Month: April 2017

CLEMSON – The College of Science’s department of chemistry held its 2017 Student Honors and Awards ceremony on April 10 in Daniel Hall.

“Our awardees can remember the hours they spent in the lab and all the experiments they’ve had to do over and over again. They can remember struggling with material in their textbooks and feeling like they might never fully grasp it,” said Karl Dieter, chair of the department of chemistry and professor of organic chemistry at Clemson University. “But today is the day to honor them and reinforce in their minds that all their efforts were worth it and will pay many dividends in the future. So, let’s give the awardees a round of applause for their achievements and hard work.”

Rebecca Pontius, winner of the Mark Bernard Hardin Prize in Chemisty, said that the award was special to her because it was named after Clemson University’s first-ever chemistry professor.

“My dream is to become a research professor at a university as wonderful as Clemson,” Pontius said. “I’m very honored to have my name associated with Professor Hardin’s. This fall, I will be heading to graduate school to pursue my doctorate in chemistry.”

Andrew Poveromo, winner of the Outstanding Chemistry Senior Award (Western Carolina ACS Award), said that rolling up his sleeves and putting in a lot of time and effort is what has led to most of his achievements.

“I know that while my grades are good, I’m not necessarily the top student and I’ve had to work hard to earn those grades,” Poveromo said. “I was also very active outside the classroom, such as giving tours of the chemistry department to perspective students. Because of this, I feel like I’ll be leaving a great impact on the chemistry program. After graduation, I’ll be attending grad school in the fall at Penn State to pursue my Masters in Food Science.”

For a list of all the award winners, along with a musical slideshow, click HERE:

The highly sophisticated work of College of Science students from the chemistry department was on display at the recent Creative Inquiry Poster Forum held in the Watt Family Innovation Center.

Clemson has offered undergraduate degrees in chemistry almost from the founding of the institution, and it was among the first departments at Clemson to offer a doctorate. Chemistry is deeply ingrained in the traditions of Clemson. Only 2.4 percent of members of the American Chemical Society describe themselves as unemployed but actively seeking employment. Chemists work in a wide variety of fields including the traditional chemical industries of manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and analytical research and services, and also in related fields including engineering, health care, education, law, and national security.

Clemson University’s Dr. Jeff Anker (right) received the Dr. Wallace R. Roy Distinguished Professorship award on March 31 at the Greenville Health System’s Community Room at Greenville Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Thomas Pace (left), a physician in the GHS orthopedic surgery department, was the presenter.

Anker is an associate professor in the department of chemistry in C.U.’s College of Science. As Roy professor, Anker will seek out broader collaborations to advance his research using X-rays for biomechanical measurements and chemical sensing, especially to monitor fracture healing and study implanted medical device-associated infection.

Anker is working with Pace on several National Institutes of Health grants, including developing a noninvasive technique to monitor strain on hip screws, as well as a method of using X-ray technology to noninvasively detect orthopedic device infection.

Photo courtesy of Lindsey Brown / GHS