Pierre V. Sokolsky Dean, College of Science. Photo by Steven Leitch/University of Utah

Most impressively in this “Great Recession,” the Thatcher family of Salt Lake City, Utah, showed great generosity and forward thinking by donating a multi-million dollar gift to the chemistry department to supplement an $8 million National Institutes of Health grant to construct an addition to the south tower of the Henry Eyring Chemistry Building.

The new Thatcher Building for Biological and Biophysical Chemistry will include a mass spectrometry facility and advanced undergraduate laboratories, which are particularly important since the department’s undergraduate student population is expected to increase over the next few years.

Another important gift was the establishment of an endowment to support a graduate fellowship. The Dale A. Stringfellow Endowed Fellowship in Cell Biology or Microbiology commemorates the life and work of the well-respected research scientist and U of U science graduate Dale Stringfellow. Graduate fellowships are few and far between in the College of Science and are much needed. They permit the college to attract the best students and allow them to pursue research at the highest level. We are most grateful to Mrs. Jean Stringfellow for her generosity in providing this gift in memory of her late husband.

Alumni participation increased significantly this year, with a more than 60% rise in the number of alumni giving to the College of Science. We are very gratified that our alumni are stepping up to support the great teaching and research in the college. As state support continues to diminish, and budgets get tighter and tighter, private giving becomes more important. We hope that each of you find it possible to contribute in any way you can to our great common task of teaching the next generation about science and mathematics and pushing the frontiers of knowledge through the continued building of excellence. We are particularly looking for funds to support scholarships to offset the continuing tuition increases our students are experiencing, as well as donations to support the ACCESS Scholarship Program for Women in Science and Mathematics.

A new Donor Recognition Wall is now installed in the lobby of the Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building. This will allow us to properly honor our generous donors and highlight their contributions in a very visible area of campus.

A good example of cutting edge research that is going on in the college is the recent work of Distinguished Professor of Mathematics Graeme W. Milton. A feature article on page six discusses how Professor Milton has developed the mathematics of cloaking: a potentially practical way of rendering objects invisible to sonar and radar, and safe from earthquakes and tsunamis. While much yet remains to be done to make cloaking a common occurrence, proof of principle is in hand. I encourage you to read the news release carefully to understand how clever this idea really is.

In future issues of Notebook, we will be reporting on the many other exciting developments in the college: a new robotic telescope on Frisco Peak in central Utah; plans for reconstructing the old Natural History Museum into a Center for Science and Mathematics Education; new facilities for a Cell Genomics Center; and a new effort in Biophysics that crosses department and college boundaries.

Finally, I am pleased to report that the University of Utah Board of Regents and university administration approved the formal renaming of the physics department to the Department of Physics and Astronomy. This is truly a landmark achievement and represents a major step in the development of an astronomy program at the U. One immediate benefit is the hiring of eight new faculty members to the department. Read their profiles under “New Faculty.”

The College of Science remains vibrant and, with your help, we intend to do everything we can to maintain and grow it, particularly in these difficult times. This is indeed the moment to join with us in efforts that will move the college even higher in excellence as the economy begins to improve.

Bernard Price, BS’88, MS’97 Alumni Association President

Our core mission is to get Utah’s citizens, particularly students, excited about science. There are a number of ways we are working to facilitate that mission:

• Scholarship and award programs
• Career fairs
• Tutoring and mentoring
• Internship programs
• Judging local science fairs
• Public lecture series and seminars
• Spreading the word!

To volunteer, please provide your contact information and specific area of interest to Ms. Kathy Cummings, cummings@science.utah.edu, or call (801) 581-4360. Visit the college homepage, www.science.utah.edu, for additional information.

Sincerely, Bernard Price BS’88, MS’97

Holding an architect’s rendering of how the new Thatcher Building for Biological and Biophysical Chemistry could appear are, (l-r) Tom Thatcher, Teri Flanders, Craig Thatcher, Helen Thatcher, Diane Barlow, and Lawrence Thatcher.

This NIH grant is further testament to the chemistry department’s expertise in these areas, and will enhance the department’s position as a national and international leader in biological and biophysical chemistry, two of the fundamental sciences for advancing medicine and biotechnology.

Constructing and equipping the new facility is estimated at $20 million.

In addition to the NIH grant and university funds, private contributions are being sought.

In recognition of a major gift toward this project by the Lawrence and Helen Thatcher family of Salt Lake City, the newly expanded south chemistry tower will be named the Thatcher Building for Biological and Biophysical Chemistry. The Thatchers and their four children, Diane T. Barlow, Craig N. Thatcher, Teri H. Flanders, and Thomas F. Thatcher, are all alumni of the U.

“We are extremely grateful to the Thatcher family and the NIH for their support,” said Henry S. White, department chair. “The new building will increase collaboration between research groups that specialize in organic and biochemical synthesis, spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, and biophysical modeling and simulation, and thereby attract and retain high-profile researchers to the faculty.”

Architect’s rendering of the new Thatcher Building for Biological and Biophysical Chemistry

The new building will include a mass spectrometry facility; advanced undergraduate laboratories; two floors for imaging and spectroscopy, biochemistry, and organic synthesis; and a floor for theory and modeling. All these facilities provide naming opportunities for interested donors.

This funding comes at a crucial time for the department, as the north tower of HEB is now more than 40 years old.  Space for research is already stretched to capacity, and the department’s undergraduate population is projected to increase over the next several years.  “Our department has a great track record of producing undergraduates who go on to graduate school and to medical school, but it will be extremely difficult to maintain that high standard with 40-year-old facilities,” says Distinguished Professor of Chemistry C. Dale Poulter.

Associate Professor (Lecturer) Greg Owens has recently been named the department’s director of development and charged with implementing fund-raising priorities and strategies for chemistry.

“Given the department’s stellar history and reputation for producing high-quality research as well as top-notch graduates at all levels, we believe our seeking of private funds will be well received by our alumni and by leaders in our community,” says Owens.

An event is scheduled for February 2010 to more fully describe this project to friends and alumni and to recognize donors to the building. Contact Greg Owens at (801) 581-6232, gowens@chem.utah.edu, for more information on the Thatcher Building project.

A site map provided by Prescott Muir Architects shows phase 1 and phase 2 of the chemistry building expansion.

Thatcher Company

Thatcher Company is a diversified chemical manufacturer and distributor. Founded in 1967, Thatcher Company has grown to be a major chemical supplier and distributor in the United States. The company now employs more than 250 people with many employees having been with the company in excess of 20 years. The corporate headquarters and main plant facility are located on 25 acres in the industrial heart of Salt Lake City, Utah, with operations in six other states.

Thatcher’s diversification, ever broadening product offerings, exemplary service, and customer focus show the ability to respond to the changing needs of customers and the dynamics of the marketplace.

Thatcher Company has product lines that are sold throughout the United States and exported to Canada, Mexico, Europe and the Pacific Rim. As a custom chemical manufacturer, they supply important needs in industries such as medical and pharmaceutical, photographic, mining, food processing, and household goods.

The Thatcher Family

The Thatcher family’s involvement in the chemical industry stretches back to the early 1900s, and their connection to the U goes back nearly as far.

Family patriarch Nathan D. “Dee” Thatcher, Jr., co-founded Wasatch Chemical Company in Salt Lake City, becoming a major chemical producer and distributor. Along the way, Dee’s two sons, Winston (BA 1943, Chemistry) and Lawrence (BS 1945, Chemical Engineering) joined the company. Winston’s wife, Lucille, and Lawrence’s wife, Helen, also are U alumni, both in Education.

In 1967, Lawrence and Winston founded Thatcher Chemical, later renamed The Thatcher Company.

Lawrence and Helen have four children: Diane T. Barlow (BS 1970, MED 1977, Education), Craig N. Thatcher (BA 1974, Chemistry), Teri H. Flanders (BS 1977, Education), and Thomas F. Thatcher (BA 1985, Chemistry). The six of them comprise the board of directors of The Thatcher Company, and Diane, Craig, and Tom all serve as officers of the company, under Lawrence who retains the title of Chairman and CEO and continues to go to the office each day – having just celebrated his 85th birthday hasn’t slowed him down in the least!

In 2008, The Thatcher Company established an unprecedented scholarship with the College of Science: A four-year, full-tuition plus books award for an incoming Utah freshman studying chemistry or chemical engineering.

Tom Thatcher serves on the College of Science Advisory Board, where he chairs the Legislative Task Force.

Alumni and friends of the College of Science stepped forward in large numbers this past academic year to support the college and the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics & Astronomy.

Nearly 1,000 individuals and others donated in 2008-2009, compared to about 600 a year in the past three years. In particular, alumni were donating to the general scholarship and unrestricted funds of the college and of each of the departments.

“Support from our alumni and friends is so important to the success of our programs,” says Jeff Driggs, director of development for the College of Science. “Even small gifts, when given by hundreds of alumni, as has been happening, add up to significant dollars. And such support shows outside foundations, corporations, and others that those who know us best – our former students – find our programs valuable and worthy of their generosity.”

Many donors have chosen to “give back” as a means of helping the students who are following them, just as they themselves were helped by those who came before.

We invite alumni and other friends to support whatever programs and funds they are interested in. If you have any questions about giving, or about the fundraising priorities of the college or its departments, please contact Jeff Driggs at (801) 581-4719 or driggs@science.utah.edu.

Editor’s Note: The College of Science established a formal alumni association in May 2009 to advance the university’s and the college’s pursuit of excellence by forging and preserving relationships among alumni, students, and the community. See the article “College of Science Alumni Association”.

Financial support from alumni increased dramatically in 2008-2009.

Distinguished Professor of Mathematics Graeme W. Milton.

University of Utah mathematicians have developed a new cloaking method, and though it’s unlikely to lead to invisibility cloaks like those used by Harry Potter or Romulan spaceships in “Star Trek,” the new method someday might shield submarines from sonar, planes from radar, buildings from earthquakes, and oil rigs and coastal structures from tsunamis.

“We have shown that it is numerically possible to cloak objects of any shape that lie outside the cloaking devices, not just from single-frequency waves, but from actual pulses generated by a multi-frequency source,” says Graeme Milton, senior author of the research and a distinguished professor of mathematics at the University of Utah.

“It’s a brand new method of cloaking,” Milton adds. “It is two-dimensional, but we believe it can be extended easily to three dimensions, meaning real objects could be cloaked. It’s called active cloaking, which means it uses devices that actively generate electromagnetic fields rather than being composed of ‘meta-materials’ [exotic metallic substances] that passively shield objects from passing electromagnetic waves.”

Milton says his previous research involved “just cloaking clusters of small particles, but now we are able to cloak larger objects.”

For example, radar microwaves have wavelengths of about four inches, so Milton says the study shows it is possible to use the method to cloak from radar something 10 times wider, or 40 inches. That raises hope for cloaking larger objects. So far, the largest object cloaked from microwaves in actual experiments was an inch-wide copper cylinder.

The top image sequence shows a wave front passing from left to right. When it hits the object, a circular ripple is created, which can then be detected at some distance away, i.e., the object is “seen.” The bottom image sequence shows the object surrounded by three cloaking devices and the waves they emit. The cloaking devices actively cancel the effect of the passing wave front on the object – there is no more circular ripple, and the object is “invisible.”

A study demonstrating the mathematical feasibility of the new cloaking technique – active, broadband, exterior cloaking – was published online in the journal Optics Express. A related paper was published online August 14 in Physical Review Letters.

Milton conducted the studies with Fernando Guevara Vasquez and Daniel Onofrei, both of whom are assistant professors (lecturer) in mathematics. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the University of Utah.

Cloaking: From Science Fiction to Science

Cloaking involves making an object partly or completely invisible to incoming waves such as sound waves, sea waves, and seismic waves, but usually electromagnetic waves such as visible light, microwaves, infrared light, radio and TV waves.

Cloaking things from visible light long has been a staple of science fiction, from invisible Romulan Bird of Prey warships in “Star Trek” to cloaking devices in books, games, films and shows like “Harry Potter,” “Halo,” “Predator,” and “Stargate.”

In recent years, scientists devised and tested various cloaking schemes. They acknowledge practical optical cloaking for invisibility is many years away. Experiments so far have been limited to certain wavelengths such as microwaves and infrared light, and every method tried so far has limitations.

Compared with passive cloaking by metamaterials, the new method – which involves generating waves to protect or cloak an object from other waves – can cloak from a broader band of wavelengths, Milton says.

“The problem with metamaterials is that their behavior depends strongly on the frequency you are trying to cloak from,” he adds. “So it is difficult to obtain broadband cloaking. Maybe you’d be invisible to red light, but people would see you in blue light.”

Most previous research used interior cloaking, where the cloaking device envelops the cloaked object. Milton says the new method “is the first active, exterior cloaking” technique: cloaking devices emit signals and sit outside the cloaked object.

Videos Simulate How Cloaking Method Works

The new studies are numerical and theoretical, and show how the cloaking method can work. “The research simulates on a computer what you should see in an experiment,” Milton says. “We just do the math and hope other people do the experiments.”

The Physical Review Letters study demonstrates the new cloaking method at a single frequency of electromagnetic waves, while the Optics Express paper demonstrates how it can work broadband, or at a wide range of frequencies.

In Optics Express, the mathematicians demonstrate that three cloaking devices together create a “quiet zone” so that “objects placed within this region are virtually invisible” to incoming waves. Guevara Vasquez created short videos of mathematical simulations showing a pulse of electromagnetic or sound waves rolling past an object.

In one video, with the kite-shaped object uncloaked, the wave clearly interacts with the object, creating expanding, circular ripples like when a rock is thrown in a pond.

In the second video, the object is surrounded by three point-like cloaking devices, each of which emits waves that only propagate a short distance. As the passing waves roll by the cloaking devices, waves emitted by those devices interfere with the passing waves. As a result, the passing waves do not hit the cloaked object and there are no ripples.

Milton says the cloaking devices cause “destructive interference,” which occurs when two pebbles are thrown in a pond. In places where wave crests meet, the waves add up and the crests are taller. Where troughs meet, the troughs are deeper. But where crests cross troughs, the water is still because they cancel each other out.

The principle, applied to sound waves, is “sort of like noise cancelation devices you get with headphones in airplanes if you travel first class,” Milton says.

Protecting from Destructive Seismic and Tsunami Waves

“We proved mathematically that this method works when the wavelength of incoming electromagnetic radiation is large compared with the objects being cloaked, meaning it can cloak very small objects,” Milton says. “It also can cloak larger objects.”

Because visible light has tiny wavelengths, only microscopic objects could be made invisible by the new method.

“The cloaking device would have to generate fields that have very small wavelengths,” Milton says. “It is very difficult to build antennas the size of light waves. We’re so far from cloaking real-sized objects to visible light that it’s incredible.”

But imagine incoming waves as water waves, and envision breakwater cloaking devices that would generate waves to create a quiet zone that would protect oil rigs or specific coastal structures against incoming tsunami waves. Or imagine cloaking devices around buildings to generate vibrations to neutralize incoming seismic waves.

“Our method may have application to water waves, sound and microwaves [radar],” including shielding submarines and planes from sonar and radar, respectively, and protecting structures from seismic waves during earthquakes and water waves during tsunamis, Milton says. All those waves have wavelengths much larger than those of visible light, so the possible applications should be easier to develop.

“It would be wonderful if you could cloak buildings against earthquakes,” Milton says. “That’s on the borderline of what’s possible.”

The new method’s main disadvantage “is that it appears you must know in advance everything about the incoming wave,” including when the pulse begins, and the frequencies and amplitudes of the waves within the pulse, Milton says. That might require placement of numerous sensors to detect incoming seismic waves or tsunamis.

“Even though cloaking from light is probably impossible, it’s a fascinating subject, and there is beautiful mathematics behind it,” Milton says. “The whole area has exploded. So even if it’s not going to result in a ‘Harry Potter’ cloak, it will have spinoffs in other directions,” not only in protecting objects from waves of various sorts, but “for building new types of antennas, being able to see things on a molecular scale. It’s sort of a renaissance in classical science, with new ideas popping up all the time.”

Editor’s Note: Graeme Milton will present a Frontiers of Science lecture on Wed, March 10, 2010, on the U campus. The event is free and open to the public, although tickets are required. Call (801) 581-6958 or office@science.utah.edu for tickets and information.

INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND TRUSTS

Associates––
Gifts of $100,000 to $499,999
Katherine W. and Ezekiel R. Dumke, Jr.
Foundation
Jean R. Stringfellow

Founder’s Club––
Gifts of $50,000 to $99,999
Willard L. Eccles Charitable Foundation

Deseret Club––
Gifts of $25,000 to $49,999
American Chemical Society
Gary L. and Ann S. Crocker
George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles
Foundation
George R. Riser
The Sorenson Legacy Foundation

President’s Circle––
Gifts of $10,000 to $24,999
Alvin J. Clark
C. Dale and Susan R. Poulter
SAIC-Frederick, Inc.
Rebecca A. Uhlig and Thaddeus B. Eagar

President’s Club––
Gifts of $2,500 to $9,999
Frederick R. Adler and Anne Collopy
ATK Launch Systems
Rodney H. and Carolyn Hansen Brady
Foundation
Joseph G. and Susan G. Daines
Dow Chemical Company Foundation
Sue M. Durrant, PhD
James R. and Edna M. Ehleringer
Peter F. and Carla M. Piacentini Flynn
Sharon R. Meyer
Lora Ballinger Newman
Rio Tinto/Kennecott Utah Copper
Corporation
Rocky Mountain Power Foundation
Gabriella and Paul Rosenbaum Foundation
Jon Seger and Victoria J. Rowntree
Gregory J. Skedros
John G. Skedros, MD
Peter J. and Christine S. Stang
Chad M. Stoker
Jessica L. Waite
XMISSION L.C.

Dean’s Circle––
Gifts of $1,000 to $2,499
The Boeing Company
Bruker Daltonics, Inc.
Kathleen K. Church, PhD
S. Michael and Anne M. Coleman
Deseret Management Corporation
Holland & Hart LLP
Cecelia H. Foxley, PhD
Naomi C. Franklin
Nicholas P. Gibbs and Courtney M. McKenna
Robert J. Gubler
Theodore N. Hackett, Jr., MD
Clarence James Hanson
John L. and Gale A. Haslam
Hayden-McNeil Publishing, Inc.
The Kroger Co. Foundation
David A. and Jennifer Koop
Avis Johnson Legler
John M. Legler
George Henry Lowe III, PhD
Larry L. Marsh
Parthenon Company
Kimberly Ruth Pearson
Don L. and Rebecca Reese
Michael G. Rhodes
Kirk Max Ririe and Mary J. O’Connor-Ririe
Kenneth C. Savage Family Foundation
Frederick J. and Karoline J. Sheffield
Bryan C. and Stephanie Lynne Tagge
TraskBritt, P.C.
Waters Corporation
Workman Nydegger

Dean’s Club––
Gifts of $500 to $999
Alliant Techsystems, Inc.
Scott L. Anderson and Cynthia J. Burrows
Melvin Joseph and Mary A. Bailey
W. Cullen and Mary Ann Lind Battle
Robert W. and Louise R. Burton
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Foundation
Clair F. and Kaye M. Coleman
Jacquelyn P. Constantine
Jeffrey D. and Jane Driggs
Roy J. Gandolfi, MD
Tracey Lyn Harrach, JD
Del R. and Diane D. Jones
Nicole L. Mihalopoulos, MD
Joseph G. and Bonnie L. Mirci
Richard R. and Alise Orlandi
Gordon R. Orme
Procter & Gamble Fund
Hugo and Julia Ann Rossi
Ji-Yong Ryu, PhD
Brian T. and Jennifer R. Saam
Preston J. and Phillis R. Taylor
Walter W. and Setsuko H. Wada
Ryan Brent and Gretchen B. Wilcox

Collegiate Club––
Gifts of $300 to $499
Dennis M. and Jean C. Bramble
Thure E. Cerling, PhD
Lane C. and Paula W. Childs
Michael J. Bastiani and Denise Dearing
Shelly M. DeWitt
Raymond R. Jessop
Kevin B. and Melinda B. Johnson
Nicholas J. Korevaar
The Linde Group
Keith C. and Martha A. Murdock
Edwin Dean S. Oba, PhD
James L. and Bonnie D. Parkin
UAEYC

Century Club––
Gifts of $100 to $299
3M Foundation, Inc.
Steven P. Adams, PhD
William R. and Diane W. Adams
Agilent Technologies Foundation
Glenn D. Allinger, PhD
Jesse P. Anderegg
Terrell N. and Virginia L. Andersen
W. Hoyt Andersen, PhD
David R. Anderson, PhD
G. W. and Ida Lee Anderson
Edward I. and Florence Aoyagi
Bradley Ray Arnold, PhD
Amie Jo Huang Aslami, MD
Allan H. and Joanne G. Barker
William A. Barrett, PhD
William J. and Kristine J. Bartle
Charles P. and Jolynn H. Bean
James Michael Berger
Dwight M. Bird
Gary M. Blake
Robert Lee Bossard
Glenn S. and Renee Buchanan
Grant L. Burgess
Paul H. Campbell
David R. Carrier
Joanna H. Case
Susan K. Chandler
Chevron Humankind Matching Gift Program
Yu-Hsing and Pea Chiu
Andrew B. Christensen, PhD
David T. Chuljian, DDS, PS, PhD
Steven J. Condas
Steven C. Corbato
Frederick David G. Cotts
Robert J. and Mary Coucher
Cris G. Cowley, MD
John E. and Sally P. Crelly
Stephen L. and Nicola G. Dahl
Ronald W. Day, MD
William R. Day
Steven J. Dean and Kristin M. Liszkowski
Stephen J. De’Armond
Harold A. and Sonja Malm Decker
John F. and Nancy Teresa DeFord
Eric G. and Janice H. Del Mar
Gerry D’Elia
Pauline J. Delling
Mont W. Deming
R. Bruce Dickson
R. Peter Dube, PhD
Stephen C. Durrant
Arthur S. and Katherine Vickers Edison
Brent S. Eichers
Eli Lilly and Company Foundation
George C. and Lisbeth L. Elliott
Colleen G. Farmer
Patrick F. and Patricia C. Farrell
Kenneth J. Ferguson and Lori A. Nielsen
Charles R. Flynn, PhD
R. Newell and Kathleen E. Ford
Carl M. Fowler
Christian D. and Anne Raybould Froerer
Dayne G. Gardner
Robert W. and Sherri A. Gedridge
Randall Henry Gehl
Karla Jean Gilbert
Clark P. and Nancy L. Giles
Franz Goller
Scott A. Gore
Reed A. and Hazel I. Gray
Lawrence F. Guymon, PhD
Paul S. Haglund
Charles R. Harris, PhD
William A. Heeschen and Judy Joy
Gunderson
Glenn A. Herrick
Ned C. and Claralyn M. Hill
Lorna D. Hodgson
Hans J. Holland, PhD
Kyung-Jin Hong
Bruce D. and Saundra K. N. Hopkins
Darren Wayne Housel, MD
Chen C. Hsu, PhD
Robert J. and Virginia G. Huber
Robert Henry Huerta, PhD
John M. and Judith A. Hughes
R. Bruce Hunter
Robert W. Hymes, DDS
IBM International Foundation
Robert P. Igo, MD
Intel Foundation
E. Martin and Nancy A. Isenberg
Kathryn Lynn Jansen, PhD
Edward G. and Darlene T. Jenkins
James B. and Joanna L. Johnston
Suzan S. Jones
George A. and Sylvia F. Jutila
Gary S. Kanner, PhD
Siegfried G. and Ellen G. Karsten
Mahala Kephart
Earl R. Kern, PhD
Noall C. and Julie M. Knighton
Paul C. and Darice F. Koo
Peter L. and Kristin L. Kraus
Roger O. and Sue Ann H. Ladle
Andrew J. Leavitt, PhD
Elwood I. Lentz, Jr.
Anne M. Lewis
Hao-Chou and Yuemei W. Lin
Wen-Jing Lin and Chia-Hong Hsieh
Alan N. and Kathleen K. Lindsay
V. Peter and Diane M. Lodder
Ruth Lofgren, PhD
Gary L. and Carolee W. Lovell
Michael Dee Lynch
Joseph R. Madsen, MD
Dennis R. Malm, PhD
Burton L. Markham and Diane L. Bentley
Andrew F. Marks and Tamara Zagorec-Marks
Marilyn Alder Marquis, PhD
Berger C. Mayne, PhD
Michael W. and Janet M. McCleery
Craig B. and Jill G. McDonald
Walter L. McKnight
Christopher S. Meldrum
James Stanley Menlove
Shelley I. Miller
Graeme Milton
Diana L. Montgomery
William L. and Jane E. Moore
David S. Moore, PhD
Mitchell Morrison and Jane W. Wadsworth
Earl M. and Sharlene W. Mortensen
Richard W. and Frances P. Muir
Janet Elizabeth Muir
Stanley A. and Jane S. Mulaik
Timothy R. and Kathleen R. Neal
Darin W. and Teresa Jane Nielsen
Lewis T. Nielsen, PhD
Phillip J. and Ruth L. Novak
Charles W. and Joan J. Odd
William D. and Ruth B. Ohlsen
Baldomero M. and Lourdes L. Olivera
Robin Thomas O’Neill
Allen K. Oshita, MD
Out of This World Dentistry
John B. and N. Kay Page
Adam Park
Michael D. Parker
R. Bryce Parry, PhD
Harper D. and Geri R. Pearse
Robert G. Peterson
Jeffrey K. Phelps and Laura J. Lockhart
David R. Pingree, III
David Clark Poelman, DDS
Carl J. Popp, PhD
Lee G. and Janet S. Porter
Bernard T. and Marsha W. Price
Robert S. Price, MD
Roger M. Pugh
Clark B. and Sherrie W. Rampton
Douglas L. and Tera Ramsay
Richard E. Rasmuson
Heather Rasmussen
Frank J. Ratty, PhD
Jack S. and Joan B. Raynor
Owen G. Reese, Jr., MD
Stephen M. Riseman, PhD
R. Lance Robbins, DDS
Peter E. Rogers
Henry W. Rohrs and Barbara A. Schweitzer
Walter A. and Susan S. Romney
Bryant W. and Betty Jean Rossiter
Jonathan M. Rubin, PhD, MD
Brian G. and Leeann W. Russell
Kenneth A. Savin and Lisa A. Wenzler
Karl L. and Sharon M. Schatten
Charles L. Schmidt, PhD
Fritz and Anne Amanda Schmutz
Raymond J. Schumacher
Shell Oil Company Foundation
Steven C. Simper, MD
David A. and Sherrie T. Simpson
Randall J. Skeem, MD
Robert A. Sklar, MD
Brian K. Smith
Gerald R. Smith, PhD
Cory M. Stark, DDS
Dean J. Stoker
William D. Stone, PhD
Gary G. and Jeanne A. Stroebel
Barry M. and Connie C. Stults
Yonghe and Grace Tian Sun
William J. and Ardis F. Sutton
Ryan Takemoto
Dona S. Thompson
Grant Thompson, PhD
Douglas H. Todd, MD
Alice H. Tollestrup
Sylvia Denise Torti, PhD
Albert L. and Yvette S. Ungricht
Jeffrey A. and Pauline P. Unruh
John E. Vondette
Lane J. Wallace, PhD
Robert E. Wayrynen, PhD
Paul and Sandra J. Weider
Steven L. Weighall, MD
W. Joseph and Eileen S. West
Tracy M. Whelan, PhD
Terry L. White
Shirley Winn
Brandon A. and Darcy H. Wolsey
Peter W. Wong
Glenda Lee Woods
Douglas L. and Kaye W. Wyler

Friends––
Gifts up to $100
Randy Adachi, PhD
James Ajioka
Frank D. Allan, PhD
Kay H. Allan
D. Wain and E. Rebecca Allen
Nathan A. Allen
Les C. and Mary E. Anderson
Darrell A. Anderson
Caleb Anthony and Jane M. Behm Arrington
Ricky J. Asper
Gregory Joseph Bailey, MD
John B. Balken, MD
Kimberly M. Barton
Ray H. Barton, Jr. MD
Scott W. Bean
Glen L. and Sonja T. Beere
Alan Maurice Belliston
David W. and Bonnie S. Bennett
Robert F. and Sylvia B. Berman
James A. and Janeen R. Bertolina
David J. and Karie J. Bird
Norman I. and Patricia J. Bishop
Dennis A. Blackburn
Mark S. Blackmore, PhD
Thomas L. and Anne S. Blank
Rick W. and Colleen Bliss
Michael John and Nanci Snow Bockelie
Carol Elaine Bolster
David R. Bowling
Richard and Shellie Bowman
Dennis D. Box
Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Inc.
George I. and Kay Isaacson Brown
Glenda E. Brown
Tim C. and Anita Marie Bruce
Carmen R. Buhler
Frank G. Burdis
Daren Jay and Kara Fadel Burnett
John F. and Kathryn W. Burnham
Karen Ramey Burns
Ben R. and Carolyn C. Bushman
Joven V. and Catherine C. Calara
Armando Martin Calderon
Lanny F. Campbell, MD
Robert S. Cantrell, PhD
Gary W. Carlson, PhD
Curtis F. and Melanie Z. Carmack
Terry C. Carter
Johannes Eduardo Castro
Onorio Catenacci
Ernest M. and Genene F. Chamberlain
Jean V. Chamberlain
Brigham V. Cheney, PhD
Tun Ngem and Donna W. Chin
Robert K. Christensen
Lane C. and J. Elaine Clark
James D. Clark, PhD
Paul N. and Holly B. Clayton
ConocoPhillips
Thomas G. and Mitzi D. Conover
Susan L. Conway
Lynda Irene Cooley
Kyle N. and Rita M. Cornish
Frank A. and Joyce G. Crandall
Keith F. Crane
Joseph A. and Janice K. Crookston
Ronald Joseph Crossman
Val A. Cummings
Cytec Industries, Inc.
Vicky L. Dahn, PhD
Jin Dai
Laurie N. Dallon
Tu T. and Kristen K. Dang
Neil L. Davis
Timothy J. Dayhuff
Bradley Demarest
Chuxia Deng, PhD
Lawrence R. and Kathy B. Derrick
Donna B. Desrosiers
James K. and J. Linda Detling
Michael A. Dewey, PhD
Kenneth Reid and Angie Dibble
Robert H. Dillon, PhD
Patti L. Donnelly
Dale J. Duthoy
Alan D. and Vickie S. Eastman
Vincent Martin Eckhart, PhD
EcoPhones
Mathew L. Eden
D. Michael and Karen B. Edson
Wilfred John Edwards
Max E. and Joan Egly
Dale H. Ellis, PhD
Robert Lawrence Ellison
Kathryn R. Ely, PhD
Charles J. Emert
Richard D. and Chariya A. Ernst
Christopher F. Erskine
Edward M. and Marilyn M. Eyring
Michael J. and Jacqueline C. Fabbi
Gerald N. Fassell
Donald H. Feener, Jr.
Eric P. Fillerup
John R. Fitzpatrick, PhD
Steven L. and Robyn Follett
David K. and Doris J. Forbes
Jason M. Foulks, PhD
Richard H. Franke, PhD
Jan S. and Gayle W. Freeman
Ingrid Fritsch
Joseph M. and Nora Jean Gallegos
Lynn E. and Kaye W. Garner
Morgan C. Giddings
Brianne D. Go
Bridget L. Gourley, PhD
James E. and Ann Gray
A. Thayne and Verlene B. Green
Michael D. Green, PhD
Vincent J. Grober
Vernon W. Grossarth
David H. Groulx
Robert W. and Kathryn C. Grover
William R. and Cynthia M. Grua
John L. Grundvig, PhD
Tim Z. and Carolyn Gwyther
Kenneth Russell Haack, PhD
Brian and Mary Wohl Haan
Gary K. Haddock, MD
D. Walter and Nicola S. Hansen
Gail R. and Patricia W. Hansen
Scott F. and Suzanne D. Hansen
Greg A. Harris, PhD
Trent Wendell and Ronna V. Hassell
Marvin C. Hawkins, PhD
David J. and Grace U. Henderson
Ralph and Claudia Henricks
David P. Henrie, MD
Andrew C. and Dianne L. Hess
Lloyd R. and Alice C. Hicken
William Scott and Linda L. Hoge
John P. Hoggan
Jeffrey O. and Carla J. Hollist
George D. and Susan T. Holt
Gary L. Hoover
Sara B. Hotchkiss
David E. and Charlotte P. Howarth
Amy Ferguson Hoyt
Paul Rollins Hurst, PhD
Casandra Hutchinson
IBM Corporation
Harvey Glen Ivie
Joseph E. Jackson
Roberta Ann James
David L. Jenkins
Steven L. Jensen, PhD
Leland P. and Margery A. Johnson
W. Delmar Johnson, PhD
Scott D. Johnson
Paul Edwin and Constance B. Johnston
Emery J. and Elizabeth A. Johnston
Jeremy Jordin
Joseph Hugh Kamerath
Gregory R. and Angela Karch
Robert Mecklenburg and Margaret Kasten
Eric M. Kawamoto
Kenneth G. Kay
John G. Kepros, PhD
William E. and Marsha M. Kilgore
Jerome A. Knutson
Peter A. and Carole Koren
Nick J. Koszewski
Dhileep Krishnamurthy, PhD
David J. Kucera and Leslie A. Robinson
Carla K. Kulinsky
Dwight Jackson Kunz, JD
Stephen Godolphin Kurtz
LFCMD, INC.
Elizabeth Y. Lane
Gerald Leroy Langton
Michael Craig and Cathy Larsen
Dale C. Larsen, DDS
Bradford W. Larsen
Michael O. and Julie Ann Larson
Jonathan Fairbanks Lawes
John W. Lawrence, Jr.
Mary Allison Lawyer
Robert T. and Olive Holt Layton
Michael Delmar Lee
Hal Elmont Lemmon, PhD
Randy R. Leonard, JD
Cevan J. and Heather L. LeSieur
Max G. and Alison C. Levy
Ya Li, PhD
Allen R. and Sharon L. Lingenfelter
Matthew Joseph Linton
Brooks D. Lloyd
Charles P. and Alta R. Lloyd
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Beverlee K. Lombardi
Paul S. Lombardi
Judy A. Long
Steven C. Lore, MD
Nathan Gary and Carolee W. Lovell
J. Allen Lowe, EdD
Hai-Bo Wang and Jun Lu
Sean Phillip Lucas, DDS
John Bennett Luddington
Daniel W. Lundberg
Kevin Jay Lythgoe, MD
Lingyun Ma, PhD
Mark J. Madsen
Neil R. Manning, PhD
Erica F. Marken
Noel E. Marquis
Massachusetts General Hospital
Richard Dale and Terina Martinez
Stanley A. and Janet Matsuura
Byron L. and Kay K. McAllister
Galen S. and Eileen McQuarrie
James C. and Michele McRea
Shirley Meenen
Laurence J. and Therese B. Meyer
G. Lynn Miesel, PhD
James Rex Miller, Jr., MD
Larry K. Millward
Daniel David Mitchell
John H. and Dorothy N. Moll
Steven Moore
Abigail J. Moore
Bonnie A. Morgan
Steven W. Morgan, PhD
Peter F. Morse, PhD
Kevin D. and Patty Moss
Adrian Christopher Moyer
Wallace P. Murdoch, PhD
B. Narasimhulu and Mamatha D. Naidu
Jeff V. and Janet M. Nelson
Jerry Rees and Lynda S. Nelson
Kenneth M. Nero
Richard W. and Linda K. Oldroyd Newman
Joseph R. and Betsy Y. Newton
Matthew W. Noall, PhD
Colleen O’Callaghan
Earl M. Ohlson, DMD
Carma A. Oliver
Shawn R. Olsen
Steven D. Orchard
Donald C. Orlich
Christina Paal
Brent R. Pace and Barbara J. Bishop
Randell B. and Renee G. Packer
Larry J. and Carol K. Page
Edward P. and June Palmer
Vladimir Y. Panin, PhD
Clifton M. and Norma Parker
Lynn S. Parker
Gregory A. and Susan T. Parkin
Randall J. Parr
Jasmine Parvaz
David N. Pehrson
Joel Reid Persson
Gene R. Petersen, PhD
Dan L. Petersen
Gaylon K. and Linda S. Peterson
Jonathan R. Peterson
Pharmacia Foundation, Inc.
Norton R. Phelps, Jr.
Steven Lynn and Malinda Tew Pierce
Maura Lynn Powers
Matthew E. Poynter, PhD
Barry G. Quinn, PhD
John Brady and Karen K. Quinn
Carol E. Rabke Orth, PhD
Jerome Philip Rapin
Kendall A. Rasband
John S. and Barbara S. Reid
Del V. and Lucyanne Rice
Barry Rimmasch
Delbert G. Ririe, MD
Chell Roberts
Lee K. and Dawn L. Roberts
L. Eugene and Rebecca Ruth Robertson
John G. and Mary Jo Robinson
Alan Rogers
Lynne Romney
Erik R. Rooklidge
Mary Ellen Rosen
Alan S. Rothenberg, PhD
Joel E. and Kim M. Russell
Harold Mathew Rust, MD
Peggy D. Sacher
Roger Alfonso Sausedo
Richard P. and Mary Savage
Jerry Michael Schaffer
Robert E. and Beverly F. Schissler
Andrew A. and Mieke Schoenberg
G. Allen and Christine C. Seeley
Craig A. Shelley
J. Mark Simons
Donald E. and Dana T. Skabelund
Grant G. Smith
Jean C. Smith
Joseph M. and Celeste Smith
Roy Campbell Smith, PhD
Narda R. Snow
Richard L. Snow, PhD
Richard Gary Snow
Arlen Soderquist, PhD
Glade V. Sorensen
Neil R. Sorensen, PhD
Bruce F. and Suzanne B. Sorensen
Gene E. and Elaine E. Speakman
John R. and Lynn Bohs Sperry
Philip J. and Maida H. Spjut
Naida D. Stayner
F. Ralph and Sherine G. Stephens
Neal Stobaugh
David Keith and Jacky Stokes
Harold T. and Kay Stokes
Bruce H. Stowell, PhD
Beth Ellen Stronach, PhD
John Thomas Symms
Bryce J. and Roberta D. Tanner
Karen H. Tate, PhD
Lowell G. and Virginia D. Tensmeyer
Jared S. Teter, PhD
Winston J. and Deanne W. Thomas
Katherine K. Thomson
Robert S. Thorn
Thomas G. Thorum
Glen K. and Lynne S. Tolman
Thomas E. Tomasi, PhD
Jerry William and Marlene Tuttle
Lex L. and Joanne Udy
Christian A. Ulmer
M. Scott Updyke, DDS
David H. and Jill A. Van Langeveld
Verizon Foundation
Andrei A. Volkov
Brian Howard and Lisa H. Wallace
Wilbur T. and Wilma T. Walton
Michael J. and Mary M. Ware
David A. Harris and Alysia M. Watanabe
Malin R. Weiler
John P. and Rose M. Welchans
Mitchell Ray White, PhD
Paul L. and Marilyn Whitehead
Scott L. Whittenburg, PhD
Michael G. and Alice Ann Wilcox
Clayton H. Wilkinson
Steven M. Williams
Kenneth Wireman, PhD
Christopher R. Wood, MD
Brenda Bowen Wright
Steven W. Wynn, MD
Rong-Fu Xiao, PhD
Yen Family Trust
Jonathan Yen, PhD
Wayne S. and Louise G. Young
Timothy R. and Rocio Zajic
Joni L. Zaragoza
Bo Zhang, PhD
Joseph LaMar Zollinger, PhD

Dale A. Strinfellow, Ph.D.

Mrs. Jean Stringfellow (BS Health ’66), widow of biology alumnus and respected research scientist Dale A. Stringfellow (BS Biology ’67, MS Microbiology ’70, PhD Microbiology ’72), has made a generous gift to the Department of Biology in honor of her husband’s work, establishing the Dale A. Stringfellow Endowed Fellowship in Cell Biology or Microbiology.

The endowment will generate funds in perpetuity to help cover the educational costs for graduate students following in Dr. Stringfellow’s footsteps.

“We are so very grateful to Mrs. Stringfellow for this generous gift,” said Dr. Neil Vickers, chair of the Department of Biology. “Her donation not only memorializes the outstanding work of Dr. Stringfellow, but will benefit generations of graduate students engaged in cell biology or microbiology research – work that will contribute significantly to the improvement of the human condition. Her gift will assist us in our efforts to attract top students to our programs.”

The first recipient of the fellowship, awarded for the 2009-2010 academic year, is Koushik Paul, a native of India who received his undergraduate degree in microbiology from the University of Calcutta. Paul works in the research laboratory of Biology Professor David F. Blair, studying how bacterial flagella (“tails”) are assembled and function. Paul’s research is enriching our understanding of bacterial pathogenesis, or how bacteria cause disease.

(l-r) Biology chair Neil Vickers, Koushik Paul, first recipient of the Dale A. Stringfellow Endowed Fellowship in Cell Biology or Microbiology, and Mrs. Jean R. Stringfellow.

“I feel very proud and appreciative of this generous support provided by Mrs. Stringfellow, especially in a time like this, when scarcity in the grant money is becoming a daily struggle in a scientist’s life,” said Paul. “Being a young scientist in the field of microbiology, this award means a lot to me; it brought a whole new inspiration, a new found sense of accomplishment and recognition to my research. I hope to be able to honor this award with my science.”

Dr. Stringfellow, who passed away in 2005, was considered a pioneer in the biotechnology field. After earning his degrees from the University of Utah, he began working as a senior research scientist for the Upjohn Company, where he was responsible for virology research. By 1979, his scientific and management skills were recognized and he was named head of Cancer and Virology Research. During this time he oversaw the marketing registration of high-dose Ara C, a drug for the treatment of childhood leukemia, and was instrumental in the discovery and preclinical development of a series of pyrimidine biologic response modifiers for the treatment of herpes simplex virus infections and bladder cancer.

He later served as vice president for Preclinical Cancer Research at Bristol Myers Company, where his work led Bristol Myers to becoming the number one pharmaceutical company in the world in cancer. In 1988, he jumped into the then just-emerging biotechnology field, becoming vice president for Research and Development at Collagen Corporation, and later president and CEO of Collagen’s spin-off, Celtrix Pharmaceuticals, and later Berlex Biosciences.

Dr. Stringfellow served on the boards of directors of Myriad Genetics, Celtrex, Cognetix, and Acacia Biosciences. A member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he was the editor or on the editorial boards of a variety of journals and publications in virology and cancer research fields, and published more than 100 research articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and books.

The Display lists the names of all donors of $100 or more each year to any program of the College of Science or its four departments, and permanently recognizes those who have made cumulative gifts of $25,000 or more to the college.

In addition, one section of the wall has plaques honoring those individuals who have been inducted into the College of Science Hall of Fame, including Rodney H. Brady, Jon M. Huntsman, Sr., John E. Warnock, and Gary L. Crocker.

The newly installed donor recognition wall it located in the foyer of the Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Research Building (ASB).

Douglas Bergman

Douglas Bergman joined the faculty as an associate professor of physics and astronomy effective September 1, 2009.

Bergman is interested in all aspects of ground-based observations of cosmic rays. He is a member of the Telescope Array collaboration that seeks to measure the spectrum and composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays and to determine their sources. The Telescope Array is located near Delta, Utah, and detects cosmic ray air showers both by collecting the shower particles as they hit the ground and by observing the fluorescent light emitted as they pass through the atmosphere.

Bergman comes to Utah from Rutgers University in New Jersey, where he was a postdoctoral student and a tenure-track assistant professor. He received his PhD from Yale University in 1997, working on a fixed target, high-energy physics experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He enjoys running, skiing, volleyball, and soccer.

Adam Bolton

Adam Bolton joined the faculty as an assistant professor of physics and astronomy effective September 1, 2009.

Before coming to Utah, Bolton was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii.  His main interests are in observational cosmology – the formation, structure, and evolution of galaxies – and innovative methods of astronomical spectroscopy. Much of his research uses the phenomenon of strong gravitational lensing, the dramatic distortion of distant galaxy images by the gravity of intervening objects, to obtain uniquely precise information about the internal workings of the most massive galaxies in the universe. He is a founding member of the Sloan Lens Survey collaboration, which has combined Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectra with Hubble Space Telescope images to nearly double the number of known “gravitational lens” galaxies.

At the U, Bolton will continue his gravitational lensing research program and will pursue extensive involvement in the SDSS3 and other massive astronomical spectroscopic surveys.

Bolton also was a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Boston, Massachusetts. He obtained his PhD in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005.

Shanti Deemyad

Shanti Deemyad joined the faculty as an assistant professor of physics and astronomy effective September 1, 2009.

She completed postdoctoral work with Ike Silvera at the physics department of Harvard University and received her PhD from Washington University in St. Louis working with Jim Schilling. Her main area of interest has been condensed matter at extreme conditions.

At the U, the research in her lab will be divided in two major areas: studying the nature of electronic interactions in solid state systems such as quantum solids and highly correlated electron systems; and the synthesis (guided by high-pressure studies) of materials with new or enhanced properties for storage and transport of energy.

The unifying purpose of her research is to find and explore new exotic states of matter that have strong promise for material engineering.

“I enjoy a wide variety of activities,” says Deemyad. “I love watching stars and visiting archeological sites. I love the outdoors and mountains.”

Inese Ivans

Inese Ivans joined the faculty as an assistant professor of physics and astronomy effective August 16, 2009.

Ivans is an observational astronomer. She specializes in the application of stellar spectroscopic tools to investigate topics ranging from the origins of chemical elements in the universe to the formation and evolution of galaxies, including the Milky Way.

Ivans is excited to join the University of Utah faculty.  She is interested in developing applications to exploit large data sets such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) using statistical, data mining, and scientific visualization techniques. (The University of Utah is now a full-access partner in SDSS, an international collaboration that has mapped over a million objects covering more than a quarter of the sky.)

She recently relocated from Princeton University, where she held a joint postdoctoral fellowship with the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science. Previous to that, Ivans completed a fellowship at the California Institute of Technology. She earned a PhD in Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin in 2002.

Saveez Saffarian

Saveez Saffarian will join the faculty as an assistant professor of physics and astronomy effective January 1, 2010, as part of the USTAR initiative.

He received his PhD from Washington University in St. Louis working in the lab of Elliot Elson specializing in fluorescence spectroscopy and single molecule analysis. In order to study an intriguing biological problem, he joined Tom Kirchhausen’s lab at Harvard Medical School where he focused on polymerization of multi-protein complexes on the plasma membrane. During his postdoctoral research he developed live cell high-resolution methods to visualize clathrin self-assembly. Clathrin polymerizes on the plasma membrane and results in membrane curvature toward the cell interior.

“In my lab I will couple the high resolution live cell microscopy with cell biological and biochemical assays to follow the assembly of enveloped viruses both in live cells and reconstituted systems. My long-term plan is to understand the budding of potent human pathogens like influenza and HIV with molecular detail,” says Saffarian.

Gordon Thomson

Gordon Thomson was hired as a full professor and the first recipient of the Jack W. Keuffel Chair of Experimental Astrophysics, effective September 1, 2009.

As the Keuffel Chair, he will take a leadership role in the Telescope Array (TA) collaboration at the U. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree and PhD from Harvard University.

“I worked as a graduate student and as a postdoc on both cosmic ray and high energy physics experiments, then zeroed in on accelerator experiments studying hyperons and neutral K mesons, mostly conducted at Fermi lab over a twenty year period,” says Thomson. “Finally I saw the light and came back to cosmic ray physics, joining the [University of Utah] High Resolution Fly’s Eye (HiRes) experiment in 1999. I’ve been working in this field ever since.”

“After being a professor at Rutgers University for many years, I am happy to accept the offer of joining the faculty of the University of Utah, and I greatly appreciate the honor of being named the Jack W. Keuffel Chair of Experimental Astrophysics,” he says.

“This is a great opportunity for me, and I look forward to working more closely with the members of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. I hope to add to the many important contributions that the department is making to the field.”

Frank van den Bosch

Frank C. van den Bosch joined the faculty as an assistant professor of physics and astronomy in January 2009.

Previously, he was leading an independent research group in the Theory Division of the Galaxies and Cosmology Department at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany. He earned a master’s degree and a PhD in Astronomy from Leiden University in The Netherlands in 1997.

His research focuses on the theoretical aspects of cosmology, large-scale structure, and galaxy formation. In particular, he’s studying the structure and formation of dark matter halos – the hypothetical gravitational core of a galaxy, consisting of dark matter. In addition, he is analyzing the formation of disk galaxies, the galaxy occupation statistics of dark matter halos, and galaxy lensing.

Michael Vershinin

Michael Vershinin will join the faculty as an assistant professor of physics and astronomy effective January 1, 2010.

Vershinin obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, located in New York, and a PhD in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and additional biology-related training from postdoctoral work at the University of California at Irvine.

“My research interests are interdisciplinary and reside at the interface of biology, physics, mathematics, and computer science,” says Vershinin.

“I am using techniques such as optical trapping to investigate the function of single molecules and molecular complexes. I am also developing methods for better quantifying and modeling biological processes. My current focus is on molecular motors – how things are transported inside of cells, how this transport is regulated and routed, and ultimately how it can break down.”

The latter question is important for understanding many types of cell degeneration and associated diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

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–click here to download and/or print high-resolution Calendar file–

The following list highlights free public events, lectures, and demos

to be hosted by the College of Science during the 2009-2010 academic year:

FRONTIERS OF SCIENCE

Frontiers of Science public lectures start at 7:30 p.m. in the Aline W. Skaggs Biology Building,
just west of the University Bookstore. Free and open to the public, although tickets are required.
Please call (801) 581-6958 or visit www.science.utah.edu for tickets and information.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Influenza: Why Can’t We Get Rid of It?
Robin M. Bush, professor of evolutionary ecology, University of California, Irvine

Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Geologic Control of the Age of Early Man
Frank H. Brown, distinguished professor of geology and geophysics, University of Utah

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Cloaking: Where Science Meets Science Fiction
Graeme Milton, distinguished professor of mathematics, University of Utah

SCIENCE NIGHT LIVE

The Science Night Live series offers a casual yet engaging social and educational experience in downtown Salt Lake City.
All events held at Keys on Main, 242 South Main Street, at 5:30 p.m. Free and open to the public.
For more information, call (801) 581-6958.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Nature’s Musicians: How and Why Birds Sing
Franz Goller, professor of biology, University of Utah

Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Exceptionally Simple Symmetries
Peter E. Trapa, associate professor of mathematics, University of Utah

Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Phonographs and Lightning Rods: Old Tools for New Nanoscience?
Jordan M. Gerton, assistant professor of physics, University of Utah

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The Ins and Outs of Cell Membranes
John C. Conboy, professor of chemistry, University of Utah

SCIENCE DAY AT THE U

Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Science Day gives Utah high school students an opportunity to explore their academic interests by attending interactive science workshops at the U. Students may sign up through their high school or online. This event is free and lunch is provided! For more information, call (801) 581-6958 or, to register, visit www.science.utah.edu.