A query from Willard F. Smith, M.D. (BA43, retired in Ocala, FL) – “Am I the oldest living UD CHEM/BIOC alumnus?” – prompted a non-systematic spot check by your Editor. The 2007-2008 list of financial donors to our Department at the end of this edition of the BHC reveals that the answer is no, i.e., Robert N. Hopkins (BA39) is very much alive and kicking in Milton, DE. Can anyone else claim an earlier graduation date?
It is with great sadness, but with many happy personal memories, that I must report the passing of our Department’s first Ph.D. graduate and one of our finest alumni, Howard A. (Tony) Neidig (PhD48[William Mosher]), on January 19, 2008. Tony devoted the last 60 years of his life to Lebanon Valley College, serving as Department Chair from 1951 until his formal retirement in 1985. Subsequently, however, he and his wife, Helen, were honorary co-chairs of LVC’s Great Expectations Campaign and co-chairs of the Science Initiative to renovate LVC’s Garber Science Center. The Neidigs established and endowed The Neidig Fund for Chemistry Scholarships, the Neidig Chemistry Research Fund, and the Howard Anthony Neidig Award for an outstanding LVC senior. In return, LVC awarded Tony an honorary doctorate in 2004 and renamed its newly renovated science building the Neidig-Garber Science Center. Tony was the co-founder and publisher of Chemical Education Resources, Inc., and served as the Program Director for the Modular Laboratory Program in Chemistry. He received both a Manufacturing Chemists’ Association Award for Excellence in Chemistry Teaching (1970) and the E. Emmet Reid Award from the ACS (1978).
Edward L. Grinnan (MS50, PhD52) is living in Indianapolis, IN, having retired from his position as a research biochemist with Eli Lilly. He recalls his days in our old UD Biochemistry Research Foundation, working with his friend and mentor, George Limperos (BS44, MS47, PhD49) with great fondness.
G. Richard Goodley (BS54, MS58), having retired from his career as a Senior Research Associate with DuPont (44+ years) in Kinston, NC, has developed a second career in swimming as a senior competitor, high school coach, and author (“Success in a Small Town Swimming Program,” published by Vantage Press). maggrg@embarqmail.com
John J. Baldwin, PhD (BS56) has been inducted into the newly formed Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the ACS. This award honors those individuals who made significant contributions to drug discovery during the period 1966-2007.
John M. Eby (PhD65 [James Moore]) lost his valiant, 7-year battle with ALS on March 1, 2008. John started his research career at Armstrong World Industries (10 years), whereupon he moved to Mannington Mills, in Salem, NJ, where he worked for the next 28 years.
Reed E. Pyeritz, Ph.D., M.D. (BS68) has been named the Director of the University of Pennsylvania’s new Center for Excellence in Ethical, Legal and Social Implications Research (ELSI), established at its School of Medicine, in collaboration with the School of Nursing, the School of Arts and Sciences, the Wharton School, and the Annenberg School for Communication. It will be known as the Center for the Integration of Genetic Healthcare Technology (Penn CIGHT), and will receive over $5 million in initial funding from the NIH.
Shirish K. Shah (PhD68), an adjunct professor at Towson University, has been recognized by several biographical listings: Greatest Minds of the 21st Century, Cambridge Who’s Who, and the International Directory of Experts (Expert Elite Status) sshah10@verizon.net,
sshah@towson.edu
Roger A. Jones, Ph.D. (BS69) is the Chair of Rutgers University’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.
rjones@rutgers.edu
John C. Lim (PhD69) is “quasi-retired” in Lake Arrowhead, CA, but is still actively engaged as a consultant for clients doing silicon and photovoltaic research in Japan, Korea, and China. johnlim31@gmail.com
Noreen C. Campell (BS70, MS73) has retired from DuPont, writing finis to a career that spanned 28 years. She is still living in Newark, riding her horse, and volunteering for a horse rescue operation in Warwick, MD. noreenccampbell@verizon.net
Walter F. Schmidt, Ph.D. (BS70) is a Senior Scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, living in Glen Dale, MD.
walter.schmidt@ars.usda.gov
John C. (Josh) van Houten, Ph.D. (BS70), Leavy Family Professor of Chemistry at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, VT has devised an Inorganic ‘Jeopardy!’ game show approach to quizzing his students on inorganic descriptive chemistry, which was featured in a recent C&E News article (9/24/07, p.107). jvanhouten@smcvt.edu
Richard D. Breen (BS71) is a Technical Support Analyst with ESE, Inc.
breenr@ese1.com
Alan R. Yasser (MS72) is QED’s Western Sales Manager in Oakland, CA.
Carol (Doleba) Crowe (BS73) is AppTec’s Quality Control Stability Manager in Philadelphia, PA
carol.crowe@apptec-usa.com
John D. Barry, P.E. (BS74), who made a self-described transition to the “Dark Side” (MS in chemical engineering) is the author of “Eliminating Iteration from Flow Problems” in Chemical Engineering Progress, March, 2008, pp.36-41. John is a Senior Process Engineer with Middough, Inc., in Mt Laurel, N.J.
Melody L. (Monroe) Sterling (BS74) is a Library Assistant with the Louisville, KY Free Public Library.
brste@hotmail.com
John A. Sofranko, Ph.D. (BS75), has announced his decision to leave his position as the American Institute of Chemical Engineering’s Executive Director. During his 8-year tenure, John launched a number of successful initiatives, including the Society for Biological Engineering and the Institute for Sustainability. (Chemical Engineering Progress), May, 2008, p. 21.
Chester A. Andruskiewicz (MS76) is Centocor’s Director of R&D Collaboration Management, in Malvern, PA.
candrusk@cntus.jnj.com, chetatoz@aol.com
Robert C. Fromuth (BS76) is the President and COO of Boehringer-Ingelheim, in Columbus, OH. rfromuth@col.boehringer-ingelheim.com
David L. and Susan V. Goff (both PhD77) have both taken the plunge into the sea of retirement - he from DuPont, she from her teaching position at Towle Insitutue. They still live in Hockessin, DE.
sdgmath@aol.com
Debra Hess Norris (BA77) Henry Francis DuPont Chair in Fine Arts and Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at the U of D, has been named Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education. She also has been awarded the prestigious 2008 University Products Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.
John Allison (PhD78), Professor of Chemistry at the College of New Jersey, returned to his alma mater to present a seminar on “Applications of Laser Desorption Mass Spectrometry in Forensic Chemistry” on 11/16/07.
allison@tcnj.edu
Michael E. Bromberg, Ph.D., M.D. (BS78) is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at the Temple University School of Medicine. mbromber@temple.edu
David A. Plastino’s (BS78) dream of sponsoring two parallel undergraduate research fellowship programs at the U of D has reached full fruition, with the selection of the second six-person class of Alumni Undergraduate Research Fellows in our Department (see list elsewhere in this edition of the BHC) and the second class (for a total of four awardees) of Plastino Scholars, University-wide. Dave’s generosity has been made possible by his position as Senior Vice-President of Investments at UBS Financial Services in Philadelphia.
Joseph E. Plevyak (BS78) has retired in Midland, MI, having spent his entire working career with Dow Corning. joeplevyak@gmail.com
Joseph A. Kargol, Jr. (PhD79) is a Real Estate Agent with Prudential Associates Real Estate, in East Stroudsburg, PA. joekargol@yahoo.com
Sidney D. Lehr’s D.V.M. (BS79) successful efforts to save a dachshund puppy’s life, after she was bitten by a coral snake, provided the fodder for a long series of articles in the Palm Beach (FL) Post, as well as continuing TV coverage.
s.d.lehr@earthlink.net
Hilmar A. (Jody) Stecher III, Ph.D. (BS80) and his colleagues at Oregon State University have designed and successfully tested a microbial fuel cell, powered by ocean redox chemistry, that potentially could replace batteries currently used in oceanographic monitoring equipment (C&E News, 10/29/07, p.29)
Perry G. Aliotti (BS81) is the Regional Sales Director for Celanese Acetate’s U.S. and Canadian operations, living in Charlotte, N.C.
perry.aliotti@celaneseacetate.com
Annabel Y. Lee, Ph.D. (BS81) is doing contract work through IFI Claims and Patents.
leea87@yahoo.com
Mark A. Patrick, Ph.D. (BS81) is celebrating his 20th anniversary at GlaxoSmithKline (Physical Properties and Developability), in Research Triangle Park, NC. Mark.a.patrick@gsk.com
Peter T.A. Reilly, Ph.D. (BS81), a Research Scientist in the Central Research and Development Department at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, returned to Delaware to present a seminar on “Progress in Extending the Working Range of Mass Spectrometry into the Gigadalton Range” on 11/2/07.
Mark A. Arnold (PhD82) has been appointed to a named professorship at the University of Iowa.
Richard C. Bruch (PhD82) is your Editor’s counterpart (Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies) in the Department of Chemistry at Louisiana State University.
Tracy (Simpson) Olson, Ph.D. (BS82) the Senior Director for Program Management for Synta Pharmaceuticals, in Lexington, MA.
tolson@syntapharma.com, tntolson1@verizon.net
Edward W. Rutter, Jr., Ph.D. (BS82) is a Technical Project Leader with Honeywell Electric Materials, in Sunnyvale, CA. edward.rutter@honeywell.com, erutter@comcast.net
Martin W. Brechbiel, Ph.D. (MS83) is the Section Chief of the Radioimmune and Inorganic Chemistry Section of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.
martinwb@mail.nih.gov
Patrick J.A. Carney (BS83) received the Delaware ACS Section’s 2007 Top High School Chemistry Teacher Award, in recognition of his excellence in teaching chemistry at William Penn High School.
Donald F. Lyons, Ph.D. (BS83) is a Technology Associate in synthetic rubber research at the DuPont Experimental Station. donald.f.lyons@dupontelastomers.com
David P. Genereux, Ph.D. (BS84) is a Professor of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University. genereux@ncsu.edu
Edward J. Miller (PhD84) is a Professor of Chemistry at SUNY-Plattsburgh.
edward.miller@plattsburgh.edu
Rosette M. Roat-Malone (PhD84), Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Washington College, has completed the 2nd edition of her well-received text “Bioinorganic Chemistry: A Short Course,” published by John Wiley.
rroat2@washcoll.edu,
roatmalone@hotmail.com
Steven R. Sauerbrunn (PhD84) is back in Delaware, working as a Senior Scientist at the U of D’s Center for Composite Materials, on loan from his position as Technical Manager for Mettler Toledo,Inc., in Columbus, OH.
sauerbru@udel.edu, steven.sauerbrunn@mt.com
Galicano Inguito, Jr., M.D. (BS85) has been named the 2008 Family Physician of the year by the Delaware Academy of Family Physicians.
John R. Townsend, Ph.D. (BA85), Professor of Chemistry at West Chester University has ascended to co-author status of the 7th edition of the extremely successful text “Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity” published by Brooks/Cole (Cengage Learning). Your Editor has happily used this text as the primary resource for our CHEM-111/112 General Chemistry course throughout all 7 editions.
Beth M. Gucciardi (BA86) is the Research Director of RealWinWin, Inc., in Philadelphia. Her CHEG freshman son, Taylor Heffernan, was a well-performing member of your Editor’s CHEM-111/112 class this past year.
bgucciardi@realwinwin.com
Michael J. Haas (BS88) is a Senior Writer with BioCentury Publications, Inc., in Chadds Ford, PA.
mhaas@biocentury.com, artemisia0926@comcast.net
Susan Hallowell (PhD89) is the Director of Research for the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Andrew D. Hollenbach, Ph.D. (BS89) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics at Louisiana State University’s Health Sciences Center.
Aholle2@cox.net
Keith A. Hoffmaster, Ph.D. (BS94) has moved his work venue to Novartis, after having worked for Pfizer for 10 years, as a Senior Principal Scientist.
keithandjen@verizon.net
Alfredo Castro (PhD95), Associate Professor of Chemistry and Coordinator of Chemistry and Physical Sciences at Felician College, is another counterpart of your Editor, as he is also Felician’s NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative.
castroa@felician.edu
Jennifer (Ogrodnick) Cochran, Ph.D. (BS95), Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University, was the subject of an in-depth profile in the 9/12/07 edition of the Stanford Report. She has been named the 47th Mallinckrodt Faculty Scholar. http://news.stanford.edu Her husband, Frank (BS97), is now a Post-doctoral Fellow in Stanford’s Molecular Imaging Program.
Danielle M. Nicolo, Ph.D., M.D. (BS95) is an Internal Medicine Resident in Temple University’s Department of Medicine.
Phillip L. Ross (PhD95) is a Research Scientist with Applied Biosystems, in Foster City, CA.
Frederick P. Arnold, Jr. (PhD96 [Arnold Rheingold]), Assistant Professor of Chemistry at SUNY-Binghamton, died on 11/15/07, following a courageous battle with cancer (C&E News, 2/18/08, p. 58)
Peter G. Carson (PhD96) is the Application Manager for Richland Glass Company, in Vineland, NJ.
William J. Donovan, Ph.D. (BS96), Director of Freshman Chemistry and of the Northeast Ohio Center for Excellence in Math and Science at the University of Akron, had a very good year. He has been recognized as Akron’s 2008 Outstanding Teacher/Mentor of First-Year Students, and has been promoted to Associate Professor, with tenure.
wdonovan@uakron.edu
Bashir A. Mansoori (PhD96) is a Research Scientist with Quest Pharmaceuticals, in Newark, DE.
Catherine M. Bentzley (PhD97) is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.
Kenneth R. Neubauer (PhD97) is a Research Scientist with the Perkin Elmer Corporation, in Wellesley, MA.
John P. Bilello, Ph.D. (BS98) is now a Research Scientist with Idenix Pharmaceuticals, in Cambridge, MA.
bilello.john@idenix.com,
jjbilello@comcast.net
Jeffrey S. Dougan, Ph.D. (BS98) has moved to Champaign, IL, where he is now a chemistry teacher at Centennial High School.
Jill (Trafton) Venton, Ph.D. (BS98), Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Virginia, is a recipient of the annual Young Investigator Award presented by the Analytical Chemistry Academic Contact Committee of Eli Lilly & Co. (C&E News, 11/26/07, p.56).
William P. Bartolini (PhD99) is a Research Scientist with Microbia, Inc., in Cambridge, MA.
Sujata K. Bhatia, Ph.D. M.D. (BS99) has been promoted by DuPont from Medical Research Scientist to Research Associate. She has also been named a member of DuPont’s Educational Outreach Team (Wilmington News-Journal, 9/18/07). Sujata is currently serving as the Chair of the Delaware Section of the ACS.
David L. Zoller (PhD99) is a Research Scientist with General Electric Plastics, in Evansville, IN.
Mark W. Lehman (PhD00) is a Research Chemist with Wyeth’s Fort Dodge Animal Health Division, in Princeton, NJ. lehmanm1@pt.fdah.com
Kristian H. Link (MA00, PhD04), a Post-doctoral Associate in Dr. Ron Breaker’s laboratory at Yale University, presented a seminar on “Designer Riboswitches and Novel Antibiotics” in our Department on 6/13/08.
Eric M. van Ingen (MS00) is a Research Scientist with Quest Pharmaceuticals, in Newark, DE.
Suzanne Bart (Doucette), Ph.D. (BS01), Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Friedrich Alexander Universität, Erlangen, Germany presented a seminar in our Department on 12/17/07.
scbart37@gmail.com
Bart J. Fennemore (BS01) is a chemistry teacher at Caesar Rodney High School, in Camden, DE.
bart.fennemore@caesarrodney.k12.de.us
Kevin N. Hascup, Ph.D. (BS01), having completed his Ph.D. in Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of Kentucky in 10/07, is now a Post-doctoral Associate in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the Karolinska Insitutue, Stockholm, Sweden. kevinhascup@tmail.com
Cory A. Ocasio, Ph.D. (BS01), the first alumnus of the U of D’s Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program to earn a Ph.D. (from the University of California-San Francisco), returned to campus to serve as the keynote speaker at the 8th annual McNair and University Undergraduate Scholars Achievement and Celebration Dinner, on 8/9/07.
Andrew S. Palm (BS01) is a Research Chemist, working with Pfizer in Groton, CT. andrew.s.palm@pfizer.com
Chinghang (Candy) Tong, Ph.D. (BS01) has completed her doctoral work at CalTech, and has been hired by Sierra Research, an air pollution research and control company located in Sacramento, CA.
chtong@gmail.com
Valerie (Dzubeck) Bradford, Ph.D. (BS02) having successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at the University of Texas-Austin, is now a Post-doctoral Scientist with Procter and Gamble, in Cincinnati, Ott.
bradford.v@pg.com, valerie.j.bradford@gmail.com
Getting a head start: the Finneran twins, Jack and Grace. |
David W. Finneran (BS02, MS03) has been appointed the Coordinator of Chemistry Laboratories at Penn State’s Brandywine (formerly Delaware County) Campus.
William J. Morris, Ph.D. (BS02) is now a Post-doctoral Associate in the Shair group at Harvard, having received his Ph.D. from your Editor’s alma mater, Northwestern University.
Kristine A. Nolin, Ph.D. (BS02) bears the distinction of being one of the two CHEM-105 General Chemistry (for nursing majors) students that I converted to chemistry (out of 2178!) during my 22-year tour of duty teaching the course, ending in 2005. She has come a long way since then, having completed her doctoral work at the University of California-Berkeley. She is now an NIH Post-doctoral Fellow at Harvard, working with Prof. Eric Jacobsen.
knolin@fas.harvard.edu
Alison Olszewski, Ph.D. (BS02) is now a Principal Scientist in Molecular Discovery Research with GlaxoSmithKline, in Waltham, MA. allison.olszewski@gmail.com
Matthew J. Swierzbinski, M.D. (BS02) has completed his M.D. studies at Thomas Jefferson Medical College, and is now an emergency medicine (real-life “ER”!) resident at the Drexel University College of Medicine (formerly the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann University). While at Jefferson, Matt worked with another UD alumnus, Christine B. Arenson, M.D. (BS86), Professor of Family Medicine.
mjswiz@hotmail.com
Frederick J. Cox (PhD03) is a Research Scientist with Battelle, in Aberdeen, MD.
Derek A. Lake (PhD03) is a Research Scientist with General Electric Plastics, in Evansville, IN.
Berk Oktem (PhD03) is a Research Scientist with MassTech, Inc., in Columbia, MD.
Alicia E. DelRosso (BS04) is enrolled in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program at DesMoines University.
Heather S. Egolf-Fox (BS05) has received her M.S. degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Heather.egolffox@gmail.com
Holly Gloeckler (BS05) is a Chemistry Teacher at Cheltenham (PA) High School, having received her M.S. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. hgloeckler@gmail.com
Amanda (Peters) Kauffman (BS05) has been admitted to doctoral candidacy, working with Dr. Colleen Murphy, at Princeton University and was married to husband Mark on 9/15/08 (not necessarily in order of importance). alpeters@princeton.edu
Rachel L. Sleighter (BS05) has completed her third year of doctoral work at Old Dominion University, working with Dr. Patrick Hatcher.
rsleight@odu.edu
Ronald E. Cheadle III (BA06) is now a Chemistry Teacher at Wilmington Christian School.
Alec B. Fenstermaker (BS06) is an Assistant Project Manager with Theradex, managing clinical trials in oncology.
alecfenstermaker@gmail.com
Clint R. Henderson (BA06) is a Chemistry/Physics teacher in Frederick County, MD. thunderroamer@yahoo.com
Arnond Lertphaiboon (BS06) is an Application Specialist working on cytogenetic software with Metasystems, in Thailand. denkrap@hotmail.com
Adrienne R. Mohadjerin (BS06) has completed her second season as a skater with Disney on Ice. This time, she spent 8 interesting months as a cast member of the Incredibles, touring Scotland, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. As this is being written, she has started a third tour in Cairo, Egypt. Chemists do the darndest things!
amohadjerin@gmail.com
Christopher B. Schaffers (BS06) is an Associate Scientist with Siemens (formerly Dade Behring), in Newark, DE.
Kevin D. Joye (BS06) and Stacey C. Spencer (BS06) carried out the classic Double Del Reaction on 08/08/08. (Somehow, I doubt that that was a random choice of date!) Kevin is a Research Technician in Biomedical Engineering (Bone Substitutes), with Synthes Biomaterials; Stacey is an Assistant Research Scientist in Protein Engineering with the Centocor Division of Johnson & Johnson. They are living in West Chester, PA.
staceyspncr@yahoo.com
Karen (Taluskie) Williams (PhD06) is a Research Associate in Personal Care with the National Starch and Chemical Company, in Bridgewater, NJ.
karen.williams@nstarch.com, talu_k@hotmail.com
Haixia (Helen) Wu (MA06) is a Research Scientist in Biologics and Biomolecular Sciences R&D with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals in Danbury, CT. helen.
wu@boehringer-ingelheim.com
Christine E. Appleyard-Smith (BS07) is a Ministry Intern with Christ Church, in Wilmington, DE. ceasmith1985@yahoo.com
Jennifer (Hearne) Bobenko (PhD07), Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, has been appointed to be the Director of their Minority Biomedical Research Support Program.
jenhearne@aol.com
Andrew I. Koemeter-Cox (BS07) is currently an ORISE at the U.S. Army’s Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense. andrew.koemetercox@us.army.mil
Donald J. Kotowski (BS07) is an Associate Scientist with Siemens, in Newark, DE.
donald_kotowski@dadebehring.com
Danielle (Steele) Lusardi (BA07) is switching careers to high school chemistry teaching, and will begin her Masters in Science Education studies at Drexel University this fall.
daniellesteele@hotmail.com
Maria Wilburn (BS07) is a Quality Control Chemist with Fuji Film Imaging Colorants, in New Castle, DE.
isamaria85@yahoo.com
