BARNARD COLLEGE
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NEWSLETTER
ARCHIVE
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NEWS OF THE DEPARTMENT As you may have heard, Prof. Emeritus Leslie Lessinger died on March 13, 2009 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. A memorial gathering of family, friends, and colleagues was held at the college on April 18. Thanks for the many notes of remembrance we have received; Les clearly touched many lives. He was an extraordinary man: a dedicated teacher, brilliant scholar, a mainstay of our department, and a wonderful friend. A scholarship fund has been established in his memory; contributions are welcome, through the Barnard Fund. Prof. Christian Rojas has been Chair of the department since July. Among his first responsibilities was shepherding the tenure case of Prof. Dina Merrer through various committees at Barnard and Columbia. We are thrilled to announce that Dina was awarded tenure. In past newsletters, we have told you about plans to renovate parts of Altschul, with partial funding from the Mellon Foundation. We are happy to report that one phase of this renovation is underway: what used to be two offices and the chemistry library on the west side of the 8th floor is being converted to two faculty office-lab suites. Lab space for faculty-student research has been one of our highest priorities, and this project is an important step. Work on the 6th floor is also part of the Mellon project, but awaits funding, along with projects for Biology and Environmental Science. The 8th floor demolition is moving fast; the project is to be done by September. We have some new faces in the department. Marisa Buzzeo ’01 has spent this year as a research associate with Columbia’s NSF-funded nanotechnology center, officially starting as an Assistant Professor at Barnard this fall. Marisa did undergraduate research at Barnard with Prof. Linda Doerrer, received her D.Phil. from Oxford, and did postdoctoral work at Caltech in the lab of Jackie Barton ’74. Alison Williams joined the department this year as a senior lecturer. A biophysical chemist, Alison has taught at Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Rutgers, and Princeton. She received her B.A. from Wesleyan and Ph.D. from Rochester. Her research involves thermodynamic and spectroscopic studies of DNA. She has been active in national efforts to improve access to and diversity in the sciences. Alison and Marisa will occupy the renovated labs on the 8th floor. Prof. Matthew Birck, on leave after completing three years in the department, resigned last November. Matt enjoyed teaching at Barnard and doing biochemical research with students, but decided that a non-academic position would be more to his liking. He is now at the U.S. government Homeland Security lab in Newark, NJ. Matt and his wife Linda are very busy with family: one year-old daughter Sophia was joined by identical twin girls in March! A search for a new Assistant Professor will commence this summer. The principal teaching responsibilities will be the biochemistry lecture and lab courses. We are looking for someone who will establish a vigorous research program involving Barnard students. Please help spread the word; we appreciate hearing about possible candidates. Another new faculty member this year, Prof. Kristina Harris, was hired to teach the biochemistry courses while Prof. Birck was on leave. We are very pleased that she will continue for the coming year. Kristina has a Ph.D. from NYU and Cardiff University (Wales). She has worked with Prof. Burt Goldberg who was a visiting faculty member here some years ago. The Barnard Chemical Society (BCS) held a career panel in March featuring chemists in a variety of professions: NYPD, DEP Hazmat, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) Pathology Dept. We are grateful to BCS club President Mia Mattioli ’09 and the other organizers for their enthusiasm and work. The talk at our fall majors’ luncheon was "Synthetic Adventures with the Nazarov Cyclization", by Prof. Alison Frontier from the University of Rochester. In the spring, Marisa Buzzeo gave the students a wonderful glimpse into her odyssey from Barnard and back again. Our wonderful students are what makes Barnard such a fantastic place. We are proud of them all. Special recognition goes to those listed below. Departmental Student Prizes
College and University Prizes
Six biochemistry and five chemistry majors were in this year’s senior class. Six participated in the year-long Senior Honors Thesis program. Each will be recognized with Distinction in Chemistry or Biochemistry. Their research advises and topics are listed below.
The seniors presented the department with a lovely framed picture, shown on the back cover. Here is what we know of their plans: Simran Buttar is starting medical school at SUNY Downstate this fall. Nathalie Celcis is working as a research technician in the pathology department at the CU Medical Center. Monnica Chan has applied to the Peace Corps, hoping to be assigned to Africa. While she awaits assignment, she is looking for work. Shenjuti Chowdhury, who was elected to φβκ, is starting dental school at Columbia this fall. She will be working as a tutor in Barnard’s HEOP program this summer. Evelyne Goné is looking for work; she plans to attend medical school starting in fall 2010. Michele Guide is entering the Ph.D. program in chemistry of materials at UC Santa Barbara. She will be working there in the lab of Quyen Nguyen this summer. Xiao Yu Mo is looking for work. She has had several interviews at big pharma companies. Sasha Roudenko, who was elected to φβκ, is starting medical school at NYU this fall. Jennifer Schloss is looking for work. This summer Erica Shapiro is continuing a research project with Prof. Faye McNeill in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Columbia. Erica was elected to φβκ last fall. Leena Taneja is looking for work. click here to continue on to the "News of the Faculty & Staff" section |
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