The Chem Club was named the 2012 Small Registered Student Organization of the Year by the Student Involvement Center and the Student Alumni Council. Officers Angela Howard, Justin Lange, Stephan Germann, Andrea Bruck, Victoria Nguyen, and Rachel Craigmile, along with the club’s advisors (Dr. Jun-Hyun Kim and Dr. Jeremy Driskell) and all of the members are to be congratulated for their hard work and dedication.

Dr. David Cedeño is the 2012 recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences Dossey Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Tenured Faculty Member. Dr. Cedeño, a physical chemist, has initiated several educational outreach activities with students and faculty from his native Colombia. He has hosted numerous visiting scholars (both students and faculty), and he has served as a co-advisor fro graduate students from Colombian universities. He has also led the local ACS Section’s Project SEED efforts and served on the ACS national committee on Project SEED. The 2009 Chemluminary Award for the nation’s top Project SEED program was awarded to the local section, primarily due to Dr. Cedeño’s efforts.

Dr. Chris Mulligan and the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory can be seen (for 1.5 sec) in ISU’s new video advertisement. See it here.

Craig C. McLauchlan

Four members of the College of Arts and Sciences won awards for outstanding teaching at the Founders Day Convocation on February 16. Dr. Craig C. McLauchlan was named an Outstanding University Teacher. Dr. McLauchlan is an associate professor and associate chair of undergraduate programs in the Department of Chemistry. He is a past recipient of a 2005-2006 University Teaching Initiative Award, the 2007 College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award for Outstanding Teaching, and the 2010-2011 College of Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Dr. Cynthia Edmonds-Cady, School of Social Work won a University Teaching Initiative Award. Dr. Edmonds-Cady is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work. She serves as a faculty member in the Women and Gender Studies Program. She has been a member of the Illinois State faculty since 2007 and holds a Ph.D. in social work from Michigan State University.

Along with these two professors, two graduate students were recognized this year with Outstanding University Graduate Student Teaching Awards. Matthew Spialek (School of Communication) and Ashley Nicole Mericle (Department of Chemistry) were also presented with awards for their excellent teaching.

Jeremy Driskell

Illinois State’s School of Biological Sciences will welcome Jeremy Driskell for a seminar at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23, in Schroeder Hall, room 244.

Driskell, an assistant professor of chemistry at Illinois State, will give a talk titled Biosensing With Gold Nanoparticles. His work focuses on the development of novel diagnostic and biological assays by combining chemistry, nanomaterials and biology. In addition, he is exploring dynamic light scattering for biosensing applications.

For additional information on the seminar, contact the School of Biological Sciences at 438-3664 or blreina@ilstu.edu.