COSAM News Articles 2020 July Message from Dean Giordano - July 2020

Message from Dean Giordano - July 2020

Published: 07/14/2020

Summer is quickly going by and the new fall semester is just around the corner. August marks an important milestone for students to begin their education at Auburn or return for another academic year preparing them for future careers. While the coming semester will certainly look different from any in the past, COSAM faculty and staff will have the same dedication to providing the best possible educational experience for our students.

While we are anticipating further information about plans for the upcoming fall semester to come soon, I wanted to share with you the progress is our college is making. Our student enrollment and budget in the College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM) are right on track. Our departments are finishing the process for nine new faculty members to join us, and we are excited about what they will bring to the College.

Research is a core focus of COSAM, and even though the last few months have presented challenges, research in our laboratories has consistently continued.

Three faculty, Byron Farnum and Evangelos Miliordos from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Dan Warner from the Department of Biological Sciences, are NSF CAREER recipients this year. In addition to these prestigious awards, COSAM researchers have been recognized for an array of accomplishments.

Ed Thomas, Jr., our associate dean for research and graduate studies, has been selected to participate on a committee for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Decadal Assessment. Through his input into this report, Thomas will have an opportunity to impact federal agencies, policymakers and academic institutions for the next decade and beyond.

Junshan Lin from the Department of Mathematics received an NSF award to study plasmonic nanohole resonances and Maggie Han was selected for a Fulbright grant.

Chandana Mitra from the Department of Geosciences is part of an interdisciplinary team working on climate change research with NASA. Ashram Uddin was chosen for a Geological Society of American fellowship.

David Ennis and Stuart Loch from the Department of Physics received national coverage for their grant through the Department of Energy for almost $900k regarding developing fusion as an energy source.

I am proud of the work that COSAM continues to deliver and the accomplishments our researchers make all year long.

While we are waiting for additional information about fall, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.