|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|||||||
| |
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
HONORIS CAUSA Two Faculty Members Earn Faculty Scholar Medals for Research Two professors from the Eberly College of Science have earned 2000-2001 Penn State Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement.
Assmann has been honored for identifying and determining the functions
of important proteins involved in controlling microscopic openings in
plant leaves. This discovery may have application in producing more drought-tolerant
crop plants. A world leader in the field of plant cell signal transduction,
she studies how plants receive and respond to stimuli from the environment.
In particular, she studies how plants open and close the Zhang has been recognized for his work in the highly competitive field of organic chemistry involving catalytic asymmetric synthesis. His work focuses on the use of catalysts for preferentially synthesizing active substances, so called chiral pharmaceuticals. He received the Camille and Henry Dryfus Foundation New Faculty Award in 1994, the DuPont Young Faculty Award in 1996, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award in 1996, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Teacher-Scholar Award in 1998, and was named a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellow in 2000. Beatty, Maroncelli Earn Guggenheim Fellowships James Beatty, associate professor of physics and astronomy and astrophysics, and Mark Maroncelli, professor of chemistry, have been selected as Guggenheim Fellows by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. According to the foundation, Guggenheim Fellows are selected on the basis of their unusually distinguished achievements and their exceptional promise for future accomplishments. Beatty and Maroncelli were among 183 scientists, scholars, and artists selected from a pool of 2,728 applicants to receive the award in 2001.
“The fellowship, along with the grant of a sabbatical leave, will allow focused work at an important phase of the Auger Project just as the data begin to roll in,” Beatty said. “It is an exciting opportunity.” An associate professor at Penn State since 1995, Beatty held positions as an associate professor and assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences from 1991 to 1995. He was an assistant professor at Boston University from 1986 to 1992, and a researcher at the University of Chicago from 1982 to 1986. He earned his doctoral and master’s degrees in physics as well as a bachelor’s in chemistry at the University of Chicago. He is a member of the American Physical Society and the Auger Project Collaboration Board.
A member of the Penn State faculty since 1987, Maroncelli was named associate professor in 1993 and professor in 1997. Before he arrived at Penn State, he was a research associate at the University of Chicago from 1985 to 1987 and a research associate at Oregon State University from 1984 to 1985. He earned his doctoral degree in chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley in 1983 and his bachelor’s in chemistry, with highest honors, at Williams College in 1979. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Physical Society. The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was established in 1925 by U.S. Senator Simon Guggenheim and his wife as a memorial to a son who died in 1922. The Foundation offers Fellowships to further the development of scholars and artists by assisting them to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts, under the freest possible conditions. Belmonte Receives NSF CAREER Award
A Penn State faculty member since 1998, Belmonte studies the dynamics of complex fluids in the W.G. Pritchard Fluid Mechanics Laboratory in the Department of Mathematics. Belmonte’s CAREER award will help to support his research with a project titled “Macromolecular Fluid Flow: Experiments, Equations, and Education,” which integrates experimental and mathematical work with strongly related educational and outreach efforts. The research focuses on the flow of fluids that have a complicated molecular structure, such as long-chain polymers, in which there is typically no single agreed-upon equation to describe the behavior. The pertinent equations, known as partial differential equations because they involve derivatives of both space and time, are considered by mathematicians to be among the most challenging kinds of equations to solve. By performing experimental studies of these systems and developing equations that model them, Belmonte hopes to discern which models are appropriate while also gaining insights into the flow of these complex materials. While understandably proud of his award, Belmonte pointed to the importance of the fluid mechanics laboratory and the support of his department for such research. The laboratory, established in 1986 and one of the few of its kind housed in a Department of Mathematics, includes postdoctoral students, graduate students, and undergraduate students in an atmosphere that Belmonte believes blends mathematical modeling and physical experimentation quite well. “We have an excellent group, and the benefit of a highly stimulating environment that fosters interdisciplinary collaborations, while always keeping the mathematics in focus,” Belmonte said. “At the same time, we get our hands dirty with the physical realities of what the equations are meant to describe. It’s an exciting combination.” Belmonte joined the Penn State faculty in 1998, and was awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in 2000. He held a postdoctoral position at the University of Pittsburgh from 1996 to 1998. He earned his doctoral degree and his master’s degree in physics from Princeton University in 1994 and 1991, respectively. He earned his bachelor’s degree, with honors, in physics at the University of Chicago in 1988. Bevilacqua Receives NSF CAREER Award, Sloan Fellowship
Bevilacqua’s CAREER award will help to support an area of his research in which he uses temperature-gradient gel electrophoresis to separate complex combinatorial libraries for various RNA and DNA structural motifs according to their thermal stability. He plans to identify selected RNAs by cloning and sequencing, and to study their structure and function by ultraviolet melting experiments, calorimetry, and nuclear-magnetic-resonance spectroscopy. “We hope to gain insight into the biological function of RNA stability and instability, to identify families of stable RNA with secondary and tertiary motifs, and to develop thermodynamic rules for the prediction of RNA structure and sequence,” Bevilacqua said. “This award is a great honor and will allow my group to pursue a new and exciting direction.” Along with the research itself, Bevilacqua’s plans include two separate outreach efforts. One involves the continuing development of a graduate course on the chemistry of nucleic acids. Collaborators with that effort include the Life Sciences Consortium and Michael Fried, associate professor of biological chemistry. Also, Bevilacqua plans to use his laboratory as a career site for “Take Our Daughters to Work Day” and to make science presentations at elementary schools. In addition, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has selected Bevilacqua as a 2001 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow. This year, the foundation awarded 104 fellowships to faculty in the United States and Canada who are in the early stages of their research careers and who have exceptional promise to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in chemistry, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, or physics. “This award is a great honor,” Bevilacqua said. “It provides my group with additional resources to continue our research. It will help us pursue our research on RNA folding and catalysis.” Bevilacqua joined the Penn State faculty in 1997. His research interests include biophysical approaches to RNA folding, catalysis, and structure, with an emphasis on viral RNAs. He earned his doctoral degree in chemistry at the University of Rochester in 1993. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry, summa cum laude with a minor in physics, at John Carroll University in 1987.
Physics Professor Recognized for Efforts as Scientific Reviewer
He received his award during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The award, which includes a monetary prize, was established by Annual Reviews, Inc., and the Institute for Scientific Information in honor of J. Murray Luck and has been presented annually since 1979. Cole joined the Penn State faculty in 1974. He has received numerous honors, including a Fulbright Scholarship in 1989. He was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1979 and received the Penn State Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Physical Sciences and Engineering in 1993. Cole earned his doctoral and master’s degrees at the University of Chicago in 1970 and 1965, respectively. He earned his bachelor’s degree, with honors, at Johns Hopkins University in 1964. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS), is a private, nonprofit institution that provides science advice under a congressional charter. The NAS was created by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. As mandated in its Act of Incorporation, it has since served to “investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art” whenever called upon to do so by any department of the government. American Physical Society Honors Pullin
The award is designed to “promote the participation of underrepresented minorities in physics by identifying and recognizing a distinguished minority physicist who has made significant contributions to physics research.” Strong communication skills are a prerequisite as well. According to the citation, Pullin was recognized for his contributions to research regarding gravitational-wave propagation and the quantum theory of gravity. He also was cited for his efforts as a founding member of the National Society of Hispanic Physicists. The award means Pullin will receive at least three invitations this year to academic institutions “where the impact of the visit on minority students would be significant.” During those visits he may deliver lectures, visit classrooms, assist with precollege outreach efforts where appropriate, and talk informally with faculty and students about his research and teaching careers in physics. The Bouchet Award, given annually since 1994, was established by the APS Committee on Minorities in Physics and made possible by a grant from the Research Corporation of Tucson, Arizona. Pullin joined the Penn State faculty in 1993 as an assistant professor. He was named associate professor in 1997 and professor in July 2000. He was honored as a Guggenheim Fellow by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1998 and received a Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 1995. Arnold Named Director of Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications
Established in 1982 with the support of the National Science Foundation, the institute ranks among the leading centers for the mathematical sciences in the world. Its mission is to identify problems and areas of mathematical-sciences research related to challenges faced by other sciences and industry, to demonstrate the impact of mathematics and statistics on other disciplines, and to encourage the engagement of mathematical scientists with those areas of application. Arnold was elected chair of the institute’s Board of Governors in November 2000 and he had a long association with the institute, including two years in residence and experience on the Computational Programs and Resources Advisory Committee before joining the Board of Governors. Arnold joined the Penn State faculty in 1989. During his tenure he has helped to develop and manage the Penn State MathNet—the departmental computer network serving the research, teaching, and administrative computing needs of faculty, staff, and students. He served as Associate Chair for Computing from 1991 to 1994 and as Interim Department Head in 1995. He works as co-director of Penn State’s Center for Computational Mathematics and Analysis, associate director of Penn State’s Institute for High Performance Computer Applications, and as a member of the University’s Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry. He received the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching at Penn State in 1996, the Teresa Cohen Service Award from the Department of Mathematics in 1998, and the Eberly College of Science Distinguished Service Award in 2000. Arnold’s research interests center around mechanics, numerical analysis, partial differential equations, and the interplay between those areas. His contributions to the design and analysis of algorithms for differential equations are widely recognized; in particular, the numerical simulation of elastic plates and shells. He also studies numerical aspects of gravitational physics, devoting much of his energy to computational relativity, with his long-term aim being the numerical simulation of massive astrophysical events such as black-hole collisions and the resulting emissions of gravitational radiation.
Honoris Causa
continued (part 2) Back to Science Journal Summer 2001 Index
|
|
|
Penn State Home Page | Eberly College of Science | Find a Person | Locate a Building | Search | Site Index Students
| Alumni
| Visitors
| Researchers
| Faculty and
Staff | Postdoctoral
Fellows | Corporate
Interests |
|
| This page is maintained by Barbara K. Kennedy: science@psu.edu, (814) 863-4682 and Leta A. Krumrine: LAK15@psu.edu, (814) 863-8453 -- FAX (814) 863-2246 Eberly College of Science, Office of Public Information, 427 Thomas Building, University Park, PA 16802-2112 This page was last updated on 24 July 2001 If you would like
to communicate with the keepers of the Eberly College of Science Web server,
send electronic mail to: science-web@thunder.science.psu.edu |
Sarah
Assmann, professor of 
microscopic pores. This regulation is vital to photosynthesis and to the
exchange of gases with the environment. Assmann received a McKnight individual
research grant in 1988 and a 
The
award will provide support for Beatty’s research on the highest-energy
particles in the Universe. As a member of the 
For
Maroncelli, the fellowship will help support a sabbatical leave
split between the 
Andrew
Belmonte, assistant professor of 
Philip
Bevilacqua, assistant professor of 
Milton
Cole, Distinguished Professor of 
Jorge
Pullin, professor of 
Douglas
Arnold, Distinguished Professor of