|
 Last
September, I took over the chairmanship of the department from Prof.
Mary Jane Shultz who served the department in this capacity for six
years with boundless energy and enthusiasm. The Shultz years saw several
major projects including a complete makeover of the large lecture
classroom, Pearson 104, and renovation of the Pearson east-wing research
laboratories. Last spring, the faculty had a retreat meeting to initiate
a discussion of the entire curriculum in the Chemistry department –
several interesting ideas emerged and were discussed, and further
meetings will refine these ideas for implementation.
The coming year will mark a milestone for Tufts
Chemistry. It is the 125th anniversary of the department. Arthur
Michael, the great American chemist, established his laboratory in the
basement of Ballou Hall in 1882. The work from that laboratory had a
dramatic and transformative effect on organic chemistry. Today, the
department is healthy as ever, and the research once again promises to
have a paradigm bending influence on biomedical, materials and
fundamental science. The department is planning a series of events to
commemorate this anniversary of the founding of the department. I
encourage you to send any suggestions that you may have about events
that you think should be organized.
The department’s alumni gathering on May 17th was very
well attended and a new alumni group has been formed. If you would like
to join this group, please mail the form on the last page of the
ChemNotes Spring2007 issue,
and indicate your interest.
The major news from the past year is that Prof. David
Walt was named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, an honor
bestowed on only 20 individuals worldwide once every four years. The
million dollars accompanying this award will be used to bring the
excitement of research and discovery to undergraduates. There will be 15
undergraduates in the Walt lab working this summer under the auspices of
this program.
In other areas of research,
in August 2008, Prof. Samuel
Kounaves and his group will be sending equipment aboard the Phoenix Mars
Lander to look at the chemistry and for signs of present or past life on
Mars.
Our students have always been front and center in the
department’s flourishing research program. This year was no exception.
The community of researchers at Tufts is going full throttle: the two
journal clubs in the department have firmly established themselves and
frequently have participants from the Medical and Engineering Schools;
the number of undergraduates pursuing research in Chemistry has been
steadily increasing; about half of the graduate students attended a
conference to present their work last year, and many of them garnered
special acclaim in the form of national and international prizes.
While the department has made significant strides,
some challenges remain. The number of faculty in the department needs a
serious boost for us to remain competitive. To this end, the department
plans to significantly expand its faculty ranks in the coming years.
Just as Arthur Michael’s work spawned an internationally recognized
department 125 years ago, an infusion of fresh scientific talent and new
discoveries will lead Tufts Chemistry to new heights in the next phase
of its history. | 