Research Corporation for Science Advancement announces 2009 Cottrell Scholar Awards

Tucson , AZ — June 1, 2009 — Research Corporation for Science Advancement, America’s first foundation dedicated solely to science, announced today the 10 recipients of its 2009 Cottrell Scholar Awards. These awards, which provide a grant of $100,000 to each recipient, represent the foundation’s largest individual grant for scientific research and teaching.

The awards are based on the foundation’s conviction that top early career research scientists can be the most effective leaders for teaching innovation at the nation’s research universities. The award winners are chosen both for the quality of their scientific research and their dedication to teaching. Originality, feasibility, and the prospect for significant fundamental advances to science are the main criteria for judging the candidates’ research, while contributions to education, especially at the undergraduate level, aspirations for teaching, and the candidates’ proposed strategies to achieve educational objectives, are factors in assessing their teaching plans.

The awards are named for science visionary Frederick Gardner Cottrell, whose generosity made Research Corporation possible and whose invention of the electrostatic precipitator was an early environmental innovation that reduced pollution from smokestacks.

The winners of the 2009 Cottrell Scholar Awards are:

Scott Alan Snyder — Assistant Professor of Chemistry Columbia University , New York , NY

Dr. Snyder, whose research involves recreating natural substances from scratch in the lab as a method of discovering new chemical reactions, has created a new high-school research program that enables at least two students to work at Columbia each summer; his own laboratory also provides training in modern organic chemistry to high-school students and their teachers. He is currently designing an inquiry-based program for the second semester of introductory organic chemistry that requires students to synthesize a natural product.

Lane Allen Baker — Assistant Professor of Chemistry Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

Dr. Baker, who is researching “nanopores” — tiny openings in living organisms, is targeting undergraduates at Indiana University and high-school students who own iPods and similar devices by creating and refining podcasts — digitally recorded, downloadable discussions — about chemistry in modular units. He is also creating a program of Internet-based video conferences in collaboration with an Alabama high-school teacher to reach ethnically diverse groups.

Penny J. Beuning — Assistant Professor of Chemistry Northeastern University, Boston, MA

Dr. Beuning, who is studying how cells deal with DNA damage, is developing a new course at Northeastern University, “Principles of Chemical Biology,” that will focus on using chemical and biophysical tools to address biological questions. In addition to discussing experimental methods to address a problem or to interpret experimental results, students will be expected to do research incorporating discovery-based projects derived from ongoing faculty research.

Duncan Ross Lorimer — Assistant Professor of Physics West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV - Dr. Lorimer, who studies distant, massive explosions in space, plans to recruit and retain students of physics at West Virginia University by improving astronomy opportunities for undergraduates and providing research experiences for high-school students via searches for transient radio sources. Among other projects, he is also creating a new introductory course, “Explosions in Space,” that moves beyond the “survey” approach to investigate astronomical exotica.

Yadong Yin, Assistant Professor of Chemistry University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA

Dr. Yin, whose research involves trying to understand the formation and properties of nanostructure materials, is focused on developing educational programs that stimulate and maintain students’ curiosity about science and technology and encourage them to pursue scientific careers. Specifically, he is creating a new course in nanomaterials designed to give an interdisciplinary overview of the topic to undergraduates at the University of California-Riverside, and provide outreach programs to interest high-school students in research.

Michael David Gladders, Assistant Professor of Astronomy University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Dr. Gladders, who is constructing the largest ever catalog of distant groups and clusters of galaxies, plans on using emerging technologies to bring new astronomical research to University of Chicago classrooms. He will incorporate data from an extensive star survey of deep space into advanced computer programs for teaching and visualization, essentially creating desktop planetaria. Based on these and other new tools, he will create new computerized astronomy labs for students.

Snezana Stanimirovic — Assistant Professor of Astronomy University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI

Dr. Stanimirovic, who studies the turbulent properties of the stray matter drifting in the vast spaces between stars, is working to assemble three small radio telescopes (SRTs) and using them to create an Astronomical Observation Laboratory (AOL), all at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her goal is to infuse introductory courses with hands-on learning at the AOL, a “radio observatory,” which will also allow upper-level project-based courses to focus on problem-solving and collaborative learning.

Robert McDermott — Assistant Professor of Physics University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Dr. McDermott is exploring the often puzzling properties of quantum physics in hopes of developing superconducting circuits and amplifiers. His teaching effort has two primary thrusts: 1) Upgrading and expanding the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Physics Advanced Laboratory course and developing a novel undergraduate course on experimental quantum information; 2) Working with local high-school teachers to develop teaching materials demonstrating key concepts in satellite communications.

Maura Ann McLaughlin, Assistant Professor of Physics West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Dr. McLaughlin’s research work is aimed at improving the algorithms for studying gravity waves caused by accelerating, massive objects in space. Her teaching plan is aimed at increasing the numbers and retention of physics students, particularly underrepresented rural youths and women, at West Virginia University.- She has outlined a series of confidence-building exercises and will host a yearly fall recruitment weekend for nearly a dozen high-school seniors. In addition she is working to provide physics students and those enrolled in astronomy courses with a collaborative, inquiry-based, classroom and laboratory atmosphere.

Rory Waterman, Assistant Professor of Chemistry University of Vermont, Burlington, VT

Dr. Waterman is currently investigating catalysts that allow various molecules to form bonds with the element phosphorus. Because he believes research provides the best way for students to understand science, Dr. Waterman’s teaching plan involves establishing a computerized Vermont-wide network of research opportunities — state and national — for high-school and University of Vermont undergraduate students. He is also teaching a course that gives first-year students the opportunity to conduct two half-semester research projects with two different faculty members.

For additional information, contact Carly Jansen at Goodman Media International: 212-576-2700 x250 or cjansen@goodmanmedia.com. - About Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA)

Founded in 1912, Research Corporation for Science Advancement (www.rescorp.org ) — formerly known as Research Corporation — is the second-oldest foundation in the United States (after the Carnegie Corporation) and the oldest foundation for science advancement. RCSA is a leading advocate for the sciences and a major funder of scientific innovation and of research in America’s colleges and universities.