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Where are they now?

The Department of Chemistry is proud of its graduates and the work that they do in the world. Please send us news about your accomplishments and awards for possible publication on our news website, Facebook, or Twitter. Read about two alumni who have been promoted to professors; an alumnus who created a scholarship in honor of a professor; and prestigious awards for two alumni. On Facebook, we feature a new book edited by an alumnus.

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Send your responses and a photo to Eileen Harvala, Department of Chemistry communications coordinator, at harva015@umn.edu.


In memoriam: Alumnus Newman Bortnick, Ph.D., 1921-2015

Alumnus Newman “Newmie” Bortnick, Ph.D., died on Monday, April 20 (1921-2015), after a short illness. He was 93 years old. He received his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1941, and his doctorate in organic chemistry in 1944 from the University of Minnesota. He received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota in 2000 for his exemplary commitment and service.

He spent his entire career as a research chemist (1944-1990) with Rohm and Haas Company in the Philadelphia area and remained an active consultant after his retirement. His professional contributions led to the discovery, development and manufacturing of plastics, which we see and use every day such as polymeric resins used in paints, coatings, and clear plastics known as Plexiglas. His discovery of Primene tertiary alkyl-primary amines has been on the market for nearly 50 years. In addition to his professional contributions, Dr. Bortnick served on numerous boards and societies. His service as a volunteer statesman of the American Chemical Society spanned 44 years.

Donations in his honor can be made to the Newman and Lillian Bornick Fellowship Fund (#1373). His obituary was published in the Montgomery Newspapers on May 3, 2015.

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In memoriam: Lester C. Krogh, Ph.D., 1925-2013

Lester Christensen Krogh, Ph.D., a chemical engineer, chemist, and long-time 3M employee who shared his passion for chemistry by endowing two chemistry fellowships, died on Friday, January 25. He was 87.

Krogh earned his doctorate in chemistry at the University of Minnesota in 1952. He earned his engineering degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. For 38 years, he was a leader and senior vice president of of research and development at 3M. Because of his passion for chemistry and his commitment to the University of Minnesota, he and his wife Joan established the Lester C. and Joan M. Krogh Endowed Fellowships—two fellowships that give financial support to chemistry students. In 1984, Krogh was honored with an Outstanding Achievement Award by the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. Read More


Forty-four graduate students earn doctorates in 2013-2014

Forty-four graduate students earned their doctorates between June 2013 and May 2014, and include Evgeny Beletskiy, Andrew Bierbaum, Melissa Fierke, Nicholas Frost, Yuanyan Gu, Jaebeom Han, Jonathan Hinke, Ryan Hue, Elizabeth Jackson, David Josephson, Kyle Kalstabakken, Jun Sung Kang, Donghyuk Kim, Yong Wook Kim, Benjamin Manning, Kathryn McGarry, Audrey Meyer, Deanna Miller, Maria Miranda, Kaustubh Mote, Dawen Niu, Daniel O’Brien, Emily Pelton, Makenzie Provorse, Yuqiang Qian, Mohammad Rashidian, Naveen Rondla, Paul "Alex" Rudd, Chad Satori, Jacob Schmidt, Alireza Shokri, Joshua Speros, Jacqui Tehranchi, Rajan Vatassery, Bess Vlaisavljevich, Kelly Volp, Bo Wang, Patrick Willoughby, Gregory Wolken, Jing Yang, Yiyun Yu, Christopher Zall, Can Zhou, and Xu Zou.

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Alumnus Simon Shannon honored as TRIO Achiever

Alumnus Simon K. Shannon, Ph.D., was honored as a TRIO Achiever by the Mid-America Association of Education Opportunity Program Personnel (MAEOPP). Shannon received his doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2003, under the tutelage of Professor George Barany.

Shannon is currently a product developer in 3M’s Industrial Mineral Products Division. He holds 11 U.S. patents, has nine peer-reviewed publications, and supports the development of a number of products inspired by problems from biotechnology, healthcare, and materials science.

Shannon thanked his mentor Professor Barany during his award speech, “Thank you, Dr. Barany for appointing me to lead your lab as a senior lab manager, and instilling in me the motto that ‘nothing is hard, but everything takes time.’”

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Alumnus Andrew Aspaas receives Educator of the Year award

Alumnus Andrew Aspaas, a chemistry instructor at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, has received an Educator of the Year Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU). Aspaas did his master's thesis work in Professor Thomas Hoye's group in 2005.

The MnSCU Board of Trustees bestows the award to acknowledge and reward exceptional professional accomplishment and to encourage ongoing excellence in teaching. Evaluation criteria included: content expertise and professional growth; teaching strategies and materials; assessment of student learning and performance; and service to students, the profession, the institution, and the system.
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Alumnus Arthur Coury receives Outstanding Achievement Award

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents honored Alumnus Arthur J. Coury, Ph.D., as a 2013 recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA). The OAA honors graduates who have attained unusual and noted distinction in their chosen fields, professions, and public service, and who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership.

Coury is being honored for his outstanding contributions to biomedical device and biomaterials research and development. His prolific scientific work, extensive service to the academic and industrial scientific communities, and selfless mentoring has had a positive impact on innumerable lives. Read More


Darrel Untereker receives Outstanding Achievement Award

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents has honored Alumnus Darrel F. Untereker, Ph.D., as a 2013 recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA). The OAA honors graduates who have attained unusual and noted distinction in their chosen fields, professions and public service, and who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership.

Untereker is being honored for his outstanding contributions to and leadership of efforts to develop medical devices that improve the health of millions of people, his service to the University of Minnesota and its Department of Chemistry, and his expertise, problem-solving skills and management effectiveness that has been instrumental to the growth of Minnesota-based Medtronic, Inc.

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Alumnus Xiaoli Wang receives CACA 2016 Young Investigator Award

Alumnus Xiaoli Wang, Ph.D., from Agilent Technologies Inc. has been selected as the first winner of Young Investigator Award from the Chinese American Chromatography Association (CACA). This award will be awarded annually to an outstanding scientist who has made exceptional contributions to the development of separation science and its applications.

Wang earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Peking University in 2001, and a doctorate in analytical chemistry in 2006 from the University of Minnesota under the tutelage of Professor Peter Carr. He was co-advised by Professor Kent Mann.
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Alumnus Gary Brudvig receives Outstanding Achievement Award

Alumnus Gary W. Brudvig (BS,'76), Ph.D., has received an Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA) from the University of Minnesota. He is being honored for the impact of his many scientific contributions to the field of energy conversion both in biological and abiological systems, his extensive service contributions to his field, his outreach to the science education community in New Haven, CT, and his effective mentoring of coworkers.

Professor Brudvig is chair of the Department of Chemistry at Yale University, and is also its Benjamin Silliman Professor. He has a joint appointment in the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, and is director of the Yale Energy Sciences Institute. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1976, graduating with high distinction. He went on to earn his doctorate in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1981, and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley. He began his career in academia at Yale University in 1982.

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Register for ACS National Meeting Alumni & Friends Breakfast

If you are planning to attend the fall 2013 American Chemical Society National Meeting in Indianapolis, IN, please join us for the University of Minnesota Chemistry Alumni & Friends Breakfast. The breakfast is scheduled for 7:30-9:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 10, Wabash Ballroom, Section 2, Indianapolis Convention Center. Tickets are $5 and you can purchase tickets online when you register for the meeting at http://www.acs.org. The event number is SE-27. Already registered? You can still add a ticket by logging in at http://z.umn.edu/acsindianapolis. Read More


ACS National Meeting Chemistry Alumni & Friends Breakfast

If you're attending the American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Francisco, please join us at the Chemistry Alumni & Friends Breakfast, 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, Moscone Center, South Building, Esplanade Ballroom 306. Cost: $5. The event number is SE-16. To register for the conference and the breakfast, go to http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/meetings/fall-2014.html. Already registered? You can add a ticket by going to http://z.umn.edu/acssanfran. Read More


Laurie Breyfogle, Ph.D.

Laurie Breyfogle, Ph.D., is a senior scientist at Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati, OH. She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Iowa State University in 1999, and doctorate in inorganic chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2005, under the tutelage of advisers Marc Hillmyer and William Tolman. Read More


Mitchell Croatt, Ph.D.

Mitchell "Mitch" Croatt is an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. He earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2002, and his doctorate in chemistry from Stanford University in 2008. Read More


Alumna becomes director of NSF Chemistry Division

Alumna Angela K. Wilson will become the new director of the National Science Foundation’s Chemistry Division in March 2016. She earned her doctorate in chemical physics from the University of Minnesota in 1995, under the tutelage of the late Professor Jan Almlöf. A computational chemist, Wilson is currently a Regents Professor of Chemistry and director of the Center for Advanced Scientific Computing and Modeling at the University of North Texas.

She is an award-winning scientist, and one of the editors of Computational and Theoretical Chemistry. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is a National Associate of the U.S. National Academies. Her research interests include the development and understanding of ab initio and density functional theory methods and basis sets, prediction of thermochemical and spectroscopic properties from main group to heavy element species, catalysis, and energy and the environment. She will be moving her research laboratory to the Michigan State University in January 2016.

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Ertem receives Award for Doctoral Thesis Excellence

Mehmed Zahid Ertem, Ph.D., has received the Department of Chemistry's Award for Doctoral Thesis Excellence for a thesis completed in 2012.

Ertem received his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2012, working with his adviser Professor Christopher Cramer. Currently, Ertem is a post-doctoral research associate at the Department of Chemistry at Yale University, and the Department of Chemistry at the Brookhaven National Laboratory under the guidance of Professors Victor Batista and John Tully.
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Alumnus James Phillips honored for mentoring excellence

lumnus James Phillips, a professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, has received his university’s Excellence in Mentoring Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Award. This is his campus’ premier award given to faculty for their skill and dedication in mentoring student scholarly projects. Professor Phillips has mentored 30 students and had 36 student co-authors on peer-reviewed papers since coming to UW-Eau Claire in 1998. Two facets of his work were particularly cited by the reviewers: his focus on intensive development of student writing and his willingness to provide opportunities to a broader range of students by reaching out to those who appear to be less academically prepared or successful.

Phillips earned his doctorate in 1996, under the tutelage of Professor Kenneth Leopold. He has been a professor at UW-Eau Claire since 1990. Read More


Dave Giesen, Ph.D.

Dave Giesen earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry with a computer science minor from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 1992, and his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, in 1997, under the tutelage of Professor Christopher Cramer. He is a principle scientist for Schrödinger, Inc.  Read More


Thomas L. Guggenheim, Ph.D.

Thomas L. Guggenheim, Ph.D., is a principal process chemist for SABIC Innovative Plastics. He earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from St. Olaf College in 1978, and his doctorate under the tutelage of Paul Gassman from the University of Minnesota in 1983. Read More


Ed Huttlin, Ph.D.

Ed Huttlin, Ph.D., currently is a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Medical School Department of Cell Biology Education. He obtained his bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2003, and did his undergraduate research work under the tutelage of Associate Professor Michael Bowser. Read More


Heroes of Chemistry award honors alumni's innovation

Two Department of Chemistry alum—Wayne Ranbom, Ph.D., and Ryan Smith, Ph.D.—were involved in an innovative project that earned 2012 Heroes of Chemistry award honors from the American Chemical Society. Both are chemists at Arkema Incorporated. Ranbom earned his doctorate in 1978 under the tutelage of Paul Gassman. He is the director of Research and Development_Functional Additives at Arkema. Smith earned his doctorate in 2002 under the tutelage of Professor Wayne Gladfleter. They were part of a team of scientists honored for the scientific discovery, technical development and commercial implementation of Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition technology in the production of high performance window glass.
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Recent graduate Dawen Niu receives doctorate prize

Dawen Niu, Ph.D., has received a 2014 Reaxys PhD Prize. He was selected for his work on "the aromatic ene reaction." This research was published in Nature Chemistry in 2014. Niu worked with Professor Thomas Hoye at the University of Minnesota, earning his doctorate in 2014. He is now a post-doctoral associate, working with Professor Stephen Buchwald at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Niu has been invited to attend this year’s Reaxys Inspiring Chemistry Conference, September 21–24, in Grindelwald, Switzerland.

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In memoriam: Alumnus Malcolm MacKenzie Renfrew

Alumnus Malcolm MacKenzie Renfrew died on Saturday, October 12, 2013, his 103rd birthday. He earned his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1938. In 1977, he received an Outstanding Achievement Award—the university’s highest alumni honor. Renfrew earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from the University of Idaho. In 1938, he was employed by DuPont in research on new plastics. He was involved in the development of Teflon and made its first public presentation at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in 1946. He later became director of chemical research and development for General Mills, Inc. and for Spencer Kellogg and Sons. In 1959, he became head of the physical sciences department at the University of Idaho. He later chaired the chemistry department and officially retired as professor emeritus of chemistry in 1976.
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Alumna receives Best Paper Award for anti-cancer drug research

Alumna Yaohua Wang, who received her doctorate in analytical chemistry in 2010 under the tutelage of Professor Edgar Arriaga, has received the Best Paper Award 2012 presented by Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. She is a senior analytical chemist at Henkel of America.

According to the ABC website: "Wang is the lead author of a paper published in ABC on a method to isolate peroxisomes with biological function from other cellular organelles. Her research could lead to further developments in the investigation of the anticancer drug doxorubicin. . . ."

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Alumnus Scott Reeve named dean of Kettering Graduate School & Research

Kettering University in Flint, MI, has named University of Minnesota alumnus Scott Reeve, Ph.D., as the founding dean of its Graduate School and Research. In this new role at Kettering, Reeve will be responsible for revitalizing current graduate programs, creating exciting new on-campus graduate programs and providing leadership and oversight for the research mission of the University.

Reeve completed his doctorate in chemical physics at the University of Minnesota in 1992, under the tutelage of Professor Kenneth Leopold. Then he accepted an Office of Naval Research Postdoctoral Fellowship to study and characterize diamond thin film growth in a plasma jet at the Naval Air Warfare Research Center in China Lake, California.

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Simon K. Shannon, Ph.D.

Simon K. Simon, Ph.D., is a supervisor for Coating Research at Corning, Inc., organic and biochemical technologies research group. He earned his doctorate at the University of Minnesota in 2003, under the tutelage of Professor George Barany. Read More


Daniel Weston, Ph.D.

Daniel Weston is a research scientist—post-doctoral fellow—in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University. He earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2005 under the tutelage of Professor Wayne Gladfelter, and his doctorate from the Northwestern University in 2010. Read More