AOAC Honors CSW Members

Alexander J. Krynitsky, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), College Park, Maryland, USA. AOAC announced a presentation of a Fellows Award to Alexander J. Krynitsky in recognition of his valuable work for the Association over the years. He has been an AOAC member since 1997 and is currently a Team Leader at FDA-CFSAN in College Park, Maryland, USA. Krynitsky has been a Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL Section Editor for Residues and Trace Elements since 2004. In 1997, he joined the Methods Committee on Residues and Related Topics, and from 1998 to 2000, served as committee secretary. From 2000 to 2003, he was committee chair and an Official Methods Board (OMB) member and now serves as past-chair of the Methods Committee on Residues and Related Topics. He was a participant in the 2001 OMB workshop and the AOAC Task Force for Pesticide Detection in Soft Drinks, which met at the 2006 AOAC Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, and once again in New Delhi, India. His research interests are in the area of developing rapid analytical methods for small molecule contaminants in foods using mass spectrometry. Krynitsky has been an active volunteer with AOAC throughout his career and has made numerous presentations at various AOAC events.

Additional honors were presented to Stanley Nesheim for 50 years of membership in AOAC International.

Dr. Zory R. Glaser has been selected as the Gordon Award winner for 2007 based on his outstanding service to the Chemical Society of Washington. This is based on his service as president-elect, president, and past president of the section; as Editor of The Capital Chemist, including the special issue for the 230^th National Meeting in Washington, D.C.; his service since 1995 on the CSW Board of Managers and on numerous committees. However, his enthusiastic participation in the CSW outreach to young, prospective chemists deserves special recognition. Dr. Glaser has spent many volunteer hours assisting in the Chemathons, judging for middle and high school science fairs, speaking for local high school and college seminars, mentoring students, and speaking at workshops on behalf of CSW and the profession. His selection as Gordon Award winner is timely and well-deserved.

The 2008 Leo Schubert Memorial Award for the Outstanding Teaching of High School Chemistry will be presented to Dr. Brian J. Kennedy of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, in Alexandria,. VA, at the CSW December Dinner meeting.

The award consists of a framed certificate and an $500 honorarium. Dr. Kennedy will present a short talk on his experiences as a chemistry teacher during the meeting. During the last five years, Dr. Kennedy has taught all levels of chemistry including honors, science honors, advanced placement, organic chemistry with instrumental analysis, chemistry research, and chemistry mentorship. He also sponsors the school's Chemistry Olympiad Team. In addition, he has been successful in receiving external funding for major equipment and resource needs. One of the most significant funding requests granted on behalf of this students was a MIT Lemelson InvenTEam grant of $1000 for student-led invention and development of a microbial fuel cell. In the last five years, over 100 students have participated in a science fair and two have gone on to college as chemistry majors. His students are glowing in their appreciation of Dr. Kenney as a teacher. Some of the testimonies from his students include:

• "He introduced me to a review of the literature"
• "He was disciplined yet helpful"
• "He pushed us to think outside the box"
• "Dr. Kennedy carefully listens to students' concerns and always runs with students to make sure that their pace is right and that no one is left behind"
• "He made my experience in the classroom enjoyable & fruitful, and influenced my decision to major in chemistry."

The Chemical Society of Washington congratulates Dr. Kennedy on his accomplishments, and invite all to attend the December Dinner Meeting to participate in his honors.

CSW Member-Dr. Catherine C. Fenselau to Receive High Chemistry Honors

As announced in the August 20 issue of C&E News, at the 235^th ACS National meeting to be held in April, 2008 in New Orleans, Dr. Catherine C. Fenselau of the University of Maryland will receive the "Frank H. Field and Joe L. Franklin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mass Spectrometry" sponsored by Waters Corporation.

CSW President John Malin stated, "The Field and Franklin Award is a major one. When a CSW member wins it, it is absolutely a point of pride. On behalf of the entire membership of CSW we offer our colleague, Dr. Fenselau a hearty and well-deserved congratulation."

College Chemistry Achievement Awards were presented at the February 2007 dinner meeting by the CSW Education Awards Chairman, Dr. Fred Carson, to the one or two top students selected by each of the colleges and universities in the CSW geographic area. This year nine nominations were received from six educational institutions.

The following citations, which were read at the award ceremony, illustrate the both the scientific accomplishments and the breadth of interests of these undergraduate students:

Samantha Shterengarts (American University)

Samantha exemplifies the high caliber of science students at American University. She is an honors student in the Chemistry Program with an overall grade point average of 3.80 GPA. She is currently working with Dr. Fox on the "Effects of Hydrophobic Additives on Biopolymer Properties." Her excitement for making usable and water resistant buttons from biomass materials expresses her enthusiasm towards chemistry and the sciences. Outside of the sciences, Samantha continues to express her enthusiasm towards learning and taking on responsibilities. She is fluent in both the Spanish and Russian languages, has traveled to Argentina, Russia and Israel, has taken classes in Latin American and Spanish Culture, and was the president of the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority last year.

Nikolai Wajda (The Catholic University of America)

This year the College Chemistry Achievement Award for the outstanding senior in chemistry or biochemistry from the Catholic University of America is Nikolai Wajda. Nikolai will graduate with a BS in Biochemistry in May 2007. Besides being an excellent student, Nikolai has been an active researcher during his undergraduate career. During the summer of 2005, he worked with Dr. Steven Firestine at Duquesne University on a project entitled, "Selective Binding of Triaza-cyclopenta[β]phenanthrene to G-Quartet DNA". His worked involved both computational studies to search for ligands binding to G-quartet DNA and binding assays using fluorimetry. During the spring '06 semester he was a research assistant for Dr. James Greene at CUA, culturing cells for RNA extraction and preparing cDNA for use in microarray experiments. Most recently, during the summer of 2006 and the fall '06 semester, he worked for Dr. Madhusoodana Nambiar at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring on a project entitled "The search for therapeutics against acute respiratory toxicity". For Dr. Nambiar he performed assays on biological samples, including protein assays and acetyl- and butylcholinesterase assays. After graduation, Nikolai plans to attend medical school and has an interest in studying Alzheimer's disease.

Caitlyn Mae Faller (Georgetown University)

Caitlyn Mae Faller was introduced to antimalarial drug research during her second semester at Georgetown University. It was an introductory course on research experimentation during which Caitlyn learned how a high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer could be used to study how molecules interact with each other. In this work, Caitlyn found that quinoline-based antimalarial drugs could form dimers in solution via π-π interactions between their quinoline rings. This type of interaction is likewise present when antimalarial drugs bind to their target heme. In the following years, Caitlyn continued in this line of research, performing a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. She used relaxation NMR measurements to elucidate the interaction between antimalarial drugs and heme, and employed ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations to extract from first principles the nature of these interactions. Her work provided novel information regarding the structure of drug-heme complex as well as the nature of the interactions responsible for the formation of this complex, paving a way to understanding the molecular basis of how quinoline-based antimalarial drugs function.

Paul Joseph Lukac (Georgetown University)

Paul Lukac (aka PJ) has performed research in my lab during the last 2 semesters and the intervening summer. He has been highly instrumental in developing a new class of isothermally reversible ionic liquids based upon alternating the bubbling of CO₂ or N₂ gas through solutions of an amidine and an amine. PJ's contributions have included both the gathering of data and their interpretation. In recognition of those contributions, he was awarded 1^st prize in his group for his presentation, "Ionic Liquids: Our Future Solvation?", at the 9^th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium in the Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County last Fall. He has worked closely with one of my postdocs, Taisuke Yamada, and their efforts have led to a publication coauthored by them in the ACS journal, Chemistry of Materials. I expect that PJ's name will appear on 2 more publications. PJ has received an Adams Fellowship from the Chemistry Department and 2 GUROP awards from the University to support his research participation. He has the highest overall grade point average, as well as in chemistry and in math and science, of our chemistry and biochemistry majors this year. He is able to translate what he learns in the classroom to create new scientific knowledge. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have him in my lab.

Alexander Lee Matz (George Washington University)

Alex Matz is a junior at The George Washington University. He will be graduating next May with a B.S. in chemistry and a minor in psychology. He is a University Honors Program student and Presidential Scholar.

In 2005 Alex received the CRC Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award. He is currently working on undergraduate research in biochemistry with Dr. Marcos Rojkind. Alex is measuring the changes in the expression of certain markers of damage and differentiation in liver cells due to enzymatic generation of hydrogen peroxide. Since ethanol metabolism generates oxidative radicals, hydrogen peroxide can be used to precisely assess the damage drinking causes the liver. Further research will involve trying to reverse and inhibit the changes in liver cells. Alex has also coauthored two papers on achondroplasia and foot length multipliers that have appeared in The Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery in 2005. After graduation Alex plans on attending medical school at the GWU Medical Center as part of his acceptance into the early selection program to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Daniel Arthur Bruestle (St. Mary's College of Maryland)

Daniel Bruestle will graduate with a B.A. in biochemistry in May 2007 from St. Mary's College of Maryland, and then he plans to start a post baccalaureate position at NIH, where he will work for a year or two before applying to medical or graduate school. He has a very admirable GPA of 3.9 at St. Mary's and studied abroad at the University of London in the Spring 2006 semester. He is currently working on a research project involving RNA interference of proteins involved in lipid metabolism. He completed two summer research internships over the past two years; one was at Uppsala University Biomedical Institute, Sweden, in the summer of 2006 working on pancreatic β-cell failure through E. R. stress. The other internship was at the National Cancer Institute in summer 2005 on a project that involved screening zebrafish for genes related to leukemia. Danny volunteered as a science and math teacher at an elementary school in Botswana, Africa during the summer of 2004 and has served as a teaching assistant for Genetics laboratory.

In addition to his academic and research experiences, Danny plays trombone for the school jazz band and orchestra. He has served as a hospital volunteer and worked for Habitat for Humanity. He is also a supervisor for College Intramural Sports and has played on a number of intramural teams. He is a member of the Windsurfing Club and can often be seen biking around campus.

Troy Kearney Townsend (St. Mary's College of Maryland)

Troy Townsend comes from rural West Virginia. He will be graduating from St. Mary's College of Maryland with a double major in chemistry and biology. In addition to excelling in the classroom, he has a 3.75 GPA, he has been a chemistry tutor for Organic and General Chemistry through the chemistry club for two years. Troy did research for his St. Mary's Project in the central African county of Malawi. He worked with Dr. Ken McKaye of the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Studies. For his project, he investigated the Bulinus nyassunus, a snail found in Lake Malawi. These snails are carriers for schistosomiasis. His results revealed new insights in the nature of the snail's habitat and the transmission of the disease. His next step will be to pursue a doctorate in chemistry with the intention of exploring alternative energy resources.

Kevan Jonathan Salimian (University of Maryland)

Kevan has been doing research in bioorganic chemistry since his freshman year with Prof. Jeff Davis at the University of Maryland. He's a co-author on 2 papers, winner of numerous scholarships and poster presentations and a straight A student. He's a joy to interact with, having a great sense of humor and a well balanced outlook on life. After graduating from Maryland this spring, Kevan hopes to go on to medical school and earn an MD-PhD degree.

Emily Jane Danoff (University of Maryland)

Grades, scholarly pursuit and community service all come to mind when we think of academic excellence. We hope that each student will make accomplishments in these areas and we applaud those who excel in even a single one. Occasionally there comes a student that surpasses our expectations in all three areas, and these are the students for whom we love to write recommendations. The ease with which we can quantify their excellence appeals to our scientific thinking. In Emily Danoff's case it's a simple matter to let the numbers speak for themselves. She has one patent pending, two publications, three prestigious awards, a perfect GPA and we could go on and on. However, lost in these numbers is the true description of who Emily is and why she deserves this honor tonight. After observing Emily for several years in both lab and classroom, I've concluded she is simply somebody doing what she truly enjoys. What she enjoys is making discoveries, learning new things and taking on challenges. She makes constant progress by careful planning and focused efforts, all sustained by a genuine passion for discovery, and this is the secret to her success. Best of all, her enthusiasm is contagious. She is a wonderful collaborator and she is rich in friends because she is kind and modest. I predict that this will not be the last time you hear about Emily Danoff, and if you do sometime read of her future accomplishments, you can be assured that it's simply an account of somebody doing what they truly enjoy.