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Two Department of Chemistry doctoral candidates—Mehmed Zahid Ertem and Bo Wang—have received the 2010 Overend Award for Graduate Research in Physical Chemistry. The award honors outstanding physical chemistry graduate-student researchers.
Ertem is a research assistant in Professor Christopher Cramer's group. He earned a bachelor's degree in molecular biology and genetics from Bogazici University in Istanbul, a master's degree in chemistry from Bogazici University, and a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Minnesota. His research encompasses the application of diverse quantum chemical models to ligand-supported inorganic species because of their capacity to activate small molecules like oxygen and nitrous oxide.
"Based on his work, I believe that Zahid will be a real star in our graduate program and afterward," said Cramer.
Wang is a research assistant in Professor Donald Truhlar's research group. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics from Peking University in China, and a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Minnesota. Wang's research interests are theoretical and computational chemistry, including developing new algorithms in combined quantum mechanical and molecular methods to study chemical processes in large systems such as biomolecules and zeolites.
"It is a real pleasure to work with a student who can take the ball and run with it," wrote Truhlar in his nomination of Wang for the Overend Award. "Whatever it takes-new programming, new numerical methods, derivations, organization, hard work-Bo has put it all into [his] projects."
The Overend Award is named after Professor John Overend who was a physical chemist in the department from 1960 to 1984. The award was created in 1991 through the efforts of Professor Paul Barbara.