Tentative Program 2012
Plenary Speaker
Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri
The William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea, Department of Chemistry
Director, Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy
University of Wisconsin-Madison
2012 President, American Chemical Society
Bassam Z. Shakhashiri is the first holder of the William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea at UW-Madison. He is well known internationally for his effective leadership in promoting excellence in science education at all levels, and for his development and use of demonstrations in the teaching of chemistry in classrooms as well as in less formal settings. The Encyclopedia Britannica sites him as the "dean of lecture demonstrators in America." His scholarly publications, including the multi-volume series, Chemical Demonstrations: A Handbook for Teachers of Chemistry, are models of learning and instruction that have been translated into several languages. He is an advocate for policies to advance knowledge and to use science and technology to serve society. He promotes the exploration and establishment of links between science, the arts and the humanities, and the elevation of discourse on significant societal issues related to science, religion, politics, the economy, and ethics. Professor Shakhashiri is the 2012 President of the American Chemical Society.
A native of Lebanon, Professor Shakhashiri came to the United States in 1957 at the age of 17. He completed undergraduate work at Boston University ('60) with an A. B. degree in chemistry, served as a teaching fellow at Bowdoin College for one year and then earned M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry at the University of Maryland ('64 and '68, respectively).
After a year of post-doctoral research and two years as a junior member of the chemistry faculty at the University of Illinois-Urbana, Professor Shakhashiri joined the faculty of the UW-Madison in 1970, a position he still holds. In 1977 he became the founding chair of the UW System Undergraduate Teaching Improvement Council, now called the Office of Professional and Instructional Development. In 1983 he founded the Institute for Chemical Education (ICE) and served as its first director. His work with ICE inspired the establishment of the Center for Biology Education, the Merck Institute for Science Education, the Miami University (of Ohio) Center for Chemical Education, the Sacred Heart University SMART Center, and others. In 2002 he founded the Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy (WISL) and continues to serve as its director.
From 1984 to 1990 Professor Shakhashiri served as Assistant Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) for Science and Engineering Education. As the NSF chief education officer he presided over the rebuilding of all the NSF efforts in science and engineering education. Professor Shakhashiri has given over 1300 invited lectures and presentations in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and South America. Professor Shakhashiri is the recipient of over 35 awards, including Outstanding Lecturer of the Year in General Chemistry, University of Illinois (1969 and 1970), the 1977 Kiekhofer Distinguished Teaching Award from UW-Madison, and the 1979 Manufacturing Chemists Association Catalyst Award. He is the youngest recipient of two of the American Chemical Society's (ACS) most coveted recognitions -- the James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry (1983) and the ACS George Pimentel Award in Chemical Education (1986); he has been a member of the ACS since 1962. In 1982 he was given the Ron Gibbs Award of the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers for "outstanding contributions to science education at the local, regional, national, and international levels." In 1987, he was cited for distinguished public service by the District of Columbia Science Education Association, the National Science Teachers Association, the South Carolina Academy of Science, and the Boston University General Alumni Association.
He received the 2002 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology, "for his tireless efforts to communicate science to the general public, and especially children." In 2004 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the national chemistry fraternity Alpha Chi Sigma. In 2005 he received the Madison Metropolitan School District Distinguished Service Award for a Citizen, the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists, the ACS Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach for "lifelong accomplishments and for explaining and demonstrating science with charisma and passion," and was cited in the Answer Book of Capital Newspapers as the "coolest UW professor." In 2006 he received the Rotary Senior Service Award from the Rotary Club of Madison. In 2007 he received the National Science Board Public Service Award and was cited for "extraordinary contributions to promote science literacy and cultivate the intellectual and emotional links between science and the arts for the public." In 2008 he received the inaugural Emerson Science Advocacy Medal from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and was cited for "distinguished, sustained, and lasting contributions in the development of the sciences."
Professor Shakhashiri is an elected fellow of the South Carolina Academy of Science, the Alabama Academy of Science, the New York Academy of Science, and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. He is the recipient of honorary doctoral degrees from George Washington University, Illinois State University, Ripon College, University of Colorado, Grand Valley State University, University of South Carolina and Lebanese American University.
"SCIENCE IS FUN AND THE JOY OF LEARNING"
Chemistry is both the central science and the familiar science. The familiarity of chemistry has yet to be fully exploited in reaching all segments of society, especially the nonspecialists. Chemistry brings a wide range of goods and functions to everyone and thus is vital to our democracy. My presentation will include demonstrations to show how science can be communicated to all segments of our society. Students, faculty, and all members of the community are invited. Come learn about combustion, exploding balloons, liquids that glow in the dark, polymers, and other spectacular scientific phenomena. You will sit at the edge of your seat and will see science in action.
Plenary Speaker
Dr. Lance Lobban, Professor
Director, Francis W. Winn Chair,
School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering at the University of Oklahoma.
His areas of expertise are chemical reaction engineering and catalysis, and he has directed research programs related to biomass conversion to biofuels, catalytic and plasma conversion of natural gas to liquid fuels and chemicals, photocatalytic oxidation, and modeling of solid oxide fuel cells. He holds three patents, has co-authored over 60 archival journal articles or book chapters, and has been principle investigator or co-PI on several million dollars of external grants. He has won numerous awards at the University of Oklahoma including Outstanding Professor in Chemical Engineering, OU Student Association Outstanding Professor in the College of Engineering, the Lloyd G. and Joyce Austin Presidential Professorship, and the Regents’ Award for Superior Teaching.
"The Potential for Biofuels in the Oklahoma Energy Picture"
School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering Oklahoma has traditionally enjoyed a wealth of energy resources in its oil and gas reserves. Although oil production has declined in the state, Oklahoma is still a significant producer of petroleum, and natural gas production has increased over the last decade after peaking in 1990. Oklahoma is also one of the leading states in wind energy production. The state also has very high potential for production of biofuels, particularly from switchgrass and other lignocellulosic biomass. However, there remain significant scientific and technological barriers to efficient production of biofuels, particularly second generation biofuels, from lignocellulosic biomass. This talk will discuss the potential, the barriers, and the research to overcome those barriers and lead to development of Oklahoma biofuels.
Plenary Speaker
Lloyd W. Sumner, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Plant Biology Division
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK
Dr. Sumner acquired his B.S. degree in chemistry and mathematics in 1989 from Cameron University in Lawton, OK and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in 1993 from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK. He then joined Texas A&M University, College Station TX, where he was the Director of the Mass Spectrometry Applications Laboratory and where he later served as the cofounder and Associate Director of the TAMU Laboratory for Biological Mass Spectrometry with David H Russell. He joined The Noble Foundation in 1999 and is currently an Associate level, principal investigator in the Plant Biology Division. While at the Noble Foundation, Dr. Sumner has built a research program focused around the large-scale profiling of plant proteins and metabolites (proteomics and metabolomics) which provide greater insight into the physical and chemical consequences of gene expression and system responses to genetic and environmental perturbations. Much of this work has focused upon secondary metabolism. In the process, he has published close to 70 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. Currently, Dr. Sumner’s research is supported by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, The National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program, The NSF 2010 program, and The State of Oklahoma. Dr. Sumner is currently a Fellow of The American Association for the Advancement of Science, President of the Metabolomics Society, a Founding Member of the International Advisory Committee for Plant Metabolomics, an Adjunct Associate Professor at Oklahoma State University Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and a Distinguished Alumni of Cameron University. Dr. Sumner serves on the Editorial Boards of Plant Physiology and the Metabolomics Journal.
INTEGRATED LARGE-SCALE BIOCHEMICAL PROFILING PROVIDES NOVEL INSIGHT INTO PLANTS
The past decade has yielded highly sophisticated analytical instrumentation that now makes the large-scale biochemical profiling of mRNA, proteins and metabolites possible. These technologies are routinely referred to as transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics. We are using integrated metabolomics and transcriptomics to obtain novel insight into legume natural product biosynthesis. Legumes are fundamental sources of nutrition for most global cultures due to their high protein content achieved through unique symbioses with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Legumes also produce a wide array of natural products including flavonoids, isoflavonoids, lignin, anthocyanins, and triterpene saponins. These compounds serve critical roles in plant defense, plant-microbe interactions, symbiosis, and human and animal health. This presentation will introduce the model legume Medicago truncatula and provide an overview of our metabolomics technologies. The presentation will also provide specific examples of how we are exploiting integrated metabolomics for the discovery and characterization of triteprene saponin biosynthetic genes.
2012 OKLAHOMA CHEMIST AWARD
The recipient of the 2012 Oklahoma Chemist Award is
Dr. Donna J. Nelson, Professor of Chemistry
University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 405-325-2288, djnelson@ou.edu
Born and reared in Eufaula, Dr. Donna Nelson has been a professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma for about 25 years. She took her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Oklahoma, obtained her Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Texas under the direction of Michael Dewar, did her postdoctorate at Purdue University under the direction of Nobel Laureate, H. C. Brown, and then joined the University of Oklahoma faculty. She was a Faculty Fellow in the OU Provost's Office 1989 - 1990, and she has been a Visiting Professor at MIT, at UC-San Diego, and at UT-Austin. Donna is the recipient of many awards (most recently the 2011 Southwest Regional ACS Stan Israel Award for outstanding contributions to diversity and the 2011 Southwest Regional E. Ann Nalley Award for outstanding volunteerism). She is an AAAS Fellow, an ACS Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and Fulbright Awardee.
Dr. Nelson's current research pertains to nanoscience, communicating science to the public, and scientific workforce development and she frequently speaks on the interrelationship of these topics. In 2010, she chaired the American Chemical Society's national Nanoscience Subdivision, and she is currently Oklahoma's Nanoscience Email Listserve Manager. The American Chemical Society (the world's largest scientific organization) recently appointed her to its national Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs, which requires that she "provide expert advice to the government on questions concerning the chemical sciences and technologies" and "encourage and facilitate participation by the members of ACS in government relations." Making use of such connections enables an additional opportunity for Oklahoma to be more aware of and to influence national level science policy.
A national-level example of her furthering the universal goal of presenting accurate science to TV and movie audiences, is her advising television programs, such as AMC's Breaking Bad.
The complete program for the 2012 Oklahoma Pentasectional ACS Meeting can seen by clicking Tentative Program 2012.
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