June 2014 - Page 2 of 3 - The Erlenmeyer Flask

Undergraduate of the Quarter - Spring 2014 — Undergraduate of the Quarter – Spring 2014

Cassandra Lew has been selected as one of our Undergrads of the Quarter for Spring 2014. Cassandra grew up in Rock Springs, WY where she has lived her entire life prior to coming to OSU. She graduated from Rock Springs High School and it was a high school teacher (John Gamble) that peaked her interest in chemistry – commenting that she really enjoyed how applicable his classes were (She took 2 years of chemistry from Mr. Gamble). Cassandra accredits much of her success to the support and encouragement she has received from friends and family. She decided to come to OSU because of its reputation as an excellent science school and the generous scholarships she received. While Cassandra is only a freshman (one of the first freshmen to ever win Undergrad of the Quarter), she has already found her way into a research lab. She has been working with Professor Sandra Loesgen where she loves how hands on the science is and the real world applications of it all. When describing her research experience to date, Cassandra said “Sandra has been awesome!” All her professors at OSU have been helpful. She particularly enjoyed Professor Chris Beaudry’s O Chem course last term. Cassandra is excited for the future chemistry classes she will have the opportunity to take at OSU. After graduation, she would like to pursue a career in forensic chemistry and work in a lab. We are so excited to have talented, enthusiastic students like Cassandra in our program. Congrats to her for this award and we wish her continued success during her time at OSU!

Update: Cassandra was the recipient of the 2nd Keith McKennon Memorial Scholarship. The Chemistry Department is grateful for the support of alumni and friends who established this Scholarship. Cassandra, will do a wonderful job of honoring this long-time friend of the Department through her contributions to the state, nation, and world.

Prof. Paul Blakemore presenting plaque to Dr. Dale Boger

This year’s James D White Lecturer was Professor Dale Boger from the Scripps Research Institute. He is a world-renown synthetic organic and medicinal chemist who has successfully taken multiple compounds into advanced clinical trials. His talk was on the important anticancer compound vinblastine. Professor Boger’s lab has developed an amazing (and short) synthetic approach to make this compound. Equally impressive, they have discovered an analogue that is active in vinblastine resistant cell lines. The afternoon before the seminar, we had a wonderful gathering at Jim’s house where all the students got to interact with Dale in a casual setting over some great food. Dale is a wonderful, engaging individual and was a great choice for this event!

Dr. Dale Boger presenting his seminar at the White Honorary Symposium

More detailed information and an online application can be found at www.nationalacademies.org/rap.

The National Research Council of the National Academies sponsors a number of awards for graduate, postdoctoral and senior researchers at participating federal laboratories and affiliated institutions. These awards include generous stipends ranging from $45,000 – $80,000 per year for recent Ph.D. recipients, and higher for additional experience. Graduateentry level stipends begin at $30,000. These awards provide the opportunity for recipients to do independent research in some of the best-equipped and staffed laboratories in the U.S. Research opportunities are open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and for some of the laboratories, foreign nationals.

Detailed program information, including online applications, instructions on how to apply, and a list of participating laboratories, are available on the NRC Research Associateship Programs Web site (see link above).

Questions should be directed to the NRC at 202-334-2760 (phone) or rap@nas.edu.

There are four annual review cycles.

Review Cycle: August; Opens June 1; Closes August 1

Review Cycle: November; Opens September 1; Closes November 1

Review Cycle: February; Opens December 1; Closes February 1

Review Cycle: May; Opens March 1; Closes May 1

Applicants should contact prospective Adviser(s) at the lab(s) prior to the application deadline to discuss their research interests and funding opportunities.

Chris Heron has been selected as one of our Undergrads of the Quarter for Spring 2014. Chris was born in Corvallis, OR. Prior to coming to OSU, Chris was in the United States Army – serving 3 separate tours in Iraq and was stationed in both Georgia and Colorado – finishing at the rank of Staff Sergeant. After 7 years in the military, Chris decided to return back to school and enrolled at Columbia Gorge Community College in Hood River for one year. He then came to Oregon State University as a biology major. His time as a life sciences major was short lived – once he took Professor Margie Haak’s CH 220 course he was hooked on chemistry. He commented that Margie was an excellent presenter and she stimulated him to think about everything. Chris also had a wonderful lab course experience in CH 361/362 which he describes as “just fabulous.” He particularly commented that Professor Emile Firpo was “fun and had great energy” and that “you learned a ton” from him. The labs were key for Chris as it helped the lecture classes really make sense – they made him feel like “now I really get it!” The P Chem series was really hard, but both Professors Glenn Evans and Wei Kong were great. He loved Professor Kevin Gable’s dry sense of humor in O Chem. He has been doing research in Professor David Ji’s lab recently. Chris describes the research environment as “very inviting and simulating… Professor Ji has been very open with his lab.” His time at OSU has been supported through the US GI Bill from his military service. Outside of class, Chris enjoys racing bicycles with the OSU team on campus. This year, he has starting flying with the OSU Flying Club. He hopes to earn his pilot license prior to graduation and become a crop duster. The FAA now wants crop dusters to have a chemistry background and that job will allow him to get enough hours to achieve his long term goal of being a pilot for a major airline.

Chris comments that OSU has a fabulous chemistry (and science) program and all the faculty are great. We are honored to have amazing students like Chris as part of our program and we are grateful for his service to our country. We congratulate Chris on all his achievements to date and we hope he continues to have a wonderful experience at OSU!

Dr. Paul Blakemore and the Chemistry Department Safety Committee have released the Spring Term Safety Memorandum and announced his succession to Michael Burand as the new Committee Chair.

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Spring Term 2014: Safety Memorandum

• Safety Training Records: A Reminder (copies to Talley Richardson by June 13, 2014)
It is imperative that all lab workers receive adequate training to enable them to conduct their
research work safely. That such training has occurred must be documented. Unfortunately,
although a majority of our faculty do an excellent job of safety training, it is rarely adequately
documented. Training records are a required component of a lab specific chemical hygiene
plan (CHP) and can be captured in various ways (e.g., see link to form below). Dept. of
Chemistry PI’s/lab managers are asked to generate safety training records for ALL of their lab
coworkers (inc. graduate/ undergraduate students & post-doctorals) and to provide copies to
Talley Richardson in Gilbert 153 by June 13 (2014).
http://chemistry.oregonstate.edu/blakemore/Downloads/BRG_safetytrainingrecord.pdf

• Spill Kit Materials Now Stocked in Chem Stores
All laboratories must be equipped with appropriately stocked spill kits to deal with accidental
releases of potentially hazardous material. To make the construction and maintenance of spill
kits easier, Chemistry Stores now stocks all necessary items. The following safety instruction
details how to construct a spill kit.
http://oregonstate.edu/ehs/sites/default/files/pdf/si/spill_response-chemicals_si.019.pdf

• Safety Shower and Eye Wash Station Testing
Safety showers in a majority of OSU laboratories are now regularly tested by EH&S; however,
the testing of eye wash stations remains the responsibility of PI’s/laboratory managers. Eye
wash stations are easy to test without special gear and these units should be flushed on a
regular basis (every ca. 1-2 weeks) to avoid water stagnation. An inspection tag should be
attached to the station to document when tests are completed and by whom.
http://oregonstate.edu/ehs/sites/default/files/pdf/si/shower_and_eyewash_units_si076.pdf

• Michael Burand is the New Chair of the Departmental Safety Committee
Michael Burand is the new chair of the Departmental Safety Committee. The committee
meets on a regular basis to oversee the implementation of safety policy within the
Department of Chemistry. Do not hesitate to contact a relevant member of the committee to
obtain safety advice and/or to alert the committee to any safety related issues that may
arise. Normal business meetings take place once per term, please email Dr. Burand if you
would like an issue added to the agenda for discussion at the next meeting. The composition
of the safety committee and contact information for each of its members can be found on

SafetyWeb:
http://chemsafety.chem.oregonstate.edu

Instructor Michael Burand will give a presentation titled, “Letter Writing: A Pathway to Better Laboratory Comprehension” at the 2014 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, August 3-7 at Grand Valley State University.

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General chemistry students in honors and majors-only laboratory courses are required to write a letter in lieu of a traditional laboratory report for one of their laboratory projects. The students use the letter to explain their results to a recipient whom they are told does not necessarily have background in science. This requirement to explain their laboratory results in nonscientific terms causes the students to think more thoroughly about the underlying concepts involved. Indeed, survey results indicate that 94% of the laboratory students polled felt they had gained a deeper understanding when they wrote the letter as opposed to a traditional laboratory report. The details of the assignment will be discussed along with students’ survey responses.

The laboratory activity chosen for this letter-writing project involved testing for lead contamination in urban soils via atomic absorption spectroscopy. This provided a viable means of incorporating a service-learning aspect into the project. Students indicated that they put forth a more substantial effort in writing the letter knowing it would be sent to an actual recipient, not only the student’s TA and/or laboratory instructor. Thus, this project combines the nontraditional laboratory pedagogical approach of letter writing with a service-learning component. How this leads to students attaining a deeper understanding and facilitates better student engagement and ownership will be discussed.

Line-up instructions for Commencement can be found here… http://oregonstate.edu/events/commencement/lineup-instructions

Spill Kits can now be purchased at ChemStores, pursuant to EH&S Rules and Guidelines. They will cost $29.11 and can only be purchased with a departmental index number. Chemstores Hours are M-F 9-12 noon and 1-5pm. You can find more information here…

We are now accepting applications for the Nuclear Forensics Junior Faculty Program (NFJFAP) 2015 Award Cycle. Attached you will find a description and application as well as a budget spreadsheet for the NFJFAP Program.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) established the Nuclear Forensics Junior Faculty Award Program (NFJFAP) in 2010 to provide universities with an incentive to promote, recruit, and retain qualified personnel to teach within nuclear forensics-related degree programs and contribute to associated research and development projects which support the U.S. Government nuclear forensics mission.

The NFJFAP encourages talented individuals who have recently received a Ph.D. in a discipline related to the technical areas listed in the attached program description to consider and/or advance their careers at an academic institution.

Please review and/or forward the attached application information to anyone interested in this program.

We highly recommend using the electronic forms for this application process. These can be found at www.scuref.org/forms on the NFJFAP tab.
Thank you!

NFJFAP 2 year Budget for RFP

NFJFAP-RFP-2015 Final

We are asking your assistance in forwarding this message to inform students and faculty in your department of these outstanding fellowship opportunities. More detailed information and an online application can be found atwww.nationalacademies.org/rap.

Questions should be directed to the NRC at 202-334-2760 (phone) or rap@nas.edu.

There are four annual review cycles.

Review Cycle: August; Opens June 1; Closes August 1

Review Cycle: November; Opens September 1; Closes November 1

Review Cycle: February; Opens December 1; Closes February 1

Review Cycle: May; Opens March 1; Closes May 1

Applicants should contact prospective Adviser(s) at the lab(s) prior to the application deadline to discuss their research interests and funding opportunities.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely yours,

H. Ray Gamble

Director of the Fellowship Programs

National Research Council

The National Academies

500 5th Street NW, Keck 568

Washington, DC 20001

The Erlenmeyer Flask

Where Real Chemistry Happens…

Monthly Archives: June 2014

Undergraduate of the Quarter – Spring 2014 – Cassandra Lew

James White Honorary Symposium Hugely Successful

REMINDER: Graduate, Postdoctoral & Senior Research Awards

Undergraduate of the Quarter – Spring 2014 – Chris Heron

Spring Term Departmental Safety Memorandum

Letter Writing: A Pathway to Better Laboratory Comprehension

Commencement Instructions

Spill Kits Now Available at ChemStores

NFJAP 2015 Request for Proposals

Graduate, Postdoctoral & Senior Research Awards

Contact Info