ChemNews - Department of Chemistry - University of Minnesota

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STAFFBill Johnson worked in the Chemistry Department’sResearch Stockroom from May 12, 1990until shortly before his death on June 23, 2008.When Bill was diagnosed with lung cancer, he researched asmuch as possible about the disease and was not afraid to tryevery possible avenue to beat it. Everyone who knew Billwas impressed by his courage and perseverance during thelast two years.He had a great love for his dog Shadow and many otherpets over the years. Bill kept a 75-gallon aquarium in thestockroom and housed several different types of creatures, including tropicalfish, horned toads, and desert iguanas (lizards). Food for the hornedtoads (fire ants and crickets) would occasionally get loose. The fire antswere often spotted near the stockroom and crickets could be found hoppingall over the subbasement of Smith Hall for a few months following theirescape.He was well read in the politics of our country and the world. Billenjoyed reading the New York Times as well as the Wall Street Journal andalways had something to say about our government.Bill’s work history included very diverse occupations, includingtraining as a chef at Saji Ya, a Japanese restaurant in St. Paul, and sharpeningsaw blades and repairing small engines at Twin City Saw. Bill also ranhis own business clearing brush and logs out of clear-cut areas in Wisconsin.He had a great knowledge of Swagelok fittings and would help stockroomcustomers put these together for use in their labs. Bill’s experienceand knowledge in these areas in the stockroom will be greatly missed byall.Memorials in memory of Bill and his dog Shadow are preferred tothe Dodge Nature Center, 365 Marie Avenue West, West Saint Paul MN55118.Dale Randall retiresDale Randall, longtime Senior Storesand Delivery Manager, retired this yearafter 42 years of service to the Universityof Minnesota. Thirty-eight of thoseyears were spent here in Chemistry,and Dale’s departure is sure to make avery big hole in our operations, whichhas been turned over to the familiarface of Vic Munsche to remedy. The Departmentthrew Dale a little going-away party onMarch 7 of 2008, and we all sincerely sendour best wishes as she moves on to pursue hermany passions, including shitzhus, photography,gardening, and travel.Staff ChangesPatti Combs has agreed to assume the responsibilitiesof Chief Financial Officer forthe Department of Chemistry effective Monday,April 28. Patti has been with our departmentas a Principal Accountant since Januaryof this year in the roll of grants management.She is a Certified Approver and has over 20years of experience in both accounting andhuman resource functions at the U of M. Sheis taking the place of Roxanne Horkey, wholeft the Department of Chemistry to accepta new position in the S.O.U.P AdministrativeCenter in the Medical School. SophiaHerrera has also accepted a new position andpromotion within the S.O.U.P AdministrativeCenter in the Medical School effectiveApril 28, 2008.Jason Radde began employment in theChemistry Department as a Senior Lab Attendantin our Research Stockroom. Jasonwas born in St. Louis Park, MN and graduatedfrom the Waconia High School. Jasonlives in Minneapolis and enjoys watchingmovies, camping, and hunting.David Lauer comes to the ChemistryDepartment as a Senior Lab Technician inour Departmental Stockroom, S17 SmithHall. David was born just across the river atFairview-Riverside and grew up in St. Paul.David and his wife, Elizabeth, were marriedon July 18 and currently residein Minneapolis. He enjoys fishing,hunting, biking, reading,and traveling.Page 16
STAFF2008Civil ServiceAward WinnersKolthoff Renovation continued from page 13a great job in moving and re-connecting computers and in the delicatetask of decommissioning hundreds of etherjack connections from our localarea network and moving them to the University’s network.University staffOwner’s Representatives are assigned by CPPM and are the liaisons betweenthe University and the architects, engineers, and contractors; responsiblefor all aspects of a project, from initial design to final closeout.The Kolthoff renovation project was very fortunate in having RogerWegner as its Owner’s Representative. Roger’s knowledge of every facetof the construction industry is amazing and the fact that this project wascompleted on time and on budget is owing, in large part, to his overallmanagement capability.Lynne JohnsrudNancy HagbergSue Young started working as aPrincipal Accountant in our AccountingOffice on June 23rd., primarily asgrants administrator. Sue was born inSt. Paul and graduated from KelloggHigh School. Sue lives in Woodburywith her son, Shayne, who just finisheda 4-year tour of duty with theArmy. In her spare time Sue likes toread, garden and is also active in BlueStar Moms, a support group of motherswho have children in the military.Steven Baldwin began employmentin our department on Tuesday,June 17, as a Senior Lab Technicianin our organic and analytical stockrooms.Steve grew up in SpringLake, Michigan where he graduatedfrom high school before attendingthe University of Michigan, where hereceived a BS in Industrial Engineering.Steve is an avid biker who livesin the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolisand is active in the WhittierAlliance Neighborhood Association.,the Soo Line Community Garden, andthe Lake Harriet Sailing Club.Jay Denny, Principal Engineer with the University’s Energy ManagementGroup, was instrumental in designing and trouble-shooting many complexenergy-saving systems installed as part of this renovation. Not onlythat, he successfully obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in additionalUniversity funding for these projects.Greg Berger, Assistant District Director for Facilities Management, wasvery helpful in providing FM assistance throughout this project and inassimilating the renovated areas into FM's maintenance and repair programsArchitects and engineersRSP Architects Brian Gatzlaff (lead), Dustin Bennis, John Merten and MelissaJancourt were great to work with throughout this very complicated project.Bob Kilgore and Doug Lucht with Sebesta Blomberg & Associates were theprimary engineers on this project and did a great job.ContractorsBlair McNeil and Barry Morgan with Mortenson Construction provided theover-all leadership to this project from the construction side and did a great job.A big thank-you to Tim Towberman and Lane Schoening who were the leadMortenson superintendents on this project. Their helpfulness and ability tosolve problems quickly on a daily basis were key to the success of this renovationproject.Jim Magrew from Harris Companies, the mechanical sub-contractor, and TomYoung from Hunt Electric Corporation, the electrical sub-contractor were alsogreat to work with and really did their part in making this a successful renovationproject.I had the privilege of working with the above individuals for the past 2+ years,meeting with them in “Progress Meetings” every Wednesday (a total of over100 meetings!). A sincere thank-you to everyone involved in helping to makethis renovation project a success!Stan Bonnema for the Chemistry Renovation Committee:Larry Que, Chair; John Ellis; and Bill TolmanPage 17
Page 1 and 2: ChemNewswww.chem.umn.edu An Institu
Page 3 and 4: Dr. Laura Gagliardi joins U of MChe
Page 5 and 6: Alumni support is moreimportant tha
Page 7 and 8: GRADUATEAWARDS2007-2008 Graduate Sc
Page 9 and 10: Mr Robert J IversonMr James A Jense
Page 11 and 12: Faculty Awards 2008by Chris LundbyE
Page 13 and 14: Chemistry On The MallKolthoff Hall
Page 15: Andreas Stein(2007) andXiaoyang Zhu
Page 19 and 20: Masters Degrees Advisor Thesis Titl
Page 21 and 22: OUTREACHWISE women present Cool Che
Page 23 and 24: Force fields for complex reactionsR

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