Greetings from the Chair:
I am happy to tell you of some of the exciting events that have taken place during the recent past. As you may already know, the $23M construction of Wing 3 was completed in July 0f 2003, and the G. Forrest Woods Atrium was dedicated in April of 2004. We are excited about these major additions and are looking forward to the renovation of Wings 1and 2 that is projected to occur later in this decade.
As has happened at many universities, we have seen the retirements of a relatively large number of faculty during the recent past: Al Boyd, Sam Grim, Raj Khanna, and Jack Moore in 2003; Norm Hansen, George Helz, and Bruce Jarvis in 2004. Each has Emeritus status and continues to work with us on programs that extend from teaching in the undergraduate program to curricular design and development.
At the same time, we have brought some very talented faculty into the department. Andrei Vedernikov and I both arrived in the summer of 2003. Ashton Cropp, Barbara Gerratana, and Danny Kosov came to us in 2004, and I am pleased to tell you that John Fourkas and Amy Mullin joined us this Spring.
Following decisions made during a 2002 Self Study, the department has hired lecturers to compliment those personnel already in the department whose focus is on the educational functions of the department. Michael Montague-Smith joined us in 2004 as Director of Undergraduate Studies, and Deb Boehmler, and Karin Jackson are recent additions.
The number of graduate students in the department continues to grow. Currently nearly 140 are engaged in our programs, equally balanced between female and male, with nearly fifty international students and twelve who are underrepresented minorities. Enrollment expectations are growing both in GRE scores and GPAs, but what is most noticeable is the quality of communication their skills.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Brochure
Overall research expenditures from chemistry biochemistry continue to increase with nearly 10% annual increases over the three years for which we have the most recent data, and similar increases are seen in grants from federal sources. Publications in high impact journals continue to characterize the research that is performed by our faculty.
We have begun to change our undergraduate curriculum to better reflect the evolving role of chemistry in the education of students. Our proposed curriculum begins with a one-semester introduction to chemistry, followed by a two-semester sequence in organic chemistry , then a fourth semester that is bioanalytical in its orientation. A more complete description can be found on our web site under undergraduate programs.
New curriculum in Undergraduate Programs
The University of Maryland inducts distinguished alumni into the Hall of Fame every five years. This year's inductees include two of our department's alumni who will be honored at the Hall of Fame Ceremony on June 4, 2005. They are Russell Marker '23 (inducted posthumously) and Tobin Marks '66.
Finally, I wish to invite you to enter your contact information into our database and revise your information regularly. Inform us about what you are doing and what we can do for you. We value your input and advice. We are also in need of your support since support for higher education is not the priority that it once was, and the costs of the enterprise are expanding with funding increasingly competitive.
Alumni Database
Michael P. Doyle
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