The 2015 College of Chemistry Advisory Board meeting was held March 15-16, presided over by Dean Douglas Clark.
During the meeting, board members heard from the dean, department chairs and university officials, and they enjoyed an especially lively conversation with a group of chemistry and CBE undergrads, led by directors of undergraduate instruction, Anne Baranger (chemistry) and Shannon Ciston (CBE).
Board members toured CBE’s Unit Operations Lab, visited the new student-led innovation incubator lab in 307 Gilman Hall and viewed the new National Medal of Science plaques in the Latimer Hall stairwell. They also heard reports from Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Claude Steele and from Vice Chancellor for Real Estate Robert Lalanne.
Says Mindy Rex, Assistant Dean, College Relations and Development, “An advisory board meeting is not just about gathering the board members once a year to ask their advice. Our annual board meeting is a chance to bring the members together to tell them about the latest trends and events at the college, to share our goals and aspirations and to continue the good work we have been doing together during the year.”
The college welcomed five new board members, including alumni of the college and executives from chemical sciences industries. Vik Bajaj, David Bem, Dirk Demuth, James Foster and Ron Silva all are new to the board.
Bajaj (Postdoc ’10, Chem) was a postdoc in the research group of Alex Pines and is now the Lead Scientist at Google Life Sciences. Bem is the R&D Vice President, Consumer Solutions and Infrastructure Solutions, for the Dow Chemical Company.
Demuth comes to the board from BASF Corporation, where he is a Senior Vice President. Foster (B.S. ’84, ChemE) is an Executive Vice President for the Clorox Company. Silva (B.S. ’77, Chem) is the President and CEO of Fillmore Capital Partners in San Francisco.
Says Dean Clark, “The members of the advisory board are a remarkable group of leaders from a wide variety of industries and professions who offer a diverse set of opinions and insights. It’s always an honor and a pleasure to work with them.”
Continuing board members include Sunney Chan (B.S. ’57, ChemE; Ph.D. ’61, Chem), Chat Chatterjee (M.S. ’68, Ph.D. ’71, ChemE), Dave Hemker, Herb Hooper (Ph.D. ’90, ChemE), Ross Johnson (B.S. ’67, Postdoc ’71, Chem), Y.T. Lee (Ph.D. ’65, Postdoc ’67, Chem), John Markels (Ph.D. ’93, ChemE), Gary Masada (B.S. ’66, Chem), Alan Mendelson (B.A. ’69, Poli Sci), Andy Ramelmeier (Ph.D. ’89, ChemE), Terry Rosen (Ph.D. ’85, Chem), Georgie Scheuerman (Ph.D. ’80, ChemE), Chuck Shank (B.S. ’65, M.S. ’66, Ph.D. ’69, EECS) and Jim Trainham (B.S. ’73, Ph.D. ’79, ChemE).
CoC advisory board member and Nobel Laureate Y.T. Lee poses next to the plaque in the Latimer stairwell honoring his National Medal of Science.