News
February
SCB pitches in to clear out invasive plants along Parkerson Mill Creek
02/25/2013
Auburn University’s chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) joined in the Parkerson Mill Creek Showdown on the morning of Saturday, February 23. The event combined our 8 SCB members (see photo) with volunteers from the Davis Arboretum staff, Facilities Management, the Department of Horticulture, the AU Office of Sustainability, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and the Alabama Invasive Plant Council. We spent several hours clearing invasive plants from the banks of Parkerson Mill Creek behind the McWhorter Center, and then enjoyed a chili lunch provided by the sponsoring groups.
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Prof. Lin Selected as a Changjiang Chair Professor
02/25/2013
Coordinated by the Chinese Ministry of Education, Changjiang Scholars Program is one of the most prestigious higher education development programs of China provided by the Ministry of education and Li Ka Shing Foundation. The program unites outstanding academics from different disciplines to conduct research and teaching at higher education institutions of mainland China. In 2012, 52 scholars from leading universities all over the world were selected as Changjiang Chair Professors. Prof. Lin will collaborate with the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) to nurture professionals and conduct space plasmas research.
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DBS holds 1st Annual Biology Trivia Contest
02/19/2013
The 3 academic clubs in the Department of Biological Sciences, Marine Biology Club, Microbiology Club, and the Society for Conservation Biology, recently held a Biology Trivia Contest! Seen here are the winners of the trivia contest holding up their prizes. The grand prize awarded was a “Volcano Shrimp Ecocube” donated by Professor Scott R. Santos. Six teams participated in two evenings and competed in answering questions in 10 subject categories. Further events that combine the interests of all 3 academic clubs in Biology are planned for future years.
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U.S. Geoscience Enrollments and Degrees Grow Robustly in 2011-2012
02/12/2013
http://www.as.uky.edu/us-geoscience-enrollments-and-degrees-grow-robustly-2011-2012
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Prof. Duin receives NASA funding
02/11/2013
Professor Eduardus Duin is a co-investigator for a project funded by NASA on “Iron-sulfur clusters in the evolution of the Enzymatic Synthesis of RNA” in collaboration with scientists at the University of Arkansas and Ehime University in Japan.
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IGP grant for Professors Goodwin and Calderon
02/11/2013
Professor Douglas Goodwin and Professor Angela Calderon of Pharmacal Sciences have received funding for their Internal Grant Proposal, “Toward new antitubercular drugs: Uncovering mechanistically appropriate inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis shikimate kinase from natural products”.
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IGP funding for Professors Easley, Shannon and Simonian
02/08/2013
Professors Christopher Easley and Curtis Shannon of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Aleksandr Simonian of the College of Engineering have received funding for their Internal Grant Program proposal entitled “Surface Dynamics of a Highly Sensitive and Versatile Protein Quantitation Method, the Electrochemical Proximity Assay”.
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Prison Outreach Award for Prof. Goodwin
02/08/2013
Dr. Douglas Goodwin and his collaborators Ms. Kyes Stevens and Dr. Alan Wilson have received a Competitive Outreach Scholarship Grant Award for their proposal entitled “Bridging a Curriculum Gap in Prisoner Education: A Collaboration of Colleges Innovating Solutions”.
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02/06/2013
Members of the Promoting Academic Success for Students (PASS) Peer Mentoring Program participated in an event to bring together friends, fellowship, and service on Jan. 21st. To celebrate the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, participants came together to collect and donate school supplies. The group collected donations including paper, notebooks, binders, pencils, pens, hand sanitizer, etc. According to a PASS mentor, “We had to add a service component. The addition of the service component gives us an opportunity to give back keeping with the day of service legacy left by the Martin Luther King, Jr.” The PASS Mentoring Program plans to collect school supplies each month and donate them to a local church ministry. If you are interested in adding to our school supply efforts, please bring them to SCC 235. For more information on the PASS Mentoring Program, visit www.auburn.edu/cosam/diversity/mentor.
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K!DSPARK held Jan. 19 in Birmingham, AL
02/06/2013
The 2013 K!dspark Conference “Explore the Future and Plan for Success” was held on Saturday, Jan. 19 at George Washington Carver High School in Birmingham, AL. COSAM’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs served as a key component of the K!DSPARK Conference, a day-long conference coordinated by AT&T Alabama and the Birmingham Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., to encourage and promote education in the sciences. A table was set-up for students and parents to visit during check-in time. Parents and students were encouraged to start planning for college early especially if interested in careers in mathematics and sciences. Participants were given information about COSAM majors and related programs. More than 125 Birmingham area middle and high school students and their parents gained valuable advice on how to prepare for future careers. Speakers included Bell Rogers -Education Chair, Alabama AT&T Pioneers, Glyn Agnew - Director, AT&T External Affairs, Michael Moore - Deputy Director City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office, Rickey Morgan - Chapter President, Alabama AT&T Pioneers, and Sarah Mitchell - President, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Birmingham Alumnae Chapter. The keynote speaker was Andrea Billingsley Whitfield, Elementary Teacher Birmingham City Schools and Author of two books – Restoring Classroom Behavior and Felicia Fights Fat with Phone Fitness. The event was organized by long term Summer Bridge supporter and AT&T Pioneer Bell Rogers. The goal of this event was to engage the community to empower students and parents to explore the future and plan for success.
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Featured article by Prof. Acevedo
02/04/2013
An article on Hepatitus C Virus by Professor Orlando Acevedo and his former graduate student Sambasivarao Somisetti has been highlighted by the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling in a special issue on HCV therapies.
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Dr. Marie Kraska Award for Excellence in Teaching
02/04/2013
Dr. Marie Kraska very recently established the Dr. Marie Kraska Award for Excellence in Teaching. This will be an annual award.
The Kraska Award will be used to recognize an associate or full professor in the department of Mathematics and Statistics of the College of Sciences and Mathematics for his/her outstanding teaching in statistics. The recipient of this award must be innovative, challenging teacher who is respected by the faculty and by his/her students. The recipient of the Kraska Award will be named by the chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, in consultation with a selection committee composed of a COSAM faculty member identified by the dean or associate dean, responsible for graduate studies, an alumnus of the graduate program in statistics, and a current graduate student in the statistics program. The chair shall establish the selection criteria; however, the donor recommends that they include letters from program graduates. The recipient is eligible to receive the award in subsequent years if selected by the process specified.
The amount of the annual award shall be $1,000 (pre-tax).
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Logan Chair celebrated with recognition dinner
02/01/2013
On Jan. 15, a dinner was held in recognition of Chris Rodger, the inaugural recipient of the Logan Chair, established by Don and Sandy Logan. Rodger is the associate dean for research and graduate studies for COSAM. The Logan Chair is designed to support superior faculty of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics who possess academic leadership in the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research and university and professional service, including outreach activities, within the department, with each category weighted equally. Additionally, the recipient of the Logan Chair is expected to work to strengthen and enhance mathematics, and serve as a positive role model for students and colleagues.
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