SCIENCE@PURDUE                VOL III ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2004

 

A monthly E-newsletter from the Dean's office in the School of Science at Purdue University, Mathematical Sciences Building, 150 North University Street, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2067.  To contact us send email to news@science.purdue.edu.

 

ALUMNI NEWS CALLOUT—SEND YOUR NEWS TO SHARE WITH OTHER SCIENCE ALUMNI! ESPECIALLY SEEKING PROFESSIONAL NEWS, PERSONAL MILESTONES, AND FAMILY NEWS.  SEND ITEMS TO NEWS@SCIENCE.PURDUE.EDU.  THESE ITEMS WILL APPEAR IN A FUTURE ISSUE OF THE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE SEQUEL.

 

IN THIS ISSUE

 

1. CHEMIST “MUSSELS” IN ON NATURAL ADHESIVES

2. SCIENCE ALUMNI BOARD NOMINATIONS

3. NEW STATISTICS FACULTY

4. ARE YOU A VICTIM OF TECHNOISM?

5. ASTRONAUT ALUM SUPER PROJECT DIRECTOR

6. CARL COWEN ELECTED TO MAA POST

7. LORD OF THE NANORINGS

8. RUSS COVERDALE RETIREMENT

9. PHYSICS FACULTY AND RESEARCHERS INVOLVED IN CLEO

10. CALENDAR OF EVENTS

11. JANUARY RESEARCH FUNDING

 

SCIENCE NEWS AND RESEARCH

 

1. PURDUE CHEMIST 'MUSSELS' IN ON SECRETS OF NATURAL ADHESIVES: The glue that saltwater mussels use to affix themselves to rocks is a subject worth sticking to, for its pure scientific interest and potential application in medicine and industry. Jonathan Wilker and his research group discovered that the formation of mussel adhesive requires iron, a metal that has never before been found in such a biological function. The discovery is valuable for its scientific merit, and it could impact the market, leading to surgical adhesives, rustproof coatings and antifouling paints to defeat barnacle adhesion. http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html4ever/2004/040112.Wilker.mussels.html

 

2.  SCHOOL OF SCIENCE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:  If you are interested or know someone who would make a good member of the School of Science Alumni Association (S2A2), the nominating process is now open for board term beginning with the fall meeting.  Board membership requirements are available by contacting the Director of Alumni Relations, David Lageveen at (765) 494-4344 or lageveen@science.purdue.edu.

 

3.  NEW STATISTICS FACULTY FOR THE 2003-2004 ACADEMIC YEAR: 4 assistants professors joined the statistics department for the start of the fall 2003 semester.  They are: Jiashun Jin; Mihails Levins; Jongwoo Song; and Jing Wu.  http://www.science.purdue.edu/ENews/newfaculty0204.html

 

PURDUE NEWS

 

4.  DOES TECHNOLOGY SERVE OR RULE YOU?  Take the technoism assessment to determine the extent to which your life is ruled by technology.  http://news.uns.purdue.edu/hp/Davis.technoism.html

 

5.  ASTRONAUT ALUMNUS IS NEW DISCOVERY PARK “SUPER PROJECTS” DIRECTOR: Guy Gardner, one of 22 Purdue astronaut alumni, began his work as director of projects that will involve interdisciplinary involvement and large numbers of faculty in the E-enterprise portion of Discovery Park.  http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/html3month/2004/040126.Gardner.superproj.html

 

PEOPLE NEWS

 

6.  Carl Cowen, professor of mathematics, has been named president-elect of the Mathematics Association of America (MAA). He will become the association's 51st president on Jan. 9, 2005, serving a two-year term. He will succeed Professor Ronald Graham of University of California, San Diego. The MAA's purpose is to promote communication, teaching and learning, and research in mathematics.

 

7.  Alex Wei, professor of chemistry, was cited in the January 9, 2004 edition of ACM TechNews in an article titled "Lord of the Nano-Rings May Hold Key to I.T."    http://www.acm.org/technews/articles/2004-6/0109f.html#item9

 

8.  Russ Coverdale, physics academic advisor, retired at the end of December.  Congratulations to Russ on his many years of dedicated service to the university, physics department and students.

 

9.  Physics Professors, David Miller, Ed Shibata and Ian Shipsey, post doctoral researchers Guang-Shun Huang and Victor Pavlunin, project engineer Kirk Arndt, and graduate student Batbold Sanghi are members of the 20 university, 150 physicist CLEO Collaboration, a particle physics experiment at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring in Ithaca, New York.  Professor Shipsey, and Cornell Professor David Cassel are the co-spokesmen for the project. The research and the Wilson Synchrotron laboratory, are featured in a News Focus feature of the January 16, 2004 issue of Science.  http://www.science.purdue.edu/ENews/Science-1-16-2004.pdf

 

10.  CALENDAR

 

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI BANQUET: April 16, 2004 at 6:00 P.M., University Inn, West Lafayette, IN.  For more information contact Dinah McClure, Director of Special Events, (765) 494-1764 or mcclure@science.purdue.edu

 

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE ALUMNI BOARD MEETING: April 16, 2004.  Contact David Lageveen, Director of Alumni Relations, (765) 494-4344 or lageveen@purdue.edu

 

PURDUE IS COMING TO AN EVENT IN YOUR PART OF THE COUNTRY: We’re taking the “It’s Happening Here” theme to a number of cities beginning in January and going through May.  http://www.purdue.edu/oop/events/purdue_on_the_road/purdue_otr_index.html

 

CERIAS SPRING SYMPOSIUM: FEBRUARY 20, 2OO4

 

HUBERT M. JAMES LECTURE: MARCH 31, 2004 FEATURING JOHN D.BARROW http://www.counterbalance.net/cqbio/jbar-frame.html

 

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE ALUMNI BOARD MEETING: APRIL 16, 2004

 

GALA WEEKEND AND SPRING FEST: APRIL 17-18, 2004

 

PURDUE DAY IN CHICAGO: TBD

 

PURDUE DAY AT THE INDIANA STATE FAIR: AUGUST 18, 2004

 

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE ALUMNI BOARD MEETING: OCTOBER 15, 2004

 

HOMECOMING: OCTOBER 16, 2004

 

PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL ANNUAL WEEKEND: OCTOBER 22-23, 2004

 

11.  JANUARY RESEARCH FUNDING REPORT

 

C. W. Bingham, Computer Science, from EG&G Services, $71,900, September 29, 2003 through February 29, 2004, "Text Mining for Telemaintenance."

 

E. Calais, Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, from Geological Survey, U.S., $25,307, November 1, 2002 through October 31, 2004, "Testing Intraplate Deformation in the North American Plate Interior from a Combined Geodetic Solution: Implication for Strain Accumulation on Potentially Seismogenic Faults in the Central."

 

J. A. Chmielewski, Chemistry, from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, $130,000, May 1, 2002 through April 30, 2004, "Probing Prebiotic Processes with Peptide Self Replication."

 

R. G. Cooks, Chemistry, from Sandia National Laboratories, $61,287, September 1, 2003 through August 31, 2004, "Micro Mass Analyzer Design and Testing."

 

W. A. Cramer, Biological Sciences, from PHS-NIH National Institute of General Medical Science, $296,792, December 1, 2003 through November 30, 2004, "Receptor-Mediated Colicin Import."

 

R. W. Doerge, Statistics, from University of Wisconsin-Madison, $94,245, September 1, 2002 through August 31, 2005, "Functional Genomics of Plant Polyploids."

 

A. M. Freed, Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, from University of California, $34,180, January 1, 2004 through August 31, 2004, "Constraining Non-Linear Lithospheric Viscous Flow Laws from Postseismic Surface Deformation Measurements."

 

S. B. Gelvin, Biological Sciences, from Consortium Plant Biotechnology Res Inc., $97,597, July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004, "Plant Genes and Agrobacterium T-DNA Integration."

 

S. B. Gelvin, Biological Sciences, from University of Arizona, $83,230, September 1, 2003 through August 31, 2004, "Functional Genomics of Chromation: Global Control of Plant Gene Expression."

 

C. M. Hoffmann, Computer Science, from University of Connecticut, $75,647, May 1, 2002 through April 30, 2005, "Topological Accuracy for Boundary Representation Models."

 

E. N. Houstis, J. R. Rice and T. A. Weisshaar, Computer Science, Aeronautics & Astronautics, from University of Colorado, $155,962, October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2004, "ITR; a Data Driven Environment for Multiphysics Applications."

 

R. J. Kuhn, J. L. Smith, J. Chen, M. G. Rossmann and T. S. Baker, Biological Sciences, from PHS-NIH National Institute Allergy Infectious Dis, $11,037, September 1, 2003 through February 29, 2004, "Structure-Function Studies of Alpha and Flaviviruses."

 

R. J. Kuhn, C. B. Post, D. A. Sanders, J. L. Smith, M. G. Rossmann and M. S. Cushman, Biological Sciences, Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, from University of Chicago, $359,818, September 4, 2003 through February 29, 2004, "Development of Antiviral Strategies for Enveloped Viruses."

 

E. Negishi, Chemistry, from National Institutes of Health, $337,500, December 1, 2003 through November 30, 2004, "Synthetic Reactions Catalyzed by Transition Metals."

 

W. L. Pak, Biological Sciences, from PHS-NIH National Eye Institute, $426,387, December 1, 2003 through November 30, 2004, "Molecular Genetic Dissection of Photoreceptor Function."

 

F. E. Regnier, Chemistry, from University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, $112,500, October 29, 2003 through October 31, 2004, "Ellison Foundation Senior Scholar Award in Aging."

 

I. P. Rothwell, Chemistry, from General Atomics, $198,000, October 13, 2003 through August 31, 2004, "Hydrogen Storage and Production via Transition Metal (TM) Polyhudride Systems."

 

I. Szleifer, Chemistry, from National Science Foundation, $97,569, December 15, 2003 through November 30, 2004, "Responsive Tethered Polymer Layers, Protein Absorption Phase Transition and Interactions."

 

J. Vitek, A. L. Hosking and J. Palsberg, Computer Science, from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, $703,574, May 30, 2001 through May 29, 2005, "DCMF/NES: Dynamic Compositional Middleware Frameworks for Networked Embedded Systems."

 

T. S. Zwier, Chemistry, from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, $200,000, May 1, 2002 through April 30, 2005, "Laboratory Studies of Photochemical Routes to Aromatic Ring Formation in the Atmospheres of Titan and Saturn."