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News May 21, 2009 Five UI engineering faculty, staff receive excellence awards Five University of Iowa faculty and staff recently received College of Engineering Excellence Awards for their individual contributions to research, teaching, service, staff research and staff excellence in 2008-09. The five, honored by Dean P. Barry Butler at the college's annual faculty/staff recognition reception on May 14, are: Jacob Odgaard, Faculty Excellence Award for Service; Gene Parkin, Faculty Excellence Award for Research; Gary Christensen, Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching; Craig Just, Staff Excellence Award for Research; and Judith Holland, Mary Sheedy Staff Excellence Award. Parkin, Donald E Bently Professor of Engineering, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and professor of Occupational and Environmental Health, directs the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination. As a researcher in the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination as well as the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing, he is world-renowned as an expert in environmental engineering in such fields as wastewater design and treatment and the use of iron in remediation of chlorinated solvents. He was nominated for the research award for sustained research excellence over his entire career.
April 15, 2009 UI chemists' DNA biosynthesis discovery could lead to better antibiotics Combating several human pathogens, including some biological warfare agents, may one day become a bit easier thanks to research reported by a University of Iowa chemist and his colleagues in the April 16 issue of the journal Nature. Amnon Kohen, associate professor of chemistry in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said that the study indicated a new mechanism by which certain organisms manufacture the DNA base thymidylate. This new mechanism is so very different from the way humans synthesize this base that drugs targeting this biosynthetic path in the pathogens are unlikely to affect the human path, thus resulting in very reduced side effects or no side effects at all. more Dec. 18, 2008 Carmichael named to advisory board of Chinese university Greg Carmichael, Karl Kammermeyer Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering in the UI College of Engineering, and co-director of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER), has been named to the advisory board of a major Chinese university. While attending the Beijing Forum in November, he accepted a four-year term as a member of the new International Advisory Board for the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University. Also in November, Carmichael was named to a five-member, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) team that will issue a February 2009 "environmental report card" for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Nov. 26, 2008 UI engineer to help write 'environmental report card' for 2008 Olympics A University of Iowa College of Engineering professor has been named to a five-member, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) team that will issue an "environmental report card" for the 2008 Olympic Games. Greg Carmichael, Karl Kammermeyer Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, said that he and other team members will travel to Beijing, China, Nov. 30 for a one-week fact-finding mission. While there, they plan to meet with the Beijing Olympic Committee, Beijing Government officials and representatives of NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) to evaluate the effectiveness of environmental measures undertaken for the games. Among the areas to be investigated are: air quality; transportation; energy; forestry and afforestation; water; waste; sites and venues; climate neutrality; the role of sponsors, contractors, suppliers and hotels; campaigns and communications; and stakeholder's involvement. "These aspects were included in the green-elements of the Olympic bid," Carmichael said. "We will assess how well these items were addressed, what lasting elements are in place, and we will make recommendations to China for future actions to sustain these efforts, and to the International Olympic Committee about green initiatives for future Olympics." The report is scheduled to be released in February 2009 at a UNEP meeting of environmental ministers. During the 2008 Olympics, Carmichael and colleagues at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, used unmanned aircraft to monitor the results of China's efforts to reduce pollution. He also took part in an $800,000 NASA study combining satellite observations with models to attempt to quantify the impact of Olympic emissions controls on local and regional air quality. Also, this past summer, Carmichael was named to participate in a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study on the significance of the international transport of air pollutants. Sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the 21-month study will summarize what scientists know about air pollutants flowing into and out of the United States. STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa News Services, 300 Plaza Centre One, Suite 371, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2500. MEDIA CONTACT: Gary Galluzzo, 319-384-0009, gary-galluzzo@uiowa.edu
July 11, 2008 Shea named interim head of biochemistry at the UI
Shea succeeds John Donelson, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry, who has served as department head since 1998. Donelson will pursue a long-planned sabbatical in molecular parasitology at the University of Melbourne in Australia. He will remain a UI biochemistry faculty member. "We are delighted that Dr. Shea has agreed to lead the department through this period of transition," said Paul Rothman, M.D., dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine. "Madeline is an exceptional scientist and educator and an outstanding administrator who will ably advance departmental excellence and innovation. "The department's reputation for excellence is a result of the fine leadership provided by John Donelson over his decade-long tenure as department head," Rothman continued. "John has skillfully shaped and guided the department, making it a home for dynamic and successful scientific endeavor." Shea, who joined the UI Carver College of Medicine in 1989, has served as vice chair of biochemistry since 2004. She is an expert in the energetics and structural biology of protein-ligand interactions essential in calcium-mediated signal transduction. She has been a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator, and she has served her field as the president of the Gibbs Society of Biological Thermodynamics and through memberships on other internal and external committees. She also is a graduate of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation Academic Leadership Program. As a former director of the UI Biochemistry Undergraduate Program, Shea also has a long-standing commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists. She has trained numerous undergraduate, masters and graduate students in her lab, and mentored postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty as they embark on independent scientific careers. Shea currently teaches first-year medical students in medical biochemistry. Shea received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and a doctoral degree in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University, where she also conducted postdoctoral research. For more information about Shea's research, visit http://www.biochem.uiowa.edu/Faculty/madelineshea.html. STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa Health Science Relations, 5135 Westlawn, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1178 MEDIA CONTACT: Jennifer Brown, 319-335-9917 jennifer-l-brown@uiowa.edu
leases.uiowa.edu/2008/july/071108shea.html May 23, 2008 Five engineering faculty, staff receive excellence awards Five University of Iowa faculty and staff recently received College of Engineering Excellence Awards for their individual contributions to research, teaching, service, Staff research, and staff excellence in 2007-08. The five, honored by Dean P. Barry Butler at the College's annual faculty/staff recognition luncheon on May 13, are: Tonya L. Peeples, Faculty Excellence Award for Service; Michelle M. Scherer, Faculty Excellence Award for Research; David G. Wilder, Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching; Rajankumar Bhatt, Collegiate Staff Research Award; and Jane M. Dorman, Mary Sheedy Staff Excellence Award.
April 21, 2008 Kemin Contributes Global Soil Samples and Strain Collections to University of Iowa The contribution will increase the profile of Iowa’s Biotech Industry by creating DES MOINES, Iowa – April 21, 2008 – Kemin Industries made a contribution of 34,365 soil samples and 39,662 microbial strains to the University of Iowa today. The soil samples, collected from every continent and virtually every known ecology on the planet, is a tremendous source of genetic diversity for advanced medical discovery and biocatalytic applications of microorganisms and enzymes. Many of the soil samples come from old rain forests and/or ecologies that no longer exist. The Kemin strain collection consists of microorganisms isolated from these soils and includes actinomycetes, bacteria, and fungi. Each sample of soil contains millions of microorganisms, many of which have never been described or analyzed before. The soil samples can be mined for new microorganisms or genetic material for the discovery of new molecules critical to medical and industrial applications. University of Iowa’s Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing will implement a streamlined process for early stage screening for various enzymes. The collection will be openly offered to researchers, companies, and individuals who wish to mine the microorganisms for their own applications including screening for secondary metabolites and enzyme applications. “The soil samples and strain collections are valuable and unique assets,” said Dr. Chris Nelson, president of Kemin Industries. “We are very pleased to share it with the trusted and experienced University of Iowa researchers who will collaborate with us, other companies, and inventors to discover molecules and enzymes that could become vital to the improvement of human and animal nutrition and health.” “The University of Iowa is always looking for opportunities to engage with industries in research and development with practical outcomes in mind,” said Dr. Subramanian, Director of the University of Iowa Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing. “We are fortunate to have an enthusiastic partner like Kemin Industries to help us achieve this goal.” Kemin/UofI Soil Sample – Add One Potential discoveries in the soil samples and the strain collections could also lead to worldwide recognition for the University of Iowa and Iowa’s biotech industry. The soil samples and strain collections will create more opportunities for Iowa inventors. “The genetic diversity of our samples could lead to discoveries worth millions of dollars to the researchers, the University, and the state of Iowa,” continued Nelson, who is also the chair of Iowa Department of Economic Development’s Bioscience Alliance. “Kemin is committed to creating opportunities for bioscience companies to grow within the state of Iowa.” About the University of Iowa Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing Kemin® – Inspired Molecular Solutions™. For media inquiries, please contact:
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Peeples, associate professor of chemical and biochemical engineering, is a researcher in the field of organisms that thrive in extreme environments and has research interests that include extremophile biocatalysis and bioremediation. Peeples was nominated for her work as director of the Ethnic Inclusion Effort for Iowa Engineering -- a program designed to improve ethnic inclusion among engineering graduates and provide a model for other institutions interested in eliminating the disparity in ethnicity in engineering. Through Peeples' efforts, the College of Engineering continues to remain a national leader in its inclusion effort at the doctorate level. It has one of the highest percentages of U.S. underrepresented minorities in Carnegie Research I doctoral engineering programs in the nation. She also is the recipient of the 2000-01 Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching.The University of Iowa | Copyright © 2003. All rights reserved.