered at Berkeley and Madison.
Rama Viswanathan B.S. Bombay University
Professor M.S. Indian Inst. of Technology
At Beloit since 1983 Ph.D. University of Oregon
I applied for promotion to the rank of full Professor in Fall,
1995 and am delighted to report that my promotion was approved
early this year! Simultaneously, I have also been granted a sabbatical
leave of absence for 1996-1997. I have started work on two exciting
and challenging projects for my sabbatical. One project involves
collaboration with my colleague Dr. Ingo Hussla ( father of Jesko
Hussla '93) in Germany to design and fabricate "organic"
solar cells with the new carbon allotropes ("sp" carbon
and fullerenes) and their derivatives as donors and acceptors.
I hope to enhance efficiencies to the point where such cells are
viable economic alternatives to silicon solar cells, especially
in the countries of Asia and Africa that have abundant sunlight.
I plan to spend a few months in Itzehoe, Germany, working on the
experimental part of this project. I will also be doing some computational
work using our fancy new IBM RS6000 UNIX workstation at Beloit.
Comments? Suggestions? I am most interested in hearing from anyone
who is interested.
The second project involves development of a portable computer-based
data acquisition system. George Lisensky, David Dobson (Physics
& Astronomy) and I recently published an article in the Journal
of Chemical Education ( Vol. 73, Feb. 1996, page A41) where we
described an off-the-shelf system that could be implemented using
a (relatively) inexpensive digital volt meter equipped with a
serial port (available from Radio Shack or Jameco). Obviously,
the voltmeter can be interfaced to almost any computer that has
a serial port. In particular, my contribution was to interface
the voltmeter to an Apple Newton Personal Digital Assistant (PDA),
creating what I think is one of the most versatile, lightweight,
and portable data acquisition systems (weighs approx. 2 lb. in
total) for work in the field. I will be working on developing
experiments and probes to use with the voltmeter (which can measure
and digitize current, voltage, resistance, capacitance, and frequency
with 4-1/2 digit precision) for use in the field in chemistry
and biology. Once again, I was delighted to receive the great
news that a Howard Hughes proposal (approx. $1 M over 4 years)
made by BioQUEST and the Biology department ( John Jungck, which
included extension of my work based on the Newton and other PDAs
has just been funded!
On the teaching front, I continue to teach Quantum and Thermodynamics/Kinetics.
During this past spring, I also team-taught (with Bill Brown)
an advanced topics course on Molecular Visualization, where we
used some new computer software packages (ChemDraw, Chem3D, RASMOL,
SPARTAN) to enhance and complement traditional model building
kits. This course was certainly a most educational and interesting
experience (and fun!) for me.
Contents
In November, Kathy Greene (now Assistant Professor of Education
at Beloit) and the Women of Chamberlin again organized and hosted
the highly successful Girls and Women in Science Conference that
brings in 6th grade girls, their teachers and parents for a week-end
of activities to encourage and support involvement in science
and math. George Lisensky, Laura Parmentier and Brock Spencer
all directed science stations for the girls, and Laura moderated
the Alumnae Panel Discussion for Beloit College students that
included Beth Brady, '91, Chemistry, Cathleen Beaudoin, '86, Geology,
Lucy Flesch, '95, Physics and Math, Lisa Gades, '95, Biology,
and Laura Wright, '85, Chemistry.
This spring, the Chemistry Department hosted a seminar series
entitled "Careers in Chemistry" in addition to our regular
student-led seminars. A number of the speakers in this series
were alums in who came back to Beloit to discuss their careers
in academics and industry with current students and faculty.
Megan Reich, 95, now at Johnson Wax, talked about industrial careers
at Johnson Wax.
Dr. Stewart Gloyer, '32, from Pittsburgh Plate Glass, gave a talk
about careers.
Dr. Tao Pan, from the University of Chicago, discussed his research
on ribozymes.
Dr. Kenneth Kneipp, Technical Manager at 3M and father of Rebecca
Kneipp, '97, gave a talk entitled, "Microreplication - a
3M Technology Platform."
During the fall semester, 1996, George Lisensky will be leading
the Beloit Seminar at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Lakmini
Weerakoon, '98, will be one of the participants in the seminar.
Contents
FALL
117 General Chemistry 74
230 Organic Chemistry I 56
245 Quantum Chemistry 7
250 Inorganic Chemistry 8
300 Biochemistry 19
380 Senior Seminar 13
385 Senior Thesis 2
394 Research 3
Total 182
SPRING
117 General Chemistry 77
220 Chemical Equilibrium 30
235 Organic Chemistry II 39
240 Thermodynamics and Kinetics 8
275 Biotechnology and Molecular Biology 24
280 Scientific Literature 23
360 Instrumental Methods of Analysis 8
375 Advanced Topics: Scientific Glassblowing 23
375 Advanced Topics: Molecular Visualization 5
380 Senior Seminar 10
385 Senior Thesis 4
394 Research 4
Total 255
Contents
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.
Kimberly White '96
WILLIAM J. TRAUTMAN AWARD in PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
(Professor at Beloit 1921-1947) given to a senior doing outstanding
work in physical chemistry.
Caroline Tuit '96
Lina Tze '96
EDWARD C. FULLER AWARD in CHEMICAL EDUCATION
was established by the majors of the Class of 1982 in honor of
Professor Fuller and is given to a junior or senior who has done
outstanding work as a teaching assistant.
Dawn Miller '96
MERCK INDEX AWARD
is given to an outstanding senior and consists of a copy of the
Merck Index from the publisher.
Michael Beins '96
CRC PRESS FRESHMAN CHEMISTRY 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.
Christopher Kindschi '99
WALTER S. HAVEN FELLOWSHIP
supports a student research project.
Dawn Miller '96
Bianca Mothe '96
Lina Tze '96
Kimberly White '96
Kevin Welch '96
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
sponsored by the Division of Polymer Chemistry recognizes outstanding
work in introductory organic chemistry course by providing a subscription
to Organic Chemistry and a video tape about polymers.
Yutan Getzler '98
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.
Kelly Knudson '97
ANN M. VERVILLE SCHOLAR'S AWARD
is given annually to the outstanding biology student of the year
chosen by the faculty of the biology department.
Michael Beins '96
Honors at Graduation
SUMMA CUM LAUDE
Michael Beins
Dawn Miller
MAGNA CUM LAUDE
Amy Litscher
Kamesh Surendran
Caroline Tuit
Lina Tze
Kimberly White
CUM LAUDE
Peter Allen
Yun Chen
Jason Collier
Margaret Moore
Kristine Zimmermann
DEPARTMENTAL HONORS
Peter Allen - Biochemistry
Michael Beins - Biochemistry
Yun Chen - Biochemistry
Dawn Miller - Chemistry
Margaret Moore - Biochemistry
Kamesh Surendran - Biochemistry
Caroline Tuit - Chemistry
Kimberly White - Chemistry
Honor Societies
Phi Beta Kappa
Michael Beins '96 (early election)
Dawn Miller '96 (early election)
Caroline Tuit '96 (early election)
Kamesh Surendran '96
Lina Tze '96
Kimberly White '96
Mortar Board
Alison Green '96
Amy Litscher '96
Dawn Miller '96
Kevin Welch '96
Kristine Zimmermann '96
Psi Chi Dawn Miller '96
Kevin Welch '96
Contents
This year our students again had great opportunities to gain professional
experience by presenting their research at various programs and
publishing their papers in the school magazine "The Beloit
Biologist". Their topics give an indication of the outstanding
research performed by our undergraduates. Following are the papers
printed and presentations given:
The Beloit Biologist, Volume 15, 1996
Nicole Adderly- Biochemistry '96
AZT, ddI and ddC: An Effective Combination Treatment for HIV-1-Infected
Patients (work done at Beloit College, Department of Biology)
Peter Allen- Biochemistry '96
The Role of Transferase Enzyme in Glycoprotein Synthesis (work
done at the University of Notre Dame, Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry)
Michael Beins- Biochemistry '96
Reconstruction of In-Vitro-Transcribed, Point-Mutated Telomerase
RNA Yields Nonprocessive Activity (work done at Texas A&M
University, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics)
Kelley Bradley - Biochemistry '96
Microtubule-Kinesin Motility: A Nondissociative Model (work done
at Beloit College, Department of Biology)
Jennifer Calcaterra - Biochemistry '96
Basis for Social Behavior in the African Wild Dog (work done at
Beloit College, Department of Biology)
Yun Chen- Biochemistry '96
Identification of proV Gene Homologue in Borrelia burgodorferi,
the Lyme disease Agent (work done at New England Medical Center,
Department of Rheumatology / Immunology)
Jason Collier- Biochemistry '96
An Equilibrium Model for Disease Emergence (work done at Beloit
College, Department of Biology)
Alison Green- Biochemistry '96
Sex Determination in Turtles: Possible Involvement of Steroid
Hormones (work done at Beloit College, Department of Biology)
Sarah Keiser- Biochemistry '96
Cooperative Behavior Among Lions: Costs Versus Benefits (work
done at Beloit College, Department of Biology)
Bianca Mothe- Biochemistry '96
The Effects of Hormones on the Epithelial Sodium Channel (work
done at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Cystic
Fibrosis am Pulmonary Research Center)
Margaret Moore- Biochemistry '96
Estradiol Regulation of Secretory Immunoglobulin A in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary
Gonadal Thymic Axis (work done at Beloit College, Department of
Biology)
Michelle Semple - Biochemistry '96
The Psychological Connection Between Schizophrenia and Parkinson's
Disease (work done at Beloit College, Department of Biology)
Vishal Sikri- Biochemistry '96
The Pineal Gland: A Time Regulator? (work done at Beloit College,
Department of Biology)
Kamesh Surendran- Biochemistry '96
Improving The Efficiency of Transformation of E. Coli: The Role
of Polymyxin B Nonapeptide in Transformation (work done at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, Chemical Technology Division)
Kevin Welch - Biochemistry '96
Immunohistochemical Detection of BCL-2 Proteins in the Central
Nervous System of the Brazilian Opossum (Monodelphis domestica)
(work done at the Iowa State University, Department of Veterinary
Anatomy and Neuroscience Program)
Kristine Zimmermann- Biochemistry '96
Analysis of Two Hypotheses to Explain Heterosexual Transmission
of HIV to Women (work done at Beloit College, Department of Biology)
Beloit College 20h Annual Student Symposium, April 1996
Peter Allen - Biochemistry '96
Career Satisfaction of Women Physicians in HMOs and Large Group
Practices (work done at the University of Wisconsin Medical School
and Beloit College, Department of Biology)
Kelley Bradley - Biochemistry/ '96
Molecular Nanotechnology: An Emerging Technology and Its Potential
Effects in Politics, Economics and Society (work done at Caltech,
Physical Chemistry Department)
Yun (Nina) Chen- Biochemistry '96
Identification of proV Gene Homologue in Borrelia burgorferi,
the Lyme Disease Agent (work done at New England Medical Center,
Department of Rheumatology/Immunology)
Dawn Miller - Chemistry / Psychology '96
Community-Based Research on Job-Related Health Hazards in the
Monteverde Region of Costa Rica (work done at ACM Costa Rican
Program)
Margaret Moore - Biochemistry '96
Karmic Medicine: The Link Between Superstition and State of Health
(work done during a Field term in Cameroon)
Kimberly White - Chemistry / Sociology '96
Something to Talk About: Scientific Women Combining Career and
Family (work done at Beloit College, Department of Chemistry)
The Pew Undergraduate Research Symposium at Washington University
at St. Louis, Nov. 10-12, 1995
Michael Beins- Biochemistry '96
Reconstruction of In-Vitro-Transcribed, Point-Mutated Telomerase
RNA Yields Nonprocessive Activity
Yun (Nina) Chen - Biochemistry '96
Identification of proV Gene Homologue in Borrelia burgorferi,
the Lyme Disease Agent
Vanja Klepac - Chemistry '97
Streptomyces rimosus - a Producer of Oxytetracycline
Bianca Mothe - Biochemistry '96
The Effects of Hormones on the Epithelial Sodium Channel
Sarah Renish - Chemistry '97
Computer Analysis of Linkage
Contents
Nate Allen '97 will spend the summer working in industry in the
Milwaukee area.
Carrie Clothier '97 will be at UW-Madison in the plasma-aided
research center.
Shannon Fountain '97 will be interning at Angelic Organics, an
organic/biodynamic farm in Caledonia, IL.
Yutan Getzler '98 will spend the summer at the Weizemann Institute
of Science in Israel working with Dr. Lehitraot Zippi. He will
study optimal conditions for expression and purification of the
p53 protein in bacteria.
Vanja Klepac '97 will spend the summer in Beloit, working with
John Jungck on a study of fractal patterns in seashells. She will
also help John with new web pages he is developing. The web pages
will present art and mathematics in biological systems.
Kelly Knudson '97 will be working with both chemists and archaeologists
at the Missouri University Research Reactor (MURR) where she will
be analyzing both raw clay samples and Late Formative period ceramics
from Guatemala using neutron activation analysis and x-ray diffraction.
Kristie Mather '97 will work with at the University of Chicago
in Dr. Carole Ober's lab. She will be finishing the project she
started last summer - sequencing variations of a pseudo gene,
HLA-H, in the major histocompatibility region of the human genome.
Amy O'Neill '97 will be working at a center for disabled children
in Rockford.
Srebrenka Robic '97 will be doing research in DNA knotting. She
will spend a month learning the topology and geometry of DNA at
the Institute for Applied Mathematics at the University of Minnesota,
and then move to Berkeley, where she will work with Dr. Cozzarelli
on electron micrographs of knotted molecules.
Vishal Sikri '97 has an internship at the National Environmental
Testing lab in Rockford.
Kai Tan '97 will be doing research on the role of LDL oxidation
in cardiovascular diseases at the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute
at Boston University School of Medicine.
Laura Tarwater '98 will be working at Information Technology Services
at Beloit College. She will work on microcomputer networking,
documentation and user support.
Melanie Whalen '98 will either take an internship at Rush University
in Chicago or work as a technician at G. E. Plastics in Ottawa,
IL.
Lakmini Weerakoon '98 will be at the University of Florida - Gainesville
participating in a NSF Undergraduate Research Program. She will
work in Dr. Ben Horenstein's lab synthesizing and doing enzyme
kinetics on new substrates.
Contents
Spring 1996
Brian Afryl '97 Chemistry Elgin, IL
Nathan Allen '97 Chemistry Milwaukee, WI
Sarah Beirise '98 Biochemistry Dunlap, IL
Joey Blackwell '98 Biochemistry Elkhorn, WI
Jesse Burch '97 Chemistry Petersham, MA
Nikki Cheng '98 Biochemistry Tucson, AZ
Gary Chiu '97 Biochemistry Stafford, TX
Tanya Danner '97 Biochemistry Chicago, IL
Gregory Ehrendreich '97 Biochemistry Ashland, WI
Shannon Fountain '97 Biochemistry Meridian, MS
David Gan '97 Biochemistry Penang, Malaysia
Yutan Getzler '98 Biochemistry Lyons, CO
Bart Gottschalk '97 Biochemistry Minneapolis, MN
David Gordon '97 Chemistry Decatur, IL
Kelly Johanson '98 Biochemistry Alexandria, LA
Vanja Klepac '98 Chemistry Zagreb, Croatia
Heather Knasinski '97 Chemistry Brooklyn, WI
Kelly Knudson '97 Chemistry Council Bluffs, IA
Christopher Maeda '97 Biochemistry Hilo, HI
Kristie Mather '97 Biochemistry Richland, MI
Meredith Matz '98 Chemistry Appleton, NY
Andrew Matzen '97 Biochemistry Dallas, OR
Norad Morgan '98 Biochemistry Nassau, Bahamas
Amy O'Neil '97 Biochemistry Springfield, IL
Nathaniel Olsen '98 Chemistry St. Paul, MN
Jeanine Pennington '98 Biochemistry Midlothian, IL
Elizabeth Redding '98 Biochemistry Nashville, IN
Sarah Renish '97 Chemistry Racine, WI
Laura Sasse '98 Biochemistry Waukegan, IL
Ian Schmitz '98 Biochemistry Hales Corners, WI
Robert Simmons '98 Chemistry Redwood City, CA
Kai Tan '98 Biochemistry Sichuan
Robert VanOrder '98 Chemistry Mandeville, LA
Gregg Ward '98 Biochemistry Nassau, Bahamas
Melanie Whalen '98 Biochemistry Marseilles, IL
Matthew Whiting '97 Chemistry Rockville, MD
May Yeap '98 Chemistry Penang, Malaysia
Contents
Nicole Adderly - Nassau, Bahamas. Biochemistry, Sociology. After
four years of college, Nicole has decided to attend a medical
school in the Caribbean. Presently she is waiting for replies
from these institutions. At Beloit, Nicole was a student trainer
for football and track teams and a Moore Family Scholar. Her goal
is to become a physician.
Peter Allen - Briggsville, WI. Biochemistry (departmental honors)
and Journalism Minor. Cum Laude. Pete spent last summer investigating
the career satisfaction of women and minority physicians in HMOs
and large group practices. In previous summers, he has worked
at the University of Notre Dame on glycoproteins and transferase
enzymes, and also with George Lisensky doing chemistry education.
Pete ran varsity cross country and track and field for 4 years.
He was a 3-time Academic All-Conference and Academic All-American
selection in cross country, and All-Conference in track in the
5,000 m. In his free time, Pete was a tour guide for Gold Key,
a programmer on WBCR, and an editor on the Round Table. Pete will
pursue graduate studies in the pharmaceutical sciences at the
University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy after graduation. He
plans on eventually becoming a physician.
Michael Beins - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Biochemistry (departmental
honors) and self-designed minor in pediatric psychology. Summa
Cum Laude. Michael participated in a summer internship in the
Biochemistry Department at Texas A&M University where he was
involved in experiments of directed mutagenesis of the RNA template
of telomerase. Michael was also involved in a study of the rate
of excretion of vitamin C in human urine which was a part of a
long-time study Roc Ordman has done with Beloit College students.
The results were published in the American Journal of Aging. While
at Beloit, Michael was a resident assistant, T.A. for genetics,
general and organic chemistry and the president of the Scuba Club.
He was elected into Phi Beta Kappa during his junior year. Next
year Michael will be working with Dr. Martin Blaser at the Center
for Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University. In the fall
of 1997 Mike will be going to medical school at the Medical College
of Wisconsin.
R. Kelley Bradley - Lakewood, CA. Biochemistry. Kelley spent the
summer of
'94 as a research assistant at Caltech with Dr. John Baldeschwieler
and Marc Unger working on proximal probe microscopes. He will
be going to graduate school in chemistry at Rice University in
the fall of '96. Kelley is interested in molecular nanotechnology
and mechanosynthesis research. He chose Rice because of its Institute
for Nanoscale Science and Technology. At Beloit, he participated
actively in the fencing club for four years. He spent a term on
the Social Board and a term on the Residential Life Committee.
Mark Burleigh - Oneida, NY. Chemistry. Mark has applied for several
graduate schools, but does not know yet where exactly he is going.
The internship he had at Eastman-Kodak helped Mark to decide to
get a Ph.D. in chemistry in order to get a job in R&D.
Jennifer Calcaterra - Scottsdale, AZ. Biochemistry.
Yun (Nina) Chen - Arlington, VA. Biochemistry (departmental honors),
minor in Applied Mathematics. Cum Laude. Nina had two summers
of research experience at Tufts University School of Medicine
where she studied the genes for receptors which bind to the lyme
disease agent. During her senior year she was a mathematics paraprofessional
at Beloit College Learning Resource Center, where she coordinated
peer tutoring programs for mathematics and computer science. Starting
with this summer Nina will attend a Ph.D. program in Biochemistry
at the Medical College in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee.
Jason Collier - Boulder, CO. Biochemistry. Cum Laude.
Alison Green - Madison, WI. Biochemistry. So far, I have had a
very interesting and diverse summer working with George and Brock
as the summer student assistant for ChemLinks. I have done everything
from learning how to construct web sites, to helping teach 32
sixth graders about chemistry during College for Kids. I still
have a couple of
classes to take before I leave Beloit, after which I'm hoping
to attend vet school. I have also developed a strong interest
in chemistry education while at Beloit, and would like to teach
at the high school level.
Gavin King -Shullsburg, WI. Biochemistry, Classical Civilization.
Sarah Keiser - Cedar rapids, IA. Biochemistry. Sarah has deferred
to Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. She is planning
to apply to Madison Veterinary School for Fall '97. At Beloit,
Sarah was involved in numerous athletic activities.
Kham Lee - Milwaukee, WI. Chemistry, Medical Technology. Kham
is a student of the 3+2 program between Beloit College and Rush
Medical College in Chicago. After another year at Rush, where
he will gain experience with various laboratory procedures, Kham
will get a degree in Medical Technology.
Amy Litscher - Lake Mills, WI. Chemistry. Magna Cum Laude. Amy
is planning to get a job a industrial chemistry, before going
on to graduate school.
Dawn Miller -Suisun City, CA. Chemistry (departmental honors),
Psychology. Summa Cum Laude. In the spring of 1995 Dawn had the
opportunity to study health in Costa Rica. Upon returning to Beloit
in the fall, she received a Haven Fellowship to analyze the paint
samples she brought back from Costa Rica. This was a great experience
for Dawn, and it convinced her that she really wants to be in
health care. Next year she will take a work in industrial chemistry
before (hopefully) going to medical school. Dawn was elected to
Phi Beta Kappa during her junior year, and is a member of Mortar
Board and Psi Chi Honor Societies. For her work as a teaching
assistant, Dawn received the Edward C. Fuller Award in Chemical
Education.
Margaret Moore - Garden City, NY. Biochemistry (departmental honors)
and minor in Women's Studies. Cum Laude. Last Summer Margaret
worked at the Maine Nassau County Department of Health in a medical
microbiology lab. Margaret spent a semester abroad in Cameroon.
At Beloit she has been a teaching assistant for organic chemistry
and genetics. Margaret's honors include 5 semesters of Dean's
List. She plans to take a year off and go to France to work with
Francois Schachter at the Center for the Study of Genetic Polymorphism
where she will be assaying for two enzymes (GAPDH and GGPD) in
T-lymphocytes.
Bianca Mothe - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Biochemistry and Theatre
Arts. During the summer of 1995 Bianca worked at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with Sherif Gabriel and Pierre
Barker studying the sodium channel and its relation to cystic
fibrosis. Bianca hopes to attend graduate or medical school in
the future. She was part of Theta Pi Gamma sorority and participated
in Chelonia Dance Concert. Bianca was a T.A. for microbiology
and a Moore Family Scholar. She will miss Beloit and will leave
with great memories.
Michelle Semple - Spokane, WA. Biochemistry, Psychology.
Kameswaran Surendran - Madurai, India. Biochemistry (departmental
honors), Mathematics. Magna Cum Laude. This summer Kamesh will
be starting graduate studies in molecular biology at Washington
University, St. Louis. He spent fall of his junior year in Oak
Ridge National Laboratory where he studied improvements of efficiency
of transformation in E. coli. He also spent a summer at Washington
University as a Pew Scholar. At Beloit, Kamesh was a T.A. for
calculus and microbiology and a host family coordinator for international
students. Kamesh is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Caroline Tuit - Kansas City, MO. Chemistry, Geology. Magna Cum
Laude. Carrie will be continuing her education in the joint program
between MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. She will pursue
a Ph.D. In geochemistry and study heavy isotopes in sea water
and ocean sediments. Carrie spent a semester in Glasgow, Scotland
as a participant in the Beloit Glasgow Seminar. While at Beloit,
Carrie was a T.A. for general chemistry . She received the William
Trautmann Award in Physical Chemistry in 1996 and the American
Chemical Society Junior Analytical Chemistry Award in 1995. She
was elected to Phi Beta Kappa during her junior year.
Lina Tze - Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Chemistry with Russian and
Soviet Studies minor. Magna Cum Laude. Lina transferred here from
Malaysia as a second year student. Lina spent her first summer
at the University of Chicago, where she was involved in a project
which studied the replication mechanism of the bacteriophage,
N4. The next summer Lina spent at the University of Alabama-Birmingham
Medical School, where she helped sequence three new mutations
of the erythropoietin receptor which are implicated in the human
primary and congenital polycythemia disorders. During the fall
of 1995, she participated in the ACM Oak Ridge Science Semester
program where she was involved in the project to identify differentially
expressed genes which are regulated by a proto-oncogene, Evi-1,
in targeted mutagenesis-generated mice. At Beloit, Lina was a
teaching assistant for Chemical Equilibrium and received the William
C. Trautmann award for Physical Chemistry. She is a member of
Phi Beta Kappa. Lina hopes to go to graduate school in molecular
biology eventually, but in the meantime, she is looking for a
one-year position in a laboratory so that she can gain more experience
and decide if molecular biology research is what she really wants
to do.
Kevin Welch - Adel, IA. Biochemistry (departmental honors), Psychology.
Cum Laude. During the summer of 1994 Kevin completed an internship
in the Department of Biochemistry at Rush University in Chicago,
where he aided in the biochemical characterization of a novel
cartilage protein. During the summer of 1995 he completed an internship
in the Department of Veterinary Anatomy at Iowa State University,
where he performed various biotechnological experiments on programmed-cell-death
proteins in the nervous system of the Brazilian opossum. Kevin
will be attending graduate school next year in the Neurobiology
Program at Harvard University. Kevin is a member of Mortar Board.
Kimberly White - West Allis, WI. Chemistry (departmental honors),
Sociology. Magna Cum Laude. I had some great experiences here
at Beloit. The summer after my sophomore year I had an internship
at the University of Notre Dame through the National Science Foundation's
Research Experience for Undergraduates. The summer after my junior
year I began a sociological research project with Laura Parmentier
entitled "Something to Talk About: Scientific Women Combining
Career and Family." This work is still in progress, but we
were able to present at the ACS National Meeting in New Orleans
and at the Midwest Sociological Conference in Chicago. Next year
I will enter a Ph.D. program in Organic Chemistry at Notre Dame.
This summer I will be a forestry worker for the city of West Allis,
and I eventually plan to do drug development research for a pharmaceutical
company. Kim received the John H. Nair award in Chemistry for
1996, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and was named Academic All-Conference
in both basketball and softball.
Kristine Zimmermann - Wheaton, IL. Biochemistry, Sociology. Cum
Laude. Kristine will spend the summer working with Laura Parmentier
on her project on women in science. She plans to take some time
away from school after graduation and work helping others. In
the future she plans to attend graduate school and pursue her
interest in maternal and child health, focusing on education and
prevention of injury and illness. During her four years at Beloit,
Kris spent much of her time working as a student athletic trainer
for the cross country and track teams. She also participated in
Girls and Women in Science, worked as a programmer for the college
radio station and was involved in several volunteer activities,
both while in school and during the summers. Kris is a member
of Mortar Board National Honor Society.
Contents
Keep sending us your news!
1964 Bruce Dunlap is the University of South Carolina's Weissman
professor of chemical ecology and an award-winning cancer researcher.
Bruce has been named Chair of the Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry.
1965 Gerald Geison has a new book, The Private Science of Louise
Pasteur, published by Princeton University Press.
1977 Anthony O'Keefe was featured in an article "Cavity Ringdown
Offers Sensitivity Simplicity in Absorption Spectroscopy"
(Chemical and Engineering News, 19 February 1996, p.34) for his
contributions in developing this new technique. He is currently
with Los Gatos Research in Mountain View, CA.
1980 Kirk Jacobson has moved from St. Croix Falls to Hudson, WI,
and is now associated with the Stillwater Medical group as a surgeon
at Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater, MN.
1982 Christopher Bailey has just finished his ninth year at Wells
College where he is the Chair of the Major Program in the Biological
and Chemical Sciences. Chris is a member of the Council on Undergraduate
Research and was recently awarded the "Excellence in Teaching
Medal" at Wells College. He and his wife Kathy have three
children, Hannah (10), Michael (7), and Lydia (3).
1982 Brian and Karen Davis are moving to Denver, CO. Brian will
start yet another post doc, while Karen will begin a position
at the American Cancer Society. Brian will be working on yeast
mitochondrial transcription.
1983 Pauline Parkinson received her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from
the University of Illinois-Chicago, and is doing a post-doctoral
work at the University of Puerto Rico Medical School.
1983 Joe Verdi is working at Amgen Institute in Toronto, Canada,
where he teaches classes and does research in neurobiology. Joe
is enjoying the science, the town and the marriage, but he thinks
that "the weather s[tink]s". Joe's claim that "he
does not remember Wisconsin being gloomy, snowy and damp 24 hours
a day" might have something to do with the time he spent
in California!
1984 Dan Gentry is moving from the National institute of Health
to a position with Smith Kline Beecham.
1984 Edward DeMing Tang is a senior scientist for the BOC Group
in Murray Hill, NJ.
1985 Laura Wright now has a permanent staff position as a research
scientist with Prof. Judith Burstyn in the Chemistry Department
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
1986 Bryan and Leslie Mehlhaff have a son, Tristan Nicholas Mehlhaff,
born on October 17, 1995. Bryan has completed his residency training
in urological surgery and is an assistant professor at Albany
(NY) Medical Center Hospital.
1987 Ray Troy is now in the medical school at Saint Louis University.
1988 Eric Brown is currently doing his residency in OB/GYN at
Rush Medical College in Chicago.
1988 Peter Clausen is now in his second post-doctoral year focused
on molecular oncology at the National Institute of Health.
1989 Erica Black Periman and her husband, Daryl, are now serving
as Peace Corps volunteers in Ecuador. Erica is a veterinarian
and Daryl is an environmental education teacher.
1990 Dean Aguiar successfully defended his thesis on "CD44
Expression and Turnover on Bovine Articular Cartilage," thus
completing his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Rush University. Other
Beloiters at Rush include Kay Dennis '93 and Brian Pfister '94
in the Biochemistry graduate program , Eric Brown '88 in his residency,
and Melanie Whalen '98 as a summer intern. Dean will be moving
to a post-doctoral position with Dr. Ted Egema at the University
of Minnesota in July.
1990 Christine Warta has been working at the Federal Aviation
Administration Great Lakes Regional Office. She runs the Environmental,
Health and Safety programs for Central and Southern Illinois.
1990 Christopher Wong is entering the 2nd year of his Ph.D. program
in Pathology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is working
on metalloproteinase MMP-9 which is expressed in metastatic tumors,
and creating transgenic mice.
1990 Linda Zuckerman has just moved to San Francisco and started
her post-doctoral fellowship with Nigel Killeen at UCSF. She successfully
defended her thesis at the University of Chicago.
1991 Jennifer Borash is at Bowling Green State University working
on her Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology.
1991 Kristen Kelly is working in a veterinary clinic in Knoxville,
and is planning to find a similar employment in St. Louis.
1991 Brenda Waller , a Ph.D. student of analytical chemistry and
chemical education at the University of Idaho, is currently working
on a project that enables elementary teachers in the state of
Idaho to report science results over the internet. She is also
working on projects involving integrating science for elementary
teachers.
1991 Ed Wolpert has been a programmer at Philips in Knoxville,
TN, for about two years. Recently he accepted an offer for a programming
job in a client/server application department of Edward Jones
& Co. in St. Louis.
1992 David Hartley is finishing his graduate study at the University
of Massachusetts, Worcester Campus. He has submitted a paper to
the Journal of Biological Chemistry and will defend his thesis
in May. He has already accepted a postdoctoral position at the
Salk Institute in San Diego, where he will work on tyrosine phosphatases.
1992 Jeffrey Pederson finished his MS in Environmental Science
at Indiana University in May, 1995.
1992 Aline Schimmel is still at the Department of Molecular Biology
at Princeton University.
1993 Greg Hess is finishing the third year at Medical College
of Wisconsin. His specialty choice is pathology. Looking back
at his Beloit experience Greg is more than satisfied. "...Beloit
does NOT adequately prepare you for such things as MCAT, but a
Beloit education more than prepares you for what lies beyond."
1994 Bob Bergman is strongly considering leaving the Chemistry
Master's program and is hoping to pursue a degree in computer
science. He is picking up a basic knowledge of programming languages.
1994 Dejan Ilijevski is working on a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry
at the University of Arizona, Tucson. In addition to taking classes
and doing research, Dejan is also teaching two general chemistry
classes.
1994 Calvin Kolluri has been working in Abbott Laboratories in
the Pharmaceutical Products division, on the development side.
Calvin is involved in Lab Info Management Systems as a pharmaceutical
science contact for systems analysts.
1994 Jenna Larkin is employed by Merck & Co.
1994 Andy Loria published an article about the direct contact
between RNAseP and its substrate pre-tRNA (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
vol 92, p12510-12514, Dec 1995). Andy is still at the University
of Chicago.
1994 Sudha Pavuluri is continuing her studies in the Medical School
at the Nottingham University, United Kingdom.
1994 Tara Sander was accepted into the Biochemistry Ph.D. program
at Medical College of Wisconsin.
1995 Murat Akbas is teaching biology and chemistry in Mongolia,
and looking for donations of educational materials. His email
is ufuk@magicnet.mn. Murat is preparing the Mongolian team for
the Chemistry World Olympics and the Environmental World Olympics.
1995 Mark Brockman is finishing up his first year at Harvard.
His first research rotation was in structural studies of poliovirus
and polio-related proteins, and his second rotation involved creating
a double deletion mutant of Herpes Simplex Virus-2 for use in
immunity studies.
1995 Wenyi Feng has been accepted into the Ph.D. program in the
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University
of Miami School of Medicine. Wenyi spent last year working as
a laboratory assistant at Northwestern University in Chicago and
at the University of Miami.
1995 Ann Miller will start her Ph.D. at Texas A&M next year.
1995 Megan Reich is a scientist at S.C. Johnson Wax. Megan came
to Beloit and gave a talk about her career in industrial chemistry
this spring.
1995 Erica Severson has a full time position with biotech startup
company ACGT Inc., in Northbrook, IL, doing DNA sequencing, library
preparation and subcloning.
Contents
Stewart Gloyer '32 has established the Dorothy and Stewart Gloyer
Endowed Chemistry Fund to support the needs of the Chemistry Department.
Lowell H. Ericsson '50 has established the Lowell Ericsson Scholarship
in Chemistry
Brenda Waller '93 treated the Chemistry Department to a pizza
party.
Restricted Gifts to Chemistry have been received from: Tim Korter
'95, Eddie and Corinn Limon '89, Patricia A. Smith '86, Robert
F. Taylor '37, Brent E. Wurfel '82, and James Zega '79.
Restricted Gifts to Biochemistry have been received from: Jeffrey
S. Cleaveland '83, Kirk L. Jacobson '80, Elizabeth Dietmeyer Johnson
'82, Kenneth L. Katzen '80, Blaine G. Kloeckner '83, Bryan A.
Mehlhaff '86, Sonia O'Dell '88, Lori B. Smith '82, and Peter Tsang
'88.
Professor Bill Brown has created a student travel fund from the
royalties from his new text.
Thank you for your support, and thank you to all those not listed
here who continue to give generously to Beloit College!
Contents
Back