June 2012
Outside Our Solar System Alex Wolszczan – first astronomer ever to discover planets outside our solar system. PG 4
Disease Dynamics PG 10
Evolutionary Science PG 18
Table of Contents
Feature Stories:
4 Disease Dynamics
Discover how nighttime lights and Twitter help scientists keep tabs on diseases and analyze what people think of vaccinations.
10 Outside Our Solar System
Learn how Penn State scientists are discovering new planets and understand how they use various instrumentation and tools to make those discoveries.
18 Evolutionary Science
Understand the importance of Penn State scientists studying animal genomes and learn how biologists are helping animal conservation efforts. College News:
Alumni News:
A Fresh Perspective in the Dean’s Office
Alumnus’ $200K gift supports IT for science, liberal arts faculty
Faculty Spotlight:
Myriant Corporation Established Scholarship for Excellence in Bio-Energy and Energy Sustainability
Faculty Awards and Honors
Forensic Science Program Establishes Partnership with Life Technologies
New Faculty
Mary Ann Raymond Receives Distinguished Service Award
Student Spotlight: Student Awards and Honors Spring 2012 Student Marshals
Heather Agnew Receives the Alumni Achievement Award 3rd Annual Alumni Mentoring Program Workshop Success for Students and Alumni
Undergraduate Scientists
Baldwin and Wilson Honored in 2011 with Penn State Alumni Fellow Awards
Student Group Focus
Five Honored with 2011 Outstanding Science Alumni Award
Outreach:
Mark your Calendar: Penn State Physician Reunion Weekend is September 14-15
Science Engagement for All
Staff Changes in the Development and Alumni Relations Offices Science Benefactors Dinner Upcoming Events
Editor: Tara Immel Writers: Barbara Collins, Barbara Kennedy, Christina Ombalski, Katrina Voss, Michael Zeman, Special thanks to all of our student contributors Design: Graphics&Design
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Dear Friends of the College, This issue of Science Journal reflects a substantial change in design. You may have picked it up and wondered if you received it by mistake because it looks so different. After many years of a familiar format, we decided to redesign the magazine from ground up: a new look, a fresh layout, and revamped content. While the frontiers of science explored in our college will remain a primary focus of Science Journal, we have chosen to also incorporate more human elements into the redesigned magazine. We want you to get to know the people behind the research…and we’re not just talking about faculty. In every feature, you
will read more about your fellow alumni and their contributions to Penn State and the world. In addition to the stories that our college is sharing, you are welcome to contribute your news and accomplishments to the Journal. Rather than individual stories about each research advance, we have instituted research feature sections that connect the efforts of several groups across the college. With collaboration being an important aspect of many areas of modern science and a focus for our college, it’s fitting to present research in the same manner. I’m sure that you will enjoy reading about the wonderful accomplishments of our faculty and students. I hope that you will take the time to review the new Science Journal and provide any feedback you have; please tell us what you like and what you don’t like. The ...In every feature, you will read about graduate Journal will continue to evolve as we and undergraduate students participating receive input. Be sure to watch your mailbox again in early December; in research alongside our faculty and observe Science Journal will be published in the research from their perspective. June and December each year. You can also read the Journal online will read about graduate and undergraduate anytime at science.psu.edu/ScienceJournal. students participating in research alongside In the meantime, to stay up-to-date on Penn our faculty. You will also read about students State Science news, please visit our website: who are involved in study abroad, internships, science.psu.edu or Facebook: facebook.com/ co-ops, student groups, and more. And you PennStateScience. Thank you for your commitment and continued support of our college! Sincerely,
Science Journal June 2012
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Feature Story 4
Identifying Outbreaks and Vaccination Trends
DiseaseD
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A single satellite image of Niger’s nighttime lights at the beginning of the dry season. Niger’s national borders are outlined in blue (see inset), and the districts are outlined in gray. The bright pixels (shown in white), indicate relatively high population density. The brightest point in Niger is Niamey, the largest city and the capital, shown in the center of this image. During the dry season in Niger, population density increases in the cities. Credit: Nita Bharti, Princeton University
ynamics Just about every time you turn on the news or get online, you hear about a new disease outbreak, from the flu, to the recent norovirus epidemic…and this is just in the United States this year. Across the world in the last decade, there have been outbreaks of diseases that affect large numbers of people in developing nations, including the Avian (bird) flu, swine flu, West Nile Virus, cholera, and malaria. While some of these examples have vaccinations available, people are not always able or willing to get the vaccination. The World Health Organization (WHO) and scientists around the world are researching Marcel Salathé at Penn State University used Twitter data to track vaccination rates and sentiments. Credit: U.S. National Institutes of Health
Science Journal June 2012
ways to detect the outbreaks when they occur, trying to contain the potential spreading of the diseases, and working to develop and track vaccinations once they have been used. Researchers at Penn State have also been involved in critical disease research, from working on tracking disease outbreaks to collecting vaccination rates and attitudes using innovative methods that can accurately gather and examine data. Matthew Ferrari, an assistant professor of biology, is using satellite images of nighttime lights to detect disease outbreaks. Normally these types of images are used to detect where clusters of people live. However, for Ferrari, they can also help keep tabs on diseases in developing nations. Ferrari’s research is expected to help medical professionals synchronize vaccination strategies with increases in population density. Ferrari and his team chose a specific area of the world to study rather than look at the world as a whole. They used nighttime images of the three largest cities in the West African nation
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Feature Story Researchers analyzed the seasonal changes in nighttime-light brightness in Niger’s largest cities. The height of the peaks represents the brightness of nighttime lights over the course of one year. Credit: Nita Bharti, Princeton University.
of Niger – Maradi, Zinder, and Niamey – to correlate seasonal population fluctuations with the onset of measles epidemics during the country’s dry season, which is from September to May. Because many pathogens that cause epidemics flourish in areas where the population density is the greatest, satellite imagery showing brighter areas – indicating greater numbers of people – then can be used to pinpoint disease hot spots. The image the team used, taken between 2000 and 2004 by a U.S. Department of Defense satellite, was compared to records from Niger’s Ministry of Health of weekly measles outbreaks during the same years in the three cities. The team had a specific reason for choosing the dry season to conduct the study. One of the team’s collaborators, Nita Bharti, a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University, explained that in many agriculturally dependent nations people migrate from rural to urban areas after the growing season. As people gather in cities during the dry-season months when agricultural work is unavailable, these urban centers frequently become hosts to outbreaks of crowddependent diseases such as measles. The team found that measles cases were most prevalent when a city’s lighted area was largest and brightest. “We found that seasonal bright-
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ness for all three cities changed similarly,” Ferrari said. “Brightness was below average for Maradi, Zinder, and Niamey during the agriculturally busy rainy season, then rose to above average as people moved to urban areas during the dry season. Measles transmission rates followed the same pattern – low in the rainy season, high in the dry season.” “Ultimately, the goal is to use this research to design better preventative-vaccination programs and more-efficient responsive vaccination strategies when outbreaks do occur,” Ferrari said. While the team primarily studied measles outbreaks, they are not limited to analyzing just one particular disease. The researchers also are exploring the use of nighttime lights with other large-scale population-tracking methods such as the monitoring of mobile-phone usage. “When used alone, both population-tracking methods have their shortcomings,” Bharti said. “Nighttime-lights imagery is susceptible to weather conditions, while mobile-phone usage data are biased in the portion of the population it can represent.” Bharti and the team hope that when nighttime imagery is combined with other techniques, the measures will be complementary.
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The researchers are hopeful that this type of data can also contribute to other global issues outside of disease tracking, such as mass human migrations after wars and natural disasters. Ferrari and his team aren’t the only researchers at Penn State focused on disease prevention and finding new ways to study disease. Marcel Salathé, an assistant professor of biology, studied how users of Twitter – a popular microblogging and social-networking service – expressed their sentiments about the new H1N1 vaccine. Vaccines have been successful in preventing the spread of infectious diseases and reducing the mortality rates associated with them. Although the successes of vaccines are significant, maintaining high vaccination coverage across the United States, and the world, has become challenging.
Salathé chose Twitter for two reasons. First, Twitter messages, known as “tweets,” are considered public data and anyone can “follow” the tweets of anyone else, unless a person has a private profile. “People tweet because they want other members of the public to hear what they have to say,” Salathé said. Second, Twitter is the perfect database for learning about people’s sentiments. “Tweets are very short – a maximum of 140 characters,” Salathé explained. “So users have to express their opinions and beliefs about a particular subject very concisely.” Salathé began by amassing 477,768 tweets with vaccination-related keywords and phrases. He then tracked users’ sentiments about a particular new vaccine for combating H1N1 – a virus strain responsible for swine flu. The collection process began in August 2009, when news of the new vaccine first was made public, and continued through January 2010.
Salathé tracked how Twitter users’ attitudes correlated with vaccination rates and how microbloggers with the same negative or positive feelings seemed to influence others in their social circles. Sentiments about vaccination can strongly affect an individual’s decision to get a vaccination. Salathé tracked how Twitter users’ attitudes correlated with vaccination rates and how microbloggers with the same negative or positive feelings seemed to influence others in their social circles. The research is the first case study in how social-media sites affect and reflect disease networks.
Science Journal June 2012
Salathé explained that sorting through the enormous number of vaccination-related tweets was not simple. First, he partitioned a random subset of about 10 percent and asked Penn State students to rate them as positive, negative, neutral, or irrelevant. For example, a tweet expressing a desire to get the H1N1 vaccine would be considered positive, while a tweet expressing the belief that the vaccine causes harm would
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Feature Story 8
Person-to-Person
be considered negative. A tweet concerning a different vaccine, for example, the Hepatitis B vaccine, would be considered irrelevant. Then, Shashank Khandelwal, a computer programmer and analyst in Penn State’s Department of Biology and co-author of the paper, used the students’ ratings to design a computer algorithm responsible for cataloging the remaining 90 percent of the tweets according to the sentiments they expressed. After the computer algorithm analyzed the tweets, the final tally, after the irrelevant ones were eliminated, was 318,379 tweets expressing positive, negative, or neutral sentiments about the H1N1 vaccine. Because Twitter users often include a location in their profiles, Salathé was able to categorize the expressed sentiments by U.S. region. Also, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he was able to determine how vaccination attitudes correlated with CDCestimated vaccination rates. Using these data, Salathé found definite patterns. “These results could be used strategically to develop publichealth initiatives,” Salathé explained. “Such data also could be used to predict how many doses of a vaccine will be required in a particular area.” In addition, Salathé was able to construct an intricate social network by determining who followed the tweets of whom; that is, he was able to determine clusters of like-minded Twitter users. “The assumption is that people tend to communicate online almost exclusively with people who think the same way. This phenomenon creates ‘echo chambers’ in which dissenting opinions are not heard,” Salathé said. As it turned out, that assumption was correct. Salathé found that users with either negative or positive sentiments about the H1N1 vaccine followed like-minded people. “The data from Twit-
Ells Campbell, a Ph.D. student working in the Salathé lab group, specializes in the study of disease dynamics and works closely with Salathé by modeling the spread and evolution of the social Ells Campbell
contagions. Campbell explains “our ideas and our behaviors spread from person-
to-person when we interact. Some social contagions put people at increased risk to certain diseases, like negative vaccine sentiment and the flu or smoking and lung cancer. These “social contagions” follow the rules of evolution in that only those that propagate effectively will survive.” By researching and studying disease dynamics, Campbell gains a better understanding on how and why diseases spread. Campbell discovered Salathé and his research as he finished his master’s degree at the University of California at San Diego. “After contacting Marcel and receiving a heartfelt reply, and reading the mission statement on the Salathé group’s site, I knew that there was nowhere I’d rather be. Most students choose a graduate program based on a laundry list of criteria but I took a more idealistic approach and went with my gut.” Working in the Salathé lab not only satisfied Campbell’s desire to study disease dynamics, but also helped him settle into life 3,000 miles away from his former home. “We’ve got a relatively tight-knit research group. Because we spend most of our day programming, there’s a lot of time for social interaction. We get together regularly for lunch and sometimes dinner as well.” As for the future, Campbell will continue to work on his Ph.D. while studying the spread and evolution of ideas and behavior in the Salathé lab and in the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics (CIDD).
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ter seem to indicate that the buffer of protection cannot be counted on if these clusters exist in real, geographical space,” Salathé said. Salathé plans to use his unique social-media analysis to study other diseases, such as obesity, hypertension, and heart disease. Salathé added that, in the industrialized world, future generations will worry less about infectious diseases and more about diseases linked to lifestyle and behavior. “Behavior-influenced diseases always have existed, but, until recently, they were masked: People died of infectious diseases relatively early in their life cycles. So behaviorinfluenced diseases weren’t really on anyone’s radar,” Salathé explained. “Now that heart disease – a malady caused, at least in part, by lifestyle – is moving to the top of the list of killers, it might be wise to focus on how social media influences behaviors such as poor diet and infrequent exercise,” Salathé said. Although the Ferrari and Salathé groups have different research interests, their common thread, infectious diseases, have lead both to work in the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics (CIDD). The CIDD is a “virtual” center bringing together theoreticians and empirical scientists in a wide variety of disciplines to col-
Science Journal June 2012
laborate and innovate in the area of infectious disease research. CIDD combines genetic, immunological, ecological, and other studies to understand how disease processes work. CIDD research integrates a wide range of scientific disciplines – from immunology, virology, bioinformatics, genomics and evolutionary biology, to epidemiology, disease ecology, and architecture. They also span the whole range of biological complexity – from genes and proteins to populations and pandemics. In the center, scientists from around Penn State, including faculty, research associates, postdocs, and graduate students from the Eberly College of Science, the College of Agriculture, the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, collaborate on projects that will help track, prevent, and solve infectious disease outbreaks. Learning about where infectious diseases start, how they spread, discovering new vaccines, and tracking the spread of disease are just a few concentrations of the center. By collaborating across different disciplines, CIDD researchers, such as Ferrari and Salathé, cast important biological problems and processes in practical new lights that allow them to make discoveries that can potentially reduce infectious disease outbreaks. From tracking infectious disease data, to understanding attitudes toward vaccinations, researchers at Penn State are hoping that their research can be applied to the bigger picture and help understand and solve other world health issues.
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Cover Story
OutsideO SolarSyst
Alex Wolszczan, an Evan Pugh Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, became the first astronomer ever to discover planets outside our solar system. Eric Stashak Photography
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Our tem The Age of Exploration and Discovery is generally thought to have begun in the early 15th century and to have only lasted into the 17th century. Yet we know that – really – there is no true end to this era. The boom and race to discover new lands may have gone on an extended hiatus, as acceptance and understanding An artist’s impression of the coldest imaged companion, named WD 0806-661 B, (right foreground)
of how the field had changed
orbiting at a large distance from a white dwarf – the collapsedcore remnant of a dying star.
sunk in, but the desire to explore and
Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Francis Reddy
Science Journal June 2012
discover never truly diminished.
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Cover Story 12
While in the early days, man depended on the naked eye and rudimentary equipment to make discoveries, scientists now use highly specialized instruments with high-tech optics to scan the celestial horizons. Today, the focus isn’t new terrestrial lands, the treasures they hold, or new pathways to them; our sights instead have been turned upward and to finding those stellar objects outside of our own solar system that show the specific characteristic wobbles, pulses, or noise that just might signify new lands across the vast sea of space. The target has narrowed for some to search for only Earth-like planets, or those whose temperatures might be right for liquid water – and perhaps life?
Penn State has been keeping good pace and at times has led the pack in the footrace of extra-solar planet discovery since the competition really heated up in 1992 – when Alex Wolszczan, an Evan Pugh Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, became the first astronomer ever to discover planets outside our solar system. Since then, new discoveries are being made frequently in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics leading to funding and support to have Penn State’s hand in the development of a state-of-the-art instrument. During the fall of 2011, three planets – each orbiting its own giant, dying star – were discovered by an international research team led
Three planets – each orbiting its own giant, dying star
major partner in the design, construction, and operation
– have been discovered by an international research
of this telescope, which is one of the largest in the world.
team led by Alex Wolszczan, an Evan Pugh Professor of
In 1992, Wolszczan became the first astronomer ever to
Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State, using the
discover planets outside our solar system.
Hobby-Eberly Telescope, shown above. Penn State is a
Credit: Marty Harris/McDonald Obs./UT-Austin
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A second artist’s impression of the coldest imaged companion, named WD 0806-661 B, (left foreground) orbiting at a large distance from a white dwarf – the collapsed-core remnant of a dying star. Credit: Janella Williams
by Wolszczan. Along with Polish astronomers from Nicolaus Copernicus University, the team used the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, to observe the planets’ parent stars – HD 240237, BD +48 738, and HD 96127 – tens of light years away from our solar system. The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) is a 9-meter telescope built by an international collaboration between the University of Texas at Austin, Penn State, and Stanford University in the United States and Ludwig-Maxi-
Science Journal June 2012
milians-Universitaet Muenchen, and Goerg-August-Universitaet Goettingen in Germany. This new research is expected to shed light on the evolution of planetary systems around dying stars. It also will help astronomers to understand how metal content influences the behavior of dying stars. Interestingly enough, the three newly discovered planetary systems are actually more evolved than our own solar system. “Each of
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Cover Story 14
Exploration and Discovery
the three stars is swelling and has already become a red giant – a dying star that soon will gobble up any planet that happens to be orbiting too close to it,” Wolszczan said. “While we certainly can expect a similar fate for our own Sun, which eventually will become a red giant and possibly will consume our Earth, we won’t have to worry about it happening for another five-billion years.” Wolszczan also said that one of the massive dying stars – BD +48 738 – is accompanied not only by an enormous, Jupiter-like planet, but also by a second, mystery object. According to the team, this object could be another planet, a low-mass star, or a brown dwarf, which is a star-like body that is intermediate in mass between the coolest stars and giant planets. “We will continue to watch this strange object, and, in a few more years, we hope to be able to reveal its identity,” Wolszczan said. The three dying stars and their accompanying planets have been particularly useful to the research team because they have helped to illuminate such ongoing mysteries as how dying stars behave depending on their metallicity. “First, we know that giant stars like HD 240237, BD +48 738, and HD 96127 are especially noisy. That is, they appear jittery, because they oscillate much more than our own, muchyounger Sun. This noisiness disturbs the observation process, making it a challenge to discover any companion planets,” Wolszczan said. “Still, we persevered and we eventually were able to spot the planets orbiting each massive star.” Once Wolszczan and his team had confirmed that HD 240237, BD +48 738, and HD 96127 did indeed have planets orbiting around them, they measured the metal content of the stars and found some interesting correlations. “We
Helping to ensure that the exploration continues and that discoveries keep pouring in through Penn State is undergraduate scientist, Ying Feng. Ying is a sophomore at Penn State working in the lab of Jason Wright. Wright’s research
Ying Feng
focuses on finding planets using the
radial-velocity method, which detects the wobbling stars due to the orbital motions of their planets. Upon arriving on campus her freshman year, Ying wasted no time in pursuing a way to get involved in astronomy. Because of influence from her high school teachers and family, Ying discovered her passion and fascination for exoplanets, and she knew that Jason Wright’s lab would be a good fit. By the end of her very first semester on campus, Ying was put to work in Wright’s lab, where her main responsibility within the lab was aiding in the maintenance of the Exoplanet Orbit Database (EOD) at exoplanets.org. During her 5-10 hours in the lab per week, Ying looks for newly discovered planets published in peer-reviewed journals; she adds planets to, makes corrections to, and occasionally adds fields to the database. She views her experience in Wright’s lab as a valuable learning experience; her classes help her understand what is going on in the lab, and the lab, in turn, keeps her ahead of the curve in her classes. Ying’s efforts in Wright’s lab have procured her the due honor of being listed as one of the authors of a paper published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. In addition to her course work and lab work, Ying also writes a weekly blog describing experiences that she has as an undergraduate scientist. While currently aiming for a future in research and academia, Ying admits that this blogging experience has opened her eyes to the surprising enjoyment she gets from writing, which has her entertaining the thought of becoming a science writer herself in the future.
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found a negative correlation between a star’s metallicity and its jitteriness. It turned out that the less metal content each star had, the more noisy and jittery it was,” Wolszczan explained. “Our own Sun vibrates slightly too, but because it is much younger, its atmosphere is much less turbulent.” Wolszczan also pointed out that, as stars swell to the red-giant stage, planetary orbits change and even intersect, and close-in planets and moons eventually get swallowed and sucked up by the dying star. For this reason, it is possi-
while at the same time, Europa will melt and may spend a couple billion years in the Goldilocks zone – not too hot, not too cold, covered by vast, beautiful oceans.” The fervor with which the pursuit of new planets is taking place and Penn State’s exceptional contributions to the event has precipitated a $3.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation in support of Penn State’s participation in developing a state-of-the-art instrument, which will allow scientists to detect the existence of planets that are similar in mass to Earth and also are in orbits that allow liquid water to The Habitable Zone Planet Finder exist on their surfaces. The Habitable Zone Planet will precisely measure the motion of Finder (HPF) is a large infrared each star, hunting for the telltale spectrograph – approximately the ‘wobble’ caused by an orbiting planet. size of an SUV and weighing over two tons. It will be used to analyze the components of starlight ble that HD 240237, BD +48 738, and HD 96127 and to detect the slight motions of nearby stars once might have had more planets in orbit, but caused by the gravity of orbiting planets. The that these planets were consumed over time. team chose to observe these stars because they Observations of dying stars, their metal con- offer the best opportunity for finding planets tent, and how they affect the planets around with solid surfaces in the so-called “Habitable them could provide clues about the fate of our Zone” around nearby stars, the range of disown solar system. tances from a star within which temperatures “Of course, in about five-billion years, our Sun might be right for liquid water. However, as will become a red giant and likely will swallow these stars have temperatures far below that of up the inner planets and the planets’ accompa- the Sun, they radiate very little of their energy nying moons. However, if we’re still around in, in the visible part of the spectrum, giving rise to say, one-billion to three-billion years, we might the need to create an instrument that can capconsider taking up residence on Jupiter’s moon, ture the infrared part of the spectrum – where Europa, for the remaining couple billion years the unaided human eye cannot see but where before that happens,” Wolszczan said. “Europa these stars are brightest. is an icy wasteland and it is certainly not habitCo-principal investigator Lawrence Ramsey, able now, but as the Sun continues to heat up professor of astronomy and astrophysics, exand expand, our Earth will become too hot, plains, “to find an Earth-like planet around one
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Cover Story of our target stars requires that we be able to Suvrath Mahadevan, assistant professor of measure the velocity of a star, located at a dis- astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State and a tance of tens of light years from the Earth, to co-principal investigator of the project, said the a precision of about three feet per second – the HPF team is keen to embark on this challenge. typical speed a person walks – over a period of “I do believe we now have the technological caseveral years. To attain this goal, HPF not only pability to make these extremely precise meamust have high-efficiency optics and detectors, surements in the infrared,” he said. “Finding but it must be maintained in an extremely sta- Earth analogs around our nearest neighbors ble environment.” will be an exciting adventure. We are grateful to The instrument is scheduled to take three have had prior support since 2005 from the Nayears to build. Upon completion, it will be tional Science Foundation, the NASA Origins shipped to the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald ObOnce we detect these wobbles, we will be servatory in west Texas to able to infer the surface temperature and begin its multi-year quest for new worlds, during which mass of the planet or planets orbiting it. it will survey more than a hundred nearby stars. “This instrument will precisely measure the motion program, and the NASA Astrobiology Institute of each star, hunting for the telltale ‘wobble’ for the technology development that lead to our caused by an orbiting planet,” said Penn State now being able to develop this instrument.” Assistant Professor Jason Wright, a co-prinThe HPF development-and-science team also cipal investigator on the HPF team. “Once we includes Penn State Evan Pugh Professor of detect these wobbles, we will be able to infer the Astronomy and Astrophysics Alex Wolszczan; surface temperature and mass of the planet or Distinguished Professor of Geosciences James planets orbiting it. These cool stars we are tar- Kasting; researchers at the University of Texas geting are some of the very closest to Earth. In and University of Virginia; Penn State Postdocastronomical terms, they are in our backyard.” toral Fellows Chad Bender and Rohit DeshAssociate Professor Steinn Sigurdsson, pande; as well as former Penn State graduate who is also a lead investigator of the Penn State student Stephen Redman and current graduAstrobiology Research Center, said “The HPF ate student Ryan Terrien. is a significant step toward discovering terresIn the meantime, and as construction betrial planets in orbits where liquid water may gins on the Habitable Zone Planet Finder, Penn be present on their surface around our closest State continues to be a strong competitor in the stellar neighbors. This goal is important for race for planet discovery. Penn State Associthe NASA astrobiology program since life, as ate Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, we know it, needs liquid water. Nearby planets Kevin Luhman and his colleagues fought the with liquid water on their surface are the first same obstacles that the HPF hopes to reduce in places to start looking for signatures of life on the future. Incredibly, they succeeded in capturother planets.”
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the mass that a brown dwarf accumulates is not enough to ignite thermonuclear reactions in its core, resulting in a failed star that is very cool. Luhman and his colleagues presented this new candidate for the coldest known brown dwarf in a paper published in spring 2011, and they now have confirmed its record-setting cool temperature in a new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal. Artist’s rendition of a brown dwarf and its moon orbiting a triple star system. Credit: NASA To make their discovery, Luhman and his colleagues searched through infrared images of ing photo of a nearby star and its cool orbiting over six hundred stars near our solar system. companion. Once again, with temperatures that They compared images of nearby stars taken a range between an astonishingly cool 80 and 160 few years apart, searching for any faint points degrees Fahrenheit – like a hot summer day in of light that showed the same motion across the Arizona – this object radiates very little of its sky as the targeted star. “Objects with cool temenergy in the visible part of the spectrum. Dis- peratures like the Earth are brightest at infracovery-team leader Luhman says, “This planet- red wavelengths,” Luhman said. “We used NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope because it Other Penn State Faculty members involved in this project. is the most sensitive infrared telescope available.” Ever since brown dwarfs first were discovered in 1995, astronomers have been trying to find new record holders for the coldest brown dwarfs, because these objects are valuable laboratories for studying the atmospheres of planLawrence Jason Steinn Suvrath Kevin Ramsey Wright Sigurdsson Mahadevan Luhman ets with Earth-like temperatures outlike companion is the coldest object ever directly side our solar system. While astronomers at Penn State may be exphotographed outside our solar system. Its mass is about the same as many of the known extra- amining different planets, stars, and signs of solar planets – about six to nine times the mass life throughout our universe and beyond, each of Jupiter – but in other ways it is more like a shares the same desire to discover the unstar. Essentially, what we have found is a very known. Penn State scientists continue to lead a small star with an atmospheric temperature variety of observational, experimental, and theoretical projects that cover most active areas of about as cool as the Earth’s.” Luhman classifies this companion-object as a astrophysical research, making the Department “brown dwarf,” an object that formed just like a of Astronomy and Astrophysics one of the most star out of a massive cloud of dust and gas. But productive research programs in the country.
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Feature Story
E S
Ivory-billed Woodpecker
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Penn State Eberly College of Science
Evolutionary Science The docile and flightless dodo that was endemic to and abundant on the Indian-Ocean island of Mauritius until the early eighteenth century has become the quintessential poster child for extinction. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker – one of the largest woodpeckers in the world – ranged from east Texas to North Carolina, and from southern Illinois to Florida and Cuba until as recently as 1944, but is now listed as definitely or probably extinct by The American Birding Association.
dodo Bird
Science Journal June 2012
The common thread between the two – aside from their indisputable “birdiness” – is their cause of extinction. Humans have been the direct trajectories of demise for both species. Heavy hunting, introduced species, and habitat destruction paved the road for the dodo’s decline; while heavy logging activity, exacerbated by hunting by collectors, sealed the fate of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. While extinction of species over time is a very natural occurrence, the rate at which species are vanishing today is generally thought substantially sped up as compared to any other time in fossil record – occurring at somewhere between
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Feature Story 100 and 10,000 times faster. Whether by way of overharvesting, pollution, habitat destruction and fragmentation, introduction of new predators and food competitors, or over-hunting, humans have exerted their influence over extinction in a very large and very real manner. While loss of a species is a natural process, the apparent accelerated speed at which it is taking place today could prove to have disastrous effects on our future food supplies, our search for new medicines, and our water and air supplies. Penn State has been meeting this possible crisis head-on in its research strides that seek to better understand things at species’ fundamental genomic level so that clearer methods to aid those species on the brink may be unveiled, and definite measures toward better environmental stewardship might be established.
The Tasmanian devil – a marsupial found in the wild exclusively in the Australian islandstate of Tasmania – is currently battling — and left to its own devices, losing the struggle — against an unusual sort of cancer known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD). In response, a revolutionary species-preservation approach based on whole-genome analyses of two Tasmanian devils — one that had died of DFTD and one healthy animal — has been used to develop a theoretical model to predict which individuals would need to be kept in captivity to maximize chances of preserving enough genetic diversity for the species to survive. The research helps to formulate one possible plan of action to prevent the extinction of the Tasmanian devil, and the hope is that the model also may be extended to other endangered species. The team is led by Stephan Schuster, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State; Webb Miller, professor of biology and computer science and engineering at Penn State; and Vanessa Hayes of the Venter Institute in San Diego, and includes other scientists at institutions and universities in Australia, Denmark, and the United States. DFTD, which disfigures the victim and causes death from starvation or suffocation
Zookeeper and breeder Tim Faulkner holds a Tasmanian devil – an endangered marsupial found in the wild in the Australian island-state of Tasmania. Credit: Stephan C. Schuster, Penn State
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Penn State Eberly College of Science
A team of Penn State University researchers have used genetic data to formulate a plan of action to prevent the extinction of the Tasmanian devil. Credit: Stephan C. Schuster, Penn State
within months, was first observed on the east coast of Tasmania just 15 years ago, and since has spread rapidly westward, threatening the species with extinction. “The disease is like nothing we know in humans or in virtually any other animal. It acts like a virus but it actually is spread by a whole cancerous cell that arose in one individual several decades ago,” Schuster explained. “This malignant cell is transferred directly from one individual to another through biting, mating, or even touching. Just imagine a human cancer that spread through a handshake. It would eradicate our species very quickly.” The scientists explained that if a number of healthy Tasmanian devils were kept in zoos and other facilities in “protective custody” until the tumor ran its course and disappeared in the wild, then the captive animals could be released back into their former habitat and the population could begin to grow anew. “However, it’s not just a matter of scooping up a few individuals at random and locking them away,” Miller ex-
Science Journal June 2012
plained. “Our team developed a smarter, more calculated approach: We asked ourselves, which individuals would be the best candidates for ‘protective custody,’ and what criteria would we use to make those determinations? We soon realized that the answer was to compile genetic data and to analyze it in novel ways.” The team approached the extinction problem on two fronts. The first was to sequence the complete genomes — 3.2 billion base pairs each — of two individual Tasmanian devils. One was a male called “Cedric,” who had a natural resistance to two strains of DFTD, but succumbed after being infected with a different strain of the disease last year. The other was a female called “Spirit,” who had contracted the vicious cancer in the wild. In addition, the scientists sequenced the genome of one of Spirit’s tumors. Because the two animals had originated in the extreme northwest and southeast regions of Tasmania, respectively, they represented the maximal geographic spread of the species — a measure that is used as an approximation of genetic diversity. The researchers then began an analysis of the genomic data from the two animals, and of the genetic characteristics of the tumor. Using these data, they created a model that could determine which individual animals should be selected for captive breeding programs, such as the ones currently underway in Tasmania and on mainland Australia. Schuster explained that the genetic diversity of the Tasmanian devil population is low to begin with. For this reason, choosing the right individuals to represent the broadest genetic diversity possible is critical for successful species preservation. “It might seem you’d want to choose only those individuals that are genetically resistant to the DFTD cancer. However, that would defeat the purpose of maintaining
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Feature Story genetic diversity because, by definition, you’d be selecting a tiny subset of the gene pool,” Schuster said. “Instead, our model suggests a more balanced approach. You don’t want to put out just the one fire — the cancer. Instead, you want to develop a pool of diverse, healthy individuals that can fight future maladies or even pathogens that have not yet evolved.” The second aspect of the project was to learn how much genetic diversity had been lost since Europeans settled Tasmania in 1803. To do this, the scientists analyzed a large number of genetic markers from an additional 175 Tasmanian Successful breeding efforts are underway in devils, some of which were museum specimens mainland Australia and Tasmania to preserve a captive from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and population of Tasmanian devils that are free from Devil the Natural History Museum in London. Schus- Facial Tumor Disease. Credit: Stephan C. Schuster, Penn State ter explained that this approach to genomic research, which he has named “museomics,” humans have contributed to the endangerment is truly unique and brimming with potential. of many native species, so it’s our responsibility “Museums are treasure troves of specimens col- to find a way to help fix things by giving nalected in the last 250 years,” Schuster said, and ture a hand,” Miller said. “Here’s a way to think he explained that DNA collection from hair is about it: If a driver causes a car accident, he is morally responsible for restoring any injured virtually non-destructive. Interestingly, after analyzing Penn State Faculty members involved in these projects. the 175 individuals, the scientists learned that the genomic diversity of the Tasmanian devil, while low, has not decreased much over the last century. “This is an important finding because it means that DFTD is not to blame for any Stephan Webb Kateryna Anton lack of genetic diversity since the Schuster Miller Makova Nekrutenko disease appeared only 15 years ago,” Miller explained. “It’s crucial that we act person to the state of health that the person as responsible stewards for the species, helping enjoyed before the accident. Likewise, our goal maintain what little genetic diversity it had be- is to use museomics to inform efforts to restore the genetic health of endangered species to fore the DFTD epidemic struck.” Schuster and Miller hope that their novel that which existed before humans came on the strategies for tackling impending extinction scene.” Schuster added, “To plan for the future, will be applied to other endangered species. “We you have to be willing to understand the past.
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Penn State Eberly College of Science
scenes in Kateryna Makova’s lab is Allison Fisher, a May 2012 graduate of Penn State. Allison, who majored in biology and minored in psychology, began investigating research labs Allison Fisher
and opportunities that were available on campus during her freshman
year. Through this process, Allison discovered Kateryna Makova’s lab and was intrigued by Makova’s research. Soon thereafter, Allison successfully interviewed for and entered the program under Makova’s guidance. Allison really enjoyed the genetic side of Makova’s research, and she was able to find a home in the lab for her entire undergraduate career. Initially, she performed basic tasks like washing equipment or performing gel electrophoresis. She soon graduated to mentoring and training other students in the lab and performing polymerase chain reactions. Allison successfully met what she termed as one of the greatest challenges of working in a lab as an undergraduate — balancing her time between her studies, part-time job, and lab work. During a typical week, Allison spent 15-20 hours working in Makova’s lab. Personally, she knows that she has benefitted from her experience in the lab, as she was able to earn class credit through her work and had the opportunity to coauthor a scientific paper in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution. Allison viewed her time in the lab as useful to the principle investigators and the advancement of science in general as well, realizing that without the work of the undergraduates and graduates, there wouldn’t be enough time and man-power to get the research done. One important lesson she took away from her lab experience is that she knows that she does not want to perform research in her career. Instead, she plans to expand upon her knowledge in graduate school with the long-term goal of practically applying her acquired skills in a hospital setting performing genetic counseling.
Science Journal June 2012
Exploration and Discovery
Among the many working behind the
It’s important to examine museum specimens, as well as the population history of species over the last 10,000 to 50,000 years, and to use that genetic data to formulate a plan. The idea is to save a species, not to do a ‘post-mortem’ on it.” While Schuster and Miller lend their expertise and ingenuity towards the focused effort of coming to the aid of the Tasmanian devil, Kateryna Makova, associate professor of biology at Penn State, is leading a team of investigators that is putting forth efforts to help guide future conservation efforts for endangered horse species with support from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Makova and her team – which includes Anton Nekrutenko, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State and Oliver Ryder from the San Diego Zoological Society — report that an endangered species of horse – known as Przewalski’s horse – is much more distantly related to the domestic horse than researchers had previously hypothesized. The scientists tested the portion of the genome passed exclusively from mother to offspring – the mitochondrial DNA – of four Przewalski’s horse lineages and compared the data to DNA from the domestic horse (Equus caballus). They concluded that, although previous scientists had assumed that Przewalski’s horse and the domestic horse had diverged around the time that horses were domesticated – about 6,000 to 10,000 years ago – the real time of the two species’ divergence from one another is much more ancient. The data gleaned from the study also suggest that present-day Przewalski’s horses have a much more diverse gene pool than previously hypothesized. The new study’s findings could be used to inform conservation efforts to save the endangered horse species, of
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Feature Story which only 2,000 individuals remain in wildlife reserves in Europe and Asia and in zoos. Przewalski’s horse – a stocky, short-maned species named after a Russian explorer who first encountered the animal in the wild – became endangered during the middle of the last century when the species experienced a population bottleneck – an evolutionary event in which many or most members of a population or a species die. “Sadly, this bottleneck was the result of human activity,” Makova explained. “Przewalski’s horses were hunted down for food, and their natural habitat, the steppes, were converted into farm land so the horses basically had nowhere to live and breed. By the late 1950s, only 12 individual horses remained.” Makova said that because conservationists have made noble efforts to rescue this dwindling population, the present-day population has grown to 2,000. In a study that had never been attempted by previous scientists, Makova and her team analyzed the complete mitochondrial genomes from four female lineages that currently survive within the Przewalski’s horse population. They first determined that the mitochondrial genomes of two of the maternal lineages actually were identical, thus narrowing the genetic pool to three maternal lineages. Then, they tested their data against the prevailing hypotheses about the genetic history of Przewalski’s horse. According to one hypothesis, Przewalski’s horse evolved first, with the domestic horse later evolving as a derivative species. According to another hypothesis, the genetic story is the opposite: the direct ancestors of the domestic horse were first on the evolutionary scene, with Przewalski’s horse evolving and forming a new species later. According to the former hypothesis, the divergence of the two species had to have occurred around the time of horse domestication – about 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. 24
Kateryna Makova and her team studied DNA from the endangered Przewalski’s horse, which has ancient origins. Credit: Makova lab, Penn State University
“My team discovered that neither scenario is likely,” Makova said. “Instead, our data suggest that Przewalski’s horse and the domestic horse are much more distantly related. In fact, they probably shared a common ancestor as far back as 160,000 years ago, long before horse domestication. This is a major shift in our understanding of the history of Przewalski’s horse.” To bolster their conclusions, the team also sequenced a portion of the Przewalski’s horse’s nuclear DNA – the part of the genome passed to offspring from parents of both sexes. In addition, they sequenced a portion of the genome of a third species known as the Somali wild ass, the wild progenitor of donkeys. Makova explained that adding this information allowed her team to “calibrate the molecular clock of horse evolution,” thus narrowing the window of time for sub-species divergence and confirming her team’s suspicions that horse domestication and the emergence of Przewalski’s horse were two very distant and independent events. Makova added that, although the two species diverged well over 100,000 years ago, they have interbred periodically since then. “Also fortunate is the fact that conservationists in Penn State Eberly College of Science
the second half of the 20th century realized how grave the situation was for the Przewalski’s horse. They not only began new breeding efforts and built wildlife reserves in California and Ukraine, but they also made sure to avoid inbreeding among close relatives,” Makova said. “For this reason, the present-day population has managed to remain healthy by retaining substantial genetic diversity.” Makova and her team hope that their findings will help guide future conservation efforts for the endangered horse species. “The idea is to gradually reintroduce Przewalski’s horse into
common ancestor.” Makova added that she and her team also would like to identify the genes that code for the physical differences between Przewalski’s horse and the domestic horse. “It’s always been a curious question why Przewalski’s horse is so much shorter and stockier in stature than the domestic horse, and also why Przewalski’s horse has a shorter, thicker mane,” Makova said. “A deeper genetic analysis and subsequent experiments could reveal the very genes that determine differences in appearance between the two species.” Endangered and species on the brink of extinction are a concern for sciThe threat of classes of plants, insects, entists across the world. The threat of classes of plants, inand animals vanishing can have sects, and animals vanishing have staggering repercusstaggering repercussions; extinction can sions; extinction not only afnot only affects the species that is fects the species that is disappearing, it can also change the disappearing, it can also change the structure of the area where it structure of the area where it came from. came from and adversely affect the species that remain, the wild,” Makova said. “For example, now that conceivably causing the loss of those species in we have a more thorough understanding of the time. While it’s difficult to predict which spedifferent maternal lineages, we can diversify cies will be next on the extinction list, scientists the animal’s gene pool even more. This will be across Penn State are working diligently to gena way to ensure that members of wild species erate methods to gain a better understanding of suffer as few recessive diseases as possible and extinction while using their research to foster have the best opportunity to flourish once they more support for future conservation efforts. are introduced into the appropriate habitat.” In addition, the researchers hope to further horse-evolution studies by sequencing the genomes of additional breeds of domestic horses, and, eventually, by sequencing the complete genome of Przewalski’s horse. “More genetic data means a more precise evolutionary clock,” Makova explained. “The more we know, the more we can adjust the time frame for when Przewalski’s horse and other horses diverged from their Science Journal June 2012
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College News A Fresh Perspective in the Dean’s Office The summer of 2011 brought big changes in the leadership in the Dean’s Office. NorNorman Freed man Freed, professor of physics and associate dean of the Eberly College of Science at Penn State, retired after 46 years of service to the University. In addition to initiating many of the college’s most innovative academic programs, Freed is known for his extensive research in theoretical nuclear physics, high-energy electromagnetic interactions in pion physics, and nuclear systems. Throughout his time in the Eberly College of Science, Freed has played a major role in establishing many of the college’s flagship programs, including the Forensic Science program in 2005. Another of Freed’s innovations was a
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study-abroad program that he began over 20 years ago. In addition, Freed has been instrumental in developing many other initiatives in the college, including the Academic Advising Center, which has grown over the years to include nine staff members, and the Cooperative Education Program, which began as a computer-science-focused program and grew to become a career-development and international office serving the college as a whole. Upon announcement of Freed’s retirement, Dean Daniel Larson restructured the leadership in the Dean’s Office and created three new associate dean positions to aid him in the continual growth in the Eberly College of Science. Dean Larson realized that a key element of positioning the college for continued excellence is to enable himself to focus on the fundamentally critical and highest-level activities that only he can do: advocating for the college within the University and beyond, development activities, promotion and tenure and post-tenure review processes, faculty recruiting and faculty relations, University planning, financial stewardship, oversight of the departments, and
overall leadership. The time and travel demands of these duties have increased substantially in recent years, therefore, Dean Larson determined it was time to make leadership changes, creating three new positions: a half-time associate dean for research and graduate education, a full-time associate dean for undergraduate education and a full-time associate dean for administration, all reporting to him.
Andrew Stephenson
Andrew Stephenson, Distinguished Professor of Biology, accepted the half-time position as associate dean for research and graduate education. In this position, Stephenson is responsible for oversight of the graduate programs in the college, supervision of the college research
Penn State Eberly College of Science
administration office, service on several University councils and committees, graduate student retention, and postdoctoral affairs. Some of Stephenson’s goals for the position include further improving the quality of the applicants to the college’s graduate programs, establishing strong college programs for graduate student and postdoc professional development, expanding and strengthening the mentoring of our new faculty, enhancing the diversity of our faculty and graduate students, and further enhancing the instrumentation and infrastructure of the college so that we can continue to perform world-class research that makes a real and positive difference in the world. Stephenson has been a faculty member in biology at Penn State since 1978. Stephenson earned his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees at the University of Michigan in 1978 and 1976, respectively. He earned a B.A. degree at the Miami University in Ohio in 1973. Mary Beth Williams, associate professor of chemistry, assumed the full-time role of associate dean for undergraduate education. This position is responsible for a number of critical programs and process-
Science Journal June 2012
Mary Beth Williams
es in the college, including: supervision of the undergraduate programs, oversight of the non-departmental degree programs, undergraduate retention, support the Center for Excellence in Science Education, oversight of FTCAP – evaluation of testing effectiveness and program planning and administration, and fostering and supporting undergraduate research. Williams’ primary goals are to ensure and enable the academic success of undergraduate students, and to maintain the standard of excellence that the college has in its academic programs. She is working to use assessment data to drive continuous improvement of teaching and learning in the college and to enhance advis-
ing and the student experience. She strives to recognize and reward faculty for excellence in the classroom, and provide them with assistance and support to improve existing or try new and innovative teaching methodologies via the Center for Excellence in Science Education. A few of Williams’ current initiatives include creating methods for improving student retention within science disciplines, developing a career information web-based tool for prospective undergraduate students, and generating and implementing strategies to ensure that all science students gain experience in co-op, internship, and externship programs or study abroad. Williams earned her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina, where her thesis work, under the direction of Royce Murray, focused on the electron and mass transport dynamics in hybrid redox polyether melts. Following a post-doctoral research assistantship at Northwestern University, Williams joined the Penn State faculty in the Department of Chemistry in 2001. In addition to her research program, Williams has taught ~ 2500 students in the introductory chemistry course
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College News sequence, and served as the chemistry department graduate admissions and recruiting chair. She continues to direct the Chemistry Undergraduate Summer Research Program, with support from the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduate site and from the 3M Foundation, to bring 20 undergraduates to the department each summer for full time research. In 2009 – 2010, she was the acting associate dean for administration and planning in the college.
dean for administration role. In this role she oversees information technology, human resources, facilities, marketing, outreach, on-line education, and a number of budget and leadership related processes for the college. Areas of focus for the coming year include furthering our college’s portfolio of on-line courses, planning for renovations on our instructional laboratories for biology in Mueller Laboratory and general chemistry in Whitmore Laboratory, restructuring and re-visioning the outreach efforts of the college, and a number of budget-reduction and process-improvement related initiatives. For the 09-10 academic year, Foley was an Administrative Fellow serving with Vice President Damon Sims in Student Affairs. During the
10-11 academic year, she served as chair of Penn State’s Commission for Women (CFW), and with the CFW she continues to be involved in efforts to reduce the incidence of sexual assaults on campus as well as special mentoring programs for female faculty. Prior to coming to Penn State in 2000, Foley was with the DuPont Company for 15 years. At DuPont she held a number of management positions ranging from research manager in the analytical sciences and engineering research divisions within Central Research and Development to global technology manager for one of DuPont’s engineering polymers businesses. Foley has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Purdue University and a B.S. in chemistry from Lafayette College.
The college community is looking forward to the exciting Karin Foley
Finally, concurrent with the creation of Stephenson’s and Williams’ positions, Karin Foley’s position was restructured to enable her to focus on the administrative demands of the college in the associate 28
changes the new leadership will bring to the college this year and beyond!
Penn State Eberly College of Science
Faculty Spotlight Faculty Awards and Honors Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow Award Sloan Research Fellowships are intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in seven fields of science: chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics. Nathan Gemelke, an assistant professor of physics, has been honored with an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow award. Gemelke is a physicist whose research focuses on the behavior of atomic gases as they transition from one quantum phase to another at temperatures near absolute zero – the point at which all random motion ceases.
Science Journal June 2012
Scott Phillips, an assistant professor of chemistry and holder of the Martarano Career Development Professorship, has been honored with an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow award. Phillips focuses his research on organic and environmental chemistry, the design and synthesis of molecules with unique functions, analytical and bioanalytical chemistry, and materials chemistry. Karl Schwede, an assistant professor of mathematics, has been honored with an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow award. Schwede’s research focuses on a branch of mathematics called algebraic geometry. This field of study has important applications in cryptography, string theory, and coding theory.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed by peers upon members of the AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific society and the publisher of the journal Science. Jainendra K. Jain, Erwin W. Mueller Professor of Physics, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a condensed-matter theorist who studies the physics of states of matter in which electrons behave in cooperative and unexpected ways. Mauricio Terrones, professor of physics and professor of materials science and engineering, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In his research, he produces novel carbon-based nanomaterials, whose potential applications are industrial, biomedical, and electronic. 29
Faculty Spotlight Karl Mueller, professor of chemistry, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His research uses magnetic resonance spectroscopy to address chemical questions at the interfaces of complex materials, such as multi-component oxide glasses and environmentally important solids, including minerals, glasses, and clays. American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellows The ACS recognizes scientists with “outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and the society.” Steven M. Weinreb, the Russell and Mildred Marker Professor of Natural Products Chemistry, has been named a 2011 Fellow of the American Chemical Society. Weinreb’s main research interest is heterocyclic chemistry. He is known for his extensive
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research in the synthesis of natural products and the development of new synthetic methods. Sharon HammesSchiffer, a professor of chemistry and the Eberly Professor of Biotechnology, has been named a 2011 Fellow of the American Chemical Society. Hammes-Schiffer is an acknowledged world leader in biophysics whose research spans the fields of chemistry, physics, biology, and computer science. Career Awards Melissa Rolls, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been selected to receive the 2011 Junior Career Recognition Award given by the Women in Cell Biology committee of the American Society for Cell Biology. Rolls studies the cell biology behind signaling in neurons.
Lasse Jensen, an assistant professor of chemistry, has been selected by President Obama and the National Science Foundation to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers “for addressing fundamental questions relevant to optical spectroscopy of bio- and nano-systems and for exemplary teaching efforts and the dissemination of computational tools to the chemistry community.” Gong Chen, an assistant professor of chemistry, has been honored with a 2011 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation. The CAREER award is the most prestigious award given by the NSF in support of junior faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent teaching, and the integration of education and research. Chen
Penn State Eberly College of Science
conducts synthetic and biological studies of carbohydrates and peptides, two of the essential building blocks of living organisms. Scott Phillips, an assistant professor of chemistry and holder of the Martarano Career Development Professorship, has been honored with a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The CAREER award is the most prestigious award given by the NSF in support of junior faculty members who exemplify the role of teacherscholars through outstanding research, excellent teaching, and the integration of education and research. Phillips focuses his research on organic and environmental chemistry, the design and synthesis of molecules with unique functions, analytical and bioanalytical chemistry, and materials chemistry.
Science Journal June 2012
University/College Awards David L. Allara, a professor of chemistry and materials science, has been named Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. The honor, which recognizes exceptional teaching, research creativity, and service to the University community, is designated by the Office of the President of Penn State based on the recommendations of colleagues and the Dean. Wen Ching (Winnie) Li, a professor of mathematics, has been named Distinguished Professor of Mathematics. The honor, which recognizes exceptional teaching, research, creativity, and service to the University community, is awarded by the Office of the President of Penn State based on the recommendations of colleagues and the Dean.
Lawrence W. Ramsey, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics and a former head of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, has been honored at the University with the title of Eberly College of Science Distinguished Senior Scholar. The honor is given in recognition of a sustained record of extraordinary achievement in research and education. Andrew F. Read, a professor of biology and entomology, has been named the Alumni Professor in the Biological Sciences. Read is best known for his research on how natural selection shapes the virulence of malaria and how the “unnatural� selection imposed by medicine shapes the evolution of disease-causing organisms.
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Faculty Spotlight Miscellaneous Awards and Honors George Andrews, Evan Pugh Professor of Mathematics, has been has been awarded an honorary professorship at Nankai University in China. Andrews receives this honor in recognition of his many important contributions to research fields including number theory and combinatorics. Paul Frank Baum, Evan Pugh Professor of Mathematics, has received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from the Board of Regents at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Baum has been given this award “in recognition of his powerful, elegant, and lasting contributions to the field of mathematics.”
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Squire J. Booker, an associate professor of chemistry and an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been honored with an Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award. The award is given by the American Chemical Society “to recognize and encourage excellence in organic chemistry.” Ronald L. Gilliland, an adjunct professor of astronomy and astrophysics, has been honored with the Beatrice M. Tinsley Award from the American Astronomical Society. The Tinsley Prize recognizes outstanding, exceptionally creative, and innovative research contributions to the fields of astronomy and astrophysics. Lasse Jensen, an assistant professor of chemistry, has been selected to receive an
American Chemical Society (ACS) Hewlett-Packard Outstanding Junior Faculty Award for 2012. Jensen’s research focuses on developing new theoretical and computational tools for addressing important questions relevant to the optical spectroscopy of biological and nanoscale systems. Dennis Lin, Distinguished Professor of Statistics, has been awarded the 2011 Don Owen Award from the American Statistical Association’s San Antonio chapter. Lin is recognized for his groundbreaking work in designing statistical experiments called supersaturated designs. Tracy Langkilde, an assistant professor of biology, has been awarded a 2011 Mercer Award from the Ecological Society of America for her outstanding accomplishments in ecological research. Langkilde’s work incorporates aspects of population, community, behavioral, and evolutionary ecology.
Penn State Eberly College of Science
Jia Li, an associate professor of statistics, and James Z. Wang, a professor of information sciences and technology, have been awarded the United States patent titled “Real-Time Computerized Annotation of Pictures.” Li and Wang developed a unique computer system called Automatic Linguistic Indexing of Pictures in Real-Time that can suggest, in real time, several words describing the content of any general-purpose photograph using the pixel information alone. James Rosenberger, a professor of statistics, has been honored with a Distinguished Service Award from the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS). The NISS Distinguished Service Awards were established by in 2005 to recognize individuals who have given extraordinary service that significantly advances NISS and its mission.
Science Journal June 2012
Sharon HammesSchiffer, a professor of chemistry and the Eberly Professor of Biotechnology, has been awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health “Method to Extend Research in Time” (MERIT) award, a 10-year research grant to support her work. Hammes-Schiffer is an acknowledged world leader in biophysics whose research spans the fields of chemistry, physics, biology, and computer science.
Raymond Schaak, a professor of chemistry, has been selected by the American Chemical Society to receive the National Fresenius Award. The award, which was established in 1965, is presented annually to an outstanding young scientist who has attained national recognition in the areas of research, teaching, and/or administration.
Nicholas Winograd, an Evan Pugh Lawrence W. Professor of Ramsey, a proChemistry, has fessor of been honored astronomy and with an Ameriastrophysics can Chemical Society Award in who has served Analytical Chemistry sponsored by the Batelle Memorial as head of the Department of Astronomy and Institute. The award recognizes Astrophysics, has been appoint- Winograd for his four decades ed as chairman of the board of of creative research in surface directors of the Gemini Obser- analysis and mass spectromvatory. The Gemini Observaetry, for his mentoring of nearly tory, which is operated by a 80 Ph.D. students and 35 partnership of seven countries, postdoctoral associates, and for consists of twin 8.1-meter his extensive service to the chemistry community. diameter optical/infrared telescopes located on two of the best observing sites on the planet – the mountains in Hawaii and Chile.
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Faculty Spotlight New Faculty
Lu Bai combines biophysical, Charles biochemical, Anderson is and genetic a biologist tools to study whose research gene expresfocuses on plant-cell walls sion – the process by which information from a gene is – complex used in the synthesis of structures that play a central proteins and other gene role in plant development by providing a strong yet dynamic products – at single-cell level. matrix that supports the plant. In particular, she is interested Through his investigation into in how gene expression is affected by the position of plant-cell wall dynamics in nucleosomes. species such as Arabidopsis Before joining the faculty at thaliana. Anderson aims to Penn State, Bai was a postidentify and characterize the doctoral researcher at Rockgenes that are involved in efeller University. She earned cell-wall expansion and to observe and measure dynamic doctoral and master’s degrees at Cornell University in 2007 changes in cell-wall structure and 2004, respectively, and a and composition. He plans to bachelor’s degree at Nanjing apply his findings toward University in China in 1999. enhancing the economic and environmental advantages of Le Bao’s plants as sustainable sources of research food, materials, and bioenergy. interests Before joining the Departinclude ment of Biology at Penn State, Bayesian Anderson was a postdocprobability toral researcher in the Energy methods, Biosciences Institute at the mixture models, stochastic University of California at modeling, networks, and Berkeley. Anderson received a computational methods – ardoctoral degree from Stanford University in 2008. He earned eas of statistics that have applications in health, envia bachelor’s degree at the ronmental, and social sciences. University of North Carolina Bao has worked with other at Chapel Hill in 2002. researchers to develop a 34
statistical framework for assessing models of the spread of diseases. Before joining the faculty at Penn State, Bao was a researcher in the Department of Statistics at the University of Washington in Seattle. He earned a doctoral degree at the University of Washington in 2011 and a master’s degree at Dalhousie University in Canada in 2005. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Peking University in China in 2004. Eric Hudson is a physicist whose research involves investigating complex materials at the atomic scale using a scanning tunneling microscope. Hudson seeks to understand how novel material properties develop at the atomic scale and, in particular, how small amounts of disorder, such as the disorder caused by misplaced atoms, can modify or even improve those properties. Hudson was a professor at MIT from 2002 to 2010 and spent a year as a visiting scholar at Harvard University before joining the Penn State faculty in 2011. He received a doctoral degree in 1999 from the University of Penn State Eberly College of Science
California at Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in physics and linguistics in 1992 from the University of Chicago. David Hughes investigates how parasites have evolved to manipulate hosts by affecting the hosts’ behavior, motor coordination, and other physiological functions – a phenomenon known as the “zombie” effect. Hughes’ other research interests include social-insect evolution, virulence evolution, human behavior related to disease dynamics, and integrated pest management. Hughes received a doctoral degree in entomology from the University of Oxford in 2003, and a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Glasgow in 1999. Qunhua Li develops statistical methods for uncovering complicated patterns in large and complex datasets. Specifically, she has developed latent-variable models and
Science Journal June 2012
machine learning techniques to identify and infer scientifically meaningful structures from high-throughput genomic and proteomic data. Before joining Penn State’s Eberly College of Science, Li held a position as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California at Berkeley’s Department of Statistics. Li received a doctoral degree in statistics from the University of Washington in Seattle in 2008. Chao-Xing Liu’s research focuses on spintronics in condensedmatter physics – the study of how to generate, manipulate, transport, and detect electron spin in solid-state devices. Liu is particularly interested in the novel phenomena induced by strong spin-orbit coupling – the interaction of a particle’s spin with its motion. Before joining Penn State’s Eberly College of Science, Liu was a postdoctoral researcher with the Humboldt fellowship at the University of Wuerzburg in Germany. He also has served as a visiting researcher at both Stanford University and Hong Kong University in China.
Liu received a doctoral degree in physics and a bachelor’s degree in fundamental science from Tsinghua University in China in 2009 and 2003, respectively. Joel Miller is an applied mathematician with experience both in asymptotic theory and network problems. His research focuses on problems related to infectious disease dynamics; specifically, the impact of social structure on the growth, probability, and final size of epidemics. Before joining Penn State’s Eberly College of Science, Miller held postdoctoral research positions at the Harvard School of Public Health, the University of British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Miller received a Ph.D. degree in applied mathematics from the University of Cambridge in 2006, a Certificate of Advanced Study in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge in 2001, and a B.S. in mathematics from Harvey Mudd College in 2000.
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Faculty Spotlight Sonja Petrovic focuses her research on algebraic statistics, a field that uses algebraic geometry to gain new insights into key statistical models. One of the problems Petrovic studies is the algebraic approach to the “goodness-of-fit problem,” which asks whether a particular statistical model should be considered appropriate in a given situation. Before joining the faculty at Penn State, Petrovic was a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She was also a visiting scholar at the MittagLeffler Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and a research fellow at the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute in North Carolina. She earned doctoral and master’s degrees in mathematics at the University of Kentucky in 2008 and 2005, respectively, and a bachelor’s degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2003.
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Marylyn Ritchie’s research focuses on identifying and analyzing genes that may increase susceptibility to common diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. To determine how such genes might influence disease susceptibility, Ritchie uses a variety of approaches that span the fields of biology, genetics, and statistics. Before joining Penn State’s Eberly College of Science, Ritchie was an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Physiology and the Department of Biophysics and Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University. While at Vanderbilt, she also served as an investigator in the Center for Human Genetics Research. In addition, she has served as a consultant for Boehringer-Ingelheim, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. Ritchie received a doctoral degree in statistical genetics and a master’s degree in applied statistics from Vanderbilt
University in 2004 and 2002, respectively. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1999. Sarah Shandera develops theories of the early universe. Her research currently focuses on predictions for the distribution of matter in the universe billions of years ago. She develops ways to test this theoretical picture using present-day observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation – and observations of large structures such as galaxies and galaxy clusters. Before joining the faculty at Penn State, Shandera was a postdoctoral researcher at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada. She earned a doctoral degree at Cornell University in 2006 and a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, at the University of Arizona in 2001.
Penn State Eberly College of Science
Student Spotlight Graduate Student Awards Alumni Association Dissertation Award Tyler L. Grove, Chemistry Zhenfeng Liu, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Molecular Biology Ashley M. DaSilva, Physics Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award Serge C. Ballif, Mathematics Rustum and Della Roy Award Jacob S. Beveridge, Chemistry Qingzhen Hao, Physics
Science Journal June 2012
Undergraduate Awards 2012 Evan Pugh Scholar Awards Juniors Rachel Chang, Biology William Doerfler, Biology Megan Fisher, Microbiology Janessa Gerhart, Science Andrew Hanlon, Chemisty Christopher McNulty, Premedicine Brian Miller, Mathematics Sijia Shen, Mathematics Viktor Tollemar, Premedicine Seniors Ryan Bober, Biology Benjamin Chambers, Microbiology Chyue Chew, Biotechnology Kyle Delaney, Mathematics Safa Fassihi, Biology Nicholas Hess, Biology Zachary Hostetler, BMB Wei Khaw, Biotechnology Su Khoo, Biotechnology Kenneth Kufta, Chemistry Kelly Lipp, Biology
Muammar Mansor, Biotechnology Basant Nassar, Biology Morgan Peny, Premedical Medical Miguel Pindea, Biology Chetan Safi, BMB Elizabeth Seibel, Chemistry John Urschel, Mathematics Beng Yeoh, Biotechnology Kian Yeoh, Biotechnology 2012 President Sparks Award Nicholas Anzalone, Science Ryan Chesakis, Science Jessica Cunning, Science BS/MBA Charles Defrancesco, Biology Ying Feng, Science Sara Hann, Science Audra Kelly, Science Laura Krecko, Biology Diane Libert, BMB Jeffrey Oliver, Premedical Medical Martin Rauch, Science Kristen Romutis, Science Andrew Soldner, Science Amy Weidert, Mathematics Andrew Wolff, Science
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Student Spotlight 2012 President’s Freshman Award William Aiken, Science Olabisi Akinmorin, Science Adeline Answine, Premedical-Medical Bridget Backer, Science Anjali Badami, PremedicalMedical Dylan Bartell, Science Madalyn Bond, Science Mikayla Borusiewicz, Science Lindsay Braska, Science Eric Bull, Science Sara Cobern, Science Victor Cotton, Science BS/ MBA Chang Cui, Science Matthew Dawson, Science Nikita Desai, PremedicalMedical Boya Du, Science Lana Foor, Science Jena Forsythe, Science Bo Fu, Science Geoffrey Gao, Science
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Sonia Gaur, PremedicalMedical Ryan Henrici, Science Kate Hentschel, PremedicalMedical Derek Ho, PremedicalMedical Peter Hohman, Science Shiheng Jiang, Science Akshay Kamath, Premedical-Medical Sreeramya Kanumilli, Premedical-Medical Shannon Kelly, Science Julie Kim, Science Daiyon Kpou, Science Bin Lan, Science Sarah Landis, Science Matthew Lee, Science BS/ MBA Nadia Lehtihet, Science Benjamin Lengerich, Science Sanchi Malhotra, Premedical-Medical Christopher Marra, Science J Sean McCrea, Science Kelly McGill, Science Adam Mobley, Science
Meredith Monsour, Science Laila Muallem, PremedicalMedical Neha Pancholy, PremedicalMedical Elisabeth Paulson, Mathematics Jessica Placke, Science Joshua Reynolds, Science Marisa Rugino, Science Dylan Seebold, Science Carolyn Sheep, Science BS/MBA Caleb Shervinskie, Science Zachary Snyder, Science Marissa Stavropoulos, Science BS/MBA Alexandar Thames, Science Lauren Topash, Science Alibek Utyubayev, Science Danelle Weakland, Science Han Wen, Science Brendan Wood, Science Hanqiu Xia, Science Zhenxi Yin, Science Nikolette Zamarra, Science Samantha Zebley, Science Jingwen Zhang, Science Xingyu Zhang, Science
Penn State Eberly College of Science
Hostetler and Stella Represent Penn State’s Eberly College of Science as Student Marshals at Spring Commencement 2012 Zachary Hostetler of Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania, and Jennifer Stella of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, were honored as the student marshals for the Eberly College of Science during Penn State’s spring commencement ceremonies on May 5, 2012 at the University Park campus. Hostetler’s faculty escort was Song Tan, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Stella’s faculty escort was Loida Escote Carlson, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Science Journal June 2012
Zachary Hostetler Zachary Hostetler, who graduated from Penn State with a 4.0 grade-point average and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology, also was enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College and was on the Dean’s List every semester while at Penn State. Hostetler’s awards and scholarships include a Schreyer Academic Excellence Scholarship, two Eberly College of Science academic scholarships – the Tershak Scholarship and the Vinezie Scholarship, a President’s Freshman Award, a President Sparks Award, two Evan Pugh Scholar Awards, a University Undergraduate Research Funds award, and a Summer Discovery Grant. During his years at Penn State, Hostetler focused on laboratory research involving X-ray crystallography – a method used to model the atomic structure of proteins. In particular, he and his faculty escort Song Tan, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, have been working on a research project dealing with improving protein crystallization, which is often one of the most difficult steps in X-ray crystallography. While certain proteins naturally form
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Student Spotlight large, ordered crystals, some proteins resist crystallization attempts. Hostetler’s approach involves fusing a “protein of interest” with a protein that is known to crystallize well so that this fusion protein will form crystals. In addition to his scientific pursuits, Hostetler served on the executive board of the Schreyer Honors College Student Council for several years. He also represented the Schreyer Honors College Student Council and a Four Diamonds Family by dancing in Penn State’s IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) – an independent student-organized event that raises money to fight pediatric cancer. In addition, Hostetler was a volunteer as a Donor and Alumni Relations (DAR) captain for THON. As a DAR captain, his responsibilities included approaching companies for monetary donations, acting as a liaison to Penn State clubs and organizations to help them with fundraising efforts, and establishing a system to track and analyze donation patterns. Hostetler also volunteered for ATLAS, which is an organization devoted to raising money for THON and the Four Diamonds Fund. Hostetler plans to attend a combined M.D./ Ph.D. program at either the University of Pennsylvania or Weill-Cornell Medical College in New York City. “I hope that attending a combined medical and graduate-degree program will allow me to combine my interests in human medicine and scientific research,” Hostetler said. “Ultimately, I envision myself in academic medicine: conducting research, treating patients, and eventually teaching and training new physicians.” Hostetler also said he is truly honored to represent his Eberly College of Science colleagues at graduation. “This past year truly challenged
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the Penn State community.” Hostetler said. “However, I believe it also was an opportunity for a troubled community to come together. Candlelight vigils and a record-breaking THON weekend marked the best of what Penn State has to offer. These memories, the ones that challenged us as a school and a community, will forever be a part of my Penn State experience.” Hostetler, who attended Garnet Valley High School, was accompanied at graduation by his parents Robert and Lisa Hostetler, his sisters Lauren and Jenna Hostetler, and his grandfather John Hostetler. Jennifer Stella Jennifer Stella graduated from Penn State with a 4.0 grade-point average and a bachelor’s degree in biology with a genetics and developmental biology option, and a master of biotechnology degree. She was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society and she was on the Dean’s List every semester while at Penn State. Stella’s awards and scholarships include a Mary A. Stiles Scholarship in Biological Sciences, a Patil-Taillie Scholarship for work in environmental statistics, an Evan Pugh Scholar Award for being in the top 0.5 percent of her graduating class, a President Sparks Award, a President’s Freshman Award, and a C. Melville, Jr. and Kenneth Barr Scholarship. During the summer after her freshman year, Stella worked with Katriona Shea in the Department of Biology where she conducted research
Penn State Eberly College of Science
on the ecology and the control of invasive species. She analyzed the dispersal methods and pollination of two species of thistles and investigated the impact of biological control agents. After her sophomore year and continuing until the end of her senior year, Stella worked with Joan Richtsmeier in the Department of Anthropology, where she focused on diseases of the human skull, mainly craniosynostosis. She used computed tomography (CT) scans to locate certain landmarks on the skulls in order to analyze skull shape and to compare the effects of different diseases. This research led to Stella’s Schreyer College honors thesis, which explored asymmetric skull diseases and how symmetry and asymmetry develop in the body. During her senior year, Stella completed a cooperative-research program in GlaxoSmithKline’s Antibacterial Research Unit. At GlaxoSmithKline, Stella worked to identify potential antibacterial drugs using molecular-biology techniques. During this time, she also completed a research project on a naturally occurring compound that could be used to develop a new antibiotic. Stella worked as a graduate student with Blair Hedges in the Department of Biology, where she researched the biodiversity of different species in order to promote conservation efforts. In Hedges’s lab, Stella used microbiology techniques to determine the gene sequences of various lizard species to analyze their biodiversity in different areas of the world. Stella served as the secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa Lambda student organization, and as a volunteer at Biotech 2010’s Innovation Corridor – a symposium in which scientists outlined innovative research taking place at universities and at early-stage companies. She was a teaching assistant for Penn State’s Organic
Science Journal June 2012
Chemistry Instrument Room and a volunteer at Mount Nittany Medical Center. In addition, she travelled to Ecuador with the Hershey Medical Center Cardiac Group to assist doctors in heart surgery on children. After completing her master’s degree, Stella hopes to work as a researcher at a biotechnology company or a pharmaceutical company for a few years, after which time she will pursue another advanced degree. Stella said that the Penn State faculty has shown her how important it is to be passionate about one’s career and to share that passion with other people. “The head of my master’s degree program and my faculty escort, Assistant Professor Loida Escote-Carlson, also showed me how important it is to think critically and to communicate well. I also have learned never to take anything for granted, and to make the most of my education and my future.” Stella, who attended State College Area High School, was accompanied at graduation by her parents, Rocco and Elaine Stella; her brother Michael Stella, who currently is pursuing a degree at Penn State; and her fiancé Michael DiRaimo Jr., who graduated as a student marshal from Penn State in 2011.
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Student Spotlight
Undergraduate Scientists John Urschel: Standout Player, Academic Achiever When you think of a mathematician, the stereotype usually suggests a nerdy bookworm who spends more time doing mathematical equations and succeeding academically than participating in extracurricular activities. A mathematics major, especially a 4.0 GPA student, doesn’t usually bring to mind a 6’3”, 292-pound Penn State football player. John Urschel, a 20-year-old mathematics major, statistics minor, and guard on the offensive line, graduated from Penn State in May 2012, excelling both on and off the field. Academically, he earned a 4.00 cumulative grade point average and received the Evan Johnson Memorial Scholarship in Mathematics; athletically, he was named an Academic All-Big Ten in both 2010 and 2011, and named to the Capital One Academic All-District Football Team in 2011. That’s fairly impressive, considering the challenge of being a mathematics major and the time commitment required to participate in the rigorous Penn State football program. John, the son of John Urschel and Venita Parker, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He attended high school in Buffalo, New York, and attended Canisius High School, a Jesuit college preparatory school before coming to Penn State. John recalls being interested in math for as long as he can remember. “I was always natu-
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rally good at math, even from a young age. However, I never thought that I could make a career out of it. All through high school, my teachers and mother pushed me towards engineering, believing it to be the best career for someone talented in mathematics and physics.” However, after starting out in the College of Engineering as a freshman at Penn State, John finished all of his required math classes in one semester but realized they were not enough to satisfy his desire to further his math education. “Once I began taking engineering coursework, I found myself asking why a lot. I wanted to understand why things are a certain way, not just use what other people have created. It was then that I decided to switch into mathematics. My favorite thing about math is seeing why things are a certain way. It is this rigorous structure that made me choose mathematics as my major.” Although John knew math was his calling early on, he didn’t start playing football until high school. His talents on the field, as well as in
Penn State Eberly College of Science
the classroom, lead him to be recruited by Penn State during his senior year in high school; he committed to the University after just one visit to campus. John recalls that Joe Paterno had a tremendous influence on both his academic and extracurricular successes. “Joe Paterno was truly a great man and a molder of young men. When I was being recruited my senior year, many schools passed me up because of my lack of size. Joe believed in me and thought I was the type of kid Penn State wanted: a young man who succeeds both academically and athletically. The whole time I was here Coach Paterno constantly encouraged me to excel academically.”
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But Paterno was not the only positive influence on John during his three years at Penn State. “My position coach, Dick Anderson, was a great influence on me in general. He taught me a lot of things about life. On the academic side of things, Professor Vadim Kaloshin gave me a great deal of support and direction mathematically. He certainly helped me get where I am today.” Kaloshin encouraged John to participate in research during his sophomore year. “Kaloshin took me under his wing and got me started doing research in celestial mechanics. I was struck by the steep learning curve. It is an experience that I would recommend to any undergraduate that has hopes of doing graduate work. The research took about a year, and then we did a paper on the topic, which we completed in December 2011.” John also participated in another research project during his last semester at Penn State on graph partitioning and multigrid under the guidance of Jinchao Xu, the Francis R. and Helen M. Pentz Professor of Science and Postdoc Xiaozhe Hu. Despite his already considerable time commitment to academics and research, John added his football-training schedule on top of that. A typical day for John during football season included waking up at 6:00 a.m., going to lift, and then having breakfast. Afterwards, he went to classes all day. Then, after classes, he went back to the football building for meetings, watching film, and practice. After practice, he iced, stretched, and showered, then had dinner at the football-training table. After that full day, he finally had time to do homework and study for the rest of the night. During the off-season, the football-training program was slightly less demanding, permitting more time for academics and research.
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Student Spotlight John credits his academic and extracurricular accomplishments to time management skills and being in the correct major for his abilities. “I found out early on that the key to success is good time management. I’ve been blessed with strong quantitative skills, and chose a major that I was well suited for. When you love the major you’re in, and are good at it, succeeding academically comes easy.” For students who may be considering extracurricular activities but worried about risking their academic success, Urschel encourages them to take the risk. “I would tell them to do it if given the chance. Extracurricular activi-
ties certainly take up a lot of time, but you just have to allot your time accordingly. You have to cut back on your relaxing time, social time, and things of the sort, but in the end it’s extremely worthwhile.” Despite having a jam-packed schedule, John still enjoys a few hobbies in his downtime, including chess and playing jazz and blues on the guitar. He plans to continue his studies in mathematics by enrolling and beginning graduate school in the future. Best of luck in graduate school and for a future filled with continued successes, John!
Jason Ferderber: Gaining Real World Experience – Working at Walter Reed Army Medical Center I began my
field, so I applied for and received a
undergraduate
co-op placement at the Walter Reed
studies at Penn
Army Medical Center, in Silver Spring,
State in the fall of
Maryland, where I would be exposed
2009 studying
to real-life medical research.
biochemistry and molecular biology. I applied myself to the class work, making an effort to gain as much knowledge as I could. As I am pursuing a career in medicine, it is important to gain some practical experience in the
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Over my seven months there, I encountered a few topics that I remembered from my classes, but the majority of what I learned was new. The information I learned from this experience was evident when I returned to the classroom this spring. My experience has helped me contextualize much of what I am learning in my current courses.
Penn State Eberly College of Science
David Ross: Classes in Capetown – Study Abroad in South Africa Going abroad was something I One of the most valuable lessons I learned while working at Walter Reed was problemsolving skills. I now apply these skills to situations everyday. I look at problems and solutions from different points of view to see other possibilities and to determine the best solution rather than thinking a problem has just one way of being solved. Medicine is a complex discipline and much of what has been learned is a result of research. Participating in a co-op gave me a greater appreciation for the knowledge that I acquired in the classroom because I have seen its practical application of this learning in the real world. Many students do not see the importance of what is being taught to them until they have the opportunity to apply it. My time at Walter Reed convinced me of the importance of the learning through experience, and as such, I am participating in another coop this summer at a regenerative medical institute. My time at Walter Reed also helped to confirm my passion for pursuing a medical career. I saw people in real life suffering from diseases and the potential causes of their sicknesses. This is something I had not experienced growing up in a small town, and I am grateful for the real-world experience that I received during my internship at Walter Reed. Jason Ferderber is a junior majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. He plans to graduate from Penn State in May 2013.
Science Journal June 2012
decided that I wanted to do as soon as I started my sophomore year. I knew that as a biology major, it would be difficult to find somewhere that could fulfill some of my science credit requirements. After speaking to several advisors, I realized that I would have to go to a primarily English-speaking country where I could take at least one science class in order to graduate on time. Reading down the list of program options, the South Africa: Arts and Sciences program at the University of Cape Town immediately jumped off the page. My decision to study abroad there turned out to be one of the most amazing, eye-opening experiences of my life. As soon as the plane touched down in Cape Town, I knew that five months would not be long enough for me; going to Africa had been a dream of mine ever since I was young. Becoming a doctor was and still is, my ultimate goal.
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Student Spotlight Joining Doctors without Borders is also a dream of mine, so I wanted to do something that could give me some experience with different people and bring me out of my comfort zone in an entirely new setting. Studying at the University of Cape Town was a great experience and opportunity. The university is one of the best in all of southern Africa, and happens to be the location of the first heart transplant ever performed. I was able to take an advanced genetics course that transferred to biology credits; a local language course, Afrikaans; and an anthropology class on South African cultural history. The genetics course was difficult, with essay-based exams, five-daya-week classes and a lab, and a rigorous grading scale, but it gave me a unique perspective on courses in other countries. My program also set us up with several volunteer opportunities. I decided to tutor highschool kids in math and science at a school set up specifically for children living in townships. Townships are extremely poor and sprawling communities, some without running water or electricity. We were told explicitly that venturing into them without a guide could be very dangerous. These kids, however, loved having us there, loved learning, and were some of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met. The chance to graduate high school and go to college was a gift to them – an opportunity that had rarely presented itself in township life before. Never again would I feel sorry for myself for having to sit through an early-morning lecture or study for a tough exam; everything I took for granted before, I now perceive in an entirely new light. Studying in South Africa gave me a new and interesting perspective on life and my studies at Penn State and only increased my passion for becoming a doctor. Going to the beautiful
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beaches, petting cheetahs, walking with lions, being chased by elephants on safari, and bungee-jumping made the trip a fun, exciting adventure. Tutoring impoverished teenagers, visiting orphaned babies at a children’s tuberculosis hospital, and having countless interactions with new people from different cultures is what made the experience real, and one that I will never forget. David Ross graduated from Penn State in May 2012 with a degree in Biology. He plans to continue his education.
Penn State Eberly College of Science
Pride&Leadership Focus on Student Groups
Science LionPride is an organization for undergraduate students to represent the Eberly College of Science. Its members are an enthusiastic group who are in many of the science majors and who are passionate about the mission of Science LionPride.
Science Journal June 2012
Only five years ago, the Eberly College of Science Alumni Board set into motion the idea of a club that would help recruit prospective students to the college. Now, Science LionPride is well-established and is frequently called on for University and community events that fulfill its mission, a mission which has grown to encompass three main pillars: recruitment, alumni relations, and service. Science LionPride provides insight to prospective students about what it means to be a Penn State undergraduate and science major, connects and involves the current Penn State community with its vast alumni association, and promotes philanthropic activities. Members give per-
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Student Spotlight sonalized tours around the science buildings to prospective students all year. The spring is especially busy with Accepted Student Days, where members contribute to the college presentation, answer questions on parent and student panels, and host students for an afternoon in order to share their experiences as invaluable resources in small, informal groups. Members also interact with science alumni at dinners hosted at Penn State and when the college’s alumni board visits campus for their meetings. Members are able to network and receive tips from alumni on how to achieve success in various careers. Finally, through service events, club members grow closer while bringing science and support to the community. The group plans experiments for community children and teens at events like Bellefonte Family Science Night and Exploration Day. Members also participate in THON and Relay for Life throughout the year and support their Four Diamonds Family.
Its members frequently describe Science LionPride as more than an organization – the students are a science family. In order to develop a feeling of family, the public relations chair works to have everyone get to know each other; he or she plans a day of leadership building at Shaver’s Creek, where members further their own leadership and learn how to work as a group to achieve goals both that day and in the future. Science LionPride has an amazing support system through its advisers in the advising office and the alumni office of the college, and the organization utilizes its contacts throughout the college to fulfill its mission and provide the best opportunities to its members. The organization may have started out small, but it has a bright future within the college and within the university as it welcomes new Penn Staters, fosters the development of current students, and provides connections to alumni.
The Eberly College of Science Student Council is the leadership organization of the College of Science. The student council strives to unite the seemingly unrelated sciences under one banner to promote scientific activities and literacy, and to improve the quality of student life in Eberly. Over the past year, the student council was involved in fundraising, outreach events, and internal affairs. Chiefly among their accomplishments, they have raised over $2,000 for THON, hosted a science involvement fair, and became
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involved with the quality of education and student retention within the college. In order to raise money for THON, the council’s fundraising included not just THONvelopes but also a late-night bake sale featuring science-
Penn State Eberly College of Science
themed cookies. The efforts of the THON chair, Ramya Vishnubhotla, worked wonders as the council more than doubled the previous year’s THON total. In January, the council initiated and hosted the Spring Science Involvement Fair in the HUB Alumni Hall the day following the usual Involvement Fair. This event marked another milestone for the council – it hosted over 25 science organizations in the Eberly College of Science, Agricultural Sciences, and Health and Human Development. The group intends to become deeply involved in making policy changes in the college to better suit their peers’ needs. In the spring semester, the student council formed a committee led by Ben Heidorn to investigate what students would like to see from their teachers and their college. Working with the College retention committee, the student council discussed improvements and successes with faculty and students alike. Now they are working to find ways to implement solutions that best suit the college and the student body.
Science Journal June 2012
Other events that the student council hosted includes a Science Major Panel. This panel featured a group of students from every department in science to discuss their experiences in the College, give advice and answer questions from first-year and secondyear students. The council also hosted a talk from Ann Marie Daniel focusing on the Graduate School admissions process, another talk from a former Penn State Biotechnology major about working at GlaxoSmithKline, and a lecture from James Kasting, a Penn State geoscientist who coined the term “habitable zone” for Earth-like planets. The student council also maintained active participation with the University Park Undergrad Association through their representative, Chris Ferri, which allowed the council to reach out to the rest of the college and best discuss ideas with other students. The council works hard to improve student life, student-faculty communication, and interdepartmental communication among students. They are an organization that works for the students, is run by the students, and speaks out when the students want to be heard. The 2012-2013 council is following in the footsteps of this year’s council with bigger ideas and stronger connections. Exciting times are ahead for the Eberly College of Science, and the student council is proud to lead the way.
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Outreach
Science Engagement for All – Penn State Faculty and Students Have Positive Impact on Kids
The Eberly College of Science plays host to thousands of K-12 students year-round at over 50 not-for-profit hands-on science events such as summer camps, school visits to University Park, special programs, and many one-day events, including Exploration Day, DNA Day, Arts Fest Children’s Day, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Career Day, Halloween Science BOOt Camp, and more. The mission of the science outreach office is to build and establish meaningful relationships between Penn State faculty/students and K-12 students/educators, including interactions with other community groups, far and wide. The programs and events are typically faculty-supported extensions of current academic curricula or ongoing research investigations at the University. The faculty and students at Penn State work together to write and deliver STEM content in meaningful ways to younger, non-academic audiences. “Faculty members enjoy creating successful learning environments centered on what they know,” says Michael Zeman, director of
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science outreach and director of the Science-U Camp program. “Faculty invested in producing such experiences have the option to use the resources available to them in the outreach office to help write and run their program ideas. Among those resources are the relationships forged with K-12 schools.” The outreach office occasionally teams up with experts in the College of Education, as well as professional educators, to design and deliver these programs. Penn State students in science, science education, and elementary education (often pre-service teachers) take advantage of the attractive service-learning and public scholarship opportunities that train them to teach in a collaborative setting. Engagement in science outreach then becomes professional development for Penn State students, increasing their skills in leadership, teaching, lab work, and
Penn State Eberly College of Science
even self-awareness issues, like study habits. The student staff/volunteers at these programs, typically referred to as curriculum mentors, understand the reason the college supports the dynamic presentation of harder concepts in math and science to secondary kids. “I felt that I was able to generate a sense of curiosity and excitement about science in the kids,” says Melissa Pastore, a senior majoring in Biology. “They were able to have fun and learn science at the same time. Truly internalizing science concepts often requires both hands-on and minds-on experiences, which Science-U provides. Looking beyond the academic scope, I felt I was able to show the kids the value in trying something new and challenging.” When asked about why it is important to have the opportunity to work alongside faculty in outreach, Pastore replied, “Science outreach is incredibly valuable for students and faculty. Scientists publish research and many other sci-
Science Journal June 2012
entists read this research, along with some students and other members of society. However, a lot of society’s “scientific” information is sold to people through TV, newspapers, and magazines rather than peer-reviewed journals, leading to confusion over many topics and an overall delay in communication between scientists and the world. Communicating to the public in an effective manner should become a bigger part of education for budding scientists.” Sam Smeal, a senior in Elementary Education, and a 4-year veteran curriculum mentor with Science-U adds, “Science should be presented in a meaningful and relevant way to kids. I was able to show children that I was interested in them as people while also getting them excited to learn. I was able to give emotional support when things did not end up as they would have liked [scientifically] and give academic support with learning-specific science concepts and figuring out how to approach a problem. The children did not even realize that they were learning because they were having so much fun.” According to Zemen, “It’s not about how we teach students, it’s about how students learn. ” “Once the curriculum mentors involved in the college outreach events realize that learning occurs from the perspective of the student, the paradigm shift in their approach to teaching is evident,” says Zeman. The science programs offered by the college are written, in part, to make science fun and engaging for everyone, including children and adults. How do you do that? For starters, make sure that you are investigating things kids are motivated to learn about. Even the title of a program can help, like “Dr. Winkel’s Wonder Workshop: The Science of Toys.” Steve Van Hook, professor of physics and writer/director of “Dr. Winkel’s Wonder Work-
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Outreach shop: The Science of Toys,” added his support to the strength of informal science programs that value undergraduate development and meaningful delivery. “I think the biggest impact of my camps has been motivational – conveying the attitude that science can be fun and exciting, and that they can see science everywhere in the world around them.” “For college students, outreach gives them an opportunity to share their passion about science with a child, and that experience may be as motivating for continuing in science as any laboratory experience. In addition, the college students probably learn more about the topics in the camp or outreach experience because they have to dig deep in themselves to explain a topic that they think they understand, but for which they have to create an explanation in their own words at the level of the children since they cannot give the college textbook explanation.” Carl Sillman, professor of biochemistry and microbiology, and writer/director of the ScienceU Crime Science Investigation camps, adds, “I personally find it fun and refreshing to work with students to deliver the camp curricula to the campers. It is really an extension of what I do when teaching undergraduate laboratory courses to Penn State students. In addition, I think it
52
is important for the undergraduate students to use their science by communicating their love of it and teaching it to the campers. This will help them be better communicators of their science as professionals in their future careers.” The faculty/student collaborations create a series of important by-products, too. There is often increased participation by Penn State students at future STEM events after attending or working a science outreach program. Likewise, there are multiple chances to informally recruit and retain future science students. Many of these events promote careers in the STEM disciplines and offer clarification for students regarding employment and educational goals. At the K-12 level, students report increased confidence in harder math and science concepts after attending STEM programs. Many programs have funding dedicated to recruiting diverse and underrepresented groups to participate in outreach events. As the college continues to develop and promote meaningful STEM education programs with faculty, students, and cross-college partnerships, the quest to engage and excite more young people, including women and ethnically diverse groups, continues. Penn State students are encouraged to work alongside faculty to deliver high quality science education and engage with the community. The goal is to continue creating the long-standing tradition of enthused and skilled scientists emerging from Penn State who will make a positive impact in the world. More information about the college outreach office can be found at science.psu.edu/outreach.
Penn State Eberly College of Science
Alumni News
$200,000 gift to Support Information Technology for Science, Liberal Arts Faculty
Penn State’s Eberly College of Science and the College of the Liberal Arts have announced an anonymous commitment from an alumnus. Valued at a total of $200,000, it will provide funds to support the information technology requirements of faculty in each college. The endowment, which will come from the donor’s estate, is intended to enhance greater teaching and research by dedicated faculty in fields ranging from physics and biology to humanities and social sciences. “This generous gift will enable the Eberly College to continue to foster research and discovery through enhanced information technology,”
Science Journal June 2012
said Daniel J. Larson, the Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College. “The endowment will assist faculty in the research and discovering of technological applications and breakthroughs that impact and benefit areas such as medicine, health care, physical sciences and the environment, in addition to interdisciplinary fields.” Susan Welch, dean in the College of the Liberal Arts, noted, “Information technology plays a key role in both social sciences and the humanities. This wonderful gift provides critical resources to enhance computational tools to improve learning and to support research that allows faculty to forge new ideas about the human condition.” The gift will help the Eberly College of Science, the College of the Liberal Arts, and the University to reach the goals of For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. This University-wide effort is directed toward a shared vision of Penn State as the most comprehensive, student-centered research university in America. The campaign is engaging alumni and friends as partners in achieving six key objectives: ensuring student access and opportunity, enhancing honors education, enriching the student experience, building faculty strength and capacity, fostering discovery and creativity, and sustaining the University’s tradition of quality. The campaign’s top priority is keeping a Penn State degree affordable for students and families. For the Future is the most ambitious effort of its kind in Penn State’s history, with the goal of securing $2 billion by 2014.
53
Scholarship for Excellence in Bio-Energy and Energy Sustainability Myriant Corporation of Quincy,
creating a new paradigm in
can compete directly against
Massachusetts has recently
specialty chemicals manufac-
petroleum-based chemicals.
pledged $250,000 to the Eberly
turing. Focused on the devel-
College of Science. Known as
opment and commercialization
Stephen Gatto joined the Dean’s
the “Myriant Corporation Schol-
of proprietary biocatalyst tech-
Advisory Board in the Eberly Col-
arship for Excellence in Bio-En-
nology for conversion of renew-
lege of Science and feels that
ergy and Energy Sustainability,”
able feedstock into high value
Penn State and its science cur-
the scholarship will be contrib-
bio based chemicals, Myriant is
riculum is uniquely positioned to
uted to the Eberly College over
a leader in the implementation
train future scientists and leaders
a period of five years at $50,000
of an integrated bio-refinery
in the field of bio-sustainability.
annually to provide recogni-
approach for production of
tion and financial assistance
chemicals. Led by a world-
nual scholarships, ranging from
to outstanding undergraduate
renowned team of molecular
$5,000 to $10,000, will be award-
students. Myriant has estab-
biologists, engineers, and
ed to students pursuing degrees
lished this scholarship with the
chemists, Myriant has created
in Bioengineering, Biochemistry
intent to encourage students to
unique, patented microorgan-
and Molecular Biology, Biotech-
pursue a career in bio-energy
isms and proprietary process
nology, Chemical Engineering,
and/or energy sustainability.
technologies for the manufac-
Chemistry, and Microbiology.
Myriant is a science and technology-driven company
Myriant’s Chairman and CEO
According to Dan Larson, an-
ture of a broad array of highvalue specialty chemicals that
Forensic Science Program Establishes Partnership with Life Technologies The Penn State Forensic Science program recently signed a corporate sponsorship agreement with Life Technologies to work on forensic DNA research projects for the company. Life Technologies Corporation is a global biotechnology company dedicated to improving the human condition. In exchange for the research, Life Technologies provided the program with instrumentation, software, and reagents valued at $350,000 that will be used in the research and as educational tools for students. 54
Mitchell Holland, director of the forensic science program and associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, said that the agreement has been in the works for a few years. “We met with Greg Lucier ’86, a Penn Penn State Eberly College of Science
State alum and Life Technologies CEO, about three years ago when he was on campus to give a commencement address. Since then, we have been in discussions on the best way to form our partnership to make the Penn State Forensic Science program the best in the country while utilizing Life Technologies’ state-of-the-art instruments and software.� The corporate agreement was finalized in late 2011, and so far, two research endeavors that focus on forensic DNA evidence have commenced at Penn State. The first project involves evaluating the Life Technologies PrepFiler BTA Kit, which is used for the extraction of DNA from samples containing a mixture of female cells, male sperm, and male non-sperm cells. The PrepFiler Kit uses uniquely structured magnetic particles with a multi-component surface chemistry to improve the quantity and quality of DNA isolated from forensic samples. This research could help the advancement of extraction of DNA from sexual assault samples, making it a more effective and efficient method compare to the methods currently used in forensic investigation. The second project also involves evaluating the PrepFiler BTA kit, but this time instead of using modern DNA specimens, researchers will be testing skeletal samples from Croatia that are hundreds, possibly thousands, of years old. In 2011, the Forensic Science program established a partnership program with the University of Split in Croatia and appointed an adjunct professor, Dragan Primorac, who provided Penn State with the skeletal samples and will assist with the research. Forensic science faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students are currently using the tools and supplies given by Life Technologies to complete both projects; the equipment
Science Journal June 2012
and materials will also be used to demonstrate forensic investigation techniques in undergraduate and graduate coursework. The instruments provided by Life Technologies include the 3130xl Genetic Analyzer, which is used for DNA fragment separation, and the AutoMate Express DNA Extraction System, which is a robotic DNA extraction system. The software includes GeneMapper ID-X, which is an expert system that allows for the analysis of DNA mixtures. The Forensic Science program also received various reagents, including Quantifiler Duo DNA Quantification Kits, which quantify total human DNA and total male DNA in an extract; Minifiler STR Kits, which are small STR multiplex kits for highly degraded DNA samples; PrepFiler BTA DNA Extraction Kits, which are used in extraction of DNA from sexual assault and skeletal samples; and POP4 Polymer for the 3130xl Genetic Analyzer, which is a liquid sieving matrix for separation of DNA fragments.
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Alumni News Holland says that the goal of the ongoing partnership between Life Technologies and Penn State is to “complete the research, publish the results, present the findings, and hopefully provide some valuable resources and information to the forensic science community.” He hopes that both the projects and the partnership will not only showcase the impressive work done by Penn State faculty and students, but also highlight the effectiveness of the innovative tools provided by Life Technologies. Life Technologies is one of the largest providers of systems, biological reagents, and services,
supplying scientists around the world in every way that life science technologies are applied. The company aims to improve the human condition by enabling basic research, accelerating drug discovery and development, and advancing scientific exploration in areas such as regenerative science, molecular diagnostics, agricultural and environmental research, and 21st century forensics. Gregory Lucier serves as Chief Executive Officer of Life Technologies and as Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors. He received his B.S. in Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Mary Ann Raymond Receives Distinguished Service Award Mary Ann
head, John Roe. They have all
by the college with the Leader-
Raymond, the
relied on her excellent organi-
ship Award in 2007.
administrative
zation, her calm efficiency, her
The Distinguished Service
support
mastery of detail, and her lead-
Award was established nearly
coordinator in
ership skills among a diverse
40 years ago, in 1973, by the Eb-
the Depart-
and energetic staff team. Roe
erly College of Science Alumni
ment of
described best why Raymond
Society. The award recognizes
Mathematics for the Eberly
meets the objectives of the
individuals within the college
College of Science, received
award when he stated, “she
community who have made
the 2011 Eberly College of
remains aware of the human
significant and outstanding
Science Alumni Society Distin-
dimension.”
leadership and service contribu-
guished Service Award.
tions over a sustained period of
first winner of the Eberly College
time. All members of the Eberly
port for six department heads,
of Science Staff Achievement
College of Science community
including current department
Award and was further honored
are eligible for the award.
Raymond has provided sup-
56
In 1999, she was chosen as the
Penn State Eberly College of Science
Heather Agnew Receives 2012 Alumni Achievement Award
Heather D. Agnew, a principal research investigator at Integrated Diagnostics, a biotechnology start-up company founded in 2009, was recently awarded the Alumni Achievement Award from the Penn State Alumni Association. The Alumni Achievement Award recognizes alumni 35 years of age and younger for their extraordinary professional accomplishments. These prominent young alumni are nominated by an academic college and invited by the President of the University to return to campus to share their expertise with students, faculty, and administrators. They demonstrate to students that Penn State alumni succeed in exceptional fashion
Science Journal June 2012
at an early age. The award is a cast bronze medallion and framed certificate. In her work, Agnew leads an aggressive program to develop protein-catalyzed capture agents (PCCs) that show promise for broad use in diagnostics and therapeutics. PCCs are selected for specific binding to biomarkers for detection of diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. In the fall of 2005, Agnew, in the very early stages of her doctoral work at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), naturally had not yet settled on a defined research project. Dr. James
Heath, her advisor, tasked her to develop a technique to create inexpensive, yet highly reliable and stable, biochemical compounds with the potential to replace antibodies used in many standard medical diagnostic tests. Agnew delivered. She received her Ph.D. in chemistry in 2010 from Caltech and was recognized with the $30,000 LemelsonMIT Caltech Student Prize in 2010 for her primary role in the development of this new and innovative method. Agnew graduated at the same time that Heath’s dream company, Integrated Diagnostics, was being founded. Heath
57
Alumni News suggested that Agnew come aboard, and a sort of natural evolution allowed Agnew to easily maneuver into a highlevel position with the company. As such, she is integral in developing the science within the company while learning all about the business of science. During her time at Penn State University, she was a Schreyer Honors Student dual majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, and chemistry. As an undergraduate, Agnew chose to spend her free time conducting research. She began her lab work in the lab of Song Tan, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and eventually switched into the lab of Mary Beth Williams, associate dean for undergraduate education in the Eberly College of Science and associate professor of chemistry. She believes that performing research in the lab is the best way to really learn how science is done. Agnew also gave three of her four years on campus to the Nittany Chemical Society (NCS), a student affiliate organization of the American Chemical Society, where she served as president during her senior year.
58
After graduating from Penn State in 2003, Agnew was awarded a Gates Scholarship, allowing her to study in the United Kingdom at the University of Cambridge. She received a master of philosophy degree in chemistry in 2005. After leaving Cambridge, Agnew continued on to Caltech to continue her graduate studies. Agnew comes from Berks County, Pennsylvania, and from a full-blooded Penn State tradition. Her father is an alumnus who graduated from Penn State in ’73 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and who went back to school at Penn State’s Great Valley campus as an adult learner to earn a master’s degree. Her younger sister continues the tradition and graduated in May 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in forensic science. Agnew is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association and lives in Los Angeles, California, along with her husband, Bert Lai.
3rd Annual Alumni Mentoring Program Workshop Success for Students and Alumni There was a loud buzz of conversation as the third annual Eberly College of Science Alumni Mentoring dinner got underway as the new student protégés met their alumni mentors for the first time, while a few pairs reunited from previous years. The event, which was held at the Nittany Lion Inn on February 11, boasted 70 participants, making this the bestattended year to date. The
program, which now has over 70 pairs of mentors and protégés, has spread through the college to incorporate participants from biology, life science, pre-medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology, forensic science, chemistry, physics,
Penn State Eberly College of Science
The alumni also had positive experiences from their new connections with students. Bob Heil, a Penn State Science alum, said, “The events of the past few months have elicited deep emotions on behalf of all of us loyal Penn Staters. Disappointment and sorrow are just some of the many emotions that have been in all of our minds. On Saturday evening, however, not just my experiences, but observing many other dedicated alumni positively and math. The increase from
gram was that although your
interacting with a group of very
the initial twelve pairs from one
mentor will help you decide
intelligent, eager students who
lone department, biology, is a
what you want to do career-
are also professional in their
testament to how valuable this
wise, they’re also there to be
conduct, reaffirms what I know
program has become to both
a friend. Communication with
to be the true spirit of Penn
students and alumni alike.
your mentor doesn’t have to
State and the people in that
be like a job interview; if that’s
room are why I am still proud to
head of biology who has been
all you want from this program
say “We are Penn State.”
with the program from its infan-
then your mentor will happily
You can make an impact
cy, commenced the evening
assist you, but they’re here for
on a student’s life by becom-
with a heart-warming talk of
so much more than that. These
ing a mentor. Mentors serve as
why he chose to come to Penn
mentors are here tonight be-
guides to students, answering
State and the importance of
cause they have a passion for
questions, giving advice, and
mentoring in his career. Christy
their careers and want to instill
helping them to learn more
Carns, a pre-med senior and
that same passion in you, and
about their field of interest
one of last year’s student proté-
perhaps give you some guid-
and about themselves. Visit
gés, also gave a short presen-
ance as to how to get to where
science.psu.edu/alumni/get-
tation of her experience in the
you want to be once your time
involved/becoming-a-mentor
program. “The most important
at Penn State is complete.”
or contact Mary Hudson at
Doug Cavener, professor and
thing I took away from this pro-
Science Journal June 2012
meh25@psu.edu.
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Alumni News
Baldwin and Wilson Honored in 2011 with Penn State Alumni Fellow Awards Arthur L. Baldwin, ’69 B.S. Micro, and Robert E. Wilson, ’73 B.S. PM, were honored for their outstanding professional accomplishments at a dinner held on October 5, 2011. The Alumni Fellow award recognizes outstanding professional achievement, and it is the most prestigious honor given by the Penn State Alumni Association. Since the establishment of the Alumni Fellow program in 1973, this honor has been granted to only 689 alumni, just one-eighth of one percent of all living alumni. The title of “Alumni Fellow” has been designated by the University as permanent and lifelong, and Baldwin and Wilson were of the 24 alumni awarded in 2011. Each year, the program invites its recipients to visit the campus and speak to the University community in order to share their knowledge and expertise. Arthur L. Baldwin has over 35 years of scientific, engineering, and management experience within government, industry, and academia. He is a senior-level official for the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), where he is responsible for projects involving coal and gas, renewable energy, carbon capture, and carbon storage. He also is involved with developing, planning, and implementing strategic initiatives that strengthen NETL regional capabilities with corporate partners,
60
business partners, and educational institutions. Prior to his current position, Baldwin held other senior-level positions within NETL, providing direction, oversight, and project management for petroleum refining, oil shale, oil sands, synthetic gas, gas-to-liquid conversion, solid fuels, and feedstocks. Baldwin also is the president of Baldwin Investment Management Group, LLC. Baldwin, a past member of Penn State’s Eberly College of Science Alumni Society Board of Directors, also is involved in his community. His many community-service positions include membership on the Pennsylvania Commission on Aging and service on the Board of Directors of the Heinz History Center. He also has served as a co-founder, past co-executive director, and science-and-math tutor for the McKeesport Counseling and Tutoring Service. In addition, Baldwin has served on the Penn State University Undergraduate Admissions Advisory Board, the Committee to Increase Penn State Black Enrollment, the Board of Directors of the Opportunity Industrialization Center of Pittsburgh, the Board of Directors of the McKeesport Branch of the Pittsburgh Urban League, and the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army. He has been a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Chemical Society, the Air and Waste Management Association, and the National Technical Association. He also is a member of the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. Baldwin is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in organic chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh as well as master of business administration degree at Duquesne University. He
Penn State Eberly College of Science
earned a master’s degree in organic chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh in 1976 and a bachelor’s degree in microbiology with a minor in chemistry at Penn State in 1969. Baldwin is married to the Honorable Cynthia A. Baldwin, who is a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and currently Penn State’s chief legal officer. He and his wife are the parents of two adult children. Robert E. Wilson serves as director of both the University of Minnesota’s Interventional-Cardiology Fellowship program and the University of Minnesota Physicians Clinical-Cardiovascular Services. He has dedicated his professional life to developing new methods for diagnosing and treating heart disease and to training new physicians. His research career initially focused on coronary physiology in humans. He developed the first catheter to measure coronary blood flow in humans, and described the effects of atherosclerosis and transplantation on coronary blood flow. He also first identified the effects of re-innervation of the transplanted human heart during surgery. Later, he developed semi-computerized injection systems for coronary angiography that now are used for millions of patients worldwide. More recently, Wilson has focused his research on the development of a prosthetic heart valve that can be inserted through a small catheter, eliminating the need for open-heart valve surgery. This device is now being tested in clinical trials.
Science Journal June 2012
Wilson holds numerous patents for cardiovascular treatment devices. The National Institute of Health, the American Heart Association, and private individuals have supported his research. He has written numerous scientific papers and review articles, and he has contributed chapters to many medical textbooks. He is a fellow of the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions, the American Heart Association, and the Council on Circulation. He is a member of the Central Society for Clinical Investigation, the Hennepin County Medical Society, the American Federation for Clinical Research, and the American College of Physicians. Wilson’s previous honors include an Outstanding Science Alumnus Award from Penn State in 2001, a Teacher of the Year Award from the Cardiovascular Division of the University of Minnesota in 1996, a Clinician Scientist Award from the American Heart Association in 1985, a National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health in 1984, and an Outstanding Clinical Teacher Award from the Department of Medicine of the University of Texas Health Science Center in 1981. Wilson completed his medical residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1980 and his cardiology fellowship at the University of Iowa in 1984. He joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 1986, where he helped to establish a training program for interventional cardiologists. From 1988 to 2004, Wilson served as the director of the University of Minnesota Medical Center at Fairview’s cardiac-catheterization laboratory. Wilson earned a medical degree at the University of Iowa in 1977. He received a bachelor’s degree from Penn State in 1973.
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Alumni News
Five Honored with 2011 Outstanding Science Alumni Award Five alumni of the Eberly College of Science were honored with the 2011 Outstanding Science Alumni Award on October 21, 2011. Recognized with the award were: David Dunson, Susan Gardlik, Albert “Fred” Hartman, Allan Silberman, and Bruce Wellman.
David Dunson is a professor in the Department of Statistical Science at Duke University. Dunson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Penn State in 1994 and was Academic All-Big 10 in cross country. Dunson earned a doctoral degree in biostatistics at Emory University in 1997. In 2008, after 11 years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dunson accepted a position as a professor at Duke University. His research focuses on the development of novel Bayesian statistical methods motivated by high-dimensional and complex data sets. His methods have been applied widely to studies of public health and medicine, machine learning, and human fertility. He is principal investigator of two NIH grants on new statistical methods relevant to public health and medical research. Dunson is
62
a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. He is the winner of the 2007 Mortimer Spiegelman Award, given to an outstanding public health statistician under age 40, the 2010 Lefkopoulou Distinguished Lectureship at Harvard, and the 2010 Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) Presidents’ Award, given to a person under the age of 41 in recognition of outstanding contributions to the profession of statistics. In his spare time he enjoys oil painting, open-water swimming, and distance running. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with his wife Amy, a professor at the University of North Carolina, and their three sons, Sam, Simon, and Peter.
Sue Gardlik has held the position of vice president of drug discovery portfolio management at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) during the last five years, heading a global community of portfolio management directors and analysts. She also has served on GSK leadership teams for drug discovery, global project/portfolio management, and global project strategy. Gardlik currently is
Penn State Eberly College of Science
on a 14-month assignment, serving as an advisor at Stiefel, a GSK Company, focusing on the development of dermatological medicines. Gardlik has expertise in biochemistry, drug discovery and development, portfolio and project management, technical writing, process design and implementation, and training design and facilitation. She has led the application of performance analysis, decision analysis, and portfolio modeling toward objective setting; risk management; and budget management in drug discovery to inform strategy and to identify and solve problems. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at Penn State in 1983, and in 1988 she earned a doctoral degree in biochemistry at Duke University. Gardlik has spent her entire 24-year career in the pharmaceutical industry at GSK, joining as a post-doctoral fellow in the department of drug metabolism, where her post-doctoral work centered on the enzyme family glutathione S-transferases. Since then, she has held a variety of roles in biological documentation, research planning, project management, and portfolio management. Additionally, Gardlik has served as a liaison in university recruitment and student career development.
Science Journal June 2012
Fred Hartman is a physician who specializes in infectious diseases and epidemiology. He has over 30 years experience as a technical advisor, senior project manager, epidemiologist, and professor. Currently, he is the global technical lead for communicable diseases and epidemic preparedness for all activities of the organization Management Sciences for Health (MSH). In this capacity, he led the human health activities in the Stamping out Pandemic and Avian Influenza. He also is the country lead for the MSH Ethiopia HIV/AIDS Care and Support Program and the Sudan Health Transformation Project II. He previously has served as a principal program associate in the MSH Office of Business and Resource Development and as technical director and deputy chief of party of MSH’s Rural Expansion of Afghanistan’s Community-based Healthcare project, based in Kabul. Hartman has consulted for USAID, UNICEF, WHO, and PLAN International. Hartman has devoted many years to teaching about infectious diseases, including tuberculosis; HIV; SARS; and seasonal, pandemic, and avian influenza. He is the author of the book, “Window on Afghanistan: Rebuilding Health, Hope and the Human Spirit,” and numerous articles in the field of infectious diseases. He is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish.
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Alumni News Hartman received a bachelor of science degree from Penn State in 1965. He graduated from Temple University in 1969, where he obtained a doctoral degree in medicine. In 1975, Hartman earned his master’s degree in public health at the University of California.
Allan W. Silberman is the clinical chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at the Cedars- Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, where he holds the Robert J. and Suzanne Gottlieb Endowed Chair in Surgical Oncology. His current research interest involves the genetic analysis of patients with multiple primary malignancies. Silberman has clinical expertise in surgery of the esophagus and pancreas. He also is a specialist in gastrointestinal, breast cancer, melanoma, and sarcoma surgery. Silberman has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors in both research and teaching and has published extensively in peer-reviewed publications. He also co-edited, with his brother Howard Silberman, professor of surgery at the University of Southern California, the 2010 textbook, Principles and Practice of Surgical Oncology: Multidisciplinary Approach to Difficult Problems. Silberman received a bachelor of science degree from Penn State in 1968. He received a doctoral degree in biochemistry from Boston University in 1973 and a doctoral degree in 64
medicine from Boston University in 1975. Silberman completed his residency in general surgery at the Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, and he completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at the John Wayne Cancer Institute at the University of California School of Medicine. Silberman and his wife Kathleen, have one daughter, Samantha, and live in Pacific Palisades, California.
Bruce Wellman teaches aerospace and engineering chemistry at Olathe Northwest High School in Kansas. This class covers traditional high-school chemistry with an additional emphasis on materials science, specifically, metals and polymers. Wellman’s career in education spans 17 years. He began teaching in 1993 at Sussex Central High School in Georgetown, Delaware. He later taught at Baldwin Park High School in Baldwin, California, from 1994 to 1996. From 1999 to 2004, Wellman was a development worker in the Comoro Islands in East Africa. While there, he taught English at the French-speaking public school, and he also provided technical computer support and data analysis for the regional education office. In 2009, Wellman was selected by President Obama to receive the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The annual award, one of the nation’s highest honors for teachers, is given to Penn State Eberly College of Science
2012 Penn State Physician Reunion Weekend The Eberly College of Science conducted its first Physician Reunion Weekend in 2009, complete with instruction towards CME credits and special activities. Proudly, we continue to offer this event as its popularity among physician alumni has grown. The date for the 2012 Physicians Weekend is September 14 and 15. Although our alumni have vast options for obtaining CME credits, attendees have raved about the opportunity to return to campus, learn from Penn State faculty, and have personal interaction with Dean Larson, science students and faculty.
Staff Changes in the Development and Alumni Relations Offices
Healthcare Emergency Readiness, Healthcare Infectious Disease
Promoted to assistant director of alumni relations in December 2011, 2012 CME program followed with a dinner hosted by Dean Dan Larson. Barbara (Barbie) Collins is no The Alumni Relations and Development Office will also assist physician stranger to the Eberly College of Scireunion registrants with obtaining Penn State-Navy football tickets. ence or its alumni. Throughout her More details regarding this event will be posted to our website at role as the development assistant www.science.psu.edu. for the college, Collins connected to alumni in various capacities such as the best pre-college-level science and mathemat- football planning, Millennium Society activiics teachers from across the country. Most re- ties, annual giving, and college events. cently, in August of 2011, Wellman was selected Collins, who has a bachelor’s degree in jourby the U.S. Department of Education to be a nalism and public relations from Lock Haven Teaching Ambassador Fellow for the 2011-2012 University, hopes to be instrumental in facilitatschool year. This fellowship was created to give ing new programs for alumni and re-engaging outstanding teachers an opportunity to learn them with Penn State Science. She welcomes about national policy issues in education and to the opportunity to connect with Science alumni. contribute their expertise to those discussions. Josetta Lichty has joined the Eberly College Fellows share what they’ve learned with other of Science as the new associate director of alumteachers, contributing to a larger understand- ni relations and stewardship. Josetta holds a ing of federal initiatives and encouraging broad- bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Kindergarer input into policy and programs designed to ten Education and a master’s degree in Higher improve education. Education, both from Penn State. Wellman received a Bachelor of Science dePrior to this position, Josetta worked in Unigree with an emphasis in chemistry from Penn versity Development as the newly formed stewState in 1991. In 1993 he received his joint ardship coordinator for the Commonwealth education specialist master’s degree from the Campuses. In this role, she was responsible for University of Rochester in conjunction with the coordinating the stewardship efforts of the 19 National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Commonwealth Campuses. the Rochester Institute of Technology, and he earned certification from the state of New York for general and deaf education in chemistry, physics, and general science. Statistics, and Sonodynamic Cancer Therapy will be the focus of the
Science Journal June 2012
65
Alumni News
Benefactor and Recognition Dinner The annual Eberly College of Science Benefactor and Recognition Dinner was held on April 20, 2012, during a festive Blue White Weekend. The event, which was held at the Nittany Lion Inn, recognizes the college’s generous benefactors and the students who benefit from their support, as well as those faculty members in the Eberly College of Science who hold faculty chairs or named professorships. The Eberly College of Science now has 278 individual endowments with a total market value of more than $81 million.
Blue and White forever… You’ve worked a lifetime to create financial security for yourself and your family. Now you can share that legacy with Penn State as well through your will or living trust. Whether you choose to direct your support to scholarships or research, faculty or program support, your bequest will be an enduring expression of your passions and values. Our Gift Planning team can work with you and your attorney to ensure that your intentions are fulfilled and that your estate receives the full tax benefits of your gift. To learn more about these opportunities, please contact: Robert Mothersbaugh, CFRE Director of Development and Alumni Relations Eberly College of Science 800-297-1429 rym4@psu.ed www.science.psu.edu
Brian McCullough, Esq. Gift Planning Officer Office of Gift Planning 888-800-9170 bjm172@psu.edu giftplanning@psu.edu www.giftplanning.psu.edu
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Penn State Eberly College of Science
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Share Your News! Penn State Science will feature the accomplishments of our alumni in the Science Journal magazine, published bi-annually in June and December. This publication is distributed to all college alumni, donors, friends of the college, science department heads, and deans of other Penn State colleges. Sharing your success stories is a great way to network with fellow alums and show how science grads have made
science.psu.edu Facebook.com/PennStateScience Twitter.com/PSUScience Linkedin.com (search Penn State Science)
an impact on the community and world of business! Received a promotion, new job, recent discovery or patent, new publication, marriage or birth announcement? We want to hear about your success or news as well as to share this accomplishment with our science alumni. Share your information either on line at science.psu.edu/alumni/forms/alumni-news or by emailing Barbie Collins, assistant director of alumni relations, at bhc10@psu.edu.
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Marketing Office 507 Thomas Building The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802-2112 814-863-8453 Email: sciencejournal@psu.edu
Upcoming Events Science Commencement May 5, 2012 Traditional Reunion Science Luncheon June 1, 2012 Charlottesville, VA Area Science Alumni Event September 8, 2012 Physician’s Reunion/CME Weekend September 14, 2012 Parent’s Weekend September 28 & 29, 2012
Outstanding Science Alumni Awards Dinner September 28, 2012 Careers in Science September 29, 2012 Penn State Homecoming (opponent Northwestern) October 6, 2012 Tucson, AZ Area Science Alumni Event October 13, 2012
This publication is available in alternative media on request. The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. It is the policy of the University to maintain an academic and work environment free of discrimination, including harassment. The Pennsylvania State University prohibits discrimination and harassment against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or veteran status. Discrimination or harassment against faculty, staff, or students will not be tolerated at The Pennsylvania State University. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Director, The Pennsylvania State University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-5901; Tel 814-865-4700/V, 814-863-1150/TTY. U.Ed. SCI 12-124