Date:05/23/00
Contact:
Lou Honary, UNI associate professor and ABIL director, (319) 352-5218
James O'Connor, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
Note to editors: A 172 dpi JPEG photo of Lou Honary is available via the Internet at: http://www.uni.edu/pubrel/newsroom/photos/honary.jpeg If you need higher resolution or have other photo needs, please call the UNI Office of Public Relations contact listed above.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa—Lou Honary, University of Northern Iowa associate professor and director of the Ag-Based Industrial Lubricants (ABIL) Research Program, has been named to Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack's Life Sciences Advisory Committee.
The committee's charge is to articulate a vision and an action plan for the future of life sciences in Iowa, according to Honary. The committee will identify issues and policies to spur the growth of life sciences in the state by focusing on human resources, technology, capital and finance, business and regulatory environment, and physical infrastructure. The action plan will drive the long-term, biotechnology-based economic development strategy for the state.
Established in 1991, the UNI ABIL Research Program is nationally recognized as a leader in the development and commercialization of soybean-based industrial lubricants. The program brings together research and testing to identify soybean oil characteristics and match them to appropriate industrial use. Biotechnology and new soybean varieties promise to lower the cost of industrial products made of soybeans.
Commercial products developed by ABIL include BioSOYTM, a high-performance multi-grade hydraulic fluid; BioTRANSTM, a patented electrical transformer fluid; SoyLINKTM, a chainsaw bar oil; and SoyTRUKTM, a semi-truck fifth wheel grease. For more information, contact Honary at (319) 352-5218.
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Contact:
Viacheslav Pak, UNI visiting professor of chemistry, (319) 273-7148
Cheryl Smith, program associate, College of Natural Sciences, (319) 273-6809
Vicki Grimes, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
Note to editors: A 172 dpi JPEG photo of Pak is available via the Internet at http://www.uni.edu/pubrel/newsroom/photos/photos/pak.jpeg If you need higher resolution or have other photo needs, please call the UNI Office of Public Relations contact listed above.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — As part of a continuing international exchange of students and faculty, the University of Northern Iowa chemistry department is hosting a year-long visit from a distinguished Russian chemist, Viacheslav Pak.
Pak, head of the physical chemistry department at Herzen State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg, Russia, is working with Curtiss Hanson, UNI associate professor of chemistry, on a project to reduce industrial emissions. Pak will be at UNI through June 30.
Two UNI students, Michael Roth, a junior from Council Bluffs, and Paul Trent, a graduate student from Waterloo, are closely involved in the research study with the two professors, who were awarded a UNI applied research grant for the project.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students— not only to get some experience doing research but also to work with a leading chemist from another country,” said Hanson.
In the first phase of the project, the researchers will be trying to produce excited oxygen, a special form of oxygen that can be used to reduce emissions from burning waste plastics. They want to know if it is possible to obtain a sufficient quantity of excited oxygen economically by desorption from oxide surfaces.
The main application of excited oxygen would be ecological, according to Pak. It would be a good way to clean some harmful chemicals from air and water, without the negative side effects of using chlorine or the expense of using ozone.
Pak produced promising preliminary results in this area in Russia, and he and Hanson found that they shared an interest in ecological problems. Since mass spectrometry, Hanson's specialty area, is the most powerful method to examine desorption processes, the two decided to collaborate. They will use the Fourier ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer in the chemistry department.
“Chemistry can be an enigma,” said Pak. “The hoped-for results may or may not come quickly, but I am optimistic we will be successful soon.”
Once the researchers establish that excited oxygen can be produced in marked amounts, they will begin to test applications right away.
Pak and Hanson had a chance to discuss their related scientific interests when Hanson visited Herzen two years ago. The chemistry departments at Herzen and UNI have been collaborating for several years, with faculty exchanges and joint research projects.
Russian students have come to UNI the last four summers to participate in the department's summer undergraduate research program, and Herzen and UNI offer a dual master's degree program in chemistry. Pak hopes that UNI students will be able to come to St. Petersburg to work with him on future phases of the project.
The Russian chemist has published over 150 journal articles in the area of catalysis and surface chemistry. He has been to the United States a half dozen times and, as a result of two years' work in Boston, he holds a U.S. patent for a catalytic process to purify auto exhaust.
Another advantage to being in Iowa for Pak is the opportunity for frequent visits with his son, Michael, who is at Iowa State University, where he is completing a four-year postdoctoral program in chemistry.
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Contact:
Jeffrey S. Copeland, professor & head, Department of English Language and Literature (319) 273-2855
James O'Connor, Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
Note to editors: A 172 dpi JPEG photo of Copeland is available via the Internet at: http://www.uni.edu/pubrel/newsroom/photos/photos/copeland.jpeg. If you need higher resolution or have other photo needs, please call the UNI Office of Public Relations contact listed above.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa Association of Education Office Professionals recently named Jeffrey S. Copeland Administrator/Educator of the Year. A professor and head of the UNI Department of English Language and Literature, Copeland has been employed by the university for 19 years, serving as department head the last five.
He received a B.S. in Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia, an M.A. in English from Arkansas State University, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Contact:
Guy Sims, UNI assistant director of student activities and UNI chapter advisor, (319) 273-2683
Vicki Grimes, UNI Office of Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa—Two hundred sixty-seven students were recently inducted into the University of Northern Iowa chapter of the Golden Key National Honor Society, an academic honor society that recognizes outstanding scholastic achievement in all academic fields
(Name) of (Hometown) , (address) , was among the 267 UNI students who were recently inducted into the Golden Key National Honor Society.
Golden Key membership is by invitation only. It is limited to the top 15 percent of juniors and seniors enrolled at a college or university.
Outgoing officers in the UNI chapter are Rachel Oakland, Story City, president; Brian Gongol, West Des Moines, vice president; Heather Broek, Orange City, treasurer; Michael Gernes, Clive, secretary; and Irina Simpson, Waterloo, social chair. The new officers for the 2000-2001 school year are Simpson, president; MacKenzie Cobb, Vincent, vice-president; Stacy Paul, Fayette, treasurer; Kelly Mente, Tipton, recording secretary; Sarah Oakes, Davenport, corresponding secretary; Teri Martin, Grundy Center, service chair; Philip Morris, Keota, social chair; Mark Rowe, Menlo, public relations chair; and Robert Bird, Waterloo, honorary member liaison.
Four UNI faculty members were selected for honorary membership in the Society and recognized at the ceremony: Constance Hansen, UNI student outreach coordinator; Catherine Miller, UNI professor of mathematics; Penny O'Connor, UNI instructor in communication studies; and Aaron Podolefsky, UNI provost and vice-president for academic affairs.
The Golden Key National Honor Society was founded at Georgia State University in 1977 by a group of undergraduate students. Today the society has chapters throughout the United States with 450,000 lifetime members and 4,500 honorary members.
Members in a local chapter are encouraged to participate in activities and there are opportunities to hold office, serve the community and interact in social events.
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Note: to obtain a listing of the students, please contact the Office of Public Relations at (319) 273-2761.
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