Academic Minute from 6.6 – 6.10
Monday, June 6
Trevor Douglas – Indiana University
Hydrogen Biofuel
Trevor Douglas is the Earl Blough Professor of Chemistry in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Chemistry.
In his lab at IU, Douglas’s team has pioneered the use of viruses as a platform for the synthetic manipulation of molecules, with applications ranging from materials science to medicine. Recently, he served as the lead investigator on research reported in the journal Nature Chemistry that describes a new method to create a highly efficient biomaterial that catalyzes the formation of hydrogen — one half of the “holy grail” of splitting H2O to make hydrogen and oxygen for fueling cheap and efficient cars that run on water.
Prior to IU, Douglas was faculty member Montana State University. He holds a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of California at San Diego.
From 1992-1994, he also was a postdoctoral fellow at Bath University in the United Kingdom, where he worked in the area of biomineralization.
Tuesday, June 7
Deepak Shukla – University of Illinois at Chicago
Treatment for Herpes Virus
Deepak Shukla is the Marion H. Schenk Esq. Professor in Ophthalmology for Research of the Aging Eye, professor of ophthalmology and professor of microbiology and immunology in the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. He is also director of the ocular virology lab in the UIC College of Medicine department of ophthalmology and visual sciences. Shukla studies the viral and immunological basis of ocular diseases, including the herpes simplex virus. His translational work focuses on the development of new anti-viral agents and vaccines, including a new class of combination agents that can both help treat and prevent viral infections through encouraging the development of natural immunity called ‘microbivac’ agents. Shukla’s research has been supported by the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, Research to Prevent Blindness, and other private and government sources. Shukla received his PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Northwestern University. He joined the UIC faculty in 2011.
Wednesday, June 8
David Weld – University of California Santa Barbara
The Dance of Atoms
David Weld received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher and research scientist at MIT before taking a job as an assistant professor of physics at UC Santa Barbara. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and three children.
Thursday, June 9
Sylvia Chan-Olmsted – University of Florida
Smartphone Depedency
Sylvia Chan-Olmsted teaches brand management, consumer and audience analytics, media research, and media management at both graduate and undergraduate level. Her research expertise includes digital/mobile media consumption, branding, and strategic competition in emerging media/communications industries. Her current studies involve the development and marketing of mobile media content, cross-platform media strategy and audience behavior, mobile apps usage, and branding via social/mobile media, especially in the context of young adult consumers.
Dr. Chan-Olmsted has conducted consumer research and consulted for Google, Nielsen, National Association of Broadcasters, the Cable Center, and the Center for International Business Education and Research. Recipient of over 20 national and international research awards, Dr. Chan-Olmsted holds the Research Foundation Professorship and the Al and Effie Flanagan Professorship at the University of Florida and is the recipient of the 2014 Award of Honor presented by the Journal of Media Economics for scholarly contribution to the field.
Dr. Chan-Olmsted is the author of the book, Competitive Strategy for Media Firms and co-editor of two books, Media Management and Economics Handbook and Global Media Economics. Her book won the prestigious Most Significant Contribution to Media Management and Economics Award from the U.S. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. She has published over 60 refereed articles in the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Telecommunications Policy, Mobile Media & Communication, New Media and Society, Journal of Marketing Communications, Journal of Media Economics, International Journal on Media Management, and others.
Friday, June 10
Tin-Chun Chu – Seton Hall University
Tea Extracts Boost Antibiotic Performance
I have been at Seton Hall University teaching Microbiology, Senior Biology Seminar, Emerging & Infectious Diseases, Microbial Physiology, and Bioinformatics since 2008. My teaching philosophy is to integrate research into science education. My current research interests include: (1) A novel approach using natural products and its derivatives as potential therapeutic agents for diseases; (2) Study of physiological response to various stress factors on bacteria; (3) Environmental probes development for prediction, early detection and prevention of algal blooms; (4) Molecular mechanism of lytic/lysogenic Cyanophage AS-1 life cycle; and (5) Genome projects and bioinformatic analyses of cyanobacteria and cyanophage.
