Tag: Chemistry

The Biotechnology Research Center announces its Fall 2013 Travel Grants. Recipients include:

Post doctoral Research Scientist Presentation:

• Mimi Yang (SCH) 246th American Chemical Society National Meeting (poster)
• Lijun Zhang (EBE) MSC 2013 Adult Stem Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine Meeting (poster)

Graduate Student Presentations:

• Faten Dhawi Almuhanna (IBMB) International Plant and Animal Genome XXII Meeting (poster)
• Ran An (ECM) SciX 2013 Conference (poster)
• David Chadderdon (ECM) 2013 AIChE Annual Conference (podium)
• Kristina Flesher (FAE) International Annual Meetings of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA (poster)
• Azhang Hamlekhan (MEEM) TMS 2014 Annual Meeting & Exhibition (podium)
• Sean Hopkins (EBE) ) 246th American Chemical Society National Meeting (poster)
• Maryam Khaksari (ECM) SciX 2013 Conference (poster)
• Connor McCarthy (EBE) 246th American Chemical Society National Meeting (poster)
• Ramkumar Mohan (SBL) The Midwest Islet Club Meeting (poster)
• Ji Qi (ECM) 2013 AIChE Annual Conference (podium)
• Aparupa Sengupta (SBL) Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (podium)
• Emily Shearier (EBE) TERMIS-AM 2013 Conference and Exposition (poster)
• Maria Tafur (ECM) 2013 AIChE Annual Conference (podium)
• Le Xin (ECM) 2013 AIChE Annual Conference (podium and poster)

Published in Tech Today

Applications are open for the EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Program for the 2014-2015 school year.

The deadline for application is TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17th, 11:59pm EASTERN TIME.

Official Request for Applications and instructions on how to apply here:  11th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability

For general program information, visit: www.epa.gov/p3

Since 1951, Nobel Laureates in chemistry, physics, and physiology/medicine convene annually in Lindau, Germany, to have open and informal meetings with students and young researchers.  These students will travel to Lindau to participate in discussions with the Nobel Laureates, as well as other graduate students and junior researchers from around the world.

The 64^th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting dedicated to physiology or medicine will be held June 29 through July 4, 2014.   Nomination deadline is Friday, November 1, 2013 4:00 pm, Eastern Time..

The 5^th Lindau Meeting on Economic Sciences will be held August 19 through August 23, 2014.  Nomination deadline is Friday, November 15, 2013 4:00 pm, Eastern Time.

Transportation, lodging and registration expenses are arranged and paid for by the sponsoring agencies.  Participants meet in Washington, D.C., for an orientation meeting and travel as a group to Germany.  A student awardee will be committed to travel from June 27 or 28, 2014 until July 5 or 6, 2014.  The final dates will be determined at a later date.

Federal budget uncertainties prohibit a formal announcement of an internal due date for applications.  ORAU member institutions may nominate one student per university.  Your institution will also be invited to nominate additional students by our partnering organizations.

Further information about the program, and the web site for submission of nominations, can be found online at http://www.orau.org/lindau/.

The meetings will feature recipients of the Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology and Economics.

Eligibility:

• U.S. citizens currently enrolled at a university as full-time graduate students;
• Completed by June 2014 at least two academic years of graduate studies toward a doctoral degree in the discipline of medicine/physiology or a related discipline, but not be planning a dissertation/thesis defense before December 31, 2014  (Note: eligibility requirements for the Economics Meeting will vary)

We are especially interested in receiving nominations from a diverse group of students, including women, minorities and people with disabilities.

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Sam Held (sam.held@orau.org) or me (ann.farler@orau.org).

The 2014 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Solicitation has been posted.  Faculty play a critical role in encouraging our most competitive students to apply for fellowship opportunities like the NSF GRFP.  Michigan Tech’s Research Development Office has for the previous three years offered a seminar for all interested applicants.  Based on an internal screening process recommended by the NSF GRFP office, this year the seminar series will only be open to students identified by faculty as competitive applicants.

As you identify students, please keep in mind that competitive applicants are often students who have or will most likely be awarded university teaching or research assistantships. Students who have internal graduate support should still be encouraged to apply.  While fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $32,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution), which in turn frees up internal funding for other graduate students, the fellowship is more about prestige.  As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers.  The reputation of the GRFP follows recipients and often helps them become life-long leaders that contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching.  Likewise, students who receive the GRFP call attention to the high-quality graduate education and research ongoing at Michigan Tech.

Names and emails of faculty-identified students should be emailed to Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu) by Wednesday, September 11th.

Eligibility for the GRFP:

• be a US citizen, US national, or permanent resident
• be planning to pursue a research-focused Master’s or Ph.D. program in an NSF-supported field
• be enrolled in an eligible program at an accredited United States graduate institution by Fall 2014
• have completed no more than twelve months of full-time graduate study (or the equivalent) as of August 1, 2013.

Moreover, competitive students should have:

• a strong academic record of 3.5 GPA or higher
• the ability to obtain 3 exceptional reference letters– due November 14^th
• previous professional (e.g., internship/enterprise), research (e.g., SURF),  and educational outreach (e.g., K-12, international, community) experiences
• future research, professional and outreach goals that will potentially benefit society

Michigan Tech’s Research Development Office will formally invite faculty-identified students to participate in a NSF GRFP seminar series.  This eight-week series will help applicants develop submission material (Personal Statement, Relevant Background and Future Goals and Graduate Research Statement) and request letters of reference in a timely and helpful manner.  Speakers include experienced NSF GRFP reviewers and panel chairs, Dr. Pushpathala Murthy who is currently serving as program officer for the NSF GRFP, and previous NSF fellows.

Michigan Tech is one of 12 universities across the nation that are the initial signers of the Green Chemistry Commitment (www.greenchemistrycommitment.org), making them part of the first national effort to make university chemistry education greener. The Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) is a consortium of universities and industry partners that is bringing green chemistry into undergraduate curriculum to increase the number of green chemists and scientists in the US and the opportunities available to them in the field.

The Green Chemistry Commitment is organized by Beyond Benign (www.beyondbenign.com), a non profit foundation dedicated to providing future and current scientists, educators, and citizens with the tools to teach and learn about green chemistry in order to create a sustainable future. Beyond Benign and the Green Chemistry Commitment will be presenting a session at the 17th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference this month, sponsored by the American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute.

As an academic and industrial field, green chemistry encourages chemists and scientists to develop safer, non toxic, renewable chemistry and materials. Supporting green chemistry education gives chemical companies a competitive advantage by:

• Providing a quicker time to market by reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing.
• Reducing worker injury by minimizing exposure to toxic chemicals, processes, and waste.
• Increasing efficiency and productivity of new employees who are better prepared after graduating from academic programs.

“When we modify our teaching labs by substituting drugstore-variety hydrogen peroxide and other greatly reduced toxicity chemicals instead of hazardous solvents and suspected cancer-causing agents, we show the principles of green chemistry in action,” says Irv Levy, chemistry department chair at Gordon College. “Students learn the same concepts and principles of chemistry they need, but they also learn how to achieve results in a way that’s safer for them, the community, and the environment. It’s just the right thing to do.”

By signing the Green Chemistry Commitment, colleges and universities agree that, upon graduation, all chemistry majors will have proficiency in the essential green chemistry competencies of theory, toxicology, lab skills, and practical application. using resources and courses of other departments or institutions.

More information about the Green Chemistry Commitment, including information about becoming a signer, can be found at www.greenchemistrycommitment.org.

Published in Tech Today.

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that the following students earned a finishing fellowship for summer 2013.

• Xiaobao Geng, PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
• Ali Mirchi, PhD candidate in Civil Engineering
• Bryan Murray, PhD candidate in Forest Science
• Khatereh Vaghefi, PhD candidate in Civil Engineering
• Andrew Willemsen, PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
• Huan Yang, PhD candidate in Biological Sciences
• Nazmiye Yapici, PhD candidate in Chemistry

Profiles of current recipients can be found online.

Nominations for fall 2013 fellowships are due no later than 4pm  June 20, 2013 to the Graduate School.  See our webpage for nomination information.

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses and dissertations are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

• Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors
• Biological Sciences
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Environmental Engineering
• Forest Ecology and Management
• Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
• Geology
• Materials Science and Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
• Physics

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

• Applied Ecology
• Biological Sciences
• Chemical Engineering
• Chemistry
• Computer Engineering
• Computer Science
• Environmental Engineering
• Forest Ecology and Management
• Forestry
• Geological Engineering
• Geology
• Mechanical Engineering