Chemistry Alumni Win National Awards
Bill Deese (76) and Joe Allison (79) received prestigious awards at the National ACS Meeting held in Boston in August. Bill was awarded the Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach which recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of public outreach bya member of the American Chemical Society who improves public recognition and appreciation for the contributions of chemistry. Bill, the T.W. Ray Johnson Professor of Chemistry at Louisiana Tech University, has made presentations full of exciting demonstrations that incorporate the history of science, juggling and unique methods of performance art, music and multi-media. In addition, he has led chemistry demonstration programs at local and national meetings of science teachers.
Joe was named a fellow of the American Chemical Society in the second year of the fellows program at the Boston meeting in August. The fellows program began in 2009 to recognize and honor ACS members for their outstanding achievements in and contributions to the science, the profession, and service to the society. Joe has been active in ACS activities at the local, regional and national level for many years. Joe was also recognized in September as an outstanding alumnus of the Department of Chemistry at Purdue University where he received his Ph.D. degree. Joe has been employed since his graduation by Conoco-Philips where his research in a variety of areas has resulted in numerous patents. In 2008 he was selected as the outstanding Oklahoma chemist by the Oklahoma Section of the ACS.
Will Slaton, associate professor of physics and astronomy participated in the discussion at Little Rock’s Science Café on Acoustics: The Science of Sound on Sept. 29. Panelists included Donald Wold from UALR’s Physics & Astronomy Department and Laura Smith-Olinde from UAMS’s Department of Speech and Audiology. The group discussed sound propagation, physical acoustics, medical audiology, musical acoustics and psychoacoustics. The Science Café offers faculty at Arkansas’ universities an opportunity to do science outreach and education to the general public. The Science Café is held at Vieux Carre / Afterthought Café at 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd (Hillcrest neighborhood) of North Little Rock. Check out the website: http://www.sciencecafelr.com/ for more information. To suggest a topic or to offer to be a panelist, contact Linda Williams at ldwilliams@uams.edu.
Dr. Jeffrey Padberg, assistant professor of biology, gave the keynote address for the induction convocation of the local chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) held at UCA on Sept. 26. At this welcome ceremony for students, friends and family, the students who had recently joined the society received their membership pins, and learned more about opportunities available to them through NSCS. The National Society of Collegiate Scholars is an honor society inviting high-achieving freshmen and sophomores. Members must rank in the top 20 percent of their class.Taldi Walter, a 2004 graduate of the UCA Honors College in Environmental Science, and 2006 Masters student in Biology at UCA, presented a special seminar “From the Gulf to the Arctic: Energy Challenges and Opportunities” as part of the Biology Seminar Series on Oct. 12. Taldi is the assistant director for government relations for the National Audubon Society in Washington D.C., and she works with scientists, educators, and policy makers to help shape sensible environmental policy, particularly with regard to how oil exploration is conducted.
Dr. Debra Burris, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, recently traveled to the new Atkins Middle School to make a delivery of science lab supplies furnished by the members of the Science Cafe program at UAMS. The donation came about as a result of Dr. Burris’ participation in two different Science Cafe panels. The donation of 48 1000mL glass beakers, pipets and information posters was received by Penny Laymon (6th), Kim Hern (7th) and Tracey Brown (8th), science teachers at AMS. Dr. Burris is an alumnus of the Atkins Public schools. She also volunteers many hours in the school system.
Dr. Bhupinder Vohra, assistant professor of biology, was invited to give a research talk for Sigma Xi on Sept. 28. Dr. Vohra’s talk focused on the mechanisms of neurodegeneration and the ways to thwart the degeneration of nerve cells in various neurological disorders. Dr. Vohra spoke about the importance of nerve fibers in various diseases such as Parkinson’s and Amyloid lateral sclerosis. Dr. Vohra also explained how the injury to a nerve fiber can lead to nerve cell death and if we can halt the nerve fiber degeneration, the nerve cell can be saved.
Dr. Reid Adams, interim chair and associate professor of biology, and Dr. Ginny Adams, assistant professor of biology, along with five of their graduate students, recently attended the American Fisheries Society meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. This international organization is the “world’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science, and conserving fisheries resources”. The students in attendance were Richard Walker (Scranton), Ed Kluender (Monticello), Clint Johnson (Conway), Loren Stearman (Oklahoma) and Jason Christian (Georgia). Six oral presentations were given on a range of topics including Alligator Gar biology, Northern Snakeheads in Arkansas, impacts of natural gas drilling and biology of headwater fishes. Dr. Ginny Adams is currently the president of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. Arkansas will host the 2013 international meeting in Little Rock.Dr. Sinan Kockara, assistant professor of computer science, recently published a journal article as co-corresponding author in BMC Bioinformatics. In this study, they introduce a Mixed Reality surgical simulation tool for surgeons’ training on artificial cervical disc replacement surgery on the neck.