2009–2010 DAC Graduate Fellowship Awards

The Graduate Fellowship Committee of the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) has selected six analytical chemistry graduate students to receive either nine-month fellowships during the 2009–2010 academic year or three-month fellowships during the summer of 2009. The mission of the Graduate Fellowship Program is to encourage basic research in analytical chemistry and to recognize future leaders in the field.

Nine-month fellowships

Stefanie Bumpus of the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (Neil Kelleher, thesis advisor) is investigating the biosynthesis of nonribosomal peptide (NRP) and polyketide (PK) natural products using high-resolution MS. Her research focuses on both the in vitro characterizing of NRP and PK biosynthetic enzymes and on the development of novel methods for the discovery and characterization of new biosynthetic pathways in unsequenced bacterial genomes. Her fellowship is sponsored by the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh.

Joaquín Rodríguez López of the University of Texas Austin (Allen J. Bard) is developing new modes and applications of the scanning electrochemical microscope for the screening and characterization of electrocatalysts for relevant fuel-cell processes such as the oxygen reduction reaction and the electrochemical oxidation of formic acid and methanol. He has recently introduced a surface interrogation technique that allows the in situ quantification of adsorbed reaction intermediates, a method to characterize efficient catalysts and to better understand the nature of inner-sphere electron transfer. Eli Lilly and Co. sponsors his fellowship.

Zhi Zhu of the University of Florida (Weihong Tan) is investigating DNA aptamer molecular engineering for targeted and efficient cancer therapy. Her research focuses on building aptamer circuits to achieve signal amplification for early diagnosis. In addition, she is working on an aptamer-cross-linked target-responsive hydrogel for sensitive detection and drug delivery. Procter & Gamble sponsors her fellowship.

Summer fellowships

Liang Gao of Purdue University (Graham Cooks) is developing novel MS instrumentation. His research focuses on construction of miniature ion trap mass spectrometers and development of related sample ionization, ion transferring, and ion detection techniques. Agilent Technologies sponsors his fellowship.

Matthew Linman of the University of California Riverside (Quan Cheng) is developing novel sensing interfaces for bioanalysis with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and SPR imaging. He is designing functional surfaces for membrane proteins and examining protein–biomolecule interactions in supported membranes for eventual multiplexed detection of these interactions with real-time SPR techniques. His fellowship is sponsored by the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh.

Tony Ly of the University of California Riverside (Ryan Julian) is investigating the gas-phase chemistry of biomolecular radicals and applying this knowledge to improve peptide fragmentation methods and to investigate the structure of proteins. He uses photodissociation MS to induce radical directed residue-specific fragmentation of proteins. Eastman Chemical Co. sponsors his fellowship.

Honorable mention

The Graduate Fellowship Committee awarded honorable mention status to fellowship applicant Chunze Lai of the University of Minnesota (Philippe Buhlmann).

Applications for 2010–2011 DAC Graduate Fellowships

Applications are now being accepted for the 2010–2011 fellowships, which are available to full-time graduate students working toward a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry. Applicants must be nominated by their graduate thesis advisors and must have completed at least their second year of graduate studies by the time their fellowships would begin. The applicant’s thesis advisor must be a member of DAC, and only one nomination per advisor will be accepted. In addition to the application forms, applicants must submit three letters of recommendation and copies of their undergraduate and graduate transcripts.

Detailed information about the DAC Graduate Fellowship Program and about the application process for the 2010–2011 fellowships may be found on the program homepage (www.wabash.edu/acsgraduatefellowship/home.htm). Application forms may be downloaded from this website or may be obtained by contacting Professor Richard F. Dallinger at Wabash College by email (dallingr@wabash.edu) or fax (765-361-6149). Completed application packages for the 2010–2011 fellowships must be submitted to Professor Dallinger by December 11, 2009.