xt7cc24qnj22 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7cc24qnj22/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky. College of Arts and Sciences. Department of Chemistry 1992 newsletters  English University of Kentucky. Department of Chemistry Newsletters Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. University of Kentucky Department of Chemistry newsletters ChemNews, Spring 1992 text ChemNews, Spring 1992 1992 2019 true xt7cc24qnj22 section xt7cc24qnj22 M E SSAG E F R0 M T H E In my opinion, the department’s most important
N Ew C HAI RMAN task for the next few years will be filling our open
faculty lines. One ofthese is a result ofour department’s
Actually it would be havingimpressed the Chancellorwith our “Innovation
. . , more accurate to describe and Excellence” proposal to build on existing strengths
1' 3' ' me asa“used” rather than in the area of “materials research”. This is an expan-
, . 1 a “new” Chairman, bUt sion position to be filled by an individual with an
$7; “Message from the Used interest in the synthesis of materials having unusual
igfif”; Chairman” COUId easily electrical properties (for example, superconductors).
// be misinterpreted. Four We have interviewed several candidates so far this year
2%”; ’ 2% years ofrelativeinsulation and should be making an offer soon. The other two
(fie/3’»! 7w??? from the wear and tear of ositions are those to be vacated b the retirement of
NW?“ yer/{3% - - p . y .
a??? g leadershlp, so admirably Professors Walter T. Sm1th and Kurt N1edenzu. Be-
,l/fg endured by Professor cause of the current budget crunch, we may have to
his??? Watt, have apparently wait a while to fill them.
Bob Gulhrie produced some softening The next couple ofyears are going to be a bit rough
of my brain as evidenced for the University. The legislature has cut our budget
by the fact that I have signed on for a second term. The for the current year and we will carry over this reduced
Dean and I have agreed that this should last only until base into next year. On the plus side, because of last
such time as one ofour “newer models” is ready to take year’s tax increase, the Commonwealth is in a bit
over. I am hoping that this will mean a term ofonly one stronger financial condition than many states, includ-
or two years for me. ing some ofour usually wealthier neighbors. However,
Our departing chairman, Dave Watt, has accepted state budget problems are still quite serious. So far
thejob ofVice Chancellor for Research for the Lexing— there has been no talk of layoffs. Faculty salaries have
ton Campus. Although we hate to lose our leader, we been creeping up on those offered by our benchmark
will undoubtedly benefit indirectly as Dave provides institutions, so thateven if raises are smallfor nextyear,
the entire Lexington Campus with the same in5pircd we should be able to weather the storm. The Behrman
leadership he has given to us. As it has turned out, the endowment and its resulting Tuttle Fellowships con-
University has also hired a chemist, Professor Linda]. tinue to make us reasonably competitive in the battle
(Lee) Magid, formerly 0f the University Of Tennessee, to attract good graduate students and there seem to be
as Vice President for Research and she will formally more of them available because of the troubled
become a member of our department. With so many economy. Hopefully when the economy picks up, we
chemists in positions ofinfluence, how can we lose? will be positioned to resume our growth.
Happily,]im O’Reilly and Bob Kiser have agreed to
remain in their present offices, jim as Director of
Graduate Studies and Associate Chair and Bob as WATT: G R EAT T EAC H E R1
Director of General Chemistry. As a result ofjim's V I C E C H A N C E L LO R
magnificentjob of recruiting last year, we welcomed . .
about 20 new graduate students to the department in Although Dave Watt gave up one htle’. Chair man 0f '
the fall. This, to the best of my recollection is an all-time the Department Of Chemlstry, he has gained two new
record for our department. General Chemistry has ones. Ih Aphl he was named Great Teacher by the UK
. also undergone a number of changes. Under Bob’s AlummAssoclatlon and m May he was appomted to'the
firm but creative leadership General Chemistry is start— pOSthh DEVICE: Chancellor for Research on the Lexmg—
ing to become more tolerable for students (some even ton Campus by the UnlverSIty Board Of Trustees.
enjoyit) , despite the factthatitis not getting any easier. Dave was one Of five professors selected for the
Bob has hired a new laboratory supervisor to replace teaching awardsaeach ofwhlch includes a prize of$750
the retiring Charlie Griffith (not that Charlie - a true from the Ahhhm Assoc1ation; there were two 561%th
original - could ever be replaced). The new supervisor, from the Lex1ngton campus and three from the commu-
Dr. Penny O’Connor, took over this fall and has im- n1ty college system. It is the first and oldest award on
pressed us all with her enthusiasm and dedication. campus to recognize the missmn Of undergraduate
educat1on. The awardees are selected through student
,

 , ' nominations and screen— American Chemical 50- w . 1
ing. Dave has taught a va— ciety. He also serves as
. , . .r‘ riety of courses in organic program chairman for -- <
# chemistry, graduate and the Division. Since June ’ I
II" undergraduate, and has of 1990,when hisappoint— ‘ ’ ‘
_,, ~ ’16:: :1, ' consistently received stu— ment by Secretary of En- / 5: {P '
I‘ r P dent evaluations that are ergy James D. Watkins J" ' T
close to perfection. was announced, Steve has ._ r, P ’ » ' ,
S " AsVice Chancellorfor served as the nuclear ' ' . _
Research,Dave assists the chemistry representative , i ' «a
p \ :97: Chancellor in carrying to the Nuclear Science ' i ‘
, «a ‘_ out his administrative re- AdvisoryCommittee.This ‘>
Dave Watt sponsibilities relating to group advises the Depart— Steve yam ‘
graduate education and ment of Energy and the ‘
research on the Lexington Campus, which includes National Science Foundation on research andfunding
the Colleges of Agriculture, Architecture, Arts and in the nuclear sciences. A three—year term on the
Sciences, Business and Economics, Communication, Committee on Nuclear and Radiochemistry of the
Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Human Environ- National Research Council, the principal operating
mental Sciences (formerly Home Economics), Law, agency of the National Academy of Sciences, com- ‘
. Library and Information Science, and Social Work. pletes the trioofappointments.Amajorpurpose ofthe
The five colleges in the Medical Center sector are Committee is to maintain awareness of research in the ‘
served by a second vice chancellor for research. chemical aspects of nuclear phenomena, and Steve
In July of 1991 Dave finished a four-year stint as serves as coordinator for monographs published by
i ‘ department chairman. It was an extraordinarily busy the Committee.
and productive period for him. During that period he Steve was an undergraduate at the University of
published over 50 research papers; supervised a re- Missouri and received the Ph.D.with Prof. P.J. Daly at
search group of 10 to 15 undergraduates, graduate Purdue University in 1973. After two years as a
students, and postdoctoral fellows; managed grants postdoctoral fellow at Argonne National Laboratory,
from NIH, NSF, NATO, Chevron and the Kentucky he joined the faculty of the University of Kentucky,
Equine Research Council; presented over 40 papers at where he has been professor of chemistry since 1985.
professional meetings all over this country and the Acommitment to excellence characterizes everything
world; presented over 30 seminars in Oregon, Califor— Steve touches. He is a popular teacher of courses in
nia, Texas, Missouri, Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, Ten— general, physical, and nuclear chemistry. The ACS
nessee, Kentucky, France, and Turkey; and served on Student Affiliates selected him as Teacher of the Year
numerous departmental, college, and university com- in 1982-83. He is an effective committee member at the ‘
mittees. The development by Professors Watt, Tai university, college and departmental levels because of ‘
(Pharmacy), and Tobin (Veterinary Science) of an the mixture of objective analysis, hard work, and good .
‘ immunoassay (called ELISA) for drugs of abuse in humor that he brings to committee service. His re- ‘
racing horses has led to the formation of a company in search program is a class act too. He has published 0 1
Lexington called WTT to market the products. Al- nearly 100 research papers since his arrival in Lexing— '
though it has been in existence for only a short time, it ton in 1975. The UK. Research Foundation gave him :
now has 14 employees and one million dollars in sales. its award for excellence in research in 1981. '
From a recent citation: “That Dave can find time to His research has been supported by the National ‘
teach, chair the Chemistry Department, manage a ScienceFoundationcontinuouslysince1981.SixPh.D. 1
large group of research students and write research and three M.S. students have received (or soon will 3
papers and grant proposals is unusual. That he man- receive) degrees under his direction. Steve spent a six— l
ages to excel in all these roles is truly extraordinary.” month sabbatical leave in 1981 at the I
Kernforschungsanlage in Juelich, West Germany. In
August 1990 he returned from a second sabbatical
YAT E S N A M E D spent at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 4
' C H AI R M A N O F AC S in California studying nuclear superdeformation and ‘
D I v I S I O N shape isomerism in heavy nuclei. The list of travels ’
. abroad for lectures and other duties includes Ger-
Steve Yates has been named to three-prominent many, The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, England,
posttions in US. nuclear scrence organizatlons. In Mexico, Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Austria, Fin-
January 1992 Steve assumed the chairmanship of the land, and Thailand.
Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology of the J

 LODDER AND CASSIS TWO RETIREMENTS
WI N I B M P R I z E Drs. W. T. (Tom) Smith and Kurt Niedenzu will add
, Dr. Rob Lodder, who holdsjoint appointments in the word Emeritus to their professorial titles in May
1 the Department ofChemistry and the College ofPhar— 1992- Each Will end a distinguished ca— Tom Smith
macy, is a co-winner of the $25,000 first prize in the reer at the University Of Kentucky. Nei- , , ’
r" 1990 IBM Supercomputing Competition. The other ther has plans to disappear from the I j, '_ I
winner is Dr. Lisa Cassis, a cardiovascular pharmacolo- intellectual and social life 0f the depart— I
gist in the College of Pharmacy and Rob’s wife. The ment. . ’1 -- , a.
1, award, in a competition that included entries from Tom Smith was born in Havana, hh' f' ‘33
. most major universities in the U.S., was presented at 11015 and attended the nearby state uni- f’ I
s the 1991 Large Scale ComputerAnalysis and Modeling versity in Champaign-Urbana~ FOHOW' ”ff 2 I"
‘ Conference in Utah. Their invention of a new diffuse ing graduation from IlthtS th 1943, he . i
. reflectance fiber-optic probe for use in the detection was recruited to ajob at the Mallinckrodt at
and study of atherosclerosis was also featured on both Chemical CO- to work on a project for E t ;
the cover and in an article in the September 1990 issue the Atomic Energy Commission. He en- : .;
of Spectroscopy. Their method is the first to record near- tered the graduate program at Indiana ~:- fl . l
IR spectra of lipoproteins relevant to cardiovascular Universityin 1944withafellowship from a i
. disease in living arteries. the Eli Lilly Co. On receipt of the Ph.D. l
Fiber-optic catheters have been used previously to under the direction OfJOhh Billman in 1.. is, l
‘ locate atheroscleroticlesionsand determine theirsize, 1946, he accepted POSittOhS first as a V i this _ l
but current techniques cannot determine the protein POStdOCtOt?11 fellow at the University 0f 1 - 1%
and lipid composition ofliving tissue. The new probe Chicago and then as faculty member at t five ?
acts as a near-infrared “camera", and uses an IBM IowaState University. 1“ 1953Tom came I"; J ’1 l
supercomputer to produce pictures of the chemical to Lexington asAssociate Professor and St '~ . i -'
composition of the inner walls of arteries. The became Professor in 1957~ , ‘32,)
supercomputer-produced image of an artery exposed Several generations 0f graduate stu- if”
to saline solution alone is predominantly blue and dents have received advanced degrees k . :3"
green in color. The image of the artery exposed to under Tom’s guidance. Over the years if t ‘w
saline containing LDL is red, which represents regions students have been attracted by the mix— ; ,5 3:; '
of maximum uptake of LDL by the artery wall. The ture 0f interesting SCiEhCC’ friendly at— "5 “if:
discovery of an easy means of analysis of lesions in tention, and the freedom to advance K .
. . . . . . ~ - - , urt Niedenzu
livmg arter1es permits the analysls ofthe leSIOns as they the1rown Ideas that theyfound 1h Tom 5
grow, instead of after they have been removed from the group. Fifty-four have received graduate degrees since
‘ body, as current methods require. As chemical con— 1957! One hundred twenty-four papers attest to the
‘ stituents are proven to play key roles in the progression group’s productivity. In 1960 Tom received the Uht'
. of the disease, improved treatment programs that versity 0t Kentucky Alumni Research Award.
‘ focus on these constituents can be designed. It is unlikely that anyone can ever again match the
‘ . Rob and Lisa both came to UK in 1988. Rob was number of different courses that Tom has taught. In
‘ trained as an analytical chemist at Indiana University. addition to courses in general chemistry, Tom has i
. In his doctoral research he employed the diffuse re- taught 22 different organic courses, only 10 of which .
: flectance near-infrared technique in a number ofana— Still CXiSt A5 a Fulbright LeCtUter he taught organic i
' , lyticalapplications,includ— chemistry at the University of Libya in 1963-64 and at l
i ing the detection of cya— the American University of Beirut in 1965-66. In 1990 l
g ~ nide in capsules following he spent a sabbatical leave at Indiana University and at
L 5.3 , the Tylenol scare in 1986. various locations in Europe. He highly recommends a
' 1 He teaches analytical return to the scene of one’s graduate work after a 45-
>th _ courses and directs gradu- year absence. Tom’s encyclopedic knowledge of or-
‘ . ’ » ate studentsin both Chem- ganic chemistry, his open,friendly, and unpretentious
1 ‘ ‘ ' . ‘L , istry and Pharmacy. Rob mannerwith students, and his reservoir of stories have
. ; f . I .1 g , and Lisa have yet another made him a popular teacher.
. ,2 _’ new product to their Tom and his wife Mickey will continue to make
; 1.; this credit. Andy Lodder was frequent trips between Maine, where son Larry is
> t t“ .‘ ' born on December 29, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of
i it ’5" i it 1991. Maine in Orono, and their home in Lexington, which
Rab Ladder is also the home of son Gary, who is Laboratory Man-
ager ofthe School ofBiological Sciences at the Univer-
‘ sity of Kentucky.

 Kurt Niedenzu was born in Fritzlar, Germany and M A R Y R I C H A R D so N ,
earned the Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of WI N N I N G AL U M NA
Heidelberg in 1956. After two years as an Instructor at
Heidelberg, he came to the United States to work for Mary Frances Richardson’s love of science goes
the US. Army Research Office in Durham, North back to 1951, the year she saw the science—fiction classic
Carolina. After 10 years with the army, he returned to “When Worlds Collide” at age 10. Watching scientists
Germany for a year with Wintershall AG, before com- expand the horizons of the known world in that dark— 1“
ing to Lexington in 1968. ened movie house in Barbourville, Kentucky thrilled
Although Kurt’s first Six papers deal with phospho- her in a way that was not to fade after the walk home.
rus chemistry, most of the remaining two hundred “I started building rockets in the backyard the next i
have boron somewhere in the title. Evidence of Kurt’s day,” says Richardson, who went on to earn her B.S.
reputation in boron chemistry may be found in list of and PhD. degrees in chemistry from UK. “There is
universities throughout the Us. and Europe where he such a sense of adventure in science.”
has delivered lectures on the subject, in his visiting In the 40 years since then, Richardson has built an
professorships at the Gmelin Institute in Frankfurt, at impressive career based on her two loves —— scientific
the University of Munich, and at the University of research and teaching. Herground-breaking research
Gottingen, in the long list of his review articles on the into the structure of molecules has gained attention
subject, and in the generous grant support that has from scientific groups around the world, and her
‘ continuously supported his research at UK since effectiveness in the Classroom led to two major teach-
1968. In 1963 he was named Outstanding Scientist by ing awards in 1991.
, the US. Department of Defense, in 1973 he received She discovered her love of teaching While a gradu~
j the Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Founda— ate student at UK “I find it thrilling to be able to help i
i tion of Bonn, and in 1979 he was appointed Research people learn things they want to know about,” She says. I
2 Professor by the University of Kentucky. “But I like research equally well and would certainly
i Kurt's obvious commitment to research takes sec- feel I were missing something if I Could not do re-
ond place to his enthusiasm for teaching. His some- search. i WOUld not want to give up either.“
what gruff exterior cannot conceal the enjoyment he Richardson, a professor 0f chemistry ,at Brock Uni-
experiences from the interaction with students. In versity in Ontario, in 1991 received aTeaching Award
1982 he was named Teacher of the Year by the ACS from the Ontario Confederation ofUniversity Faculty
Student Affiliates, A freshman student recently com— Associations, which annually bestows this prestigious
. merited that being in Kurt’s class was like having award on seven teachers chosen from 12,000 faculty
Arnold Swartzenegger as a chemistry teacher, refer. members in the province. She also was “very touched”
,1 ring either to Kurt’s physique or to his accent. in 1991 when she received aBrock AlumniAssociation
It is unlikely that Kurt’s word processor will cool Award for Excellence in Teaching.
' down during his retirement. For many years he has Richardson has been praised as a warm and com-
3, served as an editor for two monograph series, Topics in passionate teacher who truly cares about her students.
‘ Current Chemistry (along With a world—class list of co- Several years ago she had a student who wanted to ‘
‘ editors) and Inorganic Concepts, and for the Gmelin major in chemistry but was unable to reach all the lab
Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry. He has plans to equipmentbecause hewasin awheelchair. Richardson \ ,
continue hisassociationwith the two monograph series. Obtained grant money and, With two other faculty i.
Keeping up With their four children could become members, worked with the university machine shop to '
1 a full-time job for Kurt and his wife, Evelyn. Their devise an adjustable-height wheelchair. Since then, ‘
1 daughter Barbara is married to a physician, Who is two similar wheelchairs have been made for other
i about to move from the University of Cincinnati to the handicapped students, and the original student gradu- :
‘ University of Michigan. Kurt,jr. is ahigh school teacher ated With his chemistry degree. i
j in Charlotte, NC. PhilipisaPhD. chemistwith DuPont r" ’ g V ,_ V ’ l;
l in Wilmington. Birgid, their youngest, has just re- i ' W“ ‘
i turned from two and a half years with the Peace Corps j 4E ~ .
l in Botswana, where she taught high school science in m £5 * i ' a I 7:: i
the middle of the Kalahari Desert. 3 “ fit: a ’ $ 1 . ' i
‘ The regret that will be felt by students, alumni and ' i {12% “ j i
. » faculty as Tom Smith and Kurt Niedenzu depart from $ ‘ = w ‘ i V a . 3‘ . T
the active ranks will be tempered by the knowledge to , ,
i that they will both be seen frequently in the depart— 5‘ ’g i 4;; ' . ‘
ment. “r 3 “If; .4 \’ 1
Mary Richardson
r

 As a researcher, Richardson has published more don’t, and the effectofthese polytype structures on the
than 50 papers and is well known in chemistry circles physical and chemical properties of crystals.”
around the world, especially for her study, published After 30 years of research, she still clearly enjoys
in the late ’705, on the gas/solid asymmetric transfor- wresting secrets from this submicroscopic world of
mation inside a centrosymmetric crystal. “Mary is an atoms and molecules. “Much ofwhat I study is so small

‘3 original thinker and has a deep understanding of I cannot see it with a standard microscope — I use an

‘ crystal chirality,” says Meir Lahav, a chemist at the X—ray diffractometer —but it is still an exploration of
Weizmann Institute for Science in Israel, the leading the world," she says. “It’s not anything like ‘When
organic solid-state chemistry research group in the Worlds Collide,’ but it still thrills me.”

' world. “I am also most impressed by her ability as a (This article was written by Suzanne Fraelich for the
teacher.” winter—spring 1992 issue of “Odyssey”, the Magazine of

Chirality refers to whether molecules can be super— Universily ofKenlueky Research.)
imposed on their mirror images, similar to how left-
and right-handed gloves fit together. Richardson dem-
onstrated in her study that it is possible to turn a C HAR L ES H ' H ' G R I F F I T H
molecule with two-dimensional chirality into a mol- R ETI R ES
ecule with three-dimensional chirality — a feat previ- After twent -seven ears of service to the De art-
ously thought not possible. Such broadened knowl- merit ofChemiyst Chlarles Herschel Holmes GFIIEfith
edge Of molecular structures, says Richardson, may has retired A recrgl, tion in his honor was held on Ma
lead to the development of new materials for possible 8 1991 in the Tuttl: Conference Room Attendin th:
use in the pharmaceutical and biochemical industries. ’ , , , . _ ' g,

. When Richardson looks back on her UKdays, she is reception were hlS' Wife, Gloria, his daughters, piane

especially grateful to chemistry professor Bill Wagner and Susan, two thls grandchildren, and manyfriends,
(now retired) for showing her that chemistry was students, and colleagues. . ,
“wonderful stuff" and for never discouraging her be— , As Laboratory Supervisor he. trained and super-
cause she was a woman. “There were lots of people Vised all ofthe teaching aSSistants in general chemistry,
telling meI’d nevergetajobin chemistry, but he never occaswnally filling m for them when a last minute ’
treated me differently from the male students.” emergency arose. He made sure that students knew
Richardson takes pride in having proven those early what theywere domg by preparing frequentquizzes for
nay-sayers wrong, but hers has been a somewhat lonely them. He was the hal‘ y
climb in an almost exclusively male sphere. As a UK son Wlth .the “0:110 - V 1 ‘ 4
undergrad, she was the only female chemistry major in roomf'making sure t (it é ' . ‘1
her class. She is the only female full professor in her :gfsigg:n::fie;e;ey . . , I’,
department, and when she served as department chair , y ' WI},
at Brock in 1979—1981, she was the only woman chem- arriveid [it elach llib r . ,fl ‘9 . A :2:,i.:j'v':u_,.”~:;~'j .
istry chair in Canada. Presently, about 20 percent of 3:211; cle sir: til/at (Eh: fig 3‘93}. .1 i "
chemistry Ph.Ds in Canada are women. labs were left spotless wfi‘w an?
. During her 20 years at Brock, Richardson has taken Althou h the number l‘fiiéw “my ,5}. ,

, averyactive role in committee work; thiswasadeliber- f t dg t h h a . “i " 5 g ;
ate effort to be a role model, she says. “Women need to O S ud enhs w 0h alye ' .
be better represented at the power levels of universi- 52:26“: lfblsgin :h: Charles and 610"“ anfith
ties. As my career progressed and I was asked to sit on 1 t 27 . t . th 1 b h th ir a
major committees, I did it. I felt ifI did well, people as years ls S aggerlnga (.386 a S S .Ow e ge
might say, ‘Hey, we should get another woman on less than others in the building. Charlie took great

_. . , pride in his work. He seldom quit working at the end

1,. sorglgzggthe ‘only woman’ on this and that has been of eight hours and he wouldn’t take all the vacation
a burden,” she says, “I have been doing it a long time, time :32“ was '3st hlm' He 56[ :lgh StiildSrds for
and now that there are younger women coming along, :2: Sim:;fnder ls superViSion an even lg er ones

. I‘d like to have more time for the things I really like — , ' . . .

l research and teaching.” Charlie was born in Huntington, Indiana, son of

Richardson is currently studying the crystallization 36:51:13rgéliezgzfiSE'yiigiigfnghggirjfi
Of silicon carbide, a very hard substance used as a His edufation was interru ted from 1943 to 1946 for
diamond substitute. “Silicon carbide crystallizes in , , . p ,

‘ many different forms, called polytypes, which are not SCI‘VlC'C in the Marine Corps. I’art of that time was spent
well understood. I am interested in the whole area of studying chemical engineering at Purdueapart at Ma-

. d thers rine camps (including Parris Island, Lejeune, and -
why some SUbSKmCCS crystallize as polytypes an O Pendleton), and part at a variety of destinations in the

 Pacific (Hawaii, Guam, Truk, and Tsingtao, China respectively. The median undergraduate GPA of the
among others). At Indiana he played clarinet in the American students is a 3.3, with two students having
Marching Band, 3 group to which he was to return perfect 4.0 averages. One ofthe latter brought his own
years later as a member ofthe Alumni Marching Band. NSF Predoctoral Fellowship with him to the University
Charlie worked as an industrial chemist and taught ofKentucky. Typically, there are only aboutfour to five
science and math in high school until 1964, when he such students on the entire campus in any year.
joined the staff at U.K. Owing to the generous donations of our graduates ‘5
Charlie haslongenjoyed sports. Hewasawrestlerin and the munificent bequest 0f the late Col. A. Sidney
high school and college. He is an active booster of the Behrman, we have been able to offer this entering class
U.K. Ladykat basketball team and he is a fifteen-year $56,100 in add-on Departmental Fellowships designed u
member of the Committee of101, avolunteer organi- to attract highly qualified graduate students to our
zation to support U.K. basketball. As a member of that Department. In addition, five of these students were
group, Charlie has spent many hours as an usher for able to win some $33,500 in fellowships from our
university basketball and football games. Graduate School in open competition with applicants .
The Griffith’s daughter Susan Griffith, mother of to all graduate programs on campus.
six-year—old twins, is an MD. at the U.K. Family Medical '
Center. Dau hter Diane Barnett, who has been a
dietician at Central Baptist Hospital since 1978, is J I M o l R E I '- LY! DOG
finishing a masters degree at U.K. Gloria Griffith, who E X T RAO R D I N A I R E
also retired injune 1991, was for many years a business M h f h ,-
instructor at the Central Kentucky Vo—Tech School in _ , ' ,.3., , , uc O t e 'I‘CSPOHSI
1 Lexington. . ' i, '3 _ bility for attracting good .
l Former students and TA’s often return to the de- '. I graduate “we?“ to UK
I . . . . . _ - , falls on the Director of
! partment w1th fond memories of Mr. Griffith. Those ;;'7"'-1*’L“' ... f «j», G d . .
i . . . . .. ,,, , ra uate Studies, Dr.jim
memories Will be kept alive by the Charles H. H. .. fig g . OR .11 Th 1 . _
Griffith General Chemistry Teaching Assistant Award. fl I “'3. , ' . e1 y’ , e arge recruit
To encourage and reward excellence in teaching in 7" “a? . , ing operation involves the
the General Chemistry labs, the new award will be '; ' / a {31 preparation and mailing
, . . g; ' gar, ' of departmental booklets,
given anually to an outstanding TA. At the retirement . k s?- ,1 3 l' . . ,
. . . . . _ .. . app 1cations (1500 in 90-
reception, Charlie was presented With a watch and a . . .-: 1% .3 , 91) d _ h _
picture history of the university, but neither will last as j . . ’, an posters, t e pro
lon as the award in his name. . ‘ ' its; . cessmg ofhundreds ofap-
g . . . ,
‘ jim 0mm plications (362 in 90-91,
1 many from international
l T H E FAL L 1 99 1 . students); a sizable number of mail and phone con-
? E N T E RI N G G R A D U AT E tacts with prospective students; and the coordination
of the application process with the Graduate Program
ST U D E N T c LASS Committee. There is staff assistance available with
In the face Ofa seven year decline in the number of some of these jobs, but it is the O’Reillywork—ethic and ‘
bachelor chemistry graduates in this country, Fall 1991 tireless attention to detail that has made the operation
saw one of the largest entering classes of graduate the success that it is»
‘ students in our Department in recent memory. The Once the student arrives 0“ campus,Jim oversees a
1 class credentials indicate that it may also be one of the thorough,week—long orientation program that includes
1 most talented. a battery of standardized ACS “proficiency” exams, a
Twentynew graduate students arrived in August. Of review 0f departmental procedures and regulations,
‘ these, 14 are from the States _ ranging from New language tests for international students, instruction Q
1 Jersey to Michigan to South Dakota to Florida. Four Oh how to teach, a safety program, and social time for L
' students are from Kentucky and three from Ohio. The meeting faculty and other students. The new graduate
International students are trulydiverse—four Indians, students may be surprised to find that part Of the
i a woman from France, and a student from the week’s activities includes a return to the freshman ‘t
Kazhakstan in the former Soviet Union. He finally chemistry lab for ahands—on lab experiment and oral ‘
.1 made it through their Byzantine passport and travel report to their peers. They generally appreciate the
y system to become one ofonly about a half-dozen Soviet exercise, which gives them a clearer idea of how their
graduate students in this country who enrolled in a students will react to these same experiments in the
US. university in a normal fashion. coming weeks.
This is avery talented entering class. Their median Jim plays a major role in the lives Of these students
verbal and quantitative GRE scores are 67% and 82%, as they progress through their graduate careers. At

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each stage — cumes, oral qualifying exam, advisory Although he started refereeing in the local youth
committee meetings,dissertation,departmentalsemi- league, his skill has made him in demand for high
nar, and final oral exam —_]im is involved: signing off school and college games.
on the paperwork, smoothing the path through the Althoughjim’s professional lifeasteacher, adminis-
Graduate School maze of regulations, applying a kick trator, and researcher was already full to overflowing, in
* or a pat on the back where appropriate, and, in gen— 1989 he accepted the additional job of Associate Chair-
‘ eral, providing quality control to the system. Through man. Jim’s organizational skills and his ability to work
an annual review of each student by the Graduate, effectively with people at all levels at the university
Program Committee and by insisting that advisory (secretaries, deans, freshmen,faculty, graduate students,
‘ committees meet regularly, he insures that each etc) have made him indispensible to the department.
student’s progress is monitored closely. One result is
that the average length of time required to earn a
degree has declined a bit in recent years. Another can G RA D U AT E D E G R E E S
‘ be seen in the number ofadvanced degrees awarded in AWA R D E D
. 1991: 3 MS and 9 Ph.D. degrees. He has been a tireless
advocate of higher teaching stipends, deluging the DOCtor 0f PhilOSOPhy
Graduate School with data showing how this depart— Linan Chao Ph.D. (Butterfield) Dec. 90’ “Water ~
merit fares relative to other departments across the TransportAcross Human Erthrocyte Membrane Stud-
country. His manner with students is direct and hu- ied by the ‘H-T, NMR Doping Method”, Postdoctoral
mane. It’s not difficult to find students who have position wit