Kyle F. Augustine, Michael S. Bible, Richard Fisher,

William P. McDonough, Matthew R. Skorski, Irina Wang, Laura M. Woolls, Iowis Zhu

CSW extends a special thank you to the following students for decorating for this event: Kim Huynh, Amanda Lee, Steven Wolf, Marcus Carter, Aaron Geller, Shweta Ganapati, Sandra Zebaze.

Kyle F. Augustine University of Maryland, College Park Mentor: Lawrence R. Sita

Kyle Augustine is an undergraduate chemistry major who has made significant advances in the synthesis and characterization of novel new categories of polyolefin materials that are prepared through the living coordinative chain transfer polymerization (LCCTP) of olefins. In initial studies, Kyle discovered that the LCCTP of 1,5-hexadiene can be conducted to prepare scaleable quantities of poly(1,3-methylenecyclopentane) (PMCP) of tunable molecular weights and very narrow polydispersity. Subsequently, Kyle has shown that end-group functionalized PMCP materials can be prepared through LCCTP. Collectively, these PMCP materials form the basis for a broad range of new polyolefin architectures, including star and graft copolymers.

Michael S. Bible American University Mentor: Matthew Hartings

Michael Bible is an excellent student, maintaining a nearly perfect GPA, and has been active in research. He has certainly singled himself out from among the other chemistry majors at AU. American's chemistry and biochemistry degrees require more credits than nearly any other majors at the university. In spite of this, Michael graduated in 3 and 1/2 years. And, he succeeded at this while doing a semester abroad in Australia. This was no easy accomplishment. Michael has also proven himself to be a valuable researcher in our department as well. As part of our Biomaterials Design Laboratory, Michael helped to develop polymer-clay nanocomposite particles that we are studying for applications in water purification. The materials that Michael used are less costly than activated carbon and can potentially be more easily regenerated. As part of this work, Michael is a co-author on two papers that we have submitted. In these labs, Michael has also worked on technology for the detection of disease-related proteases that utilizes a novel gold nanoparticle-based material that we had previously developed. Michael's current research interests and focus are more inorganic in nature. He has single-handedly started a project to study the Lewis acidity of lanthanide ions within polyoxometalate structures. He hopes to eventually use these structures for chemical catalysis. Michael has been a wonderful member of our department and we are delighted that he is being honored with this award from CSW.

Richard Fisher The George Washington University Mentor: Cynthia Dowd

Richard Fisher is currently a senior at The George Washington University majoring in chemistry and minoring in Biology and Criminal Justice. Richard first began conducting research in the Dowd Lab after receiving the Madeleine Reines Jacobs scholarship in the summer of 2014. His project involved synthesizing new proteasome inhibitors to combat Mycobacterium tuberculosis. After receiving the highly competitive Luther Rice Research Fellowship in the summer of 2015, he began synthesizing new compounds to inhibit DXR, a key enzyme found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis as well as Plasmodium falciparum. Richard was also heavily involved in computational experiments for both projects using the program GLIDE® as a tool to visualize the ligand-protein interactions. Outside of the lab, Richard is a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and the co-founder of Capitol Food Recovery. This is a student organization at GW that collects excess food from restaurants in the DC area and delivers it to local food banks. He has also served as an Undergraduate Learning Assistant for the courses Organic Chemistry and Contemporary Science. After graduation, Richard hopes to continue with a career conducting research in the sciences.

Armita Kabirpour George Mason University Mentor: [unable to attend]

The recipient of the CSW College Chemistry Achievement Award from George Mason University this year is Armita Kabirpour. This candidate for the B.S. in Chemistry never met a course she didn't love. In one recent semester, she took Quantitative Analysis, P Chem lecture, P Chem lab, Bioinorganic Chem, and Anatomy, earning an "A" or "A+" in each. I join all of the faculty in the department in congratulating her. Well done Armita!

William P. McDonough The Catholic University of America Mentor: Greg Brewer

The winner of the College Chemistry Achievement Award for 2016 from the Catholic University of America is Liam McDonough. Liam will graduate from Catholic University in May with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a minor in Organ Performance. Maintaining a 3.98 GPA, he has pursued a rigorous schedule while finishing his biochemistry degree, pursuing active musical study under internationally acclaimed composer-performers Leo Nestor and Jeremy Filsell. He was a Goldwater Scholarship nominee from CUA for the 2014-2015 academic year. In 2012 he worked in the research lab of Dr. H. Ralph Rawls of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio on the project “Endoperoxide Sources for Oxygen Generating Capabilities in Artificial Tissues”. Liam worked under the direction of Dr. Kevin Temeyer of the Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory on “Synthesis of Mutant Cattle Tick Acetylcholinesterase Constructs” during the summer of 2015. In addition to working on biochemistry and music degrees, Liam founded and worked as the Editor-in-Chief of The Crosier, a student-run journal of pro-life academic articles. Under his tenure, The Crosier was named “Best Journal of Letters” in 2014 by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and associated Collegiate Network at their annual Editors Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, despite heavy contention from Harvard’s Salient, Yale’s Light and Truth, and Columbia’s Crown and Cross. Liam has been accepted to medical school at The University of Texas Medical Branch and is currently awaiting decisions at other schools. Wherever he ends up, he hopes to continue his musical career as an organist and choirmaster.

Adewola Osunsade University of the District of Columbia Mentor: [unable to attend]

Ms. Adewola Osunsade, an outstanding student, is a senior chemistry major in the Division of Sciences and Mathematics Chemistry Program at University of the District of Columbia (UDC). She quickly impressed her General Chemistry professor with her scholastic ability and started working in his research laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Xueqing Song. She has consistently achieved excellence in her academic studies. Among awards that she has received are department awards, including the CRC Press Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award and the Hershel McDowell Award for Outstanding Chemistry Student. She received first place awards for oral presentations at meetings, including UDC Undergraduate Day, ERN, and BKX meetings. Additionally, she has been a participant in the NIH-funded MARC U-Star Program for the past 1.5 years. Ms. Osunsade’s deep interest in chemistry has been shown by her engagement in scientific research on organotin chemistry at UDC and, for the past three summers, in undergraduate research at other universities. As one of 17 students selected for the ACS International Research Experience for Undergraduates, she was a 2015 summer intern in the laboratory of Professor Dr. Tanya Weil, Ulm University, Germany. She will present her work there “Ordered Protein Assembly via a DNA Origami Scaffold” at the 251st American Chemical Society National Meeting and Exposition, San Diego, CA in spring 2016. Ms. Osunsade is co-author of one scientific publication and has presented papers at scientific meetings for the past three years. Additionally, she serves as a teacher’s assistant in Organic Chemistry I and II courses, is president of the UDC Chemistry Club, and serves on the student advising committee for the UDC Honors Program. She also volunteers as a science mentor at Ballou Senior High School and was D.C. delegate to the International Youth Organization Forum, Beijing, China in 2014. Ms. Osunsade plans to begin graduate studies in fall 2016. She has been accepted into the Ph.D. program in Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has received interviews at several other prestigious universities.

Matthew R. Skorski American University Mentor: Stefano Costanzi

A senior undergraduate majoring in Biochemistry, Mr. Matt Skorski is a highly talented student, academically very successful, with significant technical skills, and highly passionate about his studies and his research. Matt is currently involved in computational research in Dr. Stefano Costanzi’s group at American University, focusing on the construction of three-dimensional models of biological macromolecules and the computational study of their interactions with ligands. In particular, Matt’s activities contributed to an undergoing study on homology modeling of G protein-coupled receptors, which are the biological targets through which many of the drugs on the market exert their actions. Matt has also conducted research under the supervision of Dr. Abigail Miller at American University, to develop a novel acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and titanium dioxide nanoparticle composite capable of being used in commercial 3-D printers. His research has resulted in four conference presentations and one submitted manuscript. Besides his academic accomplishments, Matt has worked as a Supplemental Instruction leader for three years, assisting undergraduate students in calculus and general chemistry. Additionally, he served as the secretary for the Student Historical Society of American University for a year, helping organize events such as a bus trip to Gettysburg. In his leisure time, Matt enjoys walking on the beach with his dog, reading sci-fi/fantasy novels, and visiting historical sites. Matt has been a wonderful member of our department and we are delighted that he is being honored with this award from CSW

Irina Wang Georgetown University Mentor: Rodrigo Maillard

Irina Wang (Biochemistry Major 2016) is an outstanding researcher: she is curious, skillful, creative, very hard working, and independent. She has mastered a very wide range of techniques in gene manipulation, mutagenesis, protein chemistry, and biophysical measurements. Her project involves dissecting the thermodynamic linkage of interactions between cAMP, DNA and the transcription factor CRP (cAMP receptor protein) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Understanding the basic mechanisms of operation in this transcription factor is important because it is involved in the emergence of the bacterium from the latent to the active, infectious state. Irina has made sufficient novel discoveries to prepare a high impact manuscript in which she will be first co-author. Irina has a bright and promising future in academia, and this award reflects her commitment to the highest research standards.

Laura M. Woolls Georgetown University Mentor: YuYe J. Tong

Ms. Laura Woolls is senior chemistry major and an excellent student. Not only is her GPA at the top of her class, but also she excels in research. Laura joined Dr. Tong’s group doing undergraduate research in Spring 2014 and worked with a former graduate student Melissa Vinson of Dr. Tong on synthesizing PtCo nanoparticles (NPs) for ethanol oxidation, and learning rudimental lab techniques. After a whole semester study-abroad in Scotland for the Fall 2014, she resumed doing research in Dr. Tong’s lab at the beginning of Spring 2015. This time, she works with Yanyan Wang, another student of Dr. Tong, on the same PtCo NPs project but for different objectives: oxygen reduction reaction and the PtCo NPs stability under the reaction condition, which is a continuation of a project started by an REU student in summer 2014. As compared to Spring 2015, Laura is now much more mature, independent and assertive in handling her research. As she is working hard in the lab, her learning speed is also picking up. She is able to take over the project quickly from where it was left and contributed significantly to its progress. She synthesizes reproducibly the PtCo NPs as needed and carries out SEM and electrochemical characterization, more like a graduate student rather than an undergraduate student. She will be a co-authored of a paper that is currently being written up and will be soon submitted to a top chemistry journal. For her notable academic achievements, Ms. Laura Woolls is nominated by the Department of Chemistry, Georgetown University for CSW’s College Chemistry Achievement Award 2015-2016.

Iowis Zhu University of Maryland College Park Mentor: Jason D. Kahn

Iowis is a superbly talented and energetic Biochemistry senior, with a double degree in Biological Sciences and minors in both Public Leadership and Technology Entrepreneurship. He will graduate with about 230 credits, just shy of two complete degrees, with a GPA within epsilon of 4. Iowis founded and led the UMaryland iGEM (international genetically engineered machines) team. He has taught in the Chemistry and Biology Departments undergraduate programs. He has won competitive HHMI research funding and he has also been recognized with a Goldwater Fellowship. He is completing his senior thesis research with Prof. Jason Kahn, on the characterization of rationally designed coiled-coil DNA looping proteins. Dr. Kahn states that he is constantly amazed at the breadth and depth of Iowis’s interests, and especially impressed that he is able to do so many activities simultaneously at such a level of excellence. Iowis plans to do an MD/PhD after graduation.