On behalf of the Division of Environmental Chemistry of the American Chemical Society, I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a winner of one of the 2015 Graduate Student Paper Awards. This is the highest award given to students by the Division of Environmental Chemistry.
You will be presenting your paper at the Fall ACS Meeting in Boston at the special C. Ellen Gonter Environmental Chemistry Awards Symposium (usually it is on Tuesday afternoon) and will be our guest (i.e. don’t buy a dinner ticket) at the Environmental Division Dinner Tuesday evening. At the dinner, you will receive a check for $1000 (the money is to offset some of your travel costs for attending the meeting).
In order for me to put together the symposium, I need some materials from you. You will need to submit an abstract through the Program and Abstract Creation System (PACS). Professor Simonich can give you guidelines on the abstract submission process (if you haven’t submitted one before) or you can call me with any questions. I will be in touch with further information about the symposium.
The OSU Beaver Store is now taking Faculty Regalia orders. Place your order online at http://osubeaverstore.com/faculty/regalia/. The deadline for orders is April 15. For further questions email faculty.regalia@osubeaverstore.com or call 541-737-0045.
Area of Study / Position Title: Assistant Professor: bioanalytical chemistry, laser spectroscopy, innovations in biosensor and instrumentation technologies, and cellular analysis.
Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): Curiosity, forensic science, and DNA sequencing at Tufts University as a freshman in high school. In addition, chemistry was the only subject I was any good at in high school and college.
Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? Our laboratory focuses on the innovation of biosensors and laser-based technologies for qualitative and quantitative analysis of biomarkers in biological systems. More specifically, we aim to image cellular regulatory biomarkers indicative of disease (cancer) development and progression. Providing diagnostic tools and discovering answers to fundamental questions about molecular regulation of diseases and cancers through sensing and imaging is a major interest to our group. Ultimately, our group aims to bridge bioanalytical chemistry, laser spectroscopy, and molecular biology to solve complex biological problems.
One thing you truly love about your job? Working with and training students in chemistry, watching students learn and make discoveries on their own, contributing to the community through innovation and discovery, and playing with lasers.
One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I used to restore antique stoves from the late 1880’s to early 1940’s.
The National Science Foundation Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) announces a nationwide search to fill the position of Division Director, Division of Chemistry (CHE).
Dear Colleague Letter – Division Director, Division of Chemistry (CHE) Employment Opportunity
http://www.nsf.gov/mps/mps_webpage_documents/dd-ddd_dcl/2015_che_dd_dcl.pdf
The Research Office is accepting applications for the Undergraduate Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Creativity (URISC) program for Summer term 2015. This program supports undergraduate research activities from all academic disciplines within the university. NOTE: the program description and application have been revised: http://research.oregonstate.edu/incentive/undergraduate-research-innovation-scholarship-creativity-urisc. Information: Debbie Delmore at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu. Deadline: April 13.
Dr. Chong Fang, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University, has been awarded one of the prestigious 2015 NSF CAREER Awards.
Chong Fang joined OSU Chemistry in September 2010.
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide program that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. A CAREER grant should build a firm foundation for the recipient for a lifetime of research excellence and creative leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.
This NSF CAREER Award will fund Dr. Fang’s research for the next five years. His current research focuses on developing state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques to reveal the fluorescence mechanisms of green fluorescent protein (GFP) derivatives and emerging fluorescent protein biosensors. These colorful biomolecules originally derived from jellyfish floating in the Pacific ocean and later from coral reefs near Australia have revolutionized bioimaging for almost two decades. However, these biosensors still suffer from drawbacks in photostability, brightness, detection depth, and color contrast, etc. The key to rationally design the next-generation biosensors with improved and targeted properties lies in the mechanistic understanding of molecular fluorescence, emitted from the chromophore that is an organic moiety embedded in the center of the protein pocket.
The femtosecond Raman methodology implemented in the Fang lab will resolve the choreography of chromophore motions, to the detail of transporting a single proton upon photoexcitation, with the time resolution of a billionth of a millionth of a second. These unique and powerful experiments will provide previously hidden governing factors for the structural evolution of chromophores and the emission outcomes in emerging GFP-related biosensors, and can be extended to other photosensitive systems. The vivid molecular “movie” that is captured during chemical reactions and biological functions opens new ways to study physical chemistry and quantum mechanics in action.
“Winning this NSF CAREER award not only provides the crucial resources we need to bring our current femtosecond Raman methodology to the next level, both in technical innovation and sample applications, but also assures us that the scientific problems we are tackling hold transformative and broad impact.” Fang says. “Our group will use the newly available resources to systematically elucidate fluorescence mechanisms in an emerging group of protein biosensors, and pinpoint strategic atomic sites that protein designers and engineers can target to rationally improve the properties of those biosensors. The fundamental understanding of how things work, at the same time, is always a fascinating journey that keeps us inspired and motivated.”
Dr. Fang grew up in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. He earned dual B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Applied Computer Science at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). He continued on to graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania under the tutelage of Prof. Robin Hochstrasser (1931-2013) and obtained his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry (2006). He performed postdoctoral research with Prof. Richard Mathies at the University of California, Berkeley, before joining the OSU Chemistry Faculty in September 2010. Dr. Fang’s research group currently boasts one postdoc and six graduate students. Some of Dr. Fang’s other noted awards are the GRF and RERF Fund Awards at OSU, Dean’s Scholar Award at UPenn and the Guo Moruo Scholarship at USTC.
Chemistry Department Chair, Dr. Rich Carter, stated, “I am thrilled to see Chong’s significant scientific and educational accomplishments acknowledged by the NSF through this award. He is one of the leading young chemists in his area internationally and this honor is well deserved.”
WRGP is looking for students who want to dance (or sing or recite poetically or etc.) their dissertation or thesis March 3 at 7 p.m. at the Chintimini Community Center. If you’re interested in performing, email burchsa@onid.oregonstate.edu. Drinks provided and pot-luck snacks. $3 suggested donation at the door. All are welcome! Attendance RSVP with Jennifer.cohen@oregonstate.edu
Area of Study / Position Title: Physical Chemistry, Assistant Professor
Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): Understanding how everything works always fascinates me. Physical chemistry and chemical physics provide myriad powerful tools to reveal the mechanism during the transformation between molecular species.
Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? The main theme of my research group is to investigate the structural dynamics basis of functions performed by all kinds of molecules in biological systems and novel materials. Ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy enables us to capture vivid molecular “movies” of chemistry in action with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions.
One thing you truly love about your job? Our research is at the forefront of the field and the experimental protocol is still being developed. That gives us a sense of urgency and pride in bringing new ideas into our experiments, grasping unexpected discoveries and making sense of them. It is truly exciting to have the freedom to design, explore, execute, disseminate, revise, improve, and make an impact on the world surrounding us.
One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I like seafood. I want to cook more and try different flavors in the future.
This precious picture was taken in my lab during Prof. Robin Hochstrasser’s Linus Pauling Lecture Series in OSU Chemistry (October 2012). He was my Ph.D. advisor in Univ. of Pennsylvania, and I treasure everything that he taught me in graduate school. Though he passed away in February 2013 at the age of 82, his legacy continues in numerous research labs around the world.
As promised last week, we have completed the full proposal template for FY2016. Please visit the ETIC website Next Biennium page at http://www.eticnow.org/next/ for information on the high tech sector FY2016 RFP. Proposals are due March 13th.
For full proposals, here are the guidelines:
There was no requirement to submit a pre-proposal in order to submit a full proposal.
You may submit a full proposal, even if the feedback on your pre-proposal was not positive.
Feedback is not intended to indicate acceptance or rejection of a proposal, nor is there any guarantee that addressing feedback will result in an award.
For proposals that are targeting energy, manufacturing or healthcare:
Your full proposal process and due dates will differ. If you have a question as to whether your proposal falls into one of these other categories, please ask us. We continue to work with the industry representatives from these sectors to spin up their evaluation teams and prepare for a possible Oregon Talent Council. Information on the process will be forthcoming.
In all cases, please let Michele (michele_vitali@ous.edu) or me know if you have any questions, if you have not received feedback on your high-tech pre-proposal by February 20th, or if you have updates to our contact list. Thank you for your patience during this process!
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