SPRING 2009
- The University of Missouri, System-Wide Faculty Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 Award went to Professors Wes Harris and Chris Spilling for their work on removal of aluminum from infant feeding solutions. The award was established to honor a University of Missouri faculty member for a record of entrepreneurial innovation that demonstrates commercial utility, contributes to the public welfare, and brings visibility to the University of Missouri. The award carries a stipend of $15,000. This is the second time the award has gone to a UM-St. Louis chemist since it was established in 2002. In 2004, Professor Zhi Xu was honored with the award.
- Monday 4 May, Don Hesse was the Twentysecond Distinguished Alumni Lecturer. Don was very successful here winning the freshman, senior and graduate student awards. He received a BS in 1984 and a Ph.D in 1991. Most of his time as a student involved his working part-time, mostly as an analytical chemist. He came close to owning Chem-IR and continued to work in analytical chemistry part-time when he worked with Jim Chickos during his doctoral work. Although he still dabbles in analytical chemistry, and is the owner of Veritas Analytical Services, his day job is Vice-President of Information Technology at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and he has been there for the past 12 years. His lecture title was After Graduation: Fulfilling the Scientist's Desire to Experiment, Discover and Solve. A reception followed the lecture.
- Friday 17 and Saturday 18 April, 2009. Alumni Weekend. Photos. The department expects to participate in this and invites alumni to join us. We especially look forward to seeing alumni at the lunch on the Saturday and in the afternoon there will be tours and a plethora of activities already arranged by the campus.
Fall 2008
- December 5, 2008. The Twelfth Robert W. Murray Lecture was presented by Professor Phillip P. Power of the University of California-Davis in 451 Benton Hall at 3:30 pm and followed by a reception in the Center for Nanoscience. Further Details
- October 24, 2008. Alumna to give seminar on her work at the South Pole: Roberta L. Farrell, BS 1975, and currently Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, will speak on Science in Antarctica: Studying the historic huts of the heroic era of Antactic expedition-To the Ice and Back, an UMSL Alumna's Holidays. A reception will follow in the Alumni Center. Further Information
- Aug. 2, 2008. August Commencement. The speaker at the College of Arts and Sciences Commencement in the Touhill Performing Arts Center was Dr. Charles W. Armbruster, the founder of the department, who chaired the department from 1963 - 1975 and taught mostly organic and introductory chemistry, with distinction, until 1998. In addition Charlie was presented with the Chancellor's Medallion. Commencement was followed by a most successful reception in the third-floor rotunda of the Millenium Student Center from 3:30 - 5:30 pm. About 130 individuals were in attendance including about 90 alumni.
Spring 2008
- Dr Stephen M. Holmes will join the faculty as associate professor in fall 2008. Steve comes from the University of Kentucky where he is assistant professor. He is an inorganic chemist with interests in synthesis, structural, magnetic and spectroscopic characterization of inorganic materials. He received a BS degree from Southwestern Texas State University, a Ph.D degree from the University of Illinois-Urbana and did postdoctoral research at Cornell University.
- Dr. Alicia M. Beatty also joins the faculty as associate professor in fall 2008. Alicia is currently assistant professor of chemistry at Mississippi State University. Her research interests are in supramolecular chemistry, crystal engineering and materials science. She graduated from UMSL with a BS degree in 1989 and completed a Ph.D degree at Washington University also in St. Louis. She served as the Director of the X-ray Diffraction Facility at Washington U and went on to Kansas State University as a postdoctoral fellow. She spent three years at the University of Notre Dame as research assistant professor prior to joining the faculty at Mississippi State in 2003. Alicia was the winner of the Alan F. Berndt Outstanding Senior Award here in 1989.
- Professor Keith J. Stine is the Chairman of the St. Louis Section of the American Chemical Society for 2008. Keith was Chair-elect in 2007 and had served as Secretary of the Section for the previous five years.
Staff Additions
- Joe Flunker joined the department last fall as Scientific Glass Blower replacing the late Ken Owens. Joe had previosly been at Washingotn University and came with the strong recommendation of Ken Owens.
- Bruce Burkeen joins the staff as Senior Engineering Technician. Bruce is the replacement for Ted Windsor. Bruce has worked at Mallinckrodt Inc. and also at McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing as a tool and die maker, a machinist and in instrumentation construction.
- John Tubbesing joined the staff recently as Senior Electronics Technician, as a replacement for Mark Regina who resigned last fall. John joined us from the SSM System where had been since 1985, originally working at Cardinal Glennan Hospital. He holds an associates degree from the St. Louis Commmunity College in biomedical engineering and a bachelors degree in electronic technology from Washington University College.
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