Editor's Notes
Greetings Penn State Chemistry!
The Spring 2023 semester has come to an end and we can now reflect on what a successful semester it was! Many of our students, postdocs, and faculty were recognized by various awards for their excellence in research, teaching, and contributions to the chemistry department. Great research was conducted and published, and we look forward to that continuing over the summer. With that said, we also want to wish our graduating students all the luck and success in their upcoming endeavors! WE ARE!
This edition of the newsletter includes recent department happenings, a message from the Department Head and the GSA, Chemistry Safety Insights, and Jackie Bortiatynski's Teaching Corner.
If you wish to have a story shared in a future newsletter, please contact me at chemcommunications@psu.edu.
Kathryn Harlow, Communications Coordinator
A Message from the Department Head
Grow interdisciplinary research excellence
Dear Chemistry Colleagues,
Continuing with President Bendapudi’s Vision for Penn State, her second goal is to “Grow interdisciplinary research excellence.” Chemistry is often viewed as the central science. In fact, it is almost impossible to think of a field that does not use chemistry in some way. Thus, our department stands to gain from a growth in interdisciplinary research. I have come to think of chemistry as a language in which to express one’s self, or a medium in which to make art. Because atoms and molecules make up all things, our discipline lies at the heart of interdisciplinary research. To conduct research without a molecular perspective is to have a lesser understanding, and therefore, a lesser ability to translate observations into products that can do life-changing things like produce clean energy, cure diseases, and improve agriculture.
There are several ways to engage in interdisciplinary research, no matter what you are doing right now. Here at Penn State, we partner with the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Materials Research Institute, and Institute for Computational and Data Sciences. These institutes run intercollege graduate degree programs (IGDPs) that can almost always benefit from having chemistry research groups involved. We can also partner with groups in other departments of our college: Astronomy, Biology, BMMB, Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics, as well as colleagues in other Colleges like Engineering, Agriculture and Health and Human Development. I would encourage all of us, faculty and students alike, to think about how our research connects with other disciplines. After all, Nature knows nothing of disciplines, and the greatest unsolved problems with the highest impact often lie between the traditional disciplines that were invented many, many years ago.
Best Wishes,
Phil Bevilacqua
Department Happenings
Postdoc News
Amy Solinski, a postdoctoral researcher in the Booker Lab, has been named a 2023 CAS Future Leader.
The CAS Future Leaders program supports the growth of science leadership potential among early-career scientists and provides them opportunities to network with peer scientists from around the world, connect with industry thought leaders, and take part in science leadership training.
Solinski's current research involves investigating radical SAM enzyme mechanisms.
Undergraduate Awards
Peter Gold Memorial Scholarship
The Peter Gold Memorial Scholarship is awarded to undergraduate students enrolled or planning to enroll in the Department of Chemistry who have achieved superior academic records or who manifest promise of outstanding academic success, and who have demonstrated outstanding service to the Department of Chemistry.
Winners: Luke Cowart, Matthew Herne, and Kara Kensinger
The Peter Craig Breen Memorial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Chemistry Research
This award was created in memory of Peter Breen to recognize a Penn State undergraduate Chemistry major who has achieved excellence in academics and research.
Winners: Matthew Binder and Gary Chen
Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology Student Symposium Award
Third year chemistry major Molly Burns was awarded 3rd place in the undergraduate presentation category at the Environmental Chemistry and Microbiology Student Symposium. Her project was titled “Analyzing Microplastic Content in the Susquehanna River”.
Graduate Awards
Student Leadership Award
With the leadership awards, we recognize students who demonstrated exemplary leadership in their research group, in the department, or on the national stage.
Winners: Mary Kate Caucci, Jonathan Jung, Jessica Norris, Olivia Peduzzi, Kara Pytko, and Nathaniel Sturniolo
Student Service Award
With the service awards, we recognize the exemplary service of our chemistry graduate students in their research lab, student organizations, climate in the department, and departmental committees.
Winners: Kristen Aviles, Theresa Buckley, Nushrat Hoque, Julia Katzbaer, Jessica Lee, and Haley Young
A Message from the Graduate Student Association (GSA)
On behalf of Vice-President Kara Pytko:
April showers bring May flowers! The GSA hopes everyone is having a great spring and enjoying the nice weather when possible. Pro tip: remember to stay hydrated and wear sunscreen!
This month was full of exciting events. We had a successful free professional headshot event and an outreach event where we helped guide elementary-aged children through several fundamental chemistry demos. Additionally, we hosted a Blue and White game tailgate and an Earth Day hike. Check our Chemistry GSA Facebook page for more information on events like these. We are also very excited to announce that we had a tremendous amount of delegate volunteers and look forward to working with all of the selected delegates!
There was a departmental safety officer meeting this past month and the GSA would like to encourage not only each lab's safety officer, but ALL lab members to take part in bettering the overall safety of your lab and reporting any incidents to your safety officer to improve awareness and preparedness. Check out the new Chemistry Safety Insights section below for more information on lab safety.
Next month, we will be hosting a GSA meeting that is open to the department, so please feel free to attend and bring forth any comments or concerns.
Follow us on Instagram (psuchemgsa), Twitter (@ChemGSA_PSU), Facebook (PSU Chemistry GSA) and LinkedIn (Penn State Chemistry Alumni) for more updates.
GSA Executive Board 2023-2024: Mary Kate Caucci, President | Kara Pytko, Vice President | Brandt Graham, Secretary | David Olori, Treasurer | Gaurav Dey, Outreach Chair | Olivia Peduzzi, External Liaison
Chemistry Safety Insights
Brought to you by the Department Safety Committee
Teaching Corner with Jackie
Student Feedback Moves Us Forward
Each year our program asks our graduating majors to participate in an exit interview with their academic advisor. I use this opportunity to learn more about their experiences in our program and to hear about the exciting new opportunities they are about to engage in after graduation. In asking my advisees about their experiences, I heard them talk about our chemistry community events and their participation in the Nittany Chemical Society (NCS). They shared how important it was for them to be a part of a community and to experience opportunities like presenting at the national ACS Meeting. The word “community” came up more than it had in past years. The community experiences they shared as most impactful involved opportunities for learning and growth, and many included their use of communication skills.
Last month in my teaching corner piece, I emphasized the need to continue providing opportunities for our students to build their professionals skills. Recent feedback that I have received from our graduating majors confirms this important goal. I am proud to be a member of an academic program that values instructor reflection and continued growth when it comes to our course curriculum and pedagogies. I am also excited to share that because of last month’s teaching corner piece, an alum reached out because she is excited to partner with us in continuing to build on our goals of increasing opportunities for student growth focused on professional development. In the future, I will share how we are integrating new ideas that come from these collaborations.
Take care,
Jackie Bortiatynski