Labware donation from ETHOS Science Center

Many thanks to Patsy Boehler, executive director of the ETHOS Science Center in Elkhart, for inviting the IU South Bend science departments to sort through pallets full of pipet tips, boxes of bottles, and other assorted plastic labware and bring back whatever we wanted for our labs. Laboratory assistant Brend Beatty showcases our new supplies, still in boxes. Originally, over 100 pallets had been donated to ETHOS by one of their distributors, so they were able to give away beakers, graduated cylinders, culture tubes, and bottles to local high schools. Looking through the remaining items, the Biology and Chemistry & Biochemistry departments came away with three small truckloads (and a trunkload) of supplies, including enough pipet tips to last several years!

ETHOS stands for Encouraging Technology and Hands-On Science with the goal to help children learn and love science. They offer curriculum, robotics programs (with and without LEGO), and summer camp along with many other events and resources.  Please visit their website for more information.

Professor Feighery "Makes History"

Inorganic Professor Bill Feighery's leadership and insight as chair of our department have been noted by colleagues across the college so much so that he was chosen this January to serve as Acting Associate Dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He will continue this duty, but now takes on an additional administrative role as chairperson once again.  However, this time he will chair the Department of History! Over the years, chemistry faculty have been asked to fill in administrative roles in other departments and colleges such as business and nursing; we now and history to that list. Current chairperson and historian Jonathan Nashel will be on sabbatical for the academic year researching in Washington, D.C. for his new book.

Distinguished Alumnus Mark Royer

In 2003 Mark C. Royer graduated from IU South Bend with honors earning a bachelor of science in chemistry. He made news last year when he began the Brian A. Zeider Scholarship for Excellence in Biochemistry at IU South Bend, in memory of his dear friend (and fellow volunteer in the Barefoot Doctors program) and undergraduate classmate who passed away suddenly in September 2011. Now on the 10th anniversary of his graduation he returns to receive the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award.   Here's why:

After graduating from IU South Bend, Dr. Royer continued schooling at the IU School of Medicine where was inducted into both the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical and the Gold Humanism Honor Societies.  He was also awarded the Pittman Scholarship for Surgical Excellence. After graduating with an MD in 2007, Dr. Royer began surgical training as an otolaryngologist, presented at various national conferences, and had multiple publications in the areas of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, thyroid cancer, surgical anatomy, inner ear tumors, and the use of ultrasound in surgical practice. 

Dr. Royer was also involved with healthcare policy and advocated for improved quality of patient care and access to healthcare on Capitol Hill during multiple trips to Washington, DC. Additionally, he served as the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s resident delegate to the American Medical Association.  He developed an interest in humanitarian medical missions during residency by training Myanmar village leaders to provide basic healthcare to their villages through the Barefoot Doctors program in northern Thailand.  In 2012 he repaired cleft lips and palates in Eldoret, Kenya at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and plans to return in early 2014.  

Dr. Royer is now an otolaryngologist and surgeon at Witham Hospital in Lebanon, IN.  Refusing to believe that school has to end (at the 26^th grade so far for him), he plans to pursue a business of medicine MBA this Fall - at IU, of course.  Congratulations to Dr. Royer for this award and all of his achievements. We wish you continued success in all your endeavors.

Awards and Graduates 2013

It is beautiful weather for Commencement Day.  Four students will graduate as this academic year comes to a close: one chemistry and three biochemistry majors. Some will be looking for work while others will continue their studies. One graduate, Roxanne Sirhan, was featured in today's South Bend Tribune article.  

We also want to recognize those students who were awarded departmental scholarships or awards this year.  Congratulations to you for your excellent performance!

Zeider Excellence in Biochemistry Scholarship
   Joshua Strychalski
Chemical Rubber Company Chemistry Achievement Award
   Timothy Huneryager

George V. Nazaroff Scholarhip
   Rachel Warrell
Joseph H. Ross Seminar Award

   Roxanne Sirhan (graduating)

Student Excellence Award in Biochemistry
   Roxanne Sirhan (graduating)

2013 Undergraduate Research Conference

This year the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was represented by several students in the poster presentation portion of the annual Undergraduate Research Conference. Michael Partridge (chemistry) and Holly Caparell (biology) displayed a poster titled "Electrochemical Analysis of Steroid Hormones in Water" that showcased their work under research supervisor analytical chemist Dr. Grace Muna. Rachel Warrell (chemistry) exhibited the poster "NIS Oxidation of Alcohols to Carbonyls" that detailed her summer experiemnts with organic chemist Dr. Doug McMillen. Ashley Compton (biochemistry) and Keith Steinkellner (biochemistry) presented the poster "Nested PCR Detection of X-Disease in Michigan Fruit Orchards" of work done with fellow student Michael Partridge. These three were supervised by biochemist Dr. Gretchen Anderson. Last, but not least, was the poster, "Development of a Biosensor for Diagnosis of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus", shown by Roxanne Sirhan (biochemistry) who presented her summer work with colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago under a competitive REU award (Research Experience for Undergraduates). Congratulations to all these students for their quality presentations and the many hard hours of research that brought them here. 

  

Connie Fox wins the 2013 Campus Sustainability Award

As part of Earth Day's celebrations, Ms. Connie Fox will be presented with the 2013 Campus Sustainability Award at a campus reception April 22 for her tireless efforts in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.  Since 1984 she has served as the department's laboratory director and oversees the teaching labs (with some 300+ students every semester) and plays a critical role in the research labs of faculty. Her many responsibilities include ordering chemicals, updating inventory, and arranging for disposal of the chemicals. She is also in charge of laboratory safety, updating laboratory manuals, and routinely teaches laboratory and discussion sections for some of the freshman courses.  A few years ago Fox found a simple and cheap way to implement the new inventory system introduced by the division of chemical safety at IU Bloomington. This lets us easily keep track of what chemicals we already have so we can avoid duplication.

The following are examples of what Fox has done to deserve this award:

Reduce: Fox has scaled down experiments in our many freshman classes, especially those for non-science majors where qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis is often sufficient. Well-plates and droppers replace test tubes and burets without sacrificing results. Few experiments now deal with heavy metals and mercury thermometers are a thing of the past.

Reuse: Decades ago disposable equipment was all the rage. Now the attitude is reversed and cheaper disposable pipettes and droppers are reused to lessen waste. Rather than recycle emptied chemical bottles for their glass value, Fox keeps them on hand as free waste jars and disposal containers.

Recycle: Fox has organic chemistry students distill waste acetone to recover it for the next year. This has become a routine part of our teaching program and not only cuts costs and reduces waste, but instills in students the expectation that recycling is a central feature of any chemistry experiment.

Recover: Unfortunately (or fortunately), federal and state law prohibits the burning of chemical waste by schools to recover the heat energy stored within them. Otherwise, we are are sure Fox would find a way to take advantage of this final "R" in waste management!

Under Fox's initiatives we have not only reduced our landfills, but our lab costs as well. Thank you, Ms. Fox, not only for the efforts that led to this award, but your devotion to chemical safety and rigorous instruction. To say that our department would be at a loss without you is an understatement - our department could not function without you!

IU South Bend hosts the 2013 Chemistry Olympiad

The Chemistry Olympiad is a yearly event sponsored by the American Chemistry Society that begins at thousands of high schools and ends in an international competition. This year IU South Bend is holding one of the many national exams in which only two students per high school can compete.  

The twenty best students from all over the nation will study together at a summer camp and then the top four will go to the 45th international competition at Moscow State University. Students spent the morning taking written exams on campus, took a break for lunch, and finished with a practical exam in the laboratory in the afternoon. Laboratory supervisor Connie Fox and assistant Brenda Beatty prepared instruments, equipment, and chemicals for the competitors who were overseen by coordinator Douglas Sisk from Marian High School.   More information about the competition can be found at the American Chemical Society webpages.