Fang Gao wins Bristol-Myers-Squibb Graduate Fellowship

Fang Gao, a 5th year graduate student in Professor Amir H. Hoveyda’s group, has been chosen to receive the 2011-2012 Bristol-Myers Squibb Graduate Fellowship in Synthetic Organic Chemistry.

Recognized for their academic and research achievements as well as potential for future accomplishments, Gao in one of five national winners. The others chosen to receive this significant honor represent Scripps Research Institute, Harvard University, Columbia University and UCLA.

Steven Malcolmson wins Reaxys PhD Prize

Dr. Steven Malcolmson, who earned his Ph.D. in Professor Amir Hoveyda’s group, was selected as a recipient of the 2011 Reaxys PhD Prize.  This highly competitive international award recognizes research and publication excellence.  Consideration is given for originality, innovation, importance to the field, applicability, rigor of approach and publication quality. A board of over 70 leading international chemists reviewed close to 300 submissions resulting in the naming of 3 winners.  Malcolmson was honored for his article, “Highly Efficient Molybdenum-Based Catalysts for Enantioselective Alkene Metathesis.”  He is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Christopher Walsh, Harvard Medical School.

John Kozarich Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows Named

We are pleased to announce the appointments of the 2011 Kozarich Fellows,  Samantha Goetz, Leo Lamontagne and Patrick Wong, as they begin their summer research projects at the Merkert Chemistry Center. With the generosity of Dr. John Kozarich, who endowed the summer fellowship program that bears his name, the department recognizes these exceptional undergraduate researchers in the areas of organic chemistry, chemical biology and physical chemistry.  Biochemistry major Wong ’12 is a student researcher in the lab of Professor Jianmin Gao.  Both Goetz ’13 and Lamontagne ’13 are chemistry majors currently working in the laboratories of Professors Jason Kingsbury and Frank Tsung, respectively.

2011 Kozarich Fellows, (L-R) Patrick Wong, Samantha Goetz, and Leo Lamontagne.

Dr. Kozarich currently serves as chairman and president of ActivX Biosciences, Inc. and was formerly vice president at Merck Research Laboratories. He has also served on the faculty at the University of Maryland and Yale University Medical School. He has over 125 publications and holds three patents. Dr. Kozarich received his B.S. in Chemistry summa cum laude from BC; his Ph.D. in biological chemistry from MIT; and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. We are grateful for his generous support and inspiration.

Chemistry Department Awards Ceremony

Signaling the end of the academic year, The Chemistry Department Student Award Ceremony recognizes the achievement of undergraduate and graduate students.

Heading a talented group of undergraduates, senior Anne Kornahrens became the first BC student to win the prestigious Skaggs-Oxford Scholarship, a joint five-year program, she will complete two years studying organic chemistry at the University of Oxford and finish her studies at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. Kornahrens also earned a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Among the other undergraduates acknowledged were; Douglas Brown, the 2011 Brian Lawrence Gray Prize, Christopher Sheridan, Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, and Matthew Jeffreys, Stanford Graduate Fellowship.

Graduate students capturing honors were; Robert Ely, Andrew Wommack, Amanda Worthy and Miao Yu, John LaMattina Graduate Fellowships, Fang Gao and Ping Zhang, AstraZeneca Graduate Fellows in Organic Chemistry, and Laura Kliman, recipient of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Fellowship in Organic Chemistry.

Congratulations to our Recent Graduates!

Earning their doctorate in 2010 were Joseph Arico, Professor Larry McLaughlin’s group, Professor Larry Scott’s student, Eric Fort, from Professor Marc Snapper’s group, Jason Gavenonis, Jason Marineau and Jason Rodrigo, Professor Evan Kantrowitz’s student Kimberly Mendes, Yunmi Lee, Steven Malcolmson and Kang-Sang Lee in Professor Amir Hoveyda’s group, Xiaomeng Shi from Professor Mary Robert’s group, Eric Dimise who was in Dr. Steven Bruner’s group and Stoichko Dimitrov, who studied under Dr. Torsten Fiebig. Receiving a Master’s of Science degree were Kyoko Mandai, Professor Hoveda’s group, Willis Martin, Dr. Torsten Fiebig, and Sui Shen, Professor Larry McLaughlin’s group.

May 2011 graduates were Tricia May and Adil Zhugralin, Professor Amir Hoveyda’s group, Jenn Quimby who studied under Professor Larry Scott, and Professor Larry McLaughlin’s student Kerry Salandria.