Utah State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Newsletter 2019

NEWSLETTER December 2019

IN THIS ISSUE:

Welcome

New Faces 2 New Appointments 3 Hansen Retreat 3 Summer Interns 4 Research Awards 5 Student Awards 6 Seminars 7

By Lance Seefeldt, Department Head

Contact: (435) 797-1619

chemistry@usu.edu www.chem.usu.edu

Connect:

@usuchemistry

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this annual departmental newsletter. I assumed the Department Head position on July 1 and have been busy learning about the array of activities around the Department. I want to start with a special thank you to Alvan Hengge for his 10 years of service as Department Head. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his excellent guidance over the Department for these past years. And, we wish him all the best as he continues his highly regarded research in understanding the mechanism of enzymes. His research will be greatly advanced by receipt of a Fulbright Fellowship that will take him to Brazil to work with collaborators in the fall of 2020.

The faculty in the department continue to advance the frontiers of chemistry and biochemistry through robust research programs with significant federal and private funding and publications in top journals.

I am happy to welcome two new members to the faculty, Dr. Gang Li and Mr. Rob Alumbaugh. Gang joined us as an Assistant Professor in August after a successful postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University, while Rob joined us in February as Lecturer following many years working at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Our faculty have earned many special awards over the last year, including Lisa Berreau being selected as a Fellow of the American Chemical Society.

The Department continues to provide cutting edge education in chemistry and biochemistry to the university community, training thousands of students each year in the full range of chemistry and biochemistry topics, from general chemistry to graduate level classes. We are proud of our successful graduate programs in chemistry and biochemistry, with our graduates leading research and education in industry, academics, and national laboratories.

The operations of the Department are in the capable hands of Erin Russell, the office manager; Margo Morgan, the business manager; Cindy Weatbrook, the graduate program coordinator; Jordan Truex, the undergraduate academic advisor; and our newest addition, Liz Vaterlaus, the business assistant.

Please stay in touch with us with Facebook, Instagram, mail and/or email. Wishing you all the best.

New faces Gang Li Dr. Gang Li joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry on August 1 as an Assistant Professor.

Originally from Chongqing, China, he moved to New York in 2010 and obtained a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at Columbia University in 2015. He was then a Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University where he studied Medicinal Chemistry in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Dr. Li’s research focuses on catalytic reactions inspired by nature. He is interested in synthesizing new transition metal complexes as mimics of metalloenzymes and uncovering their catalytic activities toward solving demanding global challenges in energy and health issues.

Gang enjoys travelling, reading, and badminton in his spare time. He is also learning to become a good skier to enjoy the “greatest snow on Earth!”

Rob Alumbaugh Rob was born in southern California, something he will deny if asked. Shortly after the family moved to northern California where Rob graduated from Paradise High School, the very same Paradise High School to burn to the ground last year, along with the rest of the town of Paradise due to a quickly moving wildfire.

Not realizing there was the possibility of post-high school education, Rob entered into the family concrete business and later moved into carpentry.

After a number of years, he realized this kind of work was tough on the body and decided to use the skills he learned to help put himself through college.

He earned his BA in Biology and Chemistry from California State University, Chico and later earned a Teaching Credential through the same.

After teaching High School in Ashland, Oregon for a year he decided construction was easier but took

up a job managing the undergraduate prep labs for Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon and later at California State University in Sacramento.

Having met Kim Hageman at OSU and learning about the type of work she was pursuing in environmental chemistry, Rob returned to OSU to earn an MS in Analytical Chemistry.

After a stint at OSU Kim and Rob moved to the south island of New Zealand to take up positions at the University of Otago. Rob managed the Chemistry teaching laboratories before being offered a position as Head Technician with the Pharmacology and Toxicology department at the University of Otago.

After gaining New Zealand citizenship it was decided to return to the US to be closer to family.

Rob landed in Logan after Kim took up a position at Utah State University.

Being a general nuisance and constantly underfoot, the Chemistry Department hired Rob as a Lecturer to take on a newly-created position to teach firstyear, undergraduate chemistry labs.

Liz Vaterlaus Liz Vaterlaus is our new Business Assistant, coming from the Registrar’s Office.

She is assisting Margo Morgan, the department Business Manager.

Together, they make up the Business Services Team who are available to handle a broad range of financial services such as: Pcard purchases, EZ Buy, hiring EPAFs, and AggieTime. Liz is also assisting with room scheduling, ordering of office supplies, and organizing the departmental seminars. Liz is from San Diego, California and is currently pursuing her undergraduate degrees from Utah State University in Accounting and Finance.

Outside of work, she loves to spend time with her husband and new yellow lab puppy. Her favorite hobbies are lifting at the gym and attending sporting events. She is a foodie and would gladly take any hole in the wall restaurant recommendations in the Cache Valley area (or generous edible donations from those places).

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New appointments Nick Dickenson Dr. Nick Dickenson was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor effective July 1. Dr. Dickenson’s teaching and research interests mirror each other.

“Students in [my] group can expect to learn and apply techniques from many disciplines including molecular biology, microbiology, physics, analytical chemistry, and biochemistry. We are especially interested in dissecting the molecular interactions that support bacterial infection mechanisms and utilizing this understanding to develop novel anti-infectious treatment methodologies against enteric bacterial pathogens” says Nick.

Lisa Berreau Dr. Lisa Berreau was named the Interim Vice President for Research.

This is an advancement from last year, when she was appointed Associate Vice President for Research and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. Dr. Berreau continues to run an active research laboratory and is energetically involved with departmental service.

Hansen Life Sciences Retreat

The 9th annual Hansen Life Sciences Retreat was held September 21 at the Riverwoods Conference Center in Logan. This year’s group included 78 participants from the departments of Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences; Biology; Biological Engineering; Chemistry and Biochemistry; Kinesiology and Health Science; Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences; and Plants, Soils, and Climate. Eight research talks were given by a mixture of students and faculty. Graduate and undergraduate students shared their current research with 25 poster presentations throughout the day long event.

This event is organized by the department to bring together student and faculty researchers from across Utah and Idaho, who are studying biological processes at the molecular level. The retreat is an honor to the late Dr. R. Gaurth Hansen, a Biochemist and former Provost at USU. The retreat is made possible by support from the R. Gaurth Hansen Retreat Fund, by Dr. Lars Hansen and Dr. Grace Tsiang.

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Above: 2019 Hansen Retreat Group photo. To Right: Audience members.

From left to Right: David Kennedy, Alli Moon, Alex Lovstedt, Reuben Kern, Yunli Lu, Brice Vaness

Summer Internship Program Each year, the department hosts a 10-week summer undergraduate internship program, providing research opportunities to students from across the country.

Since inception, the program has supported 47 undergraduate researchers by providing housing, a stipend, and the opportunity to participate in research labs with faculty mentors in the Department.

This program is funded by the Department and the College of Science.

This program is many students first experience in Chemistry and Biochemistry research. Students gain an invaluable understanding of what is truly involved in scientific research and what their options are for graduate training and postgraduate careers. They benefit from career counseling and an intensive research experience.

Over the summer, the department hosted the eighth-annual program

with six interns who hailed from universities in Utah, California, Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Hawaii.

Dr. Kimberly Hageman, who managed the program this year, said, “While all of the interns were motivated by the opportunity to gain valuable research experience, it was interesting finding out how each one learned about the program and, ultimately selected Utah State University.” For example, Yunli Lu found the advertisement online, Brice Vanness knew about the program from a previous year’s intern, and David Kennedy was specifically interested in working on medicinal chemistry in Dr. Chang’s group.

in Logan and around the state.

They took a trip to Arches National Park, fished, camped, hiked, and explored the Logan area. They also went to Cutler Marshes on a department-sponsored canoe trip.

We look forward to continuing the summer internship program and encourage students interested in pursuing graduate degrees in Chemistry/Biochemistry to apply at: http://www.chem.usu.edu/programs/ undergraduate-program/internships

The research supervisors were impressed with the interns and indicated that they would make excellent Ph.D. candidates.

Dr. Hageman explained that a number of our department’s strongest Ph.D. students first encountered USU through the summer internship program.

The interns worked hard in the lab, but they also played hard and took advantage of the many outdoor recreational opportunities

2019 Summer Interns

PAGE 4 2019 Summer Interns at Arches National Park

2019 Summer Interns outside Old Main

Undergrads win research awards USU’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities (URCO) grant program was established in 1975 to support faculty-mentored undergraduate student research projects. URCO awards provide a $1,000 scholarship directly to the student, and can include a request for up to $1,000 in additional funds to cover the costs of equipment, supplies, and project-related travel. URCO grants are funded by the Office of Research, with partial matching funds from another university source, in our case, the Department. The program is competitive, with proposals reviewed and critiqued by teams of faculty members outside the departments of the applicant and mentor. The student and faculty mentor home departments need not be the same.

Several Chemistry and Biochemistry majors are

doing research with faculty members in other departments (Biological Engineering and Biology being the most common) and, conversely, a number of our faculty members are mentoring projects by students in other majors.

Over the past five years the university-wide award rate has been 55%. Proposals mentored by our department’s faculty have had a 66% funding rate over this time, and proposals from our students, regardless of mentor, have had a success rate of 65%.

Our 2019 student awardees are below. For a full list of university-wide awards go to: https://research.usu.edu/urco/urco-winners/

Spring 2019 Awards Name Title Macenzie Breitenbach Ozone-Forming Emissions in the Uintah Basin.

Structural Characterization of the RNA Helicase, Trevor Godfrey AtMtr4.

Low Molecular Weight, Metal-free Carbon Katelyn Heap Monoxide Releasing Molecules.

Structural response of stream food webs to Didymosphenia geminata blooms: an isotopic Vanessa Bustamante mixing model approach.

Inducing apomeiosis and parthenogenesis (apomixis) in female-only plants of dioecious Bo Price Antennaria plantaginifolia (Asteraceae).

Summer 2019 Awards Name Title Purification and analysis of binding affinity of two Abigail Johnson PRMT1 substrates.

Fluorescent kanamycin derivatives for facile strain Paul Roberts identification of fungi Candida sp.

Fall 2019 Awards Name Title Using pH Sensing Molecules as a Selective Optical Howard Montgomery Detection Method for Fungal Infection.

Kinetic Analysis of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Kade Fish Point Mutants.

Mentor Seth Lyman Sean Johnson Lisa Berreau Janice Brahney (Watershed Sciences) John Carman (Plants, Soils and Climate) Mentor Joan Hevel Tom Chang Mentor Tom Chang Alvan Hengge

Additional Information URCO is not the only program funding undergraduate research. The College of Science summer minigrant program targets first-time research experiences, and provides $1,000 in funding directly to the student to help them financially devote time in the

PAGE 5 USU Chemistry Laboratory Classes (Fall 2019)

summer to gain research experience. Two of our summer 2019 undergraduate research students were awarded College of Science minigrants: Carley Smith, in Ryan Jackson’s lab; and Drake Comer, in the Hengge lab.

Alvan Hengge

Student AwardS, Spring 2019 The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Awards Ceremony is held each spring and recognizes some of the department’s most outstanding graduate and undergraduate students with an array of awards and scholarships. For example, the Thomas M. Farley Chemistry Awards are given to top students in each of the Principles of Chemistry courses, recognizing the hard work and dedication of these high achieving students. This award is meant to encourage undergraduate students, just entering their chemistry or biochemistry majors, to continue to progress and excel in the field. There are also the Harris O. and Eleanor Y. Van Orden Awards, in a range of disciplines, and the MaeserBauer Outstanding Graduating Senior in Chemistry and Biochemistry awards, to name only a few.

This past year, the department awarded four different scholarships including the Garth L. Lee Scholarship; the George H. and Billie Bush Emert Scholarship; the R. Gaurth Hansen Scholarship; and the ACS-HACH Land Grant Undergraduate Scholarship. These scholarships are not always available from year-to-year and include a rigorous and competitive application process by the students.

Finally, graduate students are eligible to receive four different awards, including the Marjorie H. Gardner Teaching Award, which is awarded to an outstanding teaching assistant in the department, and the Thomas F. Emery Outstanding Graduate Student in Biochemistry, awarded to a graduate student in their last year of graduate study in

biochemistry.

In 2019, the ceremony was held on April 18 in the David B. Haight Alumni Center. Seven graduate students and twenty-two undergraduates were recognized with awards. Six undergraduates were awarded scholarships.

In addition to the department awards, each year, the College of Science (CoS) presents awards to students. In 2019, our department recipients included: • Hannah Demler, Undergraduate Teaching Fellow of the Year • Calvin Luu, Legacy of Utah State Award Recipient • Bo Hu, Ph.D. Graduate Researcher of the Year A complete list of department award and scholarship recipients may be viewed on the department’s website. A complete list of all CoS recipients, both faculty and staff, are available on the College of Science website.

Left to Right: Dr. Brad Davidson, Alex Lyons, Porter Ellis, Emily Wilson

Donate Today Dr. Tom Farley was a loved lecturer by students at Utah State University.

His legacy lives on through scholarships granted to our top students in each of our introductory chemistry classes. With more and more students taking general chemistry classes, the demand for additional sections has increased, thus increasing the number of students qualified to receive this scholarship.

This year, we encourage you to help in the growth of the Thomas M. Farley Scholarship Endowment, providing scholarships throughout the coming years to our most deserving students by making a donation today. http://chem.usu.edu/giving/index

Dr. Tom Farley

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Above: Xiaoyang Zhu presenting at the Olsen Seminar

Olsen Seminar

This past year, the department hosted two distinguished speakers for the Richard Olsen Lecture Series. The first, on April 3 with Heather C. Allen, PhD, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University and the second on October 16 with Xiaoyang Zhu, PhD, Professor of Chemistry, Columbia University.

Dr. Allen was invited and hosted by Dr. Yi Rao, Assistant Professor, Analytical and Physical Chemistry, Utah State University (USU). Allen’s presentation, “Electronic Fields, Ion Pairing, and the Salty Aqueous Surfaces” was well received. View the work the Allen lab is doing: https://chemistry.osu.

Left to Right: Alvan Hengge, Heather C. Allen, Yi Rao

edu/people/allen.697

Dr. Xiaoyang Zhu was invited and hosted by Dr. Steve Scheiner, Professor, Computational Chemistry, USU. Zhu’s presentation, “Ferroelectric Polarons, Belgian Waffles, and Principles for “Perfect” Semiconductors” was also well attended. View Dr. Zhu’s Research Group: https://chem.columbia.edu/ people/faculty/xiaoyang-zhu/

The Olsen Lectures in Chemistry were established in honor of the late Richard K. Olsen, a respected teacher and researcher, who spent most of his professional career as a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at USU. The lectureship also honors the memory of his parents, Kenneth Beal and Sarah Young Olsen, and is in appreciation to the department for the opportunity to realize his goal of serving as a university professor. Since inception in 2006, the department has hosted 12 speakers.

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Yi Rao and Heather C. Allen

Dr. Richard K. Olsen and Mrs. Lavina H. Olsen Left to Right: Lance Seefeldt, Xiaoyang Zhu, Steve Scheiner

Utah State University Chemistry and Biochemistry 0300 Old Main Hill, ML 140 Logan, UT 84322

Thank You to All of Our Generous Donors.

If you prefer to receive this newsletter electonrically, send your email address to Erin Russell (erin.russell@usu.edu).

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