\'-·L~ /( : )g
♦ ComputerScUmce♦ Goology♦ MathemaUcsand Slatisti£ '+ ¾,s ~• .fology ♦ Chemistryand BUJchemistry --♦ ...
~
B~@
'elit,'
Utah State University Alumni News letter
Colle e of Science
MacMahon 's Musings
Spring 2000 /Vol. 8 Issue 2
History of Computer Science at USU
I am writing this on a Wednesday (I March) and I anticipate that next Monday (6 March) we will finally begin moving into the new and wonderful Widtsoe Hall. I guess the old adage "better late than never" DeanJim MacMalwn applies in this situation. A myriad of small items caused last minute snags. We are planning a dedication for the new building and groundbreaking for the Eccles Science Leaming Center in April. Stop by and just walk through the new Widtsoe if you are in town. I think you will be amazed at this wonderful addition to our teaching and
researchprograms.
The IBM 1620, USU'sfirst computer
Anotherchange will occur next week. It appearsthatI will become the new Vice Presidentfor UniversityAdvancement. This position has responsibilityfor Alumni Relations,Media Relationsand Marketing, and Development. It has been a hard decision for Patty and me. I love the College and my colleagues, but one thing an administratormust not do is to stay so long that he or she becomes ineffective. Ten years is a long time and the College can use fresh ideas and differentperspectives. I hope thatI can contributesomethingto the University in my new position, but it's a big change and somethingof a crap shoot. I will remaindean until I July. After all these years it's interestingthatthe most common commentI got when the MUSINGS ... Continued on page 2
The Department of Computer Science is one of six academi c departments in the College of Science. Computer Science has 12full-time tenure track faculty members, 2 lecturers, 310 undergraduate majors, and 132 graduate students. During the 1998 1999 academic ye ar, 40 students graduat ed with BS degrees in Computer Science and 18 graduat ed with MS degrees. The program received accreditation by the Computer Science Accreditation Commission in 1998, and a PhD degree program was approved by the State Board of Regents in 1999. Clearly, Computer Science is a vital, important department of the College of Science. However, not so many ye ars ago, Computer Science at USU had just begun. The beginnings of computer science at USU occurred in the early 1950s when Professor Bliss H. Crandell set up a statistical laboratory in the Department of Agronomy in the College of Agriculture and was soon joined by Dr. Rex Hurst (who had earned BS and MS degrees at USU and a PhD degree at Cornell University) . By 1958, the statistics group was large enough to become the Department of Applied Statistics in the College of Agriculture , and Dr. Hurst was selected as department head . The university acquired its first computer in 1961- an IBM 1620, the first one delivered west of the Mississippi . The computer and the Department of Applied Statistics were housed in the basement of Old Main. The IBM 1620 was a fully automatic, high speed (for its time) , programmable, electronic digital computer.
HISTORY/COMPUTER SCIENCE... 011 page 3 Co11ti11ued
0
Collegeof Science
Widtsoe Hall Update
Photostakenin Marchof the exteriorand teaching(left) and research(right) labsin the now completedJohnA. WidtsoeHall Widtsoe Chemistry Building Dedication Ceremony Tuesday, 25 April 2000 - 10:30 am Tours - 9:30 to 10:30 am
Widtsoe Chemistry Building Open House & Tours
---=,)94
Saturday, 15 April 2000 - 2:00 to 3:00 pm Public Welcome
.....
__
Eccles Science Learning Center Groundbreaking Ceremony Tuesday, 25 April 2000 - 1:30 pm Tours - 2:30 to 3:39 pm
Formoreinformation,call (435) 797-2478
MUSINGS ... Continued from page 1
announcement was made was "Does this mean we will not have the College Christmas party anymore?" You never know what your mark, if any, will be!
It is really difficult to put into words the wonderful support I have had from associate deans, staff, department heads, and faculty. They have all made this, most of the time, fun. I still plan to do some teaching and mentor some graduate students, but all of that must be cut back a bit. I know that all of you will support the new dean when one is chosen . Let me finish by saying I hope I do not lose contact with all of you. In the new position I will be attempting to develop funds for University projects. I hope I can continue to count on your support as I move into this new assignment. Saying thanks seems so wanting, but what the heck- THANKS! Sincerely,
2
Insights HISTORY/COMPUTER
SCIENCE ...
When the 1620 was acquired , the only person on campus with any digital computer programming experience was Wendell Pope, who was teaching in the Department of Mathematics . Professor Pope had earned a BS degree in mathematics at USU in 1956 and an MS degree in mathematics with a scientific computing option at Stanford University in 1958. Dr. Hurst persuaded Professor Pope to work part-time in the Department of Applied Statistics to develop computer science courses and teach programming.
Co11ti1111ed from page 1
Advertised as a compact computer , it required "no more space than the average-sized desk or drafting table ." Input/output was by means of punched cards or punched paper tape. It had 40,000 individually addressable storage locations each six bits long. Each location could store one decimal digit , one letter (upper case only!) , or one special character . Storage locations could be linked to form numbers of arbitrary length. Because the computer performed addition by means of a table lookup , one decimal digit at a time (almost as bad as a schoolchild counting on his fingers) , its developers called it the CADET , an acronym for Can 't Add , Doesn 't Even Try! As primitive as this computer sounds compared to today 's computers , it was a great advance from the mechanical/electrical devices that preceded it.
In 1962, the Department of Applied Statistics was transferred to the College of Science from the College of Agriculture . At this time, the department had two functional groups , i.e., the applied statistics group and the computer science group. Degrees awarded were a mixture of applied statistics and computer science, but no degree program existed for the many students who wanted a degree in computer science alone. With Dr. Hurst 's vision and leadership and Professor Pope 's experience and ability with computers, enough courses were soon developed to petition the Board of Regents for a bachelor of science degree program in computer science. Professor Pope remembers , "For the most part , courses had to be developed from scratch. Few, if any, texts existed for courses at this early stage of development of the discipline ." In 1964, approval was given to USU for the first BS degree program in computer science in Utah .
Initially , computer programs had to be written in assembler language. FORTRAN was developed by IBM in 1959 but it was some time before a version for the 1620 became available. Operating systems (e.g., DOS) had not been developed yet, so programs had to be loaded and executed one at a time. "It was extremely tedious to do any kind ofreal computing ," says Dr. Hurst , "but it did get us going. "
The computer operation was separated from the Department of Applied Statistics by the organization of the Computer Center in 1966. In 1969, both the Department of Applied Statistics and the Computer Center moved from Old Main to the Computer Science Building (formerly the Rural Arts Building and now the Computer Services Building) .
Inside Insights ATOS Lect11r e ............................................................. ............. 12 ALUMNET Responses.................................................. .......... 26 ALUMNET Response Form ........................................ ........... 28 A lumni and Friends Web Page ............................................... 12 Alumni: In Memorium............................................................ 26 Alumni Reunion...................................................................... 24 Alumnus Profile: Lars Hansen, 1974 ........................................ 9 Ask the Scientist ...................................................................... 10 Awards, Honors, and Publications .........................................25 Calendar of Events .................................................................. 17 College Award Recipients ........................................................ 18 College Coffee Breaks ............................................................... 14 College GraduationOpen House Invitation ........................... 25 CollegePlwnathon .............................................. ....................... 5 College Statistics ..................................................................... 13 Commencement 2000 .............................................................. 23 Departmental Scholarships: Mathematics and Physics ............ 4 Eccles Fellowship Recipient ..................................................... 21 Emeritus FacultyProfile: Dr. Wilford Hanson ....................... 19 History of Computer Science..................................................... 1 Image Brochure.................................................................. ........ 6 In Memoriam: Professor Howard Dorst ................................. 24 MacMahon's Musings .............................................................. 1 Molewlar Biology and BiochemicalResearch ........................... 6 New Associate Dean: Dr. Don Fiesinger ................................. 11 New FaculhJMember: Dr. Tom Chang ................................... 13 Outstanding Students ............................................................. 16 Retirement of Associate Dean Tony Bringhurst ......................11 Reunion in Taiwan ............................................. ..................... 22 Rock and Fossil Day ............................... ................................. 21 Visiting Professors ...................................... .............................20 Widtsoe Hall Update ................................................................. 2
The computer science program grew rapidly and soon the number of students in computer science exceeded the number in applied statistics . It became necessary to impose restrictions on enrollment-only students who maintained certain academic standards would be allowed to continue in the program as junior s and seniors. The computer science and applied statistics programs remained in one department until 1982, when computer science was made a separate department. Dr. Donald H. Cooley was named department head and he remains so today . Also in 1982, the department moved to the larger University Reserve Building . The last move of the department , to its current location on the fourth floor of Old Main , occurred in 1991. A master 's degree program in computer science (plan B, no thesis) was approved by the State Board of Regents in 1980, and the first 12 candidates graduated in 1983. A plan A (thesis) master 's degree program was approved in 1984. The computer science program received accreditation by the Computer Science Accreditation Commission in 1998, becoming one of only two accredited computer science program s in Utah . A PhD degree program was approved in 1999, marking the attainment of a goal that had been set in the 1970s.
Look for us on the Web! www.usu.edu/-science/alumni&friends
HISTORY/COMPUTER
SCIENCE ...
Co11ti1111ed on page 8
3
Collegeof Science
Mathematics and Physics Scholarships Make a Difference Editors Note: This issue of Insights finishes the scholarship theme that started three issues ago by focusing on those privately funded scholarships benefiting students exclusively in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Physics.
The Neville C. and Annie P. Hu¡nsaker Scholarship Endowment carries the names of a former department head and professor of mathematics and his wife. After teaching mathematics at USU for some 33 years and an additional 10 years as professor emeritus, Dr. Hunsaker, along with his wife, created this endowment in order to assist outstanding students having an interest in and aptitude for
Like every department in the College of Science, Mathematics and Statistics and Physics are extremely conscious of the role that private financial support for scholarships plays in helping to improve the educational experiences of their students. A select few students in these departments are particularly fortunate to be the beneficiaries of contributions given to create new or to enhance existing scholarships. With one year of in-state tuition and fees at Utah State University costing $2,314 and rising, the scholarship needs of science students have never been greater. Only a very few deserving students in science receive scholarship assistance. As a result, more science students would benefit from gifts designated for scholarship support. Gifts to establish such scholarships can be contributed and expended on an annual basis or can be contributed through a perpetual endowment whose earnings will be used to annually support students.
"Sharon's endowment encourages students wanting to teach mathematics to focus their training on ways to excite students and bring math to life in the classroom." -Dr. Peter M. Ellis
studying mathematics at the university. All five of the Hunsaker children have supported the endowment with their own gifts which is now the largest fund in the department. The scholarship is available to both freshman and continuing mathematics majors annually. The 1999 - 2000 Hunsaker Scholars are junior Benjamin Woodruff with a 4. 0 GPA; Emily M Thompsen, a sophomore with a 3.977 GPA; Daniel E. Nye who is a sophomore holding a 3.912 GPA; and Lee Wardle who holds a 3.815 GPA as a sophomore.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics , The four endowed scholarships currently benefiting mathematics and statistics students are cited below. The Department of Mathematics and Statistics has a growing need for additional scholarship support for its students. The Elich Scholarship Endowment was created by and named for Joe (BS 1940) and Carletta J. Elich. Joe served as professor of mathematics at Utah State University for 42 years and this scholarship extends his service to mathematics students by providing assistance to deserving students in the department. The endowment provides annual scholarship support to a student demonstrating academic achievement, financial need, and personal integrity. The 1999 - 2000 Elich Scholar is junior Nicole Barker, who is carrying a 3.81 GPA.
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics Scholarship Endowment has been established by the generous contributions of alumni, faculty, staff, and other friends of the department over a number of years. The fund was created to provide a perpetual award fund from which to provide annual scholarship support to outstanding students pursuing degrees in mathematics and statistics. The inaugural awards from the fund are anticipated in the 2000 2001 academic year.
The Sharon Lee Gardner Ellis Memorial Scholarship Endowment honors the memory of a gifted mathematics educator and through scholarship support encourages qualified and dedicated mathematics students to become teachers. Dr. Peter M. Ellis, professor of business administration at USU, created this endowment in his wife's name following her death in 1995. The fund provides annual scholarship assistance to a superior mathematics education student believed to have the greatest potential to challenge, inspire, and teach junior high and high school mathematics students. The 1999 - 2000 Ellis Scholar is John R. Stevens, a senior holding a 3.964 GPA.
Department of Physics
"I established this endowment and continue to support it because it serves as a lasting legacy of my wife's commitment to excellence in mathematics education," offers Dr. Peter M. Ellis. "Sharon's endowment encourages students wanting to teach mathematics to focus their training on ways to excite students and bring math to life in the classroom."
The Gene Adams Scholarship Endowment honors the 11 years Dr. Adams served as research professor in physics and electrical engineering. Family and friends established the fund that provides an annual scholarship to a deserving physics major with demonstrated academic achievement, financial need, and a high
"The scholarships available to physics students are extremely valuable and are needed now more than ever," says Dr. John Raitt, Physics department head. "With nearly 80 undergraduate and graduate students, gifts from our alumni, faculty, staff, and friends are an increasingly important source of support for the scholarship assistance our students need." The five privately funded scholarships currently benefiting physics students are cited below.
4
Insights compl eted his degree with a 3.924 GPA; Ry an Sharp, a senior holding a 3. 70 GPA; and Chanelle Woolf, a senior with a 3. 634 GPA.
degree of personal integrity. The Adams Scholar for 1999 2000 is D evin Della-Rose, who recently completed a PhD degree with a GPA of 3.961 .
As is demonstrated by these nine departmental scholarships , students in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Physics are of outstanding caliber. There is currently no greater need within these departments than attracting additional scholarship support for their many deserving students. Gifts to establish or further enhance scholarship opportunities for mathematics and statistics and physics students will help the College of Science provide the kind of support that these students both need and deserve.
"With nearly 80 undergraduate and graduate students, gifts from our alumni, faculty, staff, and friends are an increasingly important source of support for the scholarship assistance our students need." -Dr. W. John Raitt, Physicsdepartmenthead
To learn more about how y ou might be able to make a difference in the lives of science students , contact Development Director Jerome Davies at jeromed@cc.usu.edu or (435) 797-3510, or use the postage-paid envelope found in this issue a/Insights.
The Get Away Special (GAS) Scholarship Fund receives contributions from faculty, staff, alwnni , and other friends of the department in support of scholarships for selected students participating in NASA's GAS program. This special program permits USU students of all majors an opportunity to develop and place experiments aboard the space shuttle. USU was the first university to fly GAS program experiments aboard the space shuttle and, since inception of the program in 1976, has flown more GAS payloads than any other university in the country. The 1999 - 2000 GAS Scholars are Adam Margetts who has a 3. 79 GPA, Leann Moody who maintains a 3.36 GPA, andArlynda Wright who carries a GPA of 3.66.
Science Alumni Respond to Phonathon The College of Science recently completed its fiscal year 2000 Phonathon program. During the period 22 February 4 March, nearly 2,000 science alumni and attenders were reached by telephone. Of those individuals contacted, nearly 600 pledged a contri-bution in support of the students and programs of the College of Science. Thank you for your generosity.
The Lawrence R. and Abelina Megill Scholarship Fund was established by Dr. and Mrs. Megill to support undergraduate students in physics who demonstrate quality academic achievement, superior potential , personal integrity, and a high sense of social and moral responsibility. At least one-half of the scholarship support contributed to the fund is designated to benefit ethnic minority or female students in the department. Previous recipients of the scholarship have been involved in research and/or the GAS program. No Megill Scholars have been named since Dr. Megill's passing in 1998, but recipients for the 2000 - 2001 academic year are anticipated. The 0. Harry Otteson Scholarship Endowment memorializes alumnus, physics professor , and assistant department head , Dr. Harry Otteson (BS 1960, MS 1962, PhD 1967). He served the department and advised its students for more than 29 years and this scholarship honors his teaching, advising , and administrative work. The endowment provides annual assistance to the two physics majors achieving the highest score in the general physics course. The 1999 - 2000 Otteson Scholars are Nathan Cannon, a senior holding a 3.96 GPA, and Sterling Smith, a junior with a 3.984 GPA.
Please help ensure that we are better able to meet the needs of a growing number of science students and, if at all possible, fulfill your pledge within our fiscal year ending 30 June 2000. To that end, you may use the postage-paid envelope found in this issue of Insights to send in your gift.
If you have any questions or concerns about your phonathon pledge, please contact Jerome Davies at (435) 797-3510 or email him at jeromed@cc.usu.edu.
The Physics Undergraduate Scholarship Endowment was created by and continues to receive support from physics alumni , faculty, staff, and other friends of the department. The endowment is used to provide annual scholarship assistance to outstanding undergraduate physics majors. The 1999 - 2000 Undergraduate Physics Scholars are Toby Barrus, who recently
5
Collegeof Science
Molecular Biologists and Biochemists Conduct Research with Implications for Cancer Therapy/Prevention Basic molecular biology and biochemistry research being conducted in the Departments of Biology and Che;nistry and Biochemistry is helping to explain the mechanisms of cancer and has implications for cancer therapy and prevention.
Ors. Oaryll OeWald, Hiroko Barna, and Jon Takemoto from the Department of Biology, along with their graduate students and researchers from other universities, are conducting collaborative research on the activity and regulation of the enzyme phosphoinositide 4-kinase (PI 4-kinase, a phospbolipid kinase) in simple bakers ' yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In yeast and higher organisms, secretory pathway proteins are packaged into small vesicles and then moved Ors. Daryl/ DeWald,MicheleGrilley, to various sites, including HirokoHama and Jon Takemoto outside of the cell, by a (left to right) process known as protein trafficking. What these researchers have found is that one of the key regulators controlling the movement of vesicles and their proteins is the lipid kinase enzyme PI 4-kinase. If PI 4-kinase is inactive, then the vesicles get blocked and cannot move.and the cell will die rapidly.
emphasizes that their research is very basic. He hopes "that information gained from these studies will uncover molecular sites, specifically related to protein secretion, that are suitable as targets for novel anticancer drugs" but says that the development of an anticancer drug based on their research is "pretty hypothetical and a Jong way down the road." Although these studies are being conducted on simple yeast, the researchers are confident that certain aspects of the research can be extrapolated to humans. Recently, Dr. De Wald received an American Cancer Society Young Investigator Award of$236,000 to learn bow PI 4-kinase enzymes and their product, phospbatidylinositol 4-phosphate, control the secretion of proteins in yeast cells. Other sources of funding for lipid kinase research have been the National Science Foundation, the USU Vice President's Office for Research, and the US Department of Agriculture. Dr. DeWald emphasizes strongly the collaborative nature of the research. In addition to extremely productive collaborations among the USU biologists (DeWald, Hama, Takemoto, and their graduate students), significant contributions have been made by researchers from other universities, including Dr. Jeremy Thomer, the University of California at Berkeley, and Dr. Glenn Prestwich, the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Utah.
In some cancer cells, e.g., breast and ovarian cancer cells, PI 4-kinase activity is very high, sometimes 50-fold higher than in noncancer cells, and certain proteins are secreted at a very high rate, sending very large amounts of protein outside the cells. Some of these secreted proteins are proteolytic enzymes that are capable of digesting the proteins of the extracellular matrix of tissue. With digestion of the extracellular matrix, cancer cells can be released from the tissue and spread throughout the body (metastasis). Thus, the long-term potential for this research in terms of cancer therapy is to develop an agent that could inhibit PI 4-kinase activity in cancer cells, decrease or eliminate the secretion of the proteolytic enzymes that digest the proteins of the extracellular matrix, and thereby decrease the risk of metastasis. However, Dr. DeWald
Also in the Department of Biology, a similar project with potential cancer therapy implications is being conducted by Ors. Takemoto, Barna, and Michelle Grilley. Sphingolipids are another set of lipids that play important roles in several cancers, such as colon cancer. Researchers have discovered that certain forms of the sphingolipids, i.e., hydroxylated sphingolipids, are increased in cancer cells. Ors. Takemoto, Hama, and Grilley recently found enzymes that make similarly altered spbingolipids in yeast cells, and they are currently studying how these enzymes work. One goal is to learn if these hydroxylating enzymes can eventually be used as targets for anticancer drugs.
College of Science Image Brochure The College of Science has published an image brochure to give prospective students and their parents information on pursuing a degree in the College of Science. If you are a parent of a student or know someone who might be interested in majoring in science at USU, we would like to send you our brochure. You can request one by email at scido@cc.usu.edu, telephone at (435) 797-2478, or fax at (435) 797-3378.
6
-,
Insights
Dr. Rick Holz and graduatestudent Alicja Copik
Dr. Rick Holz and his graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry are also conducting basic research with potential cancer chemotherapy implications. They are working to define the reaction mechanism and substrate specificity of the metal-dependent enzyme methionine aminopeptidase (MetAP) from the bacterium Escherichia coli.
Dr. Holz and his laboratory have been collaborating on this research with Drs. Brian Matthews and W. Todd Lowther of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Oregon. The Oregon group is doing x-ray crystallography work and providing the system for overexpression of the MetAP enzyme, while the USU group is doing the enzyme kinetics and spectroscopic work. Dr. Holz's MetAP research is currently funded by a $656,000 grant from the National lnstitutes of Health and a $96,000 grant from the Willard L. Eccles Charitable Foundation. Dr. Ann Aust, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and her students are conducting biochemical research to explain the mechanism(s) by which asbestos causes cancer. With an understanding of those mechanism(s), it may be possible to prevent cancer by (1) identifying potentially carcinogenic particles and eliminating exposure before it occurs, or (2) intervening in the disease Dr.Ann Aust pathway. They have identified two properties of iron-containing, carcinogenic fibers (including asbestos fibers) that they believe contribute significantly to carcinogenicity-(!) the ability to release iron from the fibers inside the cell, and (2) the ability to cause a decrease in intracellular glutathione , independent of iron associated with the particles.
Aminopeptidases are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of a wide range ofN-tenninal amino acid residues from proteins and polypeptides. Many of these enzymes have broad substrate specificities and are widely distributed in bacteria, yeast, and plant and animal tissues. Aminopeptidases function in protein maturation, protein degradation, hormone regulation, and cell cycle control processes. Abnormal aminopeptidase activity has been associated with many health conditions, including cancer; thus, their biological and medical significance is immense. Recent research on the biochemical pathways involved in cancer metastasis has revealed a set of proteolytic enzymes and genes that play a fundamental role in cancer growth and metastasis. Aminopeptidase activity has been reported on the surface of cancer cells, and aminopeptidases are believed to play essential roles in metastasis, particularly in the steps involving the movement of cancer cells through the collagenous tissue and basement membrane of an organ. Another role for aminopeptidases, including MetAPs, in relation to cancer involves angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels. Without sufficient angiogenesis, tumor growth is slowed or even stopped. "Thus, inhibition of aminopeptidase activity of malignant tumors is critically important in preventing the growth and proliferation of cancer. In this regard alone a fundamental understanding of the catalytic mechanism and subs;ate recognition properties of aminopeptidases is critical and will ultimately assist in the design and synthesis of new anticancer, antibacterial, and antiviral chemotherapeutic agents that specifically target these enzymes," states Dr. Holz.
Dr. Aust has observed that iron from asbestos and other carcinogenic particles is mobilized after the particles are taken into cells, and that carcinogenic particles contain a type of iron that is more readily mobilized than is the type of iron from noncarcinogenic particles. The first step in cancer (initiation) is alteration of a cell's DNA , and Dr. Aust has found that iron mobilized from asbestos fibers is necessary for the induction of oxidative damage to cellular DNA. She has also found that iron is necessary for the induction of the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) , and that production of nitric oxide (NO) by iNOS is also required for DNA oxidation. Currently, Dr. Aust is collaborating with Dr. Michael Hochella of Virginia Polytechnic Institute to determine how iron associates and dissociates from asbestos leading to generation of reactive species that can damage DNA. There are two types of reactive species being investigated: hydroxyl radical (generated by redox reactions of iron with molecular oxygen) and peroxynitrite (generated by reaction ofNO with reactive oxygen species) . Because regulation of iNOS synthesis differs dramatically between rodents and humans, these studies are using human lung epithelial cell lines or primary cultures.
One important class of MetAP inhibitors is based on natural products offungal origin , namely, fumagillin and ovali~in. . .. Ovalicin and a synthetic analog of fumagillin preferentially inh1b1t endothelial cell growth in tumor vasculature in vivo. Based on fumagillin-specific affinity reagents and mass spectroscopic studies on MetAP-fumagillin complexes, MetAPs were identified as the specific target of fumagillins. The mode of inhibition was via the formation of a covalent bond between a conserved histidine residue in MetAPs and an epoxide carbon moiety on fumagillin. "Based on these data," according to Dr. Holz, "an understanding of the structure/function relationship within native and inhibited forms of MetAP is an important and necessary step towards the rational design of potential chemotherapeutic agents that specifically target MetAPs."
Another biochemical mechanism being investigated in relation to asbestos carcinogenicity is regulation of intracellular glutathione. Asbestos causes a dramatic decrease in intracellular glutathione levels (through inhibition of synthesis and stimulation of efflux) CANCER RESEARCH ... Continued on page 8
7
Collegeof Science CANCER RESEARCH ...
HISTORY/COMPUTER SCIENCE...
from page 7 Co11ti1111ed
Conti,med from page 3
that is unrelated to the presence of increased iron in the cells. This decrease in glutathione , at the same time as an increase in redox active iron , is responsible for the transcription of proteins involved in the induction of iNOS leading to NO production. The specific mechanjsms and pathways involved in the decrease in intracellular glutathione "will be a major focus in my research program for the next several years ," says Dr. Aust. Another focus of her research will be determining what transcription factors are activated by the oxidizing events created by high levels of iron and low levels of glutathione in the cell.
"I consider Rex Hurst to be the father of computing and myself the father of computer science at Utah State Uruversity ," declares Professor Wendell Pope. In honor of Professor Pope 's contributions to the development of computer science at USU , the Wendell L. Pope Endowed Scholarship was created in 1995. For more on this or any comput er science scholarship, refer to Spr ing 1999 Insights (Vol. 7, Issue 2), page 4, at http://www.usu.edu/-science/alumni&friends/lnsights.htm
Today, the Department of Computer Science at USU seeks to develop a scientific foundation from wruch to pursue such topics as computer programming, computer design , computer information systems , artificial intelligence , the algorithmic solution of problems, and the algorithmic process itself. Its role is to educate
Dr. Aust's current research is funded by a $439 ,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, and her previous carcinogenicity research was funded by the Willard L. Eccles Charitable Foundation , the Ford Motor Company , and the Elsa Pardee Foundation.
"While computer science today differs significantly from computer science of the 1950s and 1960s, we believe that we have maintained the same commitment to excellence and our students that was held by those who founded this department."
The molecular biology and biochemistry research being conducted by these College of Science researchers is high caliber work that is recognized at national and international levels . All of these scientists have presented their research at numerous invited seminars and conferences throughout the world , including the prestigious Gordon and/or Keystone Conferences in their fields , and Dr. Aust will co-chair a Gordon Conference on oxygen radjcals in 2002 . Dr. Aust was also one of two scientists from the US who attended an international meeting orgaruzed by the European Economic Community to define what is known about the physical and chemical properties of asbestos and man-made mjneral fibers and how those properties result in carcinogenicity.
-Dr . Don Cooley, head of the Dept of Computer Science
students for employment as computer scientists, to prepare majors for graduate work , and to teach basic programming , problem solving , and computer literacy to nonmajors . The research interests of the faculty cover a wide variety of areas and are of both a theoretical and an applied nature.
Our students benefit from the presence of these "cutting edge " researchers in the classroom . Drawing on their own research, they are able to transmit to students not only the most up-to-date information but also a glimpse of how scientific discoveries are made. As such , they serve as excellent role models for students.
Everyone is aware of the impact of computers and computing on our lives. The Internet, electronic commerce, and a phenomenal job market for graduates means that the future is very bright for the Department of Computer Science. It is with a great deal of excitement and anticipation that the department and its faculty look forward to the next 50 years.
These scientists are expanding the horizons of knowledge in their respective fields , and the pursuit of scientific research needs no other justification . However , their particular molecular biology and biochemical research programs may have an even greater impact than increasing scientific knowledge-their research may some day have a significant effect on therapy or prevention of the huge public health problem of cancer.
"Over the y ears, this department has been fortunate to have students and fa culty dedicated to excellence," states Dr. Don Cooley, head of the Departm ent of Computer Science. "These two groups share equally in the credit to be gi ven for the kind of department we have become. While computer science today differs signifi cantly from computer science of the 1950s and 1960s, we believe that we have maintained the same commitment to excellence and our students that was held by those who founded this department . The future for computer science in this new millennium (which actually doesn 1 start until 2001) is very bright. To growth and improvement in this department there are no real obstacles, only opportunities. " (Special thanks to Dr. Rex Hurst and Professor Wendell Pope for information on the "early days" in computer science.)
8
Insights
Bulls, Bears, and Market Shares (This article is reprinted with permission from USU writer, Dennis Hinkamp, after originally appearing in the Summer J999 edition ofUtab State University Magazine. It highlights College of Science alumnus Lars P Hansen who achieved his BS in mathematics from Utah State University in 1974.) Economist jokes are not quite as mean-spirited as lawyer jokes, but they too allude to the mystery of the profession. "If you lined all the economists in the world end to end they still wouldn't reach a conclusion." The unpredictable rises and falls of the stock market and the fickle world economy all reinforce the challenges of confronting economics as a science. It is a volatile stew of mathematics sociology, and psychology that often cooks down to a best ~ess. Even hedge funds that hire Nobel prize-winning economists sometimes lose their investors' shirts. LarsP.Hansen
Lars Hansen's specialty is merging the varied theories of economics with actual data. One such project is aimed at understanding savings and investment behavior in a changing economy. How will people save money and allocate wealth when confronting an uncertain future? How will all these individual decisions influence interest rates and the stock market? Changes in productivity, confidence in the economy, and world events can all influence what each of us might do with an extra $100 a month. Multiply this behavior by 280 million or so people in the United States and the outcome can drastically affect the national and global economy.
graphs, no charts, no supercomputer mainframes, no official seals of the U.S. government. When I ask him what goes on in this building, he says "good question" in a boyish, intellectual, Bill Gates sort of way. Hansen takes a 30-minute commuter train ride here one day a week from his Hyde Park home just a few blocks from the University of Chicago and within sight of Lake Michigan. The university where he spends most of his teaching and research time is impressive in its own way. Sixty-nine Nobel prize winners have been faculty, students, or researchers here-16 of them in economics. Probably the most notable of these economists is Milton Friedman. Other famous alums include the eclectic crew of Saul Bellow, Carl Sagan, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Jay Berwanger, the first winner of the Reisman trophy in 1936.
Contrary to paperback story lines, mathematics, not love, is the international language. Hansen says his background in math served to span the gap between economics and statistics. Mathematics also led Hansen to a PhD in economics, the prestigious ¡ Homer Livingston economics professorship at the University of Chicago, and most recently a one-day-a-week research post at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
The Federal Reserve building and the University of Chicago are probably both more prestigious and more staid places than Hansen thought he would ever frequent. His Logan High School guidance counselor predicted be would be a C-plus student in college at best.
It may not be Wall Street, but it certainly is a walled street where the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago marks the comer of LaSalle and Jackson within the shadow of the Sears Tower. It's a brisk lunch-time stroll from the bank to the famous Picasso sculpture and the Chicago River, dyed green for St. Patrick's Day. You enter the building, get a visitor's name tag, and walk past a table where uniformed guards are selling big sheets of non-negotiable money. Something that Michael Jordan or Donald Trump might use for decorative wall paper? The building is impressive and austere with marble floors and stone walls that make your footsteps echo as you approach the elevators.
"It's not like I was out stealing cars or anything," Hansen says. "I just bad a hard time adjusting to Logan after my family moved there from Michigan. I made mostly Bs in high school, but I also got a lot of low marks in the 'does not respect authority' part of my report card. I was a little bored and unfocused. I'd get the highest grade in the class on one test and then wouldn't study for the next one. Fortunately, the problems with authority changed when I started taking classes at USU. Far from the predicted C-pluses, I got mostly As."
Hansen shares a small office on the 11th floor with other visiting economists. You would expect to find clutter or clanging machines in such a place, but there is surprisingly little of either. There is only Hansen, a laptop computer, and one of those dry erase boards still pock-marked with a bunch of faded equations. That is it. No
Hansen credits personal attention from professors such as Doug Alder, Bartell Jensen, and Mike Windham who got him interested both in mathematics and social sciences. "I didn't take BULLS, BEARS ... 011page 10 Co11ti1111ed
9
___ _______ Science of_________________ _ ___________________College ....:::.........::....
BULLS, BEARS ... Continued from page 9
Orem. His father, Gaurth Hansen, is a distinguished professor emeritus of nutrition and food sciences at Utah State University and former provost. Despite all the academics in the household , his father never pressured him into any particular area.
an economics class until I was a junior , but by the time I graduated in '74 I was already taking PhD level classes and working as a mathematic s teaching assistant." Though he had a slow start, be quickly caught up with the rest of his high-achieving family. He has two brothers : Ted, an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis, and Roger, an environmental engineer for the Utah Bureau of Reclamation in
"I actually thought about the University of Chicago when considering graduate schools," Hansen says, "but ended up at the University of Minnesota because I thought it might be more liberal. My father is a big supporter of the public school system and bis good friend Glen Taggart (USU president at the time) urged me to go to a Big-10 school for graduate studies."
Ask the Scientist
Eventually getting back to the "what goes on here" question , he explains that research filters down from the Chicago Federal Reserve and subsequently gets reviewed , culled, and analyzed until it finally becomes part of national monetary policy. The research department in the Federal Reserve building is a meeting place for the minds , with Northwestern University and Chicago University economists commingling ideas with full-time Federal Reserve researchers . Millions of investors, stock brokers, banks, home buyers, and anyone who uses a credit card will eventually be affected by the monetary decisions that come out of the Federal Reserve when the prime rate is minutely lowered or raised by Allen Greenspan in Washington, DC.
Inquiries about the World, Answered by College of Science Faculty
What is the risk of a major earthquake in Cache Valley? Dr. Jim Evans (Department of Geology) answers: "Geologists and geophysicists think of a major earthquake as one that causes a significant amount of damagemagnitude 6 and above on the Richter Scale. The geologic record in Cache Valley shows that there are two major faults which can create magnitude 6.5 and larger earthquakes-the East Cache fault, at the base of the Bear River Range, and the West Cache fault, at the base of the Wellsville Mountains. Both faults have ruptured in the past. Jim McCalpin, a former USU Geology professor and now an adjunct, showed that the East Cache fault last ruptured 4,000 - 7,000 years ago. Workers at the Utah Geological Survey recently showed that the West Cache fault last ruptured 4,500 years ago. Interestingly, the recent (to a geologist, 10,000 years and younger is recent) records of both the East and West Cache faults are about the same. Because the earthquakes are infrequent, we do not have enough data points to determine how frequent the earthquakes are.
Despite all this heady stuff, Hansen says he prefers the day-to-day interaction with students and his research at the university. Last year he won the faculty award for excellence in graduate student teaching. "I learn a lot from students because they are widely read and point out research connections that I might not have otherwise seen," Hansen says. "The workshop method I use to teach graduate students allows them to become junior colleagues and sometimes co-author papers with me." Though his research papers such as "Risk and Robustness in Equilibrium" and "The Empirical Foundations of Calibration " make for uneasy chit-chat , shedding little light on what economists actually do, at least his dinner conversations at home are more relaxed.
"The topography of the mountains, though, tells us that there have been a fairly large number of earthquakes to have produced the abrupt steep mountain fronts here. Thus, Cache Valley is at risk for a large earthquake-about a magnitude 7.0 or so. Because the two major faults slope, or dip, the actual point of nucleation of the earthquake, called the hypocenter or focus, will likely be under the center part of the valley. Slip would radiate along the fault and create a sharp fault scarp, or break, at the earth's surface. Such a scarp was produced in the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake in central Idaho, and it is the degrading of these scarps that geologists use to determine the history of past earthquakes."
His wife, Grace Tsiang, is the co-director of the undergraduate economics program at the University of Chicago.
7
_______________________________ .,., 10
Insights
Associate Dean Bringhurst Retires
AssociateDean Tony Bringhurst
College Appoints New Associate Dean
The College of Science and USU bid a fond farewell to Associate Dean Antone (Tony) H. Bringhurst at a reception in his honor at the David B. Haight Alumni Center on 13 December 1999. The reception was attended by numerous faculty and staff from the College of Science and from other colleges and offices throughout the university-a testament to the high regard in which Associate Dean Bringhurst is held at USU.
The College of Science welcomes new Associate Dean Donald W. Fiesinger, who succeeds retiring Associate Dean Tony Bringhurst. Currently, Dr. Fiesinger is also head of the Department of Geology. He will function in both positions until I July 2000 when a new geology department head will be hired. Dr. Fiesinger earned a BA degree in education from State University College ( Potsdam, NY) in 1966, ¡an AssociateDean MS degree in geology from Wayne Don Fiesinger State University in 1969, and a PhD degree in geology from the University of Calgary in 1975. After working at the State University of New York at New Paltz between 1974 and 1976, he came to USU as an assistant professor in the Department of Geology in 1976. In 1982, Dr. Fiesinger was promoted to associate professor and became department head.
Professor Bringhurst attended elementary school in Toquerville, Utah, and high school in nearby Hurricane. He earned an associate degree at Dixie College in 1961 and BS and MS degrees from the USU Department of Mathematics in 1963 and 1965, respectively. He also studied mathematics at Indiana University in 1968 - 1969. He joined the faculty at Weber State College in 1965, and the following year accepted an assistant professor position in the Department of Mathematics at Utah State University. Professor Bringhurst was promoted to associate professor in 1974. In 1975, he served as interim assistant dean of the College of Science while Don Sisson was on leave. He was appointed assistant dean in 1982 by Dean Ralph Johnson and was made associate dean in 1984. He served as acting dean in 1987 and again in 1989.
An igneous petrologist, Dr. Fiesinger is interested in the study of volcanic rocks. He has conducted research in western Box Elder County and southeastern Idaho on the characteristics of volcanic rocks and their relationship to the Snake River Plain, Basin and Range, and the Overthrust Belt-the three major geologic regions that meet in this area. Among Dr. Fiesinger's responsibilities as associate dean are budgetary matters, staff management, chair of the College of Science Curriculum Committee, and College representative to the Curriculum Subcommittee of the Educational Policies Committee. Also he "inherited" a number of committee assignments from form~r Associate Dean Bringhurst, including representing the College in the Widtsoe Chemistry Building/Science Learning Center construction project.
"I appreciate this opportunity to recognize those with whom I have worked," states Tony. "I have enjoyed my interaction with personnel in the College and the University. There are many people of good will in the University with whom it's been a delight to work. I particularly appreciate the College of Science staff, faculty, and students. I will long hold fond memories of the outstanding people in the Dean's Office." Associate Dean Kandy Baumgardner remembers: "Tony was totally unselfish in doing whatever was needed to promote the welfare of the students, faculty, and staff of the College of Science. We in the Dean's office will always remember Tony with fondness and respect because of the way he cared about each ofus individually and kept us working together as a team committed to promoting excellence in the College at all levels."
After serving as a department head for 18 years, Dr. Fiesinger is "very much ready for a change" and is "really looking forward" to his new job and the new challenges that it brings. "So far, what I have seen of the job has been quite enjoyable," he says. Dr. Fiesinger and his wife, Janet, live in Logan. Janet is a senior librarian at the Logan City Library. They have two daughters (Mandy and Linda), both of whom live in the Portland, Oregon, area.
Associate Dean Bringhurst worked with Deans Ralph Johnson, Thomas Isenhour, Karen Morse, and James MacMahon, four of the five College of Science deans who have served since the college was organized in 1963, and he enjoyed positive relations with each. "I've been the one who has benefitted from my years in the Dean's Office. Having the confidence of each of the deans and being able
BR
&
I
The College of Science looks forward to its new association with Dr. Fiesinger and wishes him well in this position.
i:..
011pa •e 12 (. 011ti1111e,l
11
_____________________________ ____________________ _ .....;;_......;.. College of Science
Biotechnology Lecture by Prominent AIDS Researcher Dr. David Ho, director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) Research Center and 1996 Time magazine "Man of the Year," presented the 1999 Distinguished Lecture in Biotechnology last fall. The '.s- lecture, sponsored by the USU Biotechnology Center and the - Program in Molecular Biology, ~ ~ was entitled "HIV [Human Immunodeficiency Virus] and AIDS researcherDr. David Ho Lymphocyte Dynamics and Implications in AIDS Therapy."
reduce the replicative ability of the virus and to lower the amount of virus in the body to below the limits of detection in many patients. Largely as a result of combination therapy, AIDS mortality in the US has been reduced fivefold in the last three to four years. However, numerous challenges exist in HIV therapy today, particularly because the virus cannot be totally eradicated by current combination therapies and replication-competent virus can remain at low levels in the body for years .
l
f
Another giant challenge is that AIDS/HIV therapy is expensive and is not available in most countries in the world. Therefore , Dr. Ho sees education and other preventive measures as the real solution to the AIDS epidemic. Dr. Ho received a BS degree with honors in physics from California Institute of Technology and an MD degree from Harvard Medical School. He has been director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center since 1990 and, under bis direction , researchers there have published groundbreaking studies on HIV replication in humans , identification of the gateway molecule for entry of HIV into CD4 T lymphocytes, natural resistance to HIV infection, the possible origin of the AIDS epidemic, and the efficacy of combination drug therapy. He is also a professor at The Rockefeller University.
After an introduction by Dr. Joseph K.-K. Li (Department of Biology), Dr. Ho presented an overview of the AIDS epidemic in the US and throughout the world, stating that more than 35 million individuals worldwide currently live with HIV, with approximately I - 1.5 million cases in the US and approximately two-thirds of all cases in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS is now the major cause of death worldwide, superceding heart disease, stroke, and other infectious disease. Dr. Ho briefly discussed HIV structure, genetics, and life cycle, and then concentrated on the interactions between HIV and lymphocytes, particularly CD4 T lymphocytes, and the efficacy of drug irnrnunotherapy against HIV. Because the virus is capable of frequently mutating to counter the action of any one drug, Dr. Ho and his research group pioneered the use of three or four drugs at one time, and this combination drug therapy has been able to
BRINGHURST ... Continued from page 11
to learn from them has been gratifying indeed . I worked with Dean MacMahon for over nine years. One of the most difficult aspects of retiring is to have my daily association with him end," says Professor Bringhurst. He considered his role as associate dean to be that of managing routine college operations and keeping the office running smoothly, thereby freeing the dean to concentrate on policy issues. In 1990 Professor Bringhurst was named College of Science Advisor of the Year, and in 1993 he received the Leone Leadership Award, recognizing excellence among administrators at USU. He was a member of the Utah and National Councils of Teachers of Mathematics and the College Council of Arts and Sciences. He served on technical committees of the National Universities Degree Consortium and the Coalition to Increase Minority Degrees. He also served on the Utah State Math Advising Committee .
Welcome Alumni and Friends Web Page Please visit our Web site, established exclusively for alumni and friends of the College of Science. Information of interest to alumni and friends (including past issues of Insights) can be found there. If you haven't visited the site yet, we invite you to do so, and if you have visited before, please check again because our information is updated periodically. Watch for exciting real-time photos of the Widtsoe Chemistry Building destruction and Science Leaming Center construction in the near future!
Tony and bis wife, Marilyn, are cwTently dividing their time between Logan and Hwricane, but will eventually make the latter their home. "We have a little property in southern Utah and will enjoy the warm winters. I will spend time trying to be of service, doing some writing , hobby farming, biking, and risking my neck riding my four-wheeler ." He and Marilyn also look forward to traveling, including visits to their 7 children and 17 grandchildren.
www.usu.edu/-science/alumni&friends
12
Insights
New Faculty Member Joins the College of Science of antibiotics and screen to see which antibiotic is the most efficient one against the bacterium or virus, and in case the bacterium or virus generates resistance, we can screen our library again to see which one might be more successful at this point. We hope that by using this library approach we can expand the usage of the antibiotic."
Dr. Cheng-Wei (Tom) Chang, new assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, earned a BS degree in chemistry at Tunghai University (Taichung, Taiwan) in 1988, followed by two years of service in the Taiwanese army and then two years as an organic chemistry teaching assistant at Tunghai University. After coming to the US in 1992, Dr. Chang received both MS and PhD degrees in organic chemistry from Cheng-Wei(Tom)Chang Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) in 1994 and 1997, respectively. He then conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota.
He enjoys bis affiliation with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at USU with its "outstanding research facility" and "colleagues who are good researchers." Dr. Chang will begin teaching fall semester of 2000. "I believe the most important goal in teaching is to present the beauty of science to students and to offer a link between modern technologies and life science," he states. He believes that lectures should begin with common events in life and then extend to current scientific information. Confidence in his teaching abilities comes from his successful experiences teaching students from two different educational systems and cultures (i.e., Taiwan and USA).
Dr. Chang has extensive experience in organic synthesis, asymmetric catalysis, and carbohydrate chemistry. One of his specific research interests is the synthesis of antibiotic drugs. "I wish to develop a way to easily construct a new generation of antibiotics," he says. "The way I would like to do this is to generate a specific antibiotic against one or several microorganisms. Viruses and bacteria tend to generate resistance in a very short period of time. One way to make the artificial antibiotic last longer is to use a library approach. We can generate a library
Dr. Chang and his wife, Hsiu-Hsing Liu, have a two-year-old son, Trenton. They find Logan "a wonderful place to live," with beautiful mountain views and nice people. Although he hasn't had much spare time for hobbies since the birth of his son, Dr. Chang likes to build model airplanes from scratch and collect stamps; he also enjoys playing table tennis, volleyball, and softball.
A Decade of Undergraduate Majors/ Degrees Awarded USU students have increasingly sought degrees in the College of Science during the nineties. The number of undergraduates majoring in one of the six departments in the college is up 72% (overall. USU is up 39%) and the number of science BS/BA degrees awarded is also up 72%.
1600
1300
-
Number of Undergraduate Majors
-
Number of Degrees Awarded
13
----------------' ¡--------------------::::-::-----::-:::-:-------------------------------------Collegeof Science ,...------------------------=-.....:..------------------------------------------------=-..:2~:..._---------------------
1
l Tony Bringhurst, Associate Dean, and Farrell Edwards, Physics and CASS
m ~I
Insights
__.....
Kim Sullivan, Rob Taylor, and Jim Crane, Biology
Don Fiesinger, Associate Dean, and Bob Heal, Mathmatics and Statistics
College of Science faculty .,_,...._. enjoy the refreshments
and catch up on news
David Sattinger, Head of ..,_ __ .,. Mathematics and Statistics, and Jerome Davies, College of Science Development Director
------------------Faculty and staff appreciate the food and socialize with one another
.,__
..
Lydia Underwood and Beverly Ridenhour, Mathematics and Statistics
_ _____________________________________________________________________
.,.,
14
15
oifScience ___________ Collecre o.:....:.::...:..:.:.:.:.:.:.:....._
~r-------------__!!.
_
Outstanding Students Recognized by College The students profiled here reflect the high academic standards and love of science that we encourage in our college. Each was chosen by his department/or outstanding achievement during the 1999 - 2000 academic year.
Department of Geology Brien K. Park is this year's outstanding student in the Department of Geology. Brien earned an associate of arts degree from Snow College in 1996 and will graduate from USU this spring with a BS degree in geology. He is 25 years old and originally from West Valley City, Utah.
In the summer of 1999, Brien worked on two mapping projects as part of an internship with the Utah Geological Survey (UGS). He helped UGS geologists map sections of Zion National Park and Ashley National Forest. The maps are expected eventually to go into a book of the geological sites of Brien K. Park Utah to be published by the UGS and the Utah Geological Association. The internship taught Brien several new mapping techniques and reinforced techniques that he had learned during the summer of 1998 in geology field camp. "The field of mapping is really intriguing me now. The internship was probably the coolest thing I have done so far in geology," says Brien. He also helped a California geology professor map Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands National Park in the summer of 1996. Brien is a member of the USU Geology Club and enjoys going on their field trips. "Brien has been one of our 'totally involved' geology majors, always lending a helping hand in the department and participating in department and geology club activities and field trips," relates Dr. Don Fiesinger, department head. "He has been our unofficial 'department technician' for the last two years. I was very pleased to see Brien secure an internship with the Utah Geological Survey last summer as it has really given him more confidence in his abilities as a field geologist." Brien has always liked the landscape of Utah and wondered how it formed. When he took an introductory geology class at Snow College, he enjoyed it and made the decision to major in geology. When he took a field trip to the USU Department of Geology, be was impressed by the department and its professors and made the decision to come to USU. He feels that "the department is small enough that the professors know who you are, but big enough to give you a lot of opportunities to do your thing." He says, "I have really enjoyed my years at Utah State in the geology department and I really appreciate the great professors that they have here."
Currently, Brien is searching for an internship in the field of geology that will last for 2 - 12 months. After the internship, he would like to study geomorphology in graduate school, earn an MS degree, and obtain a position as a geologic mapper. Running, drawing, and fly fishing are hobbies for Brien. "Flyfishing is tons of fun. The only problem," he declares, "is I get so interested in looking at the rocks around me that I forget that I'm flyfishing and I get my line caught in trees and underneath rocks."
Department of Mathematics and Statistics The Department of Mathematics and Statistics has chosen Richard (Rich) Mouritsen, a 23-year-old senior, as its outstanding student. Rich is majoring in mathematics and minoring in computer science as part of the computational mathematics program. With a perfect 4.0 GPA, Rich is a regular on the Dean's List and University Honor Roll. He is the recipient of a Robert C. Byrd Scholarship from the Utah State RichardMouritsen Board of Education and a Superior Student Scholarship from USU, both four-year scholarships. Dr. Chris Coray (Department of Mathematics and Statistics) says, "Richard is the kind of student every mathematics teacher admires. He loves learning , he seeks always to really understand the big ideas, and he asks good questions. Richard is also that rare student of mathematics who equally likes both the intrinsic beauty of the subject itself as well as applications to other disciplines." Rieb became interested in mathematics while in high school. "I decided that was what I really liked to do," he states. "I like the numbers. I like being able to figure stuff out. I think math is powerful-there is so much we can do with math." He decided to come to USU after attending USU's Engineering State while in high school and getting a positive impression of the University. As a participant in the STICKS (Students Teaching in the Classroom for Kids' Success) program of the Val R. Christensen Service Center, Rich has tutored mathematics for middle and junior high school students throughout Cache Valley. He is a member of the Mathematics Association of America.
_________________________ ~
..
16
Insights Jamie's analysis has extracted a second order micro-gravity effect out of a noisy system much like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, only in Jamie's case we did not know if the rabbit was actually there." In April, Jamie and his wife, Arlynda, will present results of the analysis to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Missoula, Montana. Arlynda Wright Jorgensen is a senior physics major and was last year's Outstanding Student in the Department of Physics.
After graduation, Rich hopes to work in industry in a position that will use both his mathematical and computer science training; however, at some point in his life, he would also like to teach, probably at the high school level. Originally from Grantsville, Utah, Rich lives now in Logan and is engaged to be married in May. He enjoys sports (particularly basketball and football), reading classic novels, and attending musical theater.
"I would like to thank the physics professors who have been really good to me, helping me to get going and involving me with research, especially Dr. Torre and Dr. Sojka. It's been really great. I've gotten a lot of support from them," declares Jamie. Jamie's initial interest in physics was inspired by Richard Bradford, his physics teacher at Logan (Utah) High School.
Rieb expresses his thanks to the professors of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and to his parents.
Depar tment of Physics
After graduation from USU, Jamie hopes to attend graduate school, earn a doctorate degree in physics, and then teach and conduct research at the university level.
The outstanding student from the Department of Physics is 23-year-old sophomore Jamie B. Jorgensen . Jamie has a 3.8 GPA and plans to graduate with dual BS degrees in physics and mathematics .
His hobbies include biking, backpacking, and reading. Jamie 's father, Jerry Jorgensen, graduated from USU in 1975 with a twoyear degree in aeronautics.
Currently, Jamie is working with Dr. Charles Torre (Department of Physics) on a mathematical physics project concerning general relativity and gravitation. In this project Jamie is helping to JamieB. Jorgensen elucidate the structure of gravitational fields with symmetry. "Wben Jamie first came to see me regarding doing some research in gravitational physics, I must admit I was pretty skeptical," relates Dr. Torre. "Given his relatively small amount of previous physics and math experience, given that he had no prior training in this specific subject, and given only a semester or two, how much could he really accomplish? A semester later Jamie has (1) learned the fundamentals of Einstein's general theory of relativjty-from scratch, (2) become conversant with advanced (and rather idiosyncratic) algebraic computing software, and (3) used this software to perform a considerable number of computations that are contributing to an extensive research effort (undertaken by Ian Anderson, Mark Fels, myself, and various students) concerning gravitational fields with symmetry. I am no longer skeptical." Jamie also works for Dr. Bela Fejer (Department of Physics and Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences) conducting computer analyses of large databases of atmospheric measurements.
USU 2000 Calendar of Events College of Science Awards Program .......................... 7 April Widtsoe Chemistry Bldg Open House & Tours ...... 15 April
Aggie Day ..................................................................... 21 April Senior Send-Off ............................................................ 26 Apri I Widtsoe Chemistry Building Dedication and Science Learning Center Groundbreaking & Tours ....................................................................... 25 April
University Hooding Ceremony ........................................ 5 May College of Science Graduation Open House .............. 5 May
University Graduation ................................................. ,... 6 May College of Science Graduation .................................... 6 May
Class of 1950 Reunion ............................................ 20 - 21 July
Last year, Jamie flew on the KC-135 ("vomit comet") in the Get Away Special (GAS) program. Dr. Jan Sojka (director of the GAS program, Department of Physics, and Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences) states, "Jamie Jorgensen bas single-handedly pursued an in-depth data analysis of observations made on the KC-135. His ongoing enthusiasm and scientific analysis have resulted in a rather unexpected set of findings which we hope can appear as a GAS publication in a reviewed scientific journal.
Aggie Family Day ................................................. 9 September Homecoming (versus University of Utah) .......... 30 September County Aggie Day ................................................... 21 October
17
Collegeof Science
'•---------------------------------------------
The 1999 - 2000 College of Science Awards Teacher of the Year ............................................................................................................. E. Robert Heal Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Advisor of the Year ••••••••.••....................................................•...........................................David B. Drown Department of Biology
Researcher of the Year ...••.............................................................................................•...... Charles Torre Department of Physics Graduate Student Teacher of the Year .....•...•.................................................................................................... Scott B. Smith Department of Mathematics and Statistics PhD Graduate Student Researcher of the Year ....•.•............................................•................................................. Sedonia D. Sipes Department of Biology MS Graduate Student Researcher of the Year ..........•.............•................................................................................. Xiaoxin Chen Department of Computer Science Valedictorian ......................................................................................................
Tasha VonNiederhausern Department of Biology
Scholar of the Year .....................................................................................................
These individuals will be honored at The College of Science Awards Program Friday, 7 April 2000 3:30 - 4:30 p .m. David B. Haight Alumni Center
--------------------"'"
18
l'yler L. Christensen Department of Biology
Insights
Emeritus Biologist Wilford J. Hanson Still Working in Insect Collection Today, life for Dr. Wilford J. Hanson (emeritus associate professor in the Department of Biology and former curator of the USU Insect Collection) is much the same that it was before he "retired" in 1995. He comes to school every morning (maybe a bit later than he used to); spends most ofhis day on the "never-ending" job of preparing, classifying, and cataloging insects; and on occasion travels to South America and other wonderful places to gather insects for his research and the collection. In 1963, when Dr. Hanson joined the USU Department of Zoology and became the first official curator of the insect collection, the collection contained about 500,000 specimens and was housed in a few wooden cabinets in the halls of Old Main. Today, the collection numbers over 2 million specimens (many collected by Dr. Hanson himself) and is bulging at the seams in its area on the second floor of the Biology and Natural Resources Building. The largest insect collection in the intermountain region and one of the largest neotropical insect collections anywhere, it is used for scientific study by entomologists throughout the world . The collection also serves as a teaching tool and as a reference for identifying insects sent in by the public . "My work on the insect collection has been very satisfying ," states Dr. Hanson. "When I first arrived, I could see how the earlier entomologists, especially Dr. George F. Knowlton, had developed it into a very important research facility. I therefore have considered its maintenance and growth as being a major part of my assignment." Dr. Hanson 's interest in entomology began at an early age as he helped his six older siblings collect insects for high school biology. Later, he took the same biology course and was positively influenced by the teacher. He still has the small candy box with his first insect collection. And, his early interests were not limited to insects. In those days, bird field guides were not available, so he wrote and illustrated a small bird field guide himself. Dr. Hanson's enthusiasm for entomology continued in college-he graduated from USU in 1953 with a BS degree in entomology, followed by MS and PhD degrees in entomology from the University of Kansas in 1955 and 1968, respectively . As a graduate student, Dr. Hanson spent three years at the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory in Panama working on disease-transmitting sand flies and associating with world-renowned experts in that field. "This was truly a wonderful and educational experience, and it gave me a taste of the tropics that I had to experience again and again," he declares . He has been on 27 foreign trips to collect insects, going to Mexico eight times, Panama twice, Costa Rica four times, Trinidad once, Brazil seven times, Peru twice, and Ecuador three times. He has also collected insects throughout the western US. On these trips, Dr. Hanson collects all types of insects for the USU collection and soldier flies, in particular, for his personal research. He has been studying the taxonomy of soldier flies in the western hemisphere since 1953 and finds discovering species new to science "particularly exciting."
Wilfordf. Hanson
In addition to curating the insect collection, Dr. Hanson taught entomology courses before he retired. "Although teaching several courses each year was a challenge and very time-consuming, the association with enthusiastic students and being a positive factor (I hope) in their development was very rewarding," he says.
Currently, there are approximately one million named species of insects; however, some experts believe that perhaps 10 - 15 times that many remain undiscovered , particularly in the tropics. Dr. Hanson is hopeful that the current decline in the number of jobs and graduate students in the field of entomology will soon be reversed; otherwise, "science is going to suffer." Dr. Hanson still conducts insect collection tours, leading more than 100 tours last year, mostly for elementary school students from various parts of Utah and southern Idaho. He enjoys seeing the excitement of the children and hopes to kindle a lasting interest in entomology in some of the young students. "We are exceptionally fortunate to have Dr. Hanson continue his association with the collection after retirement, since we don't yet have the funds for a full-time curator," says Dr. Carol von Dohlen, current director of the collection. "Dr. Hanson works with student help to manage the daily operations of the facility, and is a priceless resource with his near-encyclopedic knowledge of intermountain and other insects. The organization, quality, and size of the collection is due in great part to his years of dedication; his inventory of soldier flies is perhaps the largest and best-curated in the world." What's in the future for Dr. Hanson? He plans to continue doing what he has always enjoyed-working in the insect collection and going on collecting trips. "There are plenty of places in South America I haven't been to yet," he reports.
19
Collegeof Science
Visiting Professors Visiting professors from universities all over the world are collaborating with College of Science professors on various research projects.
demonstrate improved yields when plants are inoculated with this bacterium. During his stay at USU , Dr. Li gained experience with biochemical and molecular techniques.
Dr. Thomas Bartsch , from Giessen University (Giessen, Germany), collaborated with Dr. Zhi-Qiang Wang (Department of Mathematics and Statistics) for three weeks in the fall on a joint project supported by the NATO Collaborative Research Program. Dr Wang: "The project is on the solutions structure of nonlinear elliptic problems in the entire space, which arise naturally when looking for standing wave solutions of nonlinear Schrodinger equations. Similarly, the search for standing (or traveling) waves in nonlinear equations of the Klein-Gordon type leads to the same type of problems . These problems also appear in other contexts as models of several physical phenomena, for example, when one studies reaction-diffusion equations."
Dr. John Meissner, physician, worked for three months in the laboratory of Dr. Joseph Li (Department of Biology) on two projects : (1) molecular phylogenetic analyses ofBluetongue viruses, and (2) development of polymerase chain reaction probes to identify a unique Mycoplasma bacterium that has infected desert tortoises in southern Utah and northern Nevada. Professor Cesar Noguera, from the Department of Applied Physics at the Universidad Central de Venezuela (Caracas , Venezuela), is currently working with Dr. Vincent Wickwar (Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences and Department of Physics). They are trying to determine whether there is a secular variation or trend in the mesospheric temperature using data obtained with the Rayleigh backscatter lidar, of the Lidar Consortium in the Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences . They hypothesize that because of heating, the big eruption of Mt. Pinatubo early in the decade, and global warming , there should now be evidence of significant cooling in the temperature of the mesosphere.
Dr. Nikolai Dobrynin, from the Department of Plant Protection of Voronezh State Agricultural University (Voronezh, Russia), is currently working with Drs. William Kemp and Jordi Bosch (US Department of Agriculture / Agricultural Research Service Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory and adjunct professors in the Department of Biology). Dr. Dobrynin is funded by the Fulbright Senior Scholar Program and will be working here for six months on preparation of a book on landscape-level agricultural management and policy for bee pollinator conservation.
Professor Krzysztof Walczak , of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology at the Silesian Technical University (Gliwice, Poland), is currently working with Dr. Lance Seefeldt (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry). He will spend six months at USU working on a National Science Foundation-funded project, ATP (adenosine 5'-triphosphate) signal transduction in nitrogenase catalysis.
Dr. Yong-Xing Li, a research leader at the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing, China), spent a sixmonth sabbatical leave last year working with Dr. Anne Anderson (Department of Biology). Dr. Li heads a team that studies a freeliving nitrogen fixing bacterium that he isolated from soil, an Enterobacter gergovia strain. He has run many field tests that
If you are aware of anyone who is not receiving Insights and would like to, please contact us at Insights, Office of the Dean, College of Science, Utah State University, 4400 Old Main Hill, Logan UT 84322-4400; email us
at scido@cc.usu.edu; or fax us at (435) 797-3378.
..,
" I______________________________________________________
20
Insights
1999 Willard L. Eccles Foundation Science Fellowship Yaodong bas not yet decided on the research that he will pursue at USU. "I have a very good foundation in computer science but I still have a lot of things to learn here, and there are so many interesting things," be says.
Each year, the Willard L. Eccles Charitable Foundation provides a generous scholarship to an entering graduate student in the College of Science who has hjgh academic and graduate research potential and who plans to conduct research to benefit mankind. The fellowsmp is designed to attract the finest academic minds with a creative and ambitious approach to solving research problems. With a stipend of $15,000 per year for three years, the fellowship enables the recipient YaodongLiu to focus talents and time on graduate studies and thesis research projects.
After he earns an MS degree in computer science from USU, Yaodong hopes ultimately to get a PhD degree. Then he plans "to go back to my homeland to do research work and teach, and help other Crunese students who have the same dreams as I do. It's my responsibility. I am extremely grateful for the Willard L. Eccles Fellowship here at USU and the opportunity it presents to help me realize my goals." When not working with computers , Yaodong enjoys basketball, table tennis, reading, movies, and stamp collecting .
The 1999 recipient of the Willard L. Eccles Foundation Science Fellowsmp is Yaodong Liu, a graduate student in the Department of Computer Science. Yaodong is a 21-year-old native of Xiangtan, China (Hunan Province). Last spring, he graduated with honors with a BS degree in computer science from Wuhan University (Hubei Province), where he maintained a 92/100 GPA and was ranked first among students in the computer science department. Wrule at Wuhan University, Yaodong received the Excellent Freshman Scholarsmp (awarded to the best freshmen of the university), three First-Class University Scholarships (awarded to the top five percent of students), first prize in Cmna's College Student English Contest, the Tengfei Scholarship from the Department of Computer Science, and a Computer World Scholarship (awarded to only 50 students throughout Cruna). In addition, he was certified as a software engineer by the National Computer Industry Association of China and represented ms university in the National Mathematical Modeling Contest.
Rock and Fossil Day The Department of Geology held its fourth Rock 'lnd Fossil Day on 6 November 1999 in the Geology Building . Approximately 125 persons of all ages attendedlhe fr • and that featured hands-on examination of fossils, r minerals; satellite maps; microscopic view of rocksBIid minerals; ground water displays; demonstr)tion&of h.owto identify minerals with x-ray diffraction; a traveling ib" from the Utah Museum of Natural Risto andan_ ibit about faults and earthquakes from the Utah Sebmograpbtc Center. In addition, geology faculty and students wereffltnand to identify rocks and fossils brought in by visitors. The "original rock videos" (geology documentaries) played in the Geotheater throughout the three-hour period.
Yaodong was involved in several computer science projects while in college. His senior project implemented a promising cryptography algorithm and compared it to the old standard. He says, "My program in assembler language runs eight times faster than the algorithm's original implementation in C, and the module was adopted in some of the department's database projects." Yaodong helped with the installation and maintenance of the campus computer network system and participated in the design and implementation of the campus computer network supervising system. In addition, as a summer project, he independently designed and implemented a computer game in C (Block War).
The department aims many of the activities of Rock and Fossil Day toward children in an effort to get young people interested in science, specifically geology. "It takes a lot of work to coordinate the publicity and activities, and to bring in various outside displays, but we all agree that it is a very rewarding experience," states Dr. Don Fiesinger, head of the Department of Geology. "The people who come to Rock and Fossil Day always express their appreciation for our efforts and it has an added benefit for our students: people view them as experts; it gives them a sense of professionalism."
Coming from a relatively poor region of China, Yaodong did not see ms first computer until he attended a demonstration at age 16. "I fell in love with the computer at first sight," he relates. "Ever since then, there is only one way ahead of me, and I pursue it with all my dreams and determination."
Numerous display cases, mounted maps, and photographs are located in the Geology Building throughout the year. The Department of Geology invites alumni and other visitors to view their displays during regular office hours, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
21
College of__________________________ Science ..::;.._.:;.
,__ __________________________
_J
Reunion in Taiwan
Dr. JosephLi (seated, right) at reuniondinner in Taiwan
previously worked in Dr. Li's laboratory). Dr. Bruce Huang hosted a visit to the Taiwan Sugar Research Institute (in Tainan) where Dr. Li presented a seminar on "Biotechnology 99: Prospects in the New Millenruum in Taiwan" and also presented data on the use of synthetic peptides synthesized in the multiple antigen peptide (MAP) format to develop diagnostic and clinical tests for Bluetongue and Epstein-Barr viruses and their diseases via molecular mimicry. He also met with several research groups at Taiwan Sugar Research Institute and inspected their impressive greenhouse facilities. In addition , he visited the huge Biotechnology Industry Park in Tainan . At another dinner, Dr. Li met with two more former USU graduate students, Wen-Chiung (Fred) Shieh (MBA 1990) and rus spouse Christine Shieh (formerly Yen-Chi Kuo) (MBA 1988).
After organizing and participating in the Eighth International Symposium of the Society ofChjnese Bioscientists in America, held in Hong Kong during August 1999, Dr. Joseph K.-K. Li (Department of Biology) had a reunion in Taiwan with many ofhls former graduate and undergraduate students and their families and also visited other Taiwanese colleagues. Among those attending a special reunion dinner with Dr. Li in Taipei were Dr. Yi-Yuan Yang (MS 1988, Biochemistry ; PhD 1993, Biology), chairman of the Department ofMedical Technology at Taipei Medical College; Dr. Christine Sy-Jye Leu (MS 1989, Biology; PhD 1994, Biology), associate professor at the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology at Taipei Medical College; Dr. Denis Guang-Yuh Hwang (MS 1989, Biology; PhD 1994, Biology), associate professor of biology at Tunghai University; Dr. Bruce I-Jen Huang (MS 1991, Biology; PhD 1996, Biology), division head in molecular biology at the Taiwan Sugar Research Institute; Sonny Huang (formerly Jo-Tsui Chang) (BS 1992, Marketing; MAcc I 994, Accounting); Dr. Jwo-Farn Chiou (who worked in Dr. Li's lab wrule on sabbatical in 1991), National Taiwan University College of Medicine; Ms. Jennifer Jui-Fen Cheng (MS 1994, Biology), China Petrochemical Development Corporation; Ms. Hsiu-Bui Wang (BS 1997, Nutrition and Food Science; BS 1999, Applied Biology), Taiwan Pig Research Institute ; and Mr. Pei-Jung (John/Payton) Ho (BA 1995, Marketing), marketing specialist at Yee Young Industry Co., LTD.
Dr. Li says, "My trip was very exciting. Not only did I fulfill my promise to visit this group of former graduate and undergraduate students who had obtained their degrees from the Department of Biology at USU , it was very fulfilling to see how well these former USU students have performed since they left USU. Each and every one of them is doing well and bas been very productive . They have spread the name and reputation of USU to all their colleagues and collaborators. This experience also helped me talk to many young and intelligent students in four different universities and one research institute , and convince them to consider USU for either undergraduate or graduate education in their future career development. "
While in Taiwan, Dr. Li visited Dr. Yang's research laboratory at Taipei Medical College and discussed research projects with several graduate students. Dr. Li toured Tunghai University (in Taichung) with Dr. Hwang and Dr. Adam Huang (who had also
"1 .:-----------------------------------------------
- -t 22
Insights
2000-------, The One Hundr ed and Seventh Annual Commencement of Utah State University 5 & 6May
Wednesday, 26 April Senior Send-Off
7 - 11 p.m., Nelson Fieldhouse.
Friday, 28 April ROTC Commissioning Ceremony
9:00 a.m., David 8. Haight Alumni Center. Reception follows.
Friday, 5 May Spouse Recognition Ceremony
l 0:00 a.m., Chase Fine Arts Center, Morgan Theatre. Hooding Ceremony for Master's and Doctoral Degree Candidates 12:30 p.m., Assembly of Candidates, Tunnel of Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. 1:30 p.m., Ceremony, Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. College of Science Open House 3:30 - 5:00 p.m., David B. Haight Alumni Center. Alu•ni tll'tl encounged to Ill/end. Graduation Dinner and Concert 6:00 - 7:45 p.m., Dinner (tickets required), TaggartStudentCenter,Evan N. StevensonBallroom. 8:00 p.m., Collage of SoundsConcert, Chase Fine Arts Center, Kerft ConcertHall.
23
Collegeof Science
In Memoriam: Howard E. Dorst Howard E. Dorst, emeritus
Class of 1950
if.:..¡
20 - 21 July 2000 Utah State University will be hosting a reunion this summer for graduates of the class of 1950. All class members are cordially invited to attend. Activities will include a luncheon, campus tour; attendance at the opera, brunch with a guest speaker; golf. and the Golden Aggie Reunion Banquet. Living USU science graduates from 1950 are listed below. ff you are not listed and are a 1950 graduate, or know of someone who is, please contact USU Alumni Relations. For more information on the reunion, please contact Alumni Relations at alumni@cc.usu.eduor 1-800-291-ALUM. Nonnan A. Allridge Russel M. Barakat John Johnson Bateman Dean Lenord Benson Donald G. Bickmore Thomas J. Binnall Earl J. Blommer Betty J. Bohman John V. Bruce Lawrence D. Bruesch Erwin E. Cameron Donald Johnson Campbell Glen Horace Cannell Dan C. Cavanaugh George R. Chlarson William J. Clark Eugene H. Cronin Newel G. Daines Jr. Gerald Leo Dean Madeline Houy Dilley Burton Hanks Duke Nylan J. Ellsworth John W. Emmett Alban Robert Essbach Anna R. Field Wayne M. Fonnesbeck Walter Fox William Elton Fox Lewis Edwin Fronk Charles Wesley Galloway Wayne Scott Gardner Ivan De Var Geary William E. Harper Dorothy K. Hoefling Robert S. Hoffmann Deorr E. Holmes Nolan Stephens Hughes Rex L. Hurst Frank C. Jackson Emron Alfred Jensen
A. Earl Johnson Reah Brown Keaton Walter James Kochan Reuel E. Lamborn Robert E. Lee Robert James Leonard Ray Dean Lowe R. Tex Luthi Peter A. Madden Farrin L. Mangelson Charles Ben McComb David McComb Robert A. McCullough Eugene Arthur Moore Walter L. Moore M. W. Nielson Jay Ward Palmer Richard W. Perkins Daryl E. Peterson Robert Henry Peterson Harlan G. Pulsipher Gaylord Lowell Quincy Dale 0. Richards Thomas J. Riordan Lawrence T. Rollins Richard J. Shaw Ferrol B . Simpson Orval D. Simpson Calvin B. Skotland Roger W. Slade Charles James Stewart John W. Thieret Mildred WolfThieret Dale Leland Tribe Faye Bateman Walch Wilford 0. Watkins Rex G. Welty Jr. Carvel W. Wood
professor of zoology , died on 11 December 1999. Born in 1904 in Pomeroy , Ohio , be was 95 years old .
¡-i ~
Professor Dorst completed bis undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Kansas , ultimately earning an MS degree in entomology in 1930. After serving as an entomologist for the US Department of Agriculture , be came to USU in Howard E. Dorst 1936 to conduct research on control of insects that damage sugar beets and tomatoes. Throughout his career, he published more than 50 articles in the Journal of Entomolo gy. Professor Dorst also received a Presidential Citation Award for outstanding service to Utah State Univ ersity. He retired in 1965 as senior entomologist. .
~
.
:,.
.
..
He served during World War II as reserve captain in the Medical Service Corps and was reactivated in 1946 as lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserv es. He retired as colonel from the Army Reserves in 1964. Active in a large number of organizations , Profes sor Dorst served in administrative positions in the Logan Junior Chamber of Commerce , Utah Reserve Officers Association , Logan Rotary Club , Logan Golf and Country Club , Masons , Eastern Star, Scottish Rite , York Rite Shriners , Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society , Cache County American Red Cross , Cache County American Cancer Society , and Logan First Presbyterian Church. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Westmin ster College (Salt Lake City, Utah) after serving for 17 years on its board of directors. He was actively involved in eradication of the noxious weed dyer 's woad in Cache Valley, particularly at one of his favorite locations , the Logan Golf and Country Club . He spent many early morning hour s digging weeds off the side bills of the golf course , followed by playing a round of golf. He continued to play golf up to age 93, always walking and carrying bis own clubs . Professor Dorst is survived by his son, Dr. Ronald V Dorst (BS 1959, Predental) , three grandchildren , and three greatgrandchildren . He was preceded in death by his wife of more than 60 years , Martha Hauserman Dorst.
Ben F. Zundel
24
Insights
Awards, Honors, and Publications Insights welcomes news of alumni awards, honors, and publications. Please mail announcements to Insights, Office of the Dean, College of Science, Utah State University, 4400 Old Main Hill, Logan UT 84322-4400, or use the ALUMNET form in this publication. Please include book covers if available. Announcements may also be emailed to scido@cc.usu.edu or faxed to (435) 797-33 78.
Alumni Awards and Honors
Faculty Awards and Honors
Idaho State Senator Robert Geddes (BS 1981, Geology) was elected in January 2000 as Senate President pro tern by the Republican majority in the Idaho Senate. Mr. Geddes is an environmental engineer at Solutia (Monsanto's agricultural chemical division) in Soda Springs, Idaho.
The Manual of North American Grasses, edited by Drs. Mary Barkworth and Kathleen Capels (Intermountain Herbarium, Department of Biology) and Dr. Linda Vorobik (University of Washington), has been adopted as Volumes 24 and 25 of the Flora of North America series, and the Intermountain Herbarium of Utah State University has been designated as the Editorial Center for Grasses for Flora of North America. Dr. Barkworth will serve as head of the Editorial Center for Grasses and as such will be a member of the Flora of North America management committee. Flora of North America, published by Oxford University Press, began publication in 1993 and is expected ultimately to comprise 30 volumes. It is considered the definitive tool for identifying, understanding, and conserving North America's floristic heritage. Dr. Barkworth anticipates publication of the grasses volumes by 2003.
In January 2000, the board of the Utah Geological Survey selected Craig V. Nelson (BS 1982, MS 1986, Geology) as its chairperson. Mr. Nelson is a senior engineering geologist with Dames & Moore geologic consulting firm. He has expertise in project management, engineering geology, environmental geology, and geologic hazards, and is author of several publications on seismic hazard, soil strength, and rockfall analyses. Before joining Dames & Moore, he served a seven-year term as Salt Lake County Geologist. In January 2000, the board of the Utah Geological Survey selected Robert M. Robison (MS 1986, Geology) as vice chair. Mr. Robison is assistant manager of Continental Lime's Cricket Mountain plant near Delta, Utah. He has expertise in mining and processing, environmental compliance, mine safety, hydrogeology, and geochemistry, and is author of several publications on hazards ordinances and geologic studies. He served six years as county geologist for Utah and Juab counties.
Dr. J.R. Dennison (Department of Physics) was one of eight USU professors selected as first to receive a USU Alumni Association Professorship Award. The award is given to recognize those professors who have positively touched the lives of students.
Alumni & Guests
Dr. Joseph K.-K. Li (Department of Biology) received a Service Award from the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America (SCBA) for his contributions in organizing the eighth SCBA International Symposium in Hong Kong in 1999 and for his continuous efforts to promote networking and collaboration between Asian and international scientists.
Dr. Susanne Janecke (Department of Geology) has begun a threeyear term as a member of the US Geological Survey's EDMAP (Educational Mapping Program) review panel. This panel recommends funding of proposals to support geologic mapping by graduate and undergraduate students.
are invited to attend an Open House
Dr. Peter Ruben (Department of Biology) was honored as a Top Prof by the USU Mortar Board Honor Society at its annual recognition dinner on 17 February 2000. Top Profs are professors and instructors who have had a positive effect on the lives of individual Mortar Board members.
in honor of our Year2 000 College of Science Graduates
Dr. William Scouten (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) was nominated to the governing board of the Council for Chemical Research. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Bio-Chromatography.
Friday, 5 May 2000 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. David B. Haight Alumni Center
Dr. Greg Swain (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) received a Young Investigator Award from the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry.
--==:MM:~==--
25
Collegeof Science
ALUMNET Responses 1930s
1990s
G. Fred Somers (BS 1936, Plant Pathology) is retired and living
Doug Goodwin (PhD 1996, Biochemistry) is an assistant professor
in Newark, Delaware. A Rhodes Scholar, be earned BA and BSc degrees from Oxford University in 1938 and 1939, respectively, and a PhD degree from Cornell University in 1939. In 1951, be published (with J.B. Sumner) Chemistry and Methods of Enzymes, 3rd edition.
in the Department of Chemistry at Auburn University (Auburn, Alabama). He is a former recepient of the Willard L. Eccles Foundation Science Fellowship.
1940s
Travis Talbot (BA 1993, Biology) received a DDS degree from Creighton University. He is currently completing a master's degree specialty program in orthodontics at the Mayo Clinic and plans to return to Utah to practice orthodontics.
Don W. Gay (BS 1942, Chemistry/Biochemistry) is retired from bis position as marketing manager of textile fibers with Dupont Co. During bis career, be "made major contributions to the development of the atomic bomb." He lives on a golf course in Greenwood, South Carolina, and often shoots bis age (81).
Alumni: In Memoriam 1970s The College of Science extends its deepest sympathy to the families of the following alumni:
Susan G. Kelley (BS 1970, Bacteriology; MS 1972, Zoology) earned a PhD degree in 1975 from Texas Woman's University and an MD degree in 1999 from Saba University School of Medicine (Saba, Netherlands Antilles). Last July, she began a three-year residency in internal medicine at St. Elizabeth Health Center/ Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Youngstown, Ohio.
Lynn H. Stauffer-BS 1927, Physics G. Gibbs Smith-BS 1933, Chemistry Willard K. Hill-BS 1938, Bacteriology Edgar Hayes-BS 1939, Public Health Chester Slaugh-BS 1939, Botany
1980s
Vaughn M. Pond-BS 1940, Zoology Robert A. Lawrence-BS 1947, Physics
Steven R. Allen (BS 1983, Biology) earned an MD degree from
John ChappeU~BS 1961, Geology
the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1987 and an MPH from the University of Utah in 1997. He is a pediatrician and clinic chiefof staff at the University of Utah Health Network, West Valley City, Utah. In 1997, be published a two-part review article on neonatal infection in the medical journal Clinical Pediatrics. He is married, bas two boys and two girls, and resides in Taylorsville, Utah.
Larry L. Cox-BS 1964, Predental/Biology Rick L. Turnquist-PhD 1972, Zoology Robert W. Toole-BS 1976, Mathematics Paul R. Cazier-BS 1987, Biology
Rocky Baum (PhD 1985, Chemistry) is laboratory manager at
Buford Gregory-BS 1992, Public Health
TerraLab Engineers International in Salt Lake City, Utah. He resides in Provo, Utah.
Glenn Berg (BS 1985, Electrical Engineering/Physics; MS 1989, Physics) received a PhD degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1993. He is a senior scientist/engineer with the Boeing Company and lives in Aurora, Colorado.
26
From ___
_ __
_
NOPOSTAGE NECESSARY IFMAILED INTHE STATES UNITED
REPLYMAIL BUSINESS NO. 115 LOGANUT MAIL PERMIT FIRST-CLASS WILLBEPAIDBYADDRESSEE POSTAGE
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE 4400 OLD MAIN HILL UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY LOGAN UT 84321-9981
,I,,l,l,,l,,I,,,,ll,l,l,I ••1..1••1••11•••1.1,,,lll 11 PIUJ
----
Pl".!
Dear Collegeof ScienceAlumni and Friends, We alwaysenjoy hearingfrom you and hopeyou will takea moment to completeand mail this alumni informationform. Pleasenote the postage-paidformat-simply cut off this last pageof the newsletter,fold along the lines markedon page27, tape it shut, and drop it in the mail. You can alsoemailyour informationto scido@cc.usu.edu orfax it to us at (435)797-3378. _ Name _______________________________________________ City ________
Mailing address ________________ Home phone ( Email address USU degree(s)
Year(s)
State __
Zip ____
_
Work phone ( Web page URL _______________
_
Major(s) _________________
_
Year(s), school(s) _______________________ Other degree(s) ______ Profession/employer _______________________________________
_ _
Professional/personal awards-----------------------------------Books Published ____________________________________ About yourself _______________________________________
_ _
Question for" Ask the Scientist"------------------------------------Insights, the alumni newsletterof Utah State University Collegeof Science,is publis/1edtwice a year. Its purposeis to informalumni andfriends of current events, projects,and changeswithin the College. The newsletteralsoprovidesaforum for alumni tofollow one another'scareersand professionaldevelopment. This issue of Insights was producedunder the directionof Judy Brodie,editor,and ColetteYates,projectcoordinatorand editor. Contributorsinclude DevelopmentDirectorJerome Davies,DeanJamesMacMahon,and Dr.Jim Evans (Geology).Specialthanks to Diane Bush (HeraldJournal),RonaldDorst, WilfordHanson,JoeLi, Keith Mott, Dawn Stanford(IBM Archives),NadeneStei11hoff(BearMountain Graphics),Glen Thomley, Gene Underwood,and USU PhotoServicesfor photographsor illustrations. Specialthanksalso to AssociateDean Kandy Baumgardnerand Linda Keithfor editorialassistance.
ltahState
Nonprofit Org . US Postage PAID Logan, UT Permit 1
UNIVERSITY
College of Science Office of the Dean 4400 Old Main Hill Logan UT 84322-4400
JEANNIE SIMMONDS LEARNING RESOURCES PROGR UMC 3065
Printed on recycled paper