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Science Spring 2005 (pdf) The newsletter of the College of
Science Idaho
Science Summer 2004 (pdf) Student
News Faculty
and Staff News Events
STUDENT
NEWS
All College of Science students are encouraged to
participate in the third annual COS Student Research Exposition on
Friday, November 2, 2007, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
See the announcement for details.
The College of Science will award four undergraduate
research fellowships for students in the college. The
application deadline is November 16.
View the program announcement.
Jason Kruszewski, a
graduate student in geochemistry, recently presented his work at the
12th annual symposium on water-rock interaction in China.
More
information.
Spring 2007 Dean's List: The College of Science has announced the
dean's list for Fall 2006. Congratulations to the students who
made the list. The dean's lists for
Fall 2006,
Spring 2006,
Fall 2005,
Spring 2005,
Fall 2004, Spring 2004,
Fall
2003, Spring
2003, and Fall
2002 are also available.
The College of Science has announced its student
award winners for 2006-2007. Please visit the
Student Awards Page for details.
Leah Schwisow, a
sophomore biology major from Melba, Idaho, is one of just 30
students from around the country, and the only one from the Pacific
Northwest, to be chosen as a volunteer team leader by the Beijing
Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games for the 2008 Olympics.
More
information.
Congratulations to the following College of Science
students who have received 2006 Alumni Association Awards for
Excellence: Nathan Bialke, a senior in mathematics;
Shannon Grant, a senior in mathematics; Mary Oswald, a
Ph.D. student in biology; Katherine Quinn, a senior in
biology; and Christopher Tockey, a senior in mathematics.
Congratulations to the winners of the second annual
College of Science Student Research Exposition: Max Young
(mathematics and physics), outstanding undergraduate poster;
Holly Paddock (biology), runner up undergraduate poster;
Jesse Huso (physics), outstanding graduate poster; and Amit
Sharma (physics), runner up graduate poster.
Dr. Nick Natale and Trina Villalobos
of the Department of Chemistry won a national ChemLuminary Award
from the American Chemical Society at its annual meeting in
September.

Linette Watkins, chair of the ACS Committee on Minority Affairs;
Trina Villalobos; Nick Natale; and Catherine T. Hunt, ACS
president-elect.
Noel Palmer, a Ph.D. student in chemistry
working under the direction of Dr. Ray von Wandruszka, was
presented with the prestigious Ronald Malcolm Award by the
International Humic Substances Society (IHSS) at their conference in
Karlsruhe, Germany in August 2006. This award is given to the top
applicant for an IHSS travel bursary, and takes the form of a
certificate and a $1,500 prize. Noel was chosen for the
Malcolm Award from among 10 travel grant awardees on the basis of
the paper he wrote for the Proceedings volume of the conference,
entitled "Reduction of Arsenates by Humic Materials". This was
judged to be the best contribution by a graduate student at this
year's meeting. He also gave an oral presentation of this title at
the conference.
More information.
FACULTY
AND STAFF NEWS
Dr. Dennis Geist, professor and chair of
Geological Sciences, is working on a project studying undersea
volcanoes near the Hawaiian Islands.
More
information.
Dr. Larry Forney and colleagues in the
Departments of Biological Sciences, Mathematics, and Statistics have
recently published important new research on the health impacts of
microbial ecology in the human vagina.
More
information.
Dr. Mark Nielsen, professor of mathematics,
has been appointed associate dean of the College of Science,
effective July 16, 2007.
Dr. Scott Wood, associate dean and professor
of geochemistry, has been appointed interim dean of the College of
Science, effective July 1, 2007.
Congratulations to Dr. Paul Joyce of the
Department of Mathematics, this year's winner of the College of
Science Distinguished Faculty Award.
Congratulations to Dr. John Byers and Dr.
Holly Wichman of the Department of Biological Sciences for
winning University of Idaho Faculty Awards for Excellence in
Research or Creative Activity. These are the highest awards
for faculty presented by the university.
Congratulations to Dr. Eric Delmelle of the
Department of Geography and Cynthia Piez of the Department of
Mathematics for winning Naval ROTC Faculty Excellence Awards.
Congratulations to the following College of
Science faculty members: Dr. David McIlroy, promoted to professor of
physics; Dr. Francesca Sammarruca, promoted to professor of physics;
and Dr. Eva Top, associate professor of biological sciences, granted
tenure.
Dr. Judith Totman Parrish has recently been
elected vice president of the Geological Society of
America. She will serve one year as vice president, the next
year as president, and the following year as past president of
the society.
More
information.
College of Science faculty are participating in two
teams that have recently won funding from the university to
stimulate interdisciplinary activities:
-
Dr. Eric Brauns,
assistant professor of chemistry, and Dr. F. Marty Ytreberg,
assistant professor of physics, were given $10,000 for their
project, “Exploring the Structural Characteristics of RNA
Tetraloops.” The grant provides cross-disciplinary training for
both PIs and a new connection between their departments. The two
PIs are involved in two of the university's interdisciplinary
graduate programs: Brauns is involved with the neuroscience
program and Ytreberg works with the bioinformatics and
computational biology program.
-
Dr. Ray Dezzani,
assistant professor of geography, Dr. Lisette Waits,
associate professor of wildlife resources, and Dr. Lee Vierling,
assistant professor of rangeland ecology and management, were
awarded $14,464 for their project, “Landscapes without borders:
towards an interdisciplinary teaching and research program to
analyze landscapes for ecology and conservation.” This project
includes development of a new graduate course, a new
multi-college seminar series and the initiation of a book.
Dr. Jack Sullivan of the Department of
Biological Sciences has been named editor-in-chief of the journal
Systematic Biology.
The University of Idaho will host the 2009 Evolution
meetings in Moscow. This is the largest annual conference in
evolutionary biology, with more than 1,000 attendees expected.
The three scholarly societies that gather at the meetings are The
Society for the Study of Evolution, The Society for Systematic
Biology, and the American Society of Naturalists.
Dr. Bill McClelland of the Department of
Geological Sciences was honored as an exceptional reviewer for the
GSA Bulletin in the February 2007 issue of GSA Today.
Dr. Judith Totman Parrish has announced that
she will step down as dean and return to teaching and research on
July 1, 2007.
More
information.
Dr. Rick Edgeman, professor and chair of
statistics, presented a keynote address at the 11th World Congress
for Total Quality Management on December 4, 2006, in Wellington, New
Zealand.
Congratulations also to the following Science
faculty members for winning 2006 Alumni Association Awards for
Faculty Excellence: Dr. John Byers, Biological Sciences;
Dr. Mark Nielsen, Mathematics; Dr. Barrie Robison,
Biological Sciences; and Dr. Eva Top, Biological Sciences.
Dr. Kevin Kelliher of the Department of
Biological Sciences has been awarded the prestigious Frank A. Beach
Award in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology from the Society for
Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. The award recognizes young
investigators who show exceptional promise for making significant
contributions to the field. Dr. Kelliher’s research centers on
hormones and social behavior, specifically how the sense of smell
influences social behavior.
Dr. Masahiro Sota, a postdoctoral scientist
working with Dr. Eva Top in the Department of Biological
Sciences, won the Brian Wilkins Memorial Fund Prize at the Plasmid
Biology 2006 conference on September 27. This is the major prize
offered by the International Society for Plasmid Biology. First
awarded in 2004, its goal is to encourage outstanding scientists at
the start of their careers who are already demonstrating an
enthusiasm and commitment to the study of plasmids and other mobile
genetics elements. The prize consists of $1,000 in support of the
winner's scientific career.
EVENTS
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