- Email: [email protected]
Needle-free injections win research grant
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PEOPLE & PLACES UPDATE
Aronson becomes BNL interim director Samuel Aronson has been named interim director of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) while the search for a replacement for Praveen Chaudhari begins. Chaudhari stepped down from his role as director at the end of April. Aronson is BNL’s Associate Laboratory Director for High Energy and Nuclear Physics, overseeing the operation of the laboratory’s physics department and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Robert McGrath of Stony Brook University and Donald McConnell of Battelle have been appointed cochairs of the committee charged with finding a permanent director for BNL. The committee is expected to nominate a successor later this summer.
Instrumental award The laboratories of E. W. (Bert) Meijer at Eindhoven University of Technology and Bas de Bruin at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and Radboud University Nijmegen have received significant new funding from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). The agency’s Division of Chemical Sciences has made four awards totalling $1.25 million to cover the purchase of new equipment. Meijer’s group will create a new facility to investigate the aggregation mechanisms of synthetic and natural molecules. A new electron paramagnetic resonance machine will be installed in de Bruin’s laboratory for the study of novel materials and catalytic processes.
Polymer scientists honored by ACS Five researchers have been honored by the American Chemical Society (ACS) as fellows of the society’s Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) division. Each year, the division recognizes members who have made significant contributions to the science and engineering of polymeric materials. This year, Richard S. Stein of the University of Massachusetts, Anne Hiltner of Case Western Reserve University, Robert Weiss of the University of Connecticut, Robert Miller of IBM, and Donald Plazek of the University of Pittsburgh have been named as Fellows.
Liquid crystals display reward The $500 000 LemelsonMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) prize for invention and innovation has been awarded to James Fergason for discoveries leading to the development of liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Fergason began experimenting with liquid crystals on joining Westinghouse Research Laboratories in 1958. Although he was not the first to discover or work on the soft materials, he describes himself as being “the first guy who saw what they were really good for”. Fergason now holds over 600 patents worldwide and his innovations paved the way for many of the displays used today. Fergason Patent Properties, which he founded in 2001, continues to develop three new LCD technologies. “Fergason’s inventions are directly responsible for the creation of a multibillion-dollar LCD industry that employs millions of people around the world,” says Merton Flemings, director of the Lemelson-MIT Program. “He is also a staunch advocate for independent inventors.”
Needle-free injections win research grant Mark Kendall’s research at The University of Queensland, Australia into replacing the syringes used for delivering drugs with ‘nano patches’ on the skin has been backed with a three-year Smart State Senior Fellowship from the Queensland government. The $220 000 award will be supplemented by $180 000 in funding from the biotechnology firm Coridon as an industry cosponsor. “There is an explosion of designer drugs requiring precise delivery to specific locations in the skin and we are producing new delivery methods that are practical and needle-free,” explains Kendall. “This has enormous potential including the delivery of cheap and more effective vaccinations in the developing world.” Kendall’s group will target immunologically sensitive cells with the aim of producing improved immune responses in the treatment of major diseases such as HIV, malaria, and allergies.
New members join academy The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has elected 72 new members and 18 foreign associates for 2006 in recognition of their research achievements.
The list includes David A. Tirrell of the California Institute of Technology. His research combines organic, biological, and materials chemistry to create new polymeric systems with controlled molecular and supramolecular architectures. Another new member of the NAS is Laura H. Greene at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on highly correlated electron systems and novel materials. E. Ward Plummer is recognized for his work on surface physics, which investigates the electronic, magnetic, and structural properties of a material’s surface at the atomic scale. Sir Harold W. Kroto of Florida State University, one of the joint winners of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of fullerenes, becomes a foreign associate of the academy. He is joined by Chunli Bai, executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing.
Army sets up camp at Virginia Tech The US Army Research Laboratory is to establish a Materials Center of Excellence at Virginia Tech, providing $500 000 per year for up to nine years. The Multilayered Technologies for Armored Structures and Composites (MultiTASC) center will develop polymerbased materials to protect soldiers and equipment against weapons attack. Timothy E. Long and Romesh C. Batra are the cotechnical directors of the center, which will involve researchers from eight groups. “The MultiTASC center offers a unique, interdisciplinary team focused on providing polymer-based solutions for lightweight army systems with increased functionality, structural protection, and improved reliability,” says Long.
Lehigh names next president Alice P. Gast has been appointed the next president of Lehigh University, succeeding Gregory C. Farrington who stepped down in June. Gast moves from Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she directed the university’s research efforts for five years as vice president for research and associate provost. She also holds the Robert T. Haslam chair in chemical engineering, carrying out research on complex fluids and colloids. “I am inspired by the breadth and excellence of scholarly activities on Lehigh’s campus and I am honored to serve the university as its next president,” says Gast.
Please send details of new appointments, honors, and awards to [email protected]
JULY-AUGUST 2006 | VOLUME 9 | NUMBER 7-8
55
06/15/2006
10:49
Page 55
PEOPLE & PLACES UPDATE
Aronson becomes BNL interim director Samuel Aronson has been named interim director of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) while the search for a replacement for Praveen Chaudhari begins. Chaudhari stepped down from his role as director at the end of April. Aronson is BNL’s Associate Laboratory Director for High Energy and Nuclear Physics, overseeing the operation of the laboratory’s physics department and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Robert McGrath of Stony Brook University and Donald McConnell of Battelle have been appointed cochairs of the committee charged with finding a permanent director for BNL. The committee is expected to nominate a successor later this summer.
Instrumental award The laboratories of E. W. (Bert) Meijer at Eindhoven University of Technology and Bas de Bruin at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and Radboud University Nijmegen have received significant new funding from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). The agency’s Division of Chemical Sciences has made four awards totalling $1.25 million to cover the purchase of new equipment. Meijer’s group will create a new facility to investigate the aggregation mechanisms of synthetic and natural molecules. A new electron paramagnetic resonance machine will be installed in de Bruin’s laboratory for the study of novel materials and catalytic processes.
Polymer scientists honored by ACS Five researchers have been honored by the American Chemical Society (ACS) as fellows of the society’s Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) division. Each year, the division recognizes members who have made significant contributions to the science and engineering of polymeric materials. This year, Richard S. Stein of the University of Massachusetts, Anne Hiltner of Case Western Reserve University, Robert Weiss of the University of Connecticut, Robert Miller of IBM, and Donald Plazek of the University of Pittsburgh have been named as Fellows.
Liquid crystals display reward The $500 000 LemelsonMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) prize for invention and innovation has been awarded to James Fergason for discoveries leading to the development of liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Fergason began experimenting with liquid crystals on joining Westinghouse Research Laboratories in 1958. Although he was not the first to discover or work on the soft materials, he describes himself as being “the first guy who saw what they were really good for”. Fergason now holds over 600 patents worldwide and his innovations paved the way for many of the displays used today. Fergason Patent Properties, which he founded in 2001, continues to develop three new LCD technologies. “Fergason’s inventions are directly responsible for the creation of a multibillion-dollar LCD industry that employs millions of people around the world,” says Merton Flemings, director of the Lemelson-MIT Program. “He is also a staunch advocate for independent inventors.”
Needle-free injections win research grant Mark Kendall’s research at The University of Queensland, Australia into replacing the syringes used for delivering drugs with ‘nano patches’ on the skin has been backed with a three-year Smart State Senior Fellowship from the Queensland government. The $220 000 award will be supplemented by $180 000 in funding from the biotechnology firm Coridon as an industry cosponsor. “There is an explosion of designer drugs requiring precise delivery to specific locations in the skin and we are producing new delivery methods that are practical and needle-free,” explains Kendall. “This has enormous potential including the delivery of cheap and more effective vaccinations in the developing world.” Kendall’s group will target immunologically sensitive cells with the aim of producing improved immune responses in the treatment of major diseases such as HIV, malaria, and allergies.
New members join academy The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has elected 72 new members and 18 foreign associates for 2006 in recognition of their research achievements.
The list includes David A. Tirrell of the California Institute of Technology. His research combines organic, biological, and materials chemistry to create new polymeric systems with controlled molecular and supramolecular architectures. Another new member of the NAS is Laura H. Greene at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on highly correlated electron systems and novel materials. E. Ward Plummer is recognized for his work on surface physics, which investigates the electronic, magnetic, and structural properties of a material’s surface at the atomic scale. Sir Harold W. Kroto of Florida State University, one of the joint winners of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of fullerenes, becomes a foreign associate of the academy. He is joined by Chunli Bai, executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing.
Army sets up camp at Virginia Tech The US Army Research Laboratory is to establish a Materials Center of Excellence at Virginia Tech, providing $500 000 per year for up to nine years. The Multilayered Technologies for Armored Structures and Composites (MultiTASC) center will develop polymerbased materials to protect soldiers and equipment against weapons attack. Timothy E. Long and Romesh C. Batra are the cotechnical directors of the center, which will involve researchers from eight groups. “The MultiTASC center offers a unique, interdisciplinary team focused on providing polymer-based solutions for lightweight army systems with increased functionality, structural protection, and improved reliability,” says Long.
Lehigh names next president Alice P. Gast has been appointed the next president of Lehigh University, succeeding Gregory C. Farrington who stepped down in June. Gast moves from Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she directed the university’s research efforts for five years as vice president for research and associate provost. She also holds the Robert T. Haslam chair in chemical engineering, carrying out research on complex fluids and colloids. “I am inspired by the breadth and excellence of scholarly activities on Lehigh’s campus and I am honored to serve the university as its next president,” says Gast.
Please send details of new appointments, honors, and awards to [email protected]
JULY-AUGUST 2006 | VOLUME 9 | NUMBER 7-8
55