This has been a year where Beloit has had a chance to influence how chemistry is taught at many other institutions. Some of this influence was as direct as visiting faculty teaching here and participating first hand in a non-lecture general chemistry course. Other influences have been Beloit's participation in conferences, workshops, and the ChemLinks project.
With Roc Ordman and Laura Parmentier both on sabbatical and Brock Spencer taking a turn at being Associate Dean, we were fortunate to have Sharon Anthony completing her second year as a ChemLinks postdoc, Lisa Kroutil joining us for the year to teach biochemistry, and Tom Higgins and Steve Mecca here for one semester each. All had a chance to teach general chemistry. Tom became a faculty member at Harold Washington Community College in Chicago in January, Sharon is moving on to a faculty position at Evergreen State College in Washington, and Lisa will be a new faculty member at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. We are pleased that the experience at Beloit was a significant factor in their job applications. Each has left here with an exposure to the Beloit way of doing things that, with any luck, has warped them forever.
Also joining us in January for a tenure track appointment was Charles Abrams. Charlie has fit in to the organic program quickly. He is also another computer person so he, Rama, and George can discuss operating systems and who has the fastest computer.
Computers do play an increasing role as chemical tools. Bill Brown has taken the lead in introducing molecular modelling into the organic program using Chem3D and Spartan. George is relying on MathCad for analytical chemistry. Rama is interfacing everything. And you should see the projects the students working with Charlie are producing!
The ChemLinks project, the National Science Foundation's systemic change initiative in chemistry that is headquartered at Beloit and overseen by Brock, is actually producing the modules that were promised. To give you a feel for the range of topics included, Beloit coauthors have written (or are still writing):
What Should We Do About Global Warming?
Why Does the Ozone Hole Form in the Antarctic Spring?
Build a Better CD Player: How Can You Get Blue Light from a Solid?
What's All the Fuss About Fats?
Soil Equilibria: What Happens to Acid Rain?
Chemical and Physiological Properties of Vitamin C
Cholesterol
Just as many of George's demonstrations and labs that he developed for an earlier NSF curriculum project with national impact,The Materials Science Companion for General Chemistry, were first tested here in general chemistry, various of the ChemLinks modules have also been tried here over the past two years. We continue to be a test site for innovative efforts in chemistry education. With the BioQUEST project also headquartered at Beloit and our connections with the Keck Geology Consortium and work with calculus reform, the sciences and mathematics at Beloit are nationally recognized for their leading educational role.
In the search for a new ChemLinks postdoc, it became apparent how visible Beloit has become in the chemistry reform movement. All of the top candidates had received personal recommendations from individuals who knew Beloit and who told the candidate that they should apply! We are delighted that Jennifer Lewis has accepted our offer for that position for the next two years. She is a physical chemist completing her Ph.D. at Penn State this summer who has been involved in developing and teaching a successful course for students at risk in general chemistry that uses cooperative learning and peer instruction. She has also had full responsibility for teaching a large general chemistry course in summer school there.
With Roc and Laura back from sabbatical, Brock back from Deaning, Charlie well established in the department, and Jennifer with us for the coming two years, we are looking forward to taking advantage of having all of us here at the same time to work on consolidating our curricular experimentation into a program that will be stable for a few years as we evaluate its effectiveness.
This year was a year of change as Roc Ordman was in California on sabbatical leave. We are looking forward to his return and hearing about his research progress. Lisa Kroutil was hired to teach biochemistry, molecular biology and biotechnology and two introductory chemistry courses. Lisa has now moved to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where she has a tenure track position. Congratulations and good luck!
Once again, our students had many achievements. Most of the graduating seniors participated in summer research programs and are now headed to graduate and professional schools. Sarah Beirise, like several previous biochemistry majors, will attend the Medical College of Wisconsin next fall and Norad Morgan will attend medical school at the University of The West Indies. Nikki Cheng, after two successful summer research experiences had her choice of top graduate schools programs in molecular biology and will attend Vanderbilt University. Other students pursuing graduate work include Dave Campbell who will study physics at Florida State University, and Kelly Johanson at Tulane University. Two students, Dawn Doran and Laura Sasse hope to continue in a Beloit College tradition as Peace Corps volunteers. Sarah James ('99) will continue her studies on the pigmentation of various anole lizard species and work as the resident assistant for the incoming first year students working in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Young Scholar Research Program. Maya Das ('99) has a summer research position at the University of Chicago where she will investigate burn treatments. We are very proud of all of our students for the things that they have done and what they will accomplish.
Charles Abrams
Assistant Professor
A.B. Washington University
A.M., M.Phil., Columbia University
Ph.D. (pending), McGill University
At Beloit since January 1998
https://www.beloit.edu/chemistry/Abrams/
My first semester at Beloit was thrilling! I left Montreal two weeks before the Ice Storm of '98 hit, and consider myself quite lucky to have made it out just in time. I taught both sections of Organic Chemistry II, supervised a senior research project, and continued development of my educational software, all while settling in to a new apartment, new car, and new life.
In the organic course, I used a few video clips from "ER", "Law & Order" and CNN to connect organic chemistry to the real world. Once I started collecting clips, I found that there was hardly a show that didn't have something I could use! We used IR Tutor in the first week, and students were able to run and interpret IR spectra of their laboratory samples throughout the semester. The laboratory projects went very well, with students making warfarin, lidocaine and [7]-helicene, among others.
In March I got the great news that Wiley will publish IR Tutor as a CD-ROM supplement for their well known instrumentation textbooks (eg. Silverstein & Webster "Spectrophotometric Identification of Organic Compounds"). Wiley has also agreed to support me for two summers to develop the next version of IR Tutor. I continue to "play the field" for publishers of NMR Tutor. There is a great deal of interest! Demo versions of both programs, for Mac and Windows, are available through my website.
In late April I spoke at the local ACS section meeting. My talk "Visualizing IR and NMR Spectroscopy" was well received, but I brought my parents and brother along just in case! I included my recent work illustrating the concept of chemical shift anisotropy, and teased the audience with a preliminary animation of circular dichroism.
Perhaps the most satisfying part of my first semester was working with senior Yutan Getzler on the synthesis of a new molecule, [7]-Furanohelicene. We hope to get it into publishable form soon.
This summer I will have two Howard Hughes scholars and two other undergraduates working with me on educational software development, and I will be running a workshop on multimedia development at the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education in Waterloo, Ontario.
I've had a wonderful year at Beloit. In the fall I taught Quantum Chemistry with a terrific group of hardworking students. It was my first time teaching quantum, and I loved it!! Quantum mechanics is an exciting, intriguing and somewhat mysterious field, and I find it fascinating to work with students who are discovering it for the first time. This spring I had the opportunity to teach Chemistry 117 again. We used two ChemLinks modules--What we do about global warming? and What's all the fuss about fats? I really enjoy teaching with these modules because it helps both me and my students to appreciate chemistry's part in our everyday lives. I also helped teach an interdisciplinary studies course entitled "The Challenge of Global Change," where we focused on the Kyoto global warming protocol. We learned a great deal about environmental issues and their place in politics and economics while trying to decide whether we believe that the U.S. Senate should ratify this controversial international treaty.
I will be leaving Beloit College at the end of the summer to take a permanent position at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. I have mixed feelings about this move. I am extremely excited because I think that Evergreen will be a perfect fit for my teaching style and personality. Besides, I will be in heaven sea kayaking on Puget Sound! However, I am sad to be leaving the Beloit community. I have had a great two years here, and am very grateful to each of you for making it such a special experience for me.
I continue my half-time appointment under "Phased Retirement." Accordingly, I taught two sections of Organic I in fall-97 was on a non-teaching term spring-98.
My first order of business on the non-teaching term was to become familiar with the subtleties of the new ChemOffice and with MacSpartan. Based on my work with these programs, I have put together a new course for fall-98 entitled "Molecular Modeling and Computational Organic Chemistry." It is my hope that this course will become a sophomore level introduction to molecular modeling for all chemistry majors on which following courses can then build. In February, I completed a PowerPoint package of 750 screens for "Biochemistry" by Mary Campbell of Mt Holyoke College.
The 2nd edition of Organic Chemistry with Christopher Foote of ULCA as Consulting Editor was published in the summer of 1997 and was picked up for this past fall by some 50 schools across the country. Translations of this book into Italian and Japanese are in the works. Also in the works are translation of Introduction to Organic Chemistry into Italian, Japanese, and Korean.
In early April, Carolyn and I spent ten wonderful days exploring the Grand Staircase/Escalente National Monument in Southern Utah, the largest national monument outside of Alaska. There are only two marked trails in the entire area. We recommend it very highly for those of you with a love for the wilderness, who are comfortable with high clearance high-wheel drive, and have never seen a real slot canyon. We plan a return trip in October when the cottonwoods in the lower elevations and the aspens in the higher elevations are showing their brightest of colors.
It has been an exciting, busy, yet pleasurable experience filling in for Roc Ordman. In the fall I taught Biochemistry and Chemistry 117, and in the spring I taught Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and Chemistry 117. Biochemistry really challenged me and taught me a lot about teaching chemistry. One of the things that really went over well was the use of RasMac and the computer projection system to visualize proteins. Groups of about five students searched the protein data bank for structures of the proteins involved in the metabolic pathways we were studying and presented information about the proteins and their three dimensional structure to the rest of the class. Another highlight of Biochemistry was the grant proposal project. Students were asked to write a proposal for an experiment they would perform the last few weeks of class, they submitted their proposal for anonymous review by fellow classmates, and then revised their papers for grading. Chemistry 117 was a lot of fun! In the fall George, Tom, and I taught Chem. 117 using a combination of Chemlinks Modules and the 'traditional' lab based activities. In the spring Sharon, Steve, and I taught the course with more of a modular approach, but not 100% module based. The students really liked the topical themes that tied the material together and showed the relevance of chemistry to their everyday lives. Molecular Biology and Biotechnology was a real treat to teach! In this class the students learned how to access information needed to understand research articles in the field. Primary literature readings were assigned, and we discussed in class the terminology and sources used to find the information. The students also enjoyed writing a paper on a topic encompassing Biotechnology and its societal implications.
In addition to my teaching duties, I have kept busy completing publications and sending out applications for tenure-track positions. I completed a book chapter titled "DNA Replication Errors Involving Strand Misalignments" in collaboration with my former research advisor, Thomas Kunkel. The chapter is scheduled for publication in May in Genetic Instabilities and Hereditary Neurological Diseases edited by Robert Wells and Steve Warren, and published by Academic Press (ISBN 0-12-742935-2). I also had a research article accepted for publication in The Journal of Molecular Biology: Kroutil, L.C., Frey, M.W., Kaboord, B.F., Kunkel, T.A. and Benkovic, S.J. (1998) "Contribution of accessory proteins to the fidelity of replication by T4 DNA polymerase in vitro." J. Mol. Biol. 278, 135-146. My efforts to obtain a permanent position were fruitful, landing a position at The University of Wisconsin-River Falls teaching Biochemistry and participating in their Biotechnology program. It has been a very rewarding experience, and I am looking forward to continuing to interact with the faculty here at Beloit in the years to come.
I taught General Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry in the fall and Chemical Equilibrium and Instrumental Analysis in the spring. I continue to be involved in the ChemLinks project as an author of two different modules. "Build a Better CD Player: How Can You Get Blue Light from a Solid?" concerns periodicity and materials chemistry. "What Happens to Acid Rain?" concerns soil equilibria. Both involve significant use of computers and animation. I attended the Gordon Conference on "Innovations in the Teaching of College Chemistry," several ChemLinks meetings and workshops, and was able to meet with alums in the Washington, DC, area this spring. One highlight was the cover article for the March issue of the Journal of Chemical Education.
Our family had an AFS student living with us this past spring, one who came from the same neighborhood in Glasgow where we lived in 1992 and 1996. Time is obviously passing. Laura (who was just 10 weeks old when we moved to Beloit) was a Porter Scholar this year at Beloit College and she danced in Chelonia. Next fall will see Laura at Earlham College, Diana taking driver's education, and Rachel starting kindergarten.
Invited Presentations:
• G. C. Lisensky and J. M. Blackwell, "The Solid State Resources CD: Materials for the Foundation," University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, July 31-Aug. 3, 1997.
• G. C. Lisensky, "Chemistry of Smart Materials," Linda Hall Library, Kansas City, MO, Aug. 7-8, 1997.
• G. C. Lisensky and A. B. Ellis, "Elements of Curriculum Reform: Putting Solids in the Foundation," as part of a symposium entitled "The Art of Teaching Undergraduate Chemistry," Northwestern Univ, Evanston, IL, November 7, 1997.
• G. C. Lisensky, "Supporting Visualization: A Modern Blackboard," as part of an NSF sponsored symposium, "Shaping the Future: A Conference on New Expectations for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology," Macalester, St. Paul, MN, November 21-22, 1997.
Workshops presented:
• "Semiconductors and Metals," NSF Solid State Chemistry Program for Undergraduates and College Faculty, University of Southern California, June 8-10, 1998.
Publications:
• L. E. Parmentier, G. C. Lisensky and B. Spencer, "A Guided Inquiry Approach to NMR Spectroscopy," J. Chem. Ed., 75, 470-471 (1998).
• D. J. Campbell, J. K. Lorenz, A. B. Ellis, T. F. Kuech, G. C. Lisensky, M. S. Whittingham, "The Computer as a Materials Science Benchmark," J. Chem. Ed., 75, 297-312 (1998).
• J. K. Lorenze, J. A. Olsen, D. J. Campbell, G. C. Lisensky, and A. B. Ellis, "A Refrigerator Magnet Analog of Scanning-Probe Microscopy," J. Chem. Ed., 74, 1032A-1032B (1997).
• A. B. Ellis, R. J. Brainard, K. D. Kepler, D. E. Moore, E. J. Winder, T. F. Kuech, and G. C. Lisensky, "Modulation of the Photoluminescence of Semiconductors by Surface Adduct Modulation: An Application of Inorganic Photochemistry to Chemical Sensing," J. Chem. Ed., 74, 680-684 (1997).
A sabbatical in northern California is a lovely thing! Just north of the Napa Valley, I have spent the year studying Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, in preparation for my FYI course next fall on "The Meaning of Life." Nutrition is a hot topic here in Napa Valley - after an initial study showed a glass of red wine daily reduces the risk of heart disease, a second study showed 2 to 3 glasses is even better!
This year I have been able to devote full time to the study of human nutrition. Using the library resources of the University of California-Berkeley, Beloit College (with thanks to Chris Nelson), and the world wide web, and with help from distinguised researchers including Dr. Bruce Ames, Dr. Gladys Block, Beloit alumni Dr. R. K. Boutwell and Dr. Harry Broquist, I have reviewed most of the major studies about human health and nutrition, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, and metabolites. At the same time, I have been involved in the slow but steady progress of my nutrition company, Personal Health Corporation, which as I write this is packaging its first 4 million tablets of My Personal Health supplements. This year has also provided me the opportunity to work closely with Dr. Jack Bell, with whom I have been collaborating on a module for the ChemLinks Coalition, "How Much Vitamin C Should You Take?," which is designed to be part of an introductory chemistry course, and to observe the application of that module by Dr. Curt Fromke who is using it at Napa Valley College this term.
Among the highlights of the year: presenting a poster on "Vitamin C Excretion in Smokers" at the American Aging Association meeting in Philadelphia last fall with Meredith L. Matz, Luke Gerald Schwantes, and Suzanne C. Thorp; submitting two papers on my calcium and vitamin C research; getting notification of approval of my second patent, to be issued in about 5 months, which describes a method for testing for personal saturation with vitamin C; and receiving an acknowledgement from
Dr. Bruce Ames for my critique of his paper in preparation for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on a national policy for nutritional supplements.
Eliza and I look forward to returning to Beloit around July 1st. It has been lovely having a respite from the details of teaching, but I have been surprised how much I miss the daily affirmation that comes from the highly interactive teaching environment that my students and colleagues bring to Beloit College.
I was on sabbatical in the fall of '98 to work on my sociological project on academic women in the sciences combining careers and motherhood that I began two years ago with Kim White and Kris Zimmermann, both class of '96. I also finished up two manuscripts that were published this year. My work with Jennifer Smith Kristensen '93, now doing her residency in Family Practice at United Hospital in St. Paul, MN, entitled "Studies on the Urea Cycle Enzyme Ornithine Transcarbamylase," appeared in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1382, 333-338 (1998). The paper that George, Brock, and I wrote, "A Guided Inquiry Approach to NMR Spectroscopy," was published in The Journal of Chemical Education, 75, 470-471 (1998).
Spring semester was also a non-teaching term for me, and I used that time to work on my Chemlinks module on Cholesterol which I am writing with Professor Roseann Sachs at Colorado College. I spent several days in Colorado Springs working on the module and enjoying (once I finally got out of the airport!) one of the biggest snowstorms of the year. And, as things seldom go the way they are planned, I spent part of this non-teaching term teaching senior seminar with a top-notch group of students you can read about in this issue of the newsletter.
Shortly after graduation, Maddy (4), Willie (1), Tom, and I travelled to western Norway to spend some time with my brother David and his family. They operate an organic farm and sea kayacking business at their home at Vetle-Kroken on the Sognefjord, the largest fjord in Norway. While there, we spent some delightful time hiking in the high country with Dawn Doran '98 who is working as a summer intern at the farm. Western Norway is spectacularly beautiful. Check out my brother's website at http://www.vetle-kroken.com to see where some Beloit faculty and alums are spending their summer!
In addition to my on-going work directing the National Science Foundation ChemLinks Coalition curriculum development project, I have been Associate Dean of the College for one year to help with the transition to a new Dean. As a result, the only teaching I have done this year has been with Sharon Anthony and George Lisensky in the Interdisciplinary Studies "capstone" course for the environmental studies minor, "The Challenge of Global Change." The ChemLinks project underwent a major third-year review this year and has been approved by NSF for the final two years of the project. John Wiley and Sons will be publishing a initial "draft edition" of topical modules for general chemistry this summer, many of which have been class-tested in Chemistry 117 here at Beloit, while other modules for the rest of the first two years of college chemistry are under development. This summer marks the start of a series of workshops for faculty interested in using modules, with two workshops scheduled here at Beloit. For National Chemistry Day in November, Beloit students in Chemistry 117 and I were featured in a taped segment of an American Chemical Society national satellite broadcast. The students were doing activities from the module "What Should We Do About Global Warming?" by Sharon Anthony, Tom Brauch, and Elizabeth Longley, and I was one of the panelists discussing reform in chemical education. I moderated a session on assessing student learning at a national convocation in Washington, D.C., for the National Institute for Science Education, participated in a Pew Roundtable on issues in science education, and gave talks on the ChemLinks project at the ACS National Meeting in Dallas and the Two Year College Chemistry Consortium meeting in Fort Worth. George and I will be presenting a workshop in August at the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education in Waterloo, Ontario.
This was a quiet and introspective year for me. I worked hard (of necessity, since everything I said in class probably became obsolete a week before or after) on teaching a revised version of the Networks course in Computer Science during Fall, 1997. I am a First Year advisor and taught a First Year Initiative (FYI) seminar on Solar Energy titled-- I must admit, somewhat to the mystification of my young advisees and indicative of the generation gap--Here Comes the Sun: The Ultimate Energy Source? This turned out to be a most interesting and enjoyable experience, especially since I was blessed with a super bunch of first year students who are all doing very well! On the research front, I have made more progress on the development of applications for Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and have started (with the help of some CS students) to work on the Pilot and other PDAs, given that the Apple Newton is now discontinued. Perhaps the most exciting application that we have developed here is what I call a Room Area Network (RAN) for collaborative learning, using low power wireless tranceivers hooked up to PDAs. I anticipate some neat uses of such a network in a chemistry laboratory environment, for example. This Spring, the Thermodynamics and Kinetics course kept me busy with a slough of new student projects involving photophysics and pulsed laser spectroscopy in progress.
Dr. Rick Berglund and Dr. Bernie Olsen visited in September from Eli Lilly to give an overview of Lilly and the pharmaceutical industry, to present a technical example they have been working on, then talk informally with students/faculty/staff about life in industry and career preparation.
In November, Professor Keith Woo from Iowa State University gave a talk on Cyclopropanation Reactions Catalyzed By Osmium Porphyrins, and met with students to discuss graduate school.
Dr. Gabriela Waschewsky from the Department of the Geophysical Sciences at The University of Chicago presented a seminar on her work on Laboratory Studies of Multiphase Halogen Activation Reactions and met with students and faculty in November.
Scott Miller, a graduate student in physical chemistry at Northwestern University, met informally with students and gave a talk on The Effect of Spacer Energetics on Electron Transfer and Recombination Rates: Contributions from an Oxidized-Spacer Virtual State.
Professor Rob Deeth, from the University of Warwick, England, presented a lecture in March on A Novel Molecular Mechanics Strategy for Transition Metals Bound to Biological Molecules.
Professor David Nesbit from the Chemistry Department and The Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics at the University of Colorado - Boulder presented a seminar on Van der Waals Molecules in April.
The weekend of April 3-4, 1998 saw the eighth annual Girls and Women in Science Conference, organized by Kathy Greene. This unique program, supported by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Beloit College, and Lab Safety Supply, brings 40 area sixth-grade girls and their teachers and parents to Beloit where they interact with Beloit College faculty and students. The Beloit College students who plan and organize the annual Conference are known as the Women of Chamberlin because most (but not all!) of them are women science students. This year the theme of the Conference was "World of Energy," a theme represented in program materials, science investigation stations, and souvenir shirts for both college students and sixth-graders. As usual, the Chemistry Department faculty, staff, and students were active and enthusiastic participants. Megan Reich '95, Jill Gettings '96, and Kris Zimmermann '96 returned to participate in the alumnae panel, and Charlie Abrams, Sharon Anthony, Lisa Kroutil, George Lisensky, and Brock Spencer represented Chemistry faculty .
1997-1998
FALL
| 117 | General Chemistry | 55 |
| 230 | Organic Chemistry I | 47 |
| 245 | Quantum Chemistry | 8 |
| 250 | Inorganic Chemistry | 11 |
| 300 | Biochemistry | 24 |
| 370 | Advanced Topics | 6 |
| 380 | Senior Seminar | 10 |
| 385 | Senior Thesis | 2 |
| 390 | Special Projects | 2 |
| Total | 165 |
| 117 | General Chemistry | 67 |
| 220 | Chemical Equilibrium | 25 |
| 235 | Organic Chemistry II | 25 |
| 240 | Thermodynamics and Kinetics | 10 |
| 275 | Biotechnology and Molecular Biology | 7 |
| 280 | Scientific Literature | 8 |
| 360 | Instrumental Methods of Analysis | 8 |
| 380 | Senior Seminar | 12 |
| 385 | Senior Thesis | 6 |
| 390 | Special Projects | 2 |
| Total | 170 |
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.
Yutan Getzler '98 and Lakmini Weerakoon '98
WILLIAM J. TRAUTMAN AWARD in PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
(Professor at Beloit 1921-1947) given to a student doing outstanding
work in physical chemistry.
Carley Berg '98 and Steven Schmoldt '98
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.
Joey Blackwell '98
MERCK INDEX AWARD
is given to an outstanding senior and consists of a copy of the
Merck Index from the publisher.
Melanie Whalen '98
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 .
Virginia Evans '01
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY JUNIOR ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY AWARD
recognizes a junior by providing a year's membership in the ACS
Division of Analytical Chemistry and a subscription to the journal
Analytical Chemistry.
Kevin Braun '99
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 and a
video tape about polymers.
Jonathan Scheerer '01
EDWARD STEVENS RESEARCH AWARD
recognizes significant research progress. This award is given
in memory of Edward Stevens '78 by his classmates.
Yutan Getzler '98
PHARMACIA & UPJOHN SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Scott Barry '00
J. CARL WELTY AWARD
awarded by the Biology faculty to an outstanding student who contributed
most to the department.
Sarah Beirise '98
WALTER S. HAVEN FELLOWSHIP
supports a student research project.
Carley Berg '98, Amy Cone '98, and Sarah James, '99
VICTOR E. FERRALL MEDICAL SCHOLARSHIP
Sarah Beirise '98
SUMMA CUM LAUDE
Steven Schmoldt
Lay May Yeap
MAGNA CUM LAUDE
Sarah Beirise
David Campbell
Yutan Getzler
CUM LAUDE
Nikki Cheng
Marc Dao
Dawn Doran
Jeanine Pennington
Lakmini Weerakoon
Melanie Whalen
DEPARTMENTAL HONORS
Nikki Cheng - Biochemistry
Yutan Getzler - Chemistry
PHI BETA KAPPA
Sarah Beirise
Maya Das
Yutan Getzler
MORTAR BOARD
Kevin Braun
Maya Das
Sarah James
PHI SIGMA IOTA
Nikki Cheng
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 17 1998
"The Ebola Virus: Examination of Possible Natural Reservoir Hosts," Laura A. Sasse (work done at Beloit College).
"Gene Targeting and Conversion in E. coli by RNA - DNA Oligonucleotides," Nikki Cheng, Allyson Cole-Strauss, Rick Metz, and Eric B. Kmiec (work done at Thomas Jefferson University).
"The Role of FMRP in the Mechanism and Treatment of Fragile X Syndrome," Kelly E. Johanson (work done at Beloit College).
"CD44 and its Involvement in Tumor Metastasis," Melanie K. Whalen (work done at Beloit College).
"AT1 and AT2 Receptors in the Middle Cerebral and Gracilis Arteries of SD Rats (Rattus norvegicus)," Sarah Beirise (work done at the Medical College of Wisconsin).
"Characterization of the Potential Osteoarthritis Marker: The Superficial Zone Protein," Danijela Lucic (work done at Rush University).
"Construction of the pIND MORF 4 Clone to Verify the Role of MORF 4 in Replicative Senescence," Jeanine Pennington, Michael Bertrum, Olivia Pereira-Smith, and James Smith (work done at Baylor College of Medicine).
"The Antioxidant Effect of Ceruloplasmin on Low Density Lipoprotein," Norad R. Morgan, Alya Dabbagh, and Balz Frei (work done at Boston University School of Medicine).
"Serotonin and Depression: Fitting the Pieces of the Puzzle," Dawn M. Doran (work done at Beloit College).
"Nature's Antidepressant: St. John's Wort," Andrew Matzen (work done at Beloit College).
"Retinitis Pigmentosa: Genetic Causes and Treatments," Elizabeth Redding (work done at Beloit College).
"The Effect of Whey on the Protection of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Free Radicals," Ian John Schmitz (work done at Beloit College).
"Telomerase Catalytic Candidates," David Campbell (work done at Beloit College).
Beloit College 22nd Annual Student Symposium, 7 April 1998
Nikki Cheng - Biochemistry and French '98
Gene Targeting and Correction in E. coli by RNA - DNA Oligonucleotides
Yutan Getzler - Chemistry '98
Molecular Sculpture: The Synthesis of a Helicene
Angela Hahn - Biochemistry '01
Social and Reproductive Behaviors of Hartley Guinea Pigs in a
Semi-Natural Environment
Sarah James - Biochemistry '99
A Dewlap of a Different Color: The Analysis of Pteridines in the
Jamaican Anole
Mary Salsbury - Biochemistry '99
Microdamage Repair Mechanisms and Fractures in Older Women
Scott Barry ('00) is a Pharmacia and Upjohn Scholar doing work with Professor Charlie Abrams on educational software.
Kevin Braun ('99) is doing research on electron transfer and recombination rates of ion-pair complexes at The Center for Photochemical Research at Bowling Green State University this summer.
Maya Das ('99) has a summer research internship at the University of Chicago in a surgery lab that focuses on cell injury due to electric shock.
Taherreh Jalali ('00) will return to India and also travel in Iran for the summer.
Sarah James ('99) is continuing her studies from last summer on the dewlap color of Anolis Lizards from the Grand Caymen Island. She will also be the R. A. for the Howard Hughes Scholars Program at Beloit.
Elizabeth Lang ('00) is working for a DeKalb Soybean Research Station in Beaman, IA.
Courtney Maeda ('00) will return home to Hilo, HI for the summer where she will take summer school courses at the University of Hawaii-Hilo in English and Microeconomics. She also hopes to volunteer at the local hospice organization and a pharmacy in order to gain the necessary experience for a future in a pharmacy related career.
Rebecca Mallinson ('01) will be doing an internship with the Retina Foundation of the Southwest (Dallas, Texas) as a biochemistry laboratory technician. She will be helping them to determine if there is a metabolic abnormality in the synthesis of docosahexaenoic acid in patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa.
Angela Moten ('99) is working at the Goldie Floberg Center for the developmentally disabled.
Robyn Nisi ('99) is working in Madison for the summer at the UW - Madison/DNR Water Chemistry Program with Dr. Jim Hurley. She spends her time alternately doing pigment analyses on the HPLC and heading out to the field (northern Wisconsin, upper Michigan...) to collect water samples.
George Rogge ('99) is a Sprague Scholar working with Professor Charlie Abrams on educational software .
Luke Schwantes ('99) had a spring internship at ProChem in Rockford, IL working with company President Reno Novak ('83). This summer he is salmon fishing in Alaska, as usual.
Suzanne Thorp ('99) is working on the ChemLinks project at Beloit.
Matt Watson ('00) is working with Professor Rama Viswanathan on polyyne modeling and visualization.
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David Atlas Kirsten Balogh Scott Barry Kevin Braun Antoire Christie William Clark Glen Cronan Maya Das Derek Divine Carlo Giacomoni Angela Hahn Benjamin Isaac Taherreh Jalali Sarah James Julia Kamenetsky Christopher Kindschi Elizabeth Lang Tamara Lowe Courtney Maeda Rebecca Mallinson Charlotte Miller Angela Moten David Murray Robyn Nisi George Rogge Mary Salsbury Steven Schmoldt Luke Schwantes Brian Stupi Scott Sweeney Suzanne Thorp James Watson |
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Chemistry Biochemistry Chemistry Chemistry Biochemistry Chemistry Biochemistry Biochemistry Biochemistry Chemistry Biochemistry Chemistry Biochemistry Biochemistry Chemistry Chemistry Chemistry Biochemistry Chemistry Biochemistry Biochemistry Biochemistry Biochemistry Chemistry Chemistry Biochemistry Biochemistry Chemistry Biochemistry Chemistry Biochemistry Biochemistry |
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Sarah Beirise - Dunlap, IL. Biochemistry with a minor in Health Care Studies. Magna Cum Laude. Sarah will attend the Medical College of Wisconsin in the fall.
Joey Blackwell - Elkhorn, WI. Chemistry. Joey spent the summer of '97 working for ChemLinks and co-wrote the Bluelight CD. In the fall, she designed a Special Project with George Lisensky to co-write the second edition of the Solid State Resources CD. Joey has served the Department as a TA for both Chem 117 and 220. She will be working with Geneva Labs as an analytical chemist after graduation and would like someday to teach chemistry.
David Campbell- Denton, TX. Biochemistry. Magna Cum Laude. Dave will enter the Ph. D. program in physics at Florida State University in the fall.
Nikki Cheng - Tucson, AZ. Biochemistry with Departmental Honors and French. Cum Laude. While at Beloit, Nikki has developed a website on gene therapy (address available upon request), completed a Special Project concerning bioethics, participated in the French Overseas Seminar, spent a summer at the H. Lee Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa, FL working on transporter proteins, spent a summer at the Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA working on gene therapy, and presented papers at both the Beloit College Student Symposium and NCUR 98. She has been a member of Phi Sigma Iota language society, a member of the French House, and a member of the track team (1994 - 1998). Nikki has accepted a position at Kimergen Pharmaceuticals in Newtown, PA, for the summer and will be entering the Vanderbilt University Ph. D. program in Biomedical Sciences in the fall of '98
Amy Cone - Wichita Falls, TX. Biochemistry and Political Science. Amy plans to return to Texas for a year to be near her family and to work for the Air Force as a general contractor, computer specialist. She will then enter either law school or graduate school. Her long-range future plans include a career in laws relating to biochemistry.
Marc Dao - Quebec, Canada. Chemistry. Cum Laude.
Dawn Doran - Homewood, IL. Biochemistry. Cum Laude. I am extremely proud and excited to be graduating from the Biochemistry Program at Beloit College. I have grown and learned so much during my time at Beloit, but most importantly, I have acquired the desire and the tools to keep on learning. I am not sure what the future holds for me. I hope to join the Peace Corps in the fall to work in their fisheries program or to teach chemistry. In addition to my Biochemistry major, I have also been active on the Track team and the Soccer team. For the summer, I am going to Norway to work on an organic farm as a summer intern with Professor Laura Parmentier's brother David Parmentier. I will also be spending a week canoeing in the Quetico in August.
Kelly Johanson - Alexandria, LA. Biochemistry and Music. Kelly will enter a Ph. D. program in biochemistry at Tulane university in the fall. While at Beloit, Kelly completed two Special Projects with Professor Roc Ordman on calcium and vitamin C. She also worked for the Department as a TA for Chem 117.
Yutan Getzler - Lyons, CO. Chemistry with Departmental Honors. Magna Cum Laude. I came to Beloit College with no chemistry background to speak of, but an innate knowledge that science was where I needed to be. While at Beloit I have not only immersed myself in chemistry, but have also dived into literature and sculpture. Related to these other interests, I will be returning to Beloit in the fall for an honors term during which I will work to develop more fully the student sculpture garden. During that time I will also be working on graduate school applications. Summers? Well, I worked for Prof Zippora Shakked on the expression and purification of p53 at the Weizmann Institute for one summer. The next summer I did similar work for Prof Judith Klinman with a mutant yeast amine oxidase at UC Berkeley. During the spring semester of my senior year I, in conjunction with Prof. Charles Abrams, synthesized a novel heterohelicene and presented this process at the Student Symposium.
Danijela Lucic - Banja Luka, Bosnia. Biochemistry with a minor in Environmental Studies.
Meredith Matz - Appleton, NY. Chemistry and Anthropology.
Andrew Matzen - Klamath Falls, OR. Biochemistry and Music.
Norad Morgan - Nassau, Bahamas. Biochemistry and Music. Norad will attend medical school at The University of The West Indies.
Jeanine Pennington - Midlothian, IL. Biochemistry. Cum Laude. I've done research at Northwestern University with alumnus Hank Seifert and at the Baylor College of Medicine. While at Beloit I have been involved in Girls and Women in Science. Next year I will be workin as a lab technologist at Rush University. After a year off school I plan to go to graduate school and eventually teach at a small, liberal arts school.
Elizabeth Redding - Nashville, IN. Biochemistry. Elizabeth will be moving to Scotland in the fall.
Laura Sasse - Waukegan, IL. Biochemistry with a minor in Women's Studies. While at Beloit, I had the opportunity to work with Professor Roc Ordman on two Special Projects involving research on calcium and vitamin C supplement dosages. I presented some of our findings at the Beloit College Student Symposium. In the future, I plan to continue my education and become a midwife. I hope to join the Peace Corps and travel to Africa this summer.
Steven Schmoldt - Beloit, WI. Chemistry. Summa Cum Laude. Steve has accepted a summer position at ProChem, in Rockford, IL, of which Reno Novak '83 is President, and will be studying in Japan next year.
Ian Schmitz - Hales Corners, WI. Biochemistry. After making it through four years at Beloit, I hope to go to graduate school at Rush University, where I have previously done an internship. I hope to pursue a career in biochemistry after graduate school, and I hope to return to Beloit College and still see the campus the same as always.
Robert Simmons- San Mateo, CA. Chemistry. My Beloit College career in chemistry was an exrtemely valuable experience. When I transferred to Beloit my junior year I had no idea that within one year nearly all my academic interest would be devoted to a completely new area. I feel a boundless amount of gratitude to Tom Brauch who was my primary mentor in the study of chemistry. When Tom left for Colorado last summer, I did feel slightly concerned as to whether others could keep my motivation so high. The rest of the Chemistry Deprtment has really helped to expand my knowledge and understanding of chemistry. I plan to take at least the next year off before moving on to graduate school. A year spent working in industry will definitely shed some light on whether I really want to do this for the rest of my life. After graduation, I will move back to the Bay area and look for a bench position at one of the biotechnology companies in the area. I also plan to pursue my career as a drummer. While at Beloit, I have had the opportunity to play many different styles of music including jazz, punk rock, funk/blues, organic hip-hop, various Caribbean grooves, and gospel. I plan to play in as many bands as time allows.
Laura Tarwater - Greenfield, IN. Chemistry with a minor in Information Systems. In the past year, I have worked with Professor Sharon Anthony on the best way to calculate the size and size distribution of aerosol particles given an infra red spectrum. I have also developed a series of instructional documents for campus users of Beloit's computer network for ITS. I spent a semester in Australia last year and would love to go back someday. I am currently looking for a job in technical writing, probably in the San Francisco area. I am considering graduate school in instructional technology in the next few years.
Lakmini Weerakoon - Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Chemistry with a minor in Environmental Studies. Cum Laude. For the summer, I am heading home to my tropical island paradise. In the fall, I will begin graduate studies in organic chemistry at Yale University.
Melanie Whalen - Marseilles, IL. Biochemistry. Cum Laude. Throughout my Beloit College career I had many wonderful experiences. During the summer of '96 I did research with Cheryl Knudson in the Biochemistry Department at Rush University studying the degradative effects of various enzymes and oligosaccharides on chondrocyte pericellular matrix. I have shadowed a physical therapist and a medical technologist at Beloit Memorial Hospital. I was a student trainer for many of Beloit's varsity athletic teams. I was involved in several organizations including Gold Key, the Lighthouse, and Residential Life Committee. This summer I will be working as a technician in the resin department at G. E. Plastics in Ottawa, IL. In the fall, I will attend Northern Illinois University to earn a degree in medical technology.
Lay Yeap - Penang, Malaysia. Chemistry and Mathematics. Summa Cum Laude.
Keep sending us your news!
1961 Thomas Tisue has resigned from his position at Clemson University and is staying on at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna as "a globe-trotting international do-gooder, managing the formulation and evaluation of technical cooperation projects in developing countries."
1967 Eric M. Gordon was the senior author of two papers in 1994 that were the most frequently cited chemistry papers in the world for the period of 1994 - 1996, according to Science Watch, vol. 8 No. 4 (1997): "Applications of Combinatorial Technologies to Drug Discovery." Part 1, J. Med. Chem. 37, 1233-1251 (1994) and Part 2, J. Med. Chem. 37, 1385-1401 (1994). In spring, 1996, Eric became President and scientific founder of Versicor, a new company that seeks to apply modern combinatorial chemistry technologies, high through-put screening, functional genomics, and informatics strategies to drug discovery. They have established a San Francisco based research center where efforts will be focused on the infectious disease therapeutic area. Address: Versicor, Inc., 270 E. Grand Ave., So. San Francisco, CA 94080 (415) 829-7000.
1969 Karla J (Haug) Matteson is Associate Professor of Medical Biology and Assistant Director of the Developmental and Genetic Center. She is a board certified Clinical Molelcular Geneticist and Clinical Biochemical Geneticist. She would be willing to share information on careers in genetics, laboratory molecular biology, and application to clinical diagnosis. Her address is: University of Tennessee Developmental and Genetic Center, 1930 Alcoa Highway, Suite 435, Knoxville, Tn 37920-1514.
1970 Jim Espy is currently Staff Administrator for the Consulting Services Department in Saudi Aramco, one of the largest suppliers of crude oil to the world. The Consulting Services Department includes engineering disciplines such as materials engineering, corrosion control, mechanical and civil engineering, electrical engineering, metering, and communications. Jim and his wife, Margie, just recently celebrated their 22nd anniversary. They have one son, Paul, who recently completed the 8th grade.
1981 Brian Davis sends word of a new address: 1340 Steele St., Denver, CO 80206.
1981 Suki Smaglik and Warren Ulmer have left California and returned to Colorado to finish their dissertations and get ready for their next adventure, whatever that may be! New address: 4050 Eaton St., Denver, CO 80212.
1982 Beatrice Kelsey Stein has moved to Bloomfield, MI, and is enjoying exploring Detroit with her husband Larry and their three children.
1986 Jeffrey Fein is at UCLA doing neuroscience research.
1986 Bryan Mehlhaff is practicing urology in Eugene, OR. New address: 3133 Riverbend Ave., Eugene OR 97408.
1986 Ebbe Nordlander reports that his research is going quite well and that he now has a fairly sizable group by Swedish standards with several collaborative projects with groups all over Europe and in the U.S. He and his wife Sofi announce the birth of their son Jonas, who was born on April 29, 1997. He and Sofi are taking time off from work to be with their son.
1987 Paul Blechschmidt is still in beautiful Portland, OR, working for Epitope, Inc. as an Information Systems Specialist.
1991 Beth Brady-Morris was married Oct 18, 1996 to Ken Morris, Arizona Highway Patrolman. Beth is working for the Arizona Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Phoenix, AZ, and was recently promoted to Criminalist II.
1991 Caroline Schauer has been in the Netherlands on a one year post-doctoral fellowship with Prof. David Reinhoudt at the University of Twente in Enschede working in the field of hydrogen bonded polymers. In Aug 1998, she will return to the States and take a second post-doctoral position with Prof. Bruce Novak at Department of Polymer Science U. Mass at Amherst to work on predetermining polymeric structure using secondary interactions.
1991 Christina Plummer Slye reports a new address: 10 Garden Estates Court, Alamo, CA 94507.
1994 Sudha Pavuluri is starting her final year in medical school at the University of Nottingham in England.
1996 Alison Green is working as a TA in the Chemistry Department at the university of Wisconsin-Madison.
1997 Carrie Clothier is working in biochemical research and development with Pierce Chemical Company in Rockford, IL.
1997 David Gan is employed with Estee Lauder, Melville, NY, and has notified us of internship positions at The Skin Biology Division of The Biological Research Department at R&D Estee Lauder. This is a program David had benefitted from as a Beloit student, and he encourages other students to pursue this opportunity in the future to get a feel for industry. David can be contacted at dgan@estee.com.
1997 David Gordon is with CommuniCorp Testing Center in Rockford, IL as Laboratory Manager.
1997 Kelly Knudson has returned from Guatemala and, after a jaunt to Spain to participate in an Earthwatch dig, will be attending graduate school at the UW-Madison in chemical archaeology in the fall.
We have received word of the deaths of the following alumni:
Robert B. Barrett '44 Dayton Clark '39 Wendell Lindbeck '36
Fern Lorber Miller '52 James H. Skala '50
Gifts to Chemistry and Biochemistry have been received from: Anonymous, Peter G. Allen '96, Cytec Industries, Inc. (a matching gift made possible by Edward Limon '89), Jeffrey S. Cleaveland '83, William G. Hipple '89, Manish N. Patel '94, Patricia A. Smith '86, and Michael D. Wirt '85.
Lowell H. Ericsson '50 has continued his annual support for scholarships that are "not an award for already achieving exceptional scholarship, but for three to five hard working students ... [who] have potential for becoming outstanding students, need encouragement, and are in need of financial assistance." These scholarships, along with the James R. Ferwerda (Physics, '53) Science Scholarships, have been most useful to a number of our students in recent years in providing both financial support and effective encouragement.
The David A. Norris '92 Student Research Fellowship, established by David's friends and family in his memory, provides endowed support for chemistry-related undergraduate research by providing funds for research expenses and/or travel to present research results. Research that draws connections between chemistry and other fields in the sciences and beyond is encouraged. Initial awards from this fund will start this coming year.
The Pharmacia and Upjohn pharmaceutical company (Kalamazoo, Michigan) has provided the chemistry department a grant for $5000, the first of a series of annual contributions it intends to make to the department. The company has chosen 10 upper midwest liberal arts colleges to fund in this way and to visit annually for employment recruitment. The initial grant is being used to support a Pharmacia and Upjohn summer scholar this summer and bring seminar speakers to campus in the coming year.
Thank you for your support, and thank you to all those not listed here who continue to give generously to Beloit College!
Chemistry: Abrams@beloit.edu, Brownwh@beloit.edu, Greene@beloit.edu, Lisensky@beloit.edu, Ordman@beloit.edu, Parmentr@beloit.edu, Spencer@beloit.edu, Ramav@beloit.edu,
Biology: Yasukawa@beloit.edu, Mankiewicz@beloit.edu, Newsome@beloit.edu, Roym@beloit.edu, Jungck@beloit.edu, Grossman@beloit.edu, Fassm@beloit.edu
Beloit College Alumni office now maintains an email directory that can be accessed at https://www.beloit.edu/alumni/emaildir/.