THIS IS MAKING
A DIFFERENCE
THROUGH
SCIENCE.
JOURNEY
2014
COSAM
Mission Statement
DEAN’S MESSAGE
4
FACULTY AND STAFF HIGHLIGHTS
5-7
COSAM OPENS WORLD-CLASS PLASMA
PHYSICS RESEARCH LABORATORY
8-11
ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC
AFFAIRS’ MESSAGE
12
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
AND BIOCHEMISTRY HIGHLIGHTS
36-37
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY
AND GEOGRAPHY HIGHLIGHTS
38-39
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
AND STATISTICS HIGHLIGHTS
40-41
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
HIGHLIGHTS
COSAM LEADERS & DEAN’S MEDALISTS
42-43
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER
TWO STAND-OUT COSAM
ALUMNI RECOGNIZED WITH AWARDS
14-15
44-45
STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS
DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS
16-17
46-47
COSAM DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS,
C. HARRY KNOWLES
SCHOLARSHIPS
13
18-19
OFFICE OF DIVERSITY AND
MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS MESSAGE
20
AUBURN’S FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN
UNDERGRADUATE
ALUMNUS, SAM PETTIJOHN
21-23
ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS
24-27
FEATURE STORY:
NEW “ENGAGED IN ACTIVE
STUDENT LEARNING”
CLASSROOM
28-31
FORMER ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR
RESEARCH AND GRADUATE
STUDIES’ MESSAGE
32
ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH
AND GRADUATE STUDIES’ MESSAGE
An Auburn University research team, led by professor of chemistry and
biochemistry Stewart Schneller, has produced a new drug candidate that could one
day slow or even stop the deadly Ebola virus. The group has designed a compound
aimed at reversing the immune-blocking abilities of certain viruses, including Ebola.
33
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
HIGHLIGHTS
34-35
Read the full story online.
2
Journey/2014
THIS IS COSAM. THIS IS AUBURN.
SCIENTISTS MAKE
GROUND-BREAKING DISCOVERY
49
RESEARCHERS SAY HARMFUL
BACTERIA CAN SURVIVE
50-51
DIRECTOR OF COSAM
OUTREACH’S MESSAGE
52
For more information on the Auburn University
College of Sciences and Mathematics, visit www.
auburn.edu/cosam. Journey is published by the
Auburn University College of Sciences and
Mathematics. Issues are printed annually and are
distributed to alumni and friends of COSAM.
Inquiries, suggestions and news items concerning
Journey should be directed to:
Candis Hacker Birchfield
228 Sciences Center Classrooms Bldg.
315 Roosevelt Concourse
Auburn, AL 36849
or
[email protected]
Journey is paid for by alumni and friends of the
College of Sciences and Mathematics.
Dean
Nicholas Giordano
OUTREACH IMPLEMENTS HANDS-ON
TEACHING MODULES
Writer and Editor
Candis Hacker Birchfield ’97
CURATOR OF THE DONALD E. DAVIS
ARBORETUM’S MESSAGE
Graphic Designer
Jennie C. Hill ’03
53-54
55
GROWING ALABAMA’S
SAND-LOVING OAKS
56-57
DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY’S MESSAGE
58
RESEARCHERS DOCUMENT
EXTRAORDINARY BIODIVERSITY
59-61
IN MEMORIAM
62
“In simple terms, the Ebola virus has the ability to turn off the body’s natural
immune response,” Schneller said. “We have made a small tweak in compound
structure that will turn that response back on.”
Schneller has studied Ebola for the past decade. The drug design research taking
place in his laboratory has focused on combatting a variety of virus-caused
infections, including Smallpox, Yellow Fever, Hepatitis C and others. More extensive
studies with Schneller’s new discovery are already under way through a partnership
with the National Institutes of Health.
48
The mission of the Auburn University College of
Sciences and Mathematics is three-fold: to teach by
providing an environment that ensures excellence
in the biological, physical, and mathematical
sciences for the purpose of preserving, interpreting,
and conveying existing knowledge; to research by
creating, integrating, and applying new knowledge;
and to reach out to others by fostering educational
exchange within the university, the Alabama
community, and society as a whole. The Auburn
University College of Sciences and Mathematics is
committed to providing opportunities of inclusion
for its faculty, staff, and students.
Photographers
Candis Hacker Birchfield ’97
Jeff Etheridge
Melissa Humble
Photo credit correction: The photo of the two salamanders
shown on page 20 of the 2013 edition of Journey magazine
was taken by John Jensen.
Name correction: The correct name of the Los Alamos National
Laboratory employee and Auburn alumnus featured in the
story titled, “Los Alamos National Laboratory” in the 2013
edition of Journey magazine is Robert Hardekopf.
On The Cover:
Because of COSAM’s central role in instructing
undergraduates, the college has taken the initiative
to provide cutting-edge teaching methods by
working with the Office of the Provost to construct
a new Engaged in Active Student Learning,
or EASL, classroom to be used in a variety of
COSAM courses. The new EASL classroom is a
student-centered space that features table clusters
that will seat six students each, and provide them
with glass boards for writing and sharing ideas,
as well as monitors so students can connect their
electronic devices and make use of web-based
resources during the learning process. See the full
story on page 28.
College of Sciences and Mathematics
3