April 2024 Issue
Eberly Alumni
Newsletter
Office of Development and Alumni Relations
Harold Kohn Endowed Distinguished Chemistry Alumni Lecture
Last month, Rick Silverman (a 1968 graduate in chemistry), visited campus to give the Harold Kohn Endowed Distinguished Chemistry Alumni Lecture. He presented on his group’s research of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and recently identified classes of compounds that inhibit protein aggregation (i.e., accumulation or clumping together) and extend the life of the ALS mouse model; one of these compounds being NU-9.
Silverman has invented several drugs and founded Akava Therapeutics. He met with Dean Langkilde and discussed supporting faculty in conducting translational research, the importance of students in realizing this potential, and how this generation of students is really passionate about making a difference.
Silverman also met with Roy Olofson, whose research lab he worked in as an undergraduate student at Penn State, and Hal Kohn, who was a Ph.D. student in the same group at the time. It was a wonderful reunion and an affirmation of the lasting influence of undergraduate research experiences.
Rick Silverman, Roy Olofson, and Harold Kohn
Dean Tracy Langkilde and Rick Silverman
Meet the Gamechangers: Tracy Langkilde
Tracy Langkilde made history in 2020, becoming the first female dean of the Eberly College of Science at The Pennsylvania State University.
Langkilde was born in South Africa and earned her bachelor’s and doctorate degrees in Australia before pursuing her postdoctoral studies at Yale. Read more.
Also, check out her recent LinkedIn article celebrating our college’s community members during Women’s History Month.
Alumni Awards
Eberly College of Science Honors Five with Outstanding Science Alumni Award
The Penn State Eberly College of Science has selected five alumni to be honored with the Outstanding Science Alumni Award for 2024. The Board of Directors of the Eberly College of Science Alumni Society established this award to recognize alumni who have a record of significant professional achievements in their field and who are outstanding role models for students in the college. The winners were presented with an award during an event held on the University Park campus on April 4, 2024.
Recipients of this year’s award:
- Randal R. Betz, 1973 bachelor of science degree in premedicine
- W. Howard Cyr, 1966 master of science degree and 1972 doctoral degree, both in biophysics
- Maria Demaree Hutchinson, 1990 bachelor of science degree in computer science
- Rashid S. Njai, 2000 bachelor of science degree in biology
- Mitchell Weiss, 1980 bachelor of science degree in biophysics
Gift Endows Grove Center for Excellence in Science Education
A gift from Penn State Eberly College of Science alumna Susan Grove and her late husband, Cada, an alumnus of the College of Education, has endowed and named the Eberly College’s Cada R. and Susan Wynn Grove Center for Excellence in Science Education.
The Groves’ estate plan has long included a $4 million bequest to create an early career professorship in mathematics and support the Eberly College’s Center for Excellence in Science Education. Now, Susan Grove has formalized an irrevocable future commitment of $2.25 million to endow the center; and with that decision, it will be named in honor of Cada’s and her significant contributions and support of science education across Penn State. Read more.
Two Eberly Alumni Recognized with 2024 Graduate School Alumni Society Awards
The Graduate School at Penn State recognized four alumni, including two from the Eberly College of Science, with Graduate School Alumni Society Awards at the Graduate School Alumni Recognition Dinner on March 23 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.
Melanie R. McReynolds, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Hanna H. Gray fellow and assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, was honored with the 2024 Graduate School Early Career Award. The award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated exceptional success in their chosen field within 10 years of earning their graduate degree.
Vivian Briones Valenty, founder and president of VB Cosmetics, was honored with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes Graduate School alumni who have achieved exceptional success in their profession and have demonstrated loyalty to the University and the Penn State Alumni Association. Read more.
Alumni News
Estate Gift Will Support Women in Mathematics at Penn State
Robert and Gail Dezube have made an estate commitment to create two scholarships in the Eberly College of Science to support the next generation of math and science students.
Robert Dezube, who graduated with a degree in mathematics in 1974, worked as a consulting actuary until his retirement in 2016 and served on an advisory committee for Penn State’s actuarial science major for several years. To help support the next generation of math and science students, he and his wife, Gail, have made a $750,000 estate commitment to create two scholarships in the Eberly College of Science.
The Robert and Gail Dezube Math Scholarship in the Eberly College of Science will support students majoring in mathematics, or intending to major in mathematics, who are involved in a group that promotes women in math or science, such as the Women in Mathematics Club.
The Robert and Gail Dezube Completions of Dreams Scholarship in the Eberly College of Science will provide funds to students facing difficult personal and financial circumstances. Read more.
Q and A with Penn State Alumnus, Public Servant, and Clinician Dean Winslow
Penn State alumnus Dean Winslow is one of three from the Eberly College of Science to have received the 2023 Alumni Fellow Award, the most prestigious award given by the Alumni Association. Winslow is a professor of medicine with appointments in the Divisions of Hospital Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Members of the college's communications office sat down with Winslow to chat about his time at Penn State and his impactful career in public health.
Alumni Society Board Member Christina 'Winnie' Winnicker at SolarFest
On Monday, April 8, nearly 8,500 eclipse viewers descended on Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, setting an all-time attendance record. Thanks to Alumni Society Board member Winnie Winnicker, who volunteered at the Eberly College of Science display table, showing event attendees pieces of a rocket that had been to space and back for research done by astronomy and astrophysics department head Randy McEntaffer.
Find out more about the event, including media coverage and video recaps.
Faculty News
Andrew Read Named Senior Vice President for Research
Andrew Read, the former director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and a faculty member in the departments of biology and entomology, has been selected to serve as Penn State’s senior vice president for research, following nine months as the interim senior vice president for research. Read’s position will be effective April 1. Read more.
Knappenberger Named Chemistry Department Head
Kenneth Knappenberger Jr., professor of chemistry, has been named the new head of the Penn State Department of Chemistry, effective July 1, 2024. Knappenberger succeeds Phil Bevilacqua, who has served as the head of the department since 2018. Read more.
Anton Nekrutenko Named Huck Chair in Genomics
Anton Nekrutenko, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State, has been appointed as the first Dorothy Foher Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Genomics. Read more.
Showalter Receives Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching
Scott Showalter, professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Eberly College of Science is one of two Penn State faculty members to receive the 2024 Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching. Read more.
Murakami and Rechtsman Receive 2024 Faculty Scholar Medals
Katsuhiko Murakami, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Mikael Rechtsman, professor of physics, are among six Penn State faculty members to receive the 2024 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement. Read more.
Hughes Named Recipient of Kopp International Faculty Achievement Award
David Hughes, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Global Food Security and professor of entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences and biology in the Eberly College of Science, is the recipient of the 2024 W. LaMarr Kopp International Faculty Achievement Award. Read more.
Student News
Dean Langkilde and Students at the 2024 Sustainability Expo
On April 6, Dean Langkilde gave a lunchtime talk on Penn State's sustainability efforts at the 2024 Sustainability Expo, held at Shaver's Creek Environmental Center.
Also during the event, students presented posters of their current research relating to sustainability at Penn State.
Three Eberly Graduate Students Honored with Research and Excellence Awards
Marius Jürgensen and Divya Singh have been selected along with eleven other graduate students to receive the Alumni Association Dissertation Award. Additionally, Grace Buddle has been selected along with three other graduate students to receive the Professional Master’s Excellence Award. These awards are among some of the most prestigious awards given to graduate students at Penn State. Read more.
Three Eberly Graduate Students Awarded Outstanding Teaching Award
Three Eberly College of Science graduate students, Benton Bickerton, Yin Tang, and Morgan Vincent, have been awarded the Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award. This award is sponsored jointly by the Graduate School, through the Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award endowment, and the Office of the Vice President and Dean for Undergraduate Education. Read more.
Biology Major Receives Penn State Oswald Award
Biology major Jacob Levendosky is one of three undergraduate students to be honored with the 2024 John W. Oswald Award for his leadership in student government. Read more.
Penn State Undergraduate Team Advances to Programming National Championship
Chris Kopp, a senior physics major; Vladyslav Myskiv, a first-year computer science major; and Ben Zydney, a senior majoring in computer science, are the members of the team that placed fourth in the East Central North American Regional of the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), qualifying them to advance to the North American Championship. Read more.
Science Journal 2023 Annual Report Launches
Our latest edition of the Science Journal—a new “impact report” version of this longstanding magazine—gives highlights of exciting news and updates about the college with stories and videos.
You can also check out the new edition at science.psu.edu/science-journal/2023-annual-report, and please share your feedback with us at sci-comm@psu.edu.
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