Tag: Chemistry

2017 L’Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellowships

Applications for the 2017 L’Oréal USA For Women in Science fellowship program are now open and are due on Friday, February 3, 2017. The application and more information about the program can befound at www.lorealusa.com/forwomeninscience.

The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science program recognizes and rewards the contributions women make in STEM fields and identifies exceptional women researchers committed to serving as role models for younger generations.  More than 2,250 women scientists in over 110 countries have been recognized since the program began in 1998.

In the US, the For Women In Science fellowship program awards five post‐doctoral women scientists annually with grants of $60,000 each. Applicants are selected from a variety of fields, including the life and physical/material sciences, technology (including computer science), engineering, and mathematics who are committed to serving as role models for the next generation of girls in STEM.

Questions should be e‐mail to Rachel Pacifico at rpacifico@us.loreal.com. Application materials are online.

 

Student earns recognition at International Research Conference

Chemistry doctoral student Suntara Fueangfung (advisor: Associate Professor Shiyue Fang) was recognized at the Sigma Xi 2014 International Research Conference earlier this month. Fueangfung’s research poster presentation, “Purification of Synthetic Oligodeoxynucleotides via Catching by Polymerization,” was rated superior in the Chemistry Graduate Division.

The award for superior-rated presentations includes being nominated for membership by the Sigma Xi Board of Directors, payment of the initiation fee and the first year’s dues and a medal. Fueangfung will graduate from Michigan Tech this December.

For more information visit the Sigma Xi website.

Originally posted in Tech Today (11/14/2014)

Graduate School Announces Award Recipients

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that the following students have earned:

Doctoral Finishing Fellowships:

Jun Ma, PhD candidate in Computer Science
Evgeniy Kulakov, PhD candidate in Geology
Colin Gurganus, PhD candidate in Atmospheric Sciences
Suntara Fueangfung, PhD candidate in Chemistry
Fang Chen, PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering
Xiaohui Wang, PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering
Jennifer Riehl, PhD candidate in Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
Stephanie Ogren, PhD candidate in Biological Sciences
Tayloria Adams, PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering

Dean’s Fellowships:

Bonnie Zwissler, PhD candidate in Civil Engineering
Matthew Brege, PhD candidate in Chemistry
Bryan Steinhoff, PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

DeVlieg Foundation Fellowships:

Howard Haselhuhn, PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering
John Henderson, PhD candidate in Forest Science

King-Ch`avez-Parks Future Faculty Fellowships:

Zoe Miller, MS candidate in Environmental Engineering
Darnishia Slade, PhD candidate in Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors
Ronesha Strozier, MS candidate in Environmental Policy

Photographs and details of awards and fellowships coordinated by the Graduate School can be found online:

www.mtu.edu/gradschool/administration/academics/awards-fellowships/

Houghton Held Chemistry for Thai Undergraduate Interns

Nattasak Sukkasam and Tapee Saowalakkul left hot, humid Bangkok, Thailand, in March for a two-month internship at Michigan Tech. They landed in Houghton in a snowstorm.

But their mentor, Parinya “Prince” Chakartnarodom, had prepared them, with snow survival tips—and coats and boots. Prince is a Michigan Tech alumnus and the Thai undergraduates’ materials engineering professor at Kasetsart University in Bangkok.

The interns were invited to Tech by Komar Kawatra, chair of chemical engineering. The idea for the exchange program arose when Jennifer Donovan, director of news and media relations at Michigan Tech, spent a month at Kasetsart University on a Fulbright specialist grant last November. She returned to Michigan Tech determined to help develop some exchanges between the Michigan and Thai universities. This was the first of what she hopes will be ongoing student and faculty exchanges.

Read the full news story.

Bhakta Rath Research Award Presented to Fang, Pokharel

Michigan Tech has given its 2014 Bhakta Rath Research Award to two scientists who have developed a fast, effective and inexpensive way to purify synthetic DNA and peptide molecules.

Their discovery could ultimately be used to heal. Peptides have the potential to fight some of the most intractable diseases, and DNA is a critical element of gene therapy.

Read the full news story.

Published in Tech Today by Marcia Goodrich, senior content specialist

2014 ACS Upper Peninsula Student Research Symposium

On Saturday, March 29 the Upper Peninsula Local Section (UPLS) of the American Chemical Society hosted a research symposium at Northern Michigan University for undergraduate and graduate students across the UP. In total, 33 students presented research from Lake Superior State University, Northern Michigan University and Michigan Tech, and over 70 people attended the event.

Michigan Tech undergraduate student Daniel Beegle tied for the second place poster award for the Undergraduate Division and Michigan. Tech graduate students Suntara Fueangfung, Ashok Khanal and Melanie Talaga tied for first place in the Graduate Division.

Over $400 in awards were distributed to the best posters at the event, which was sponsored by ACS National, the Upper Peninsula ACS Local Section and Northern Michigan University. UPLS Chair Robert Handler (ChE/SFI) commented, “We were very pleased with the enthusiastic response of students from around the UP, and the UPLS is looking forward to hosting this event next year!”

Published in Tech Today.

10th Annual ESC/BRC Research Forum Awards Announced

The Ecosystem Science Center and the Biotechnology Research Center announce award recipients of the Tenth Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum held March 19.

Two Grand Prize Awards and six Merit Awards were presented to the graduate students. They were selected from among the sixty posters and abstracts submitted by graduate students conducting research related to ecology, the environment and biotechnology at Michigan Tech.

A Better Way to Purify Peptide-Based Drugs

Members of Shiyue Fang's research team in his lab at Michigan Tech, where they developed a better process to purify peptides and other biomolecules.
Peptides are an intriguing class of drugs. They are made of amino acids, just as humans are, and because of their intimate relationship with our own biological molecules, they have the potential to fight some of the most intractable diseases, including cancer.

But they can be difficult and expensive to make. A year’s worth of the anti-HIV peptide drug enfuvirtide costs $25,000. Now a chemist at Michigan Tech has overcome an important hurdle in the manufacturing process by developing a quicker, simpler purification method. As a bonus, his technique also works on DNA.

Read the full story.

Published in Tech Today by Marcia Goodrich, magazine editor

California Science and Technology Policy Fellowships

CONTRIBUTE TO THE SCIENCE POLICY DISCUSSION IN CALIFORNIA BY APPLYING FOR A 2014-2015 CALIFORNIA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY FELLOWSHIP!

Offered by the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), the California Science and Technology Policy Fellowships place professional scientists and engineers in the California State Legislature for one-year appointments. These professional development opportunities enable fellows to work hands on with policy-makers to develop solutions to complex scientific and technical issues facing California through their interaction with the legislative process.