SCIENCE@PURDUE VOL III ISSUE 6 JUNE 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! WE ARE 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 MAGAZINE, THE SEQUEL.

IN THIS ISSUE

1. QUANTUM COMPUTERS ARE A QUANTUM LEAP CLOSER

2. BIO CD COULD REACH THE TOP OF DOCTOR’S CHARTS

3. NEW AGREEMENT ABOUT GEOLOGICAL TIMELINE

4. 22 HONORARY DEGREES AWARDED AT MAY COMMENCEMENT

5. IN MEMORIAM: IAN ROTHWELL

6. WALTON TO SERVE AS ACTING HEAD OF CHEMISTRY

7. NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM IN BIOLOGY

8. MINCHELLA ELECTED PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PARASITOLOGISTS

9. AGEE TO SERVE AS ACTING HEAD OF EAS

10. HILKKA KENTTÄMAA SELECTED TO FINNISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

11. COWEN CHOSEN SCIENCE DEAN AT IUPUI

12. HAMBRUSCH HONORED WITH TECHPOINT EDUCATOR AWARD

13. SCIENCE APPOINTMENTS

14. CALENDAR

15. MAY RESEARCH FUNDING

SCIENCE NEWS AND RESEARCH

1. QUANTUM COMPUTERS ARE A QUANTUM LEAP CLOSER: A new breed of faster, more powerful computers based on quantum mechanics may be a step closer to reality, report scientists from Purdue and Duke universities. http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/2004/040429.Chang.parallel.html

2. BIO CD COULD REACH THE TOP OF DOCTOR’S CHARTS: While-you-wait medical tests that screen patients for thousands of disease markers could be possible with compact-disk technology patented by Purdue University scientists. A team led by physicist David D. Nolte has pioneered a method of creating analog CDs that can function as inexpensive diagnostic tools for protein detection. http://news.uns.purdue.edu/hp/Nolte.CD.html

3. NEW AGREEMENT ABOUT GEOLOGICAL TIMELINE: The geological divisions of our planet’s timeline are prone to change. Geologists argue over what defines the boundaries between these periods, and disagree over exactly how old they are. Professor James Ogg, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, is involved in a project that will publish a revised timeline. Ogg serves as secretary-general of the International Commission on Stratigraphy, the organization that coordinated the project. http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v429/n6988/full/429124a_fs.html

PURDUE NEWS

4. 22 HONORARY DEGREES AWARDED AT MAY COMMENCEMENT: 18 are honored at West Lafayette campus, 3 at IUPUI, and 1 at IU-PU Ft. Wayne. http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/html3month/2004/040429.Hondeg.short.html

SCIENCE PEOPLE NEWS

5. The Department of Chemistry mourns the tragic loss of Ian Rothwell, R. B. Moore Distinguished Professor and Head. http://www.boilerstation.com/planet/stories/200405113purdue_planet1084289803.shtml

6. Richard Walton will serve as Acting Head of the Department of Chemistry, effective immediately.

7. NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM IN BIOLOGY: Richard Kuhn will become Acting Department Head of Biology in August of 2004. Professor Dennis Minchella will continue as Associate Head and Professor Peter Hollenbeck will also become Associate Head effective in August. http://www.science.purdue.edu/ENews/headofbio.html

8. Professor Dennis Minchella has been voted President-Elect of the American Society of Parasitologists. He will begin his term as President of the organization in July 2004.

9. Ernest Agee will serve as Acting Head of the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences department beginning July 1, 2004. http://www.science.purdue.edu/ENews/eashead050404.html

10. Hilkka Kenttämaa has been notified by The Finnish Academy of Science, that she has been selected as a member of the Academy to recognize her scientific achievements. This Society was founded in 1908. It has a fixed number of 24 Finnish and Foreign chemists under the age 65, and a total of 41 chemists.

11. Former Mathematics Department Head Carl Cowen has agreed to accept the position of Dean of Science at IUPUI, pending official approval by the Trustees, starting with the Fall semester. Carl is also President-Elect of the Mathematical Association of America.

12. Congratulations to Susanne Hambrusch, Department Head of Computer Science, who was awarded the prestigious "TechPoint Mira Award for Educator, Educational Program or Educational Department." Techpoint is the main Indiana tech industry association, and the Mira awards are the association's main mechanism for recognizing individuals and organizations. http://www.cs.purdue.edu/news/05-24-2004_hambrusch_mira.shtml

13. APPOINTMENTS: Mary Jo Bartolacci to Director of Advancement and Major Gifts for the School of Science. Mary Jo has been serving as Interim Director of Advancement since March 29. Suzy Garner as Director of Development for the School of Science, with responsibility for Chemistry and Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Suzy will start June 1. Daisy Hickman as Director of Corporate Relations for the School of Science. Daisy will start June 14.

14. CALENDAR

PURDUE SPECIAL EVENTS: http://www.purdue.edu/oop/events/index.html

SOLID STATE CHEMISTRY AND ITS APPLICATION TO HYBRID MATERIALS AND NANOSTRUCTURES: A seminar honoring Professor C.N.R. Ra68o, June 3, 2004. http://www.chem.purdue.edu/twic/raosymposium.pdf

THE 2ND SYMPOSIUM ON ANALYSIS AND PDEs: June 7-10, 2004. http://www.math.purdue.edu/~danielli/symposium.html

COMPUTER SCIENCE SUMMER CAMPS IN JUNE: http://www2.cs.purdue.edu/outreach/camp2004.htm

PURDUE DAY IN CHICAGO: JULY 24, 2004

SCIENCESCAPE 2004: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, JULY 25--JULY 31, 2004: http://www.science.purdue.edu/WISP/ScienceScape/

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

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE ALUMNI BOARD MEETING: OCTOBER 15, 2004

HOMECOMING: OCTOBER 16, 2004

FALL DEAN'S LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEETING, October 21-22, 2004

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

15. MAY RESEARCH FUNDING REPORT

C. J. Bailey-Kellogg, Computer Science, from National Science Foundation, $100,051, April 1, 2003 through March 31, 2005, "CAREER: Sparse Spatial Reasoning for High Throughput Protein Structure Determination."

E. Calais and A. M. Freed, Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, from National Science Foundation, $98,378, May 15, 2003 through April 30, 2005, "Collaborative Research: Mechanisms of Postseismic Deformation Following the 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake Sequence."

W. S. Cleveland, Statistics, from Air Force Research Laboratory, $99,999, April 29, 2004 through January 28, 2005, "IP Network Measurement, Characterization, Modeling, and Control for Self-Managed Networks."

N. Diffenbaugh, Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, from National Science Foundation, $148,897, June 1, 2004 through April 30, 2007, "Collaborative Research: Investigation of Holocene Seasonality and Inter-Annual Variability Along the California Current System."

S. M. Durbin, Physics, from National Science Foundation, $95,997, June 15, 2003 through May 31, 2005, "Research Experience for Undergraduates Program in Physics at Purdue University."

D. M. Fekete, Biological Sciences, from PHS-NIH National Institute Deafness, Communication Disorders, $376,465, April 1, 2004 through February 28, 2005, "Development Studies of the Inner Ear."

A. E. Konopka, Biological Sciences, from Howard Hughes Medical Institute, $5,761, September 1, 2002 through August 31, 2006, "2002 Undergraduate Biological Sciences Education Program."

M. L. Lister, Physics, from National Science Foundation, $94,445, July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005, "Structure and Evolution of Relativistic Outflows Associated with Supermassive Black Holes."

P. S. Low, Chemistry, from PHS-NIH National Institute of General Medical Science, $405,827, April 1, 2004 through March 31, 2005, "Studies of Erythrocyte Membrane Structure."

A. Petrosyan, Mathematics, from National Science Foundation, $105,000, June 1, 2004 through May 31, 2007, "Certain Aspects of Free Boundary Problems."

D. Phillips, Mathematics, from National Science Foundation, $75,663, June 1, 2003 through May 31, 2005, "Analysis of Nonlinear Systems Modeling Partially Ordered Materials."

W. R. Robinson, Chemistry, from American Chemical Society, $47,758, April 1, 2004 through March 31, 2009, "A Proposal to Host the Office of the American Chemical Society’s Division of Chemical Education."

M. G. Rossmann, Biological Sciences, from PHS-NIH National Institute Allergy Infectious Disease, $453,565, April 1, 2004 through March 31, 2005, "Structure of a Small Spherical Virus."

E. P. Sacks, Computer Science, from National Science Foundation, $80,000, August 15, 2003 through July 31, 2005, "Collaborative Research: A Formal Theory of Robust Numberical Computational Geometry and its Validation on Configuration Space Construction."

P. B. Shepson, Chemistry, from National Science Foundation, $6,739, August 1, 2003 through July 31, 2006, "Studies of the Impact of Emission of Reactive Gases Form Arctic Snowpacks and Sea Ice."

J. L. Smith, Biological Sciences, from Saic-Frederick, Inc., $149,779, April 12, 2004 through April 11, 2005, "Directorship of GM/Ca Cat."

P. D. Stefanov, Mathematics, from National Science Foundation, $111,600, May 15, 2004 through April 30, 2007, "Inverse Anisotropic Problems and Resonances."

J. Vitek, Computer Science, from National Science Foundation, $65,767, June 1, 2001 through May 31, 2005, "Foundations and Implementation of Mobile Object Systems."

A. Wei, Chemistry, from PHS-NIH National Institute Biomed Imaging/Bioeng, $14,692, April 1, 2004 through July 31, 2004, "Plasmon-Resonant Nanorods as Multifunctional Contrast Agents for Optical Coherence Tomography."

D. K. Yau, Computer Science, from National Science Foundation, $61,687, April 1, 2004 through March 31, 2005, "Collaborative Research: A Component-Based Software Environment for Simulation, Emulation, and Synthesis of Network Protocols in Next Generation Networks."