Dear Alumni and Friends of UMass Chemistry,
This issue of the Goessmann Gazette highlights undergraduate research and celebrates the achievements of members of the UMass Chemistry community.
Professor Lynmarie Thompson was elected President of the Biophysical Society and will serve in 2025. Associate Professor Mingxu You won the CNS Outstanding Research Award for early/mid-career faculty for his novel developments and applications of RNA/DNA nanotechnology, and was recognized as being among the Top 2% Scientists Worldwide by Stanford University. Distinguished Professor Vince Rotello was again named a Clarivate “Highly Cited” researcher. And, it is also noteworthy that the new ACS President, Professor Mary Carroll (Union College) has a strong UMass connection, having completed her postdoctoral training under Professor Julian Tyson.
Several graduate students won prestigious fellowships to support their research: Neumiah Massenat (NSF Graduate Research Fellowship), Hongshan Bi, Ranit Dutta and Gaurav Mitra (Marvin D. Rausch Fellowships), Jungmi Park and Zhaojie Zhang (PPG Fellowships), and Ahsan Ausaf Ali and Jeerapat Doungchawee (Paul Hatheway Terry Scholarships). Three Chemistry graduate students, Jayashree Bhagabati, Rehab Heikal and Jithu Krishna were among the ten finalists for the university Three-Minute Thesis competition, with Rehab taking second place overall.
Undergraduates recognized with awards for their research accomplishments include Kevin Alexander (Goldwater Scholarship), Taras Nagornyy (UMass Rising Researcher), and Megan Yee (Undergraduate Research Award from the Center for Families).
We are excited to announce that we have a new chapter of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), led by graduate student Neumiah Massenat.
In transitions, last Fall we welcomed Assistant Professor Jiahui (Chris) Wu and Lecturer Elliot Taffet. We’re pleased to have Youko Parsons as our new Director of Operations. Associate Professor Michael Knapp is joining the NIH as a scientific review officer and Professor Kevin Kittilstved is moving to Washington State University. Kevin will be joined in Spokane by Raina Kittilstved, who will be an Assistant Professor (Career Track) at WSU. Aaron Snow has shifted from Personnel Coordinator in Chemistry to Business Manager at the UMass Animal Care Facility. Kris Knight, John Maher and Bob Sabola all retired after long careers at UMass and will also be dearly missed. We mourn the passing and celebrate the life and achievements of Emeritus Professor Peter Lillya, a wonderful colleague and member of the department for 60 years.
We extend our heartfelt appreciation to all who have generously supported our department over the years. Your contributions have not only enabled us to offer scholarships to students and enhance our teaching and research infrastructure, but also help us to provide startup packages for new faculty. Your invaluable support ensures that we can continue to nurture exceptional scientists and advance the frontiers of knowledge! Thanks to you, UMass has great chemistry!
Sincerely,
Ricardo Metz, Head of Chemistry