October 28, 2008

College of Science to honor 9 outstanding alumni with awards

The Outstanding Alumni Awards ceremony will recognize graduates from the biological sciences, chemistry and physics. A Sept. 5 ceremony honored alumni in actuarial science, computer science, earth and atmospheric sciences, mathematics, and statistics.

"The Outstanding Alumni Awards were created to recognize alumni who have made exceptional contributions in their field and related fields," said Jonathan Harbor, interim dean of the College of Science. "The honorees have not only shaped science, but also are role models and an inspiration to our students who seek to follow in their footsteps."

The 2008 outstanding science alumni who will be honored are:

* Steven N. Austad of Boerne, Texas. Austad is a professor in the cellular and structural biology department at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. He has worked as an animal trainer in Hollywood, an instructor at Purdue, and as an assistant professor at Harvard University and the University of New Mexico. He worked as a professor in the biological science department at the University of Idaho before taking his current position in 2004. Austad earned his doctoral degree in biological sciences at Purdue in 1981 after receiving his bachelor's degrees in English literature from UCLA in 1969 and biology from California State University, Northridge, in 1976.

* Dean A. Falb of Wellesley, Mass. Falb is vice president of research and development at Stryker Biotech, and he is the inventor on 21 issued U.S. patents. He served as vice president of research and development at VisEn Medical Inc., vice president of drug discovery and development at NeoGenesis Pharmaceuticals Inc., and senior vice president of research and development at Praecis Pharmaceuticals Inc. He also was a scientist at Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Immulogic Pharmaceuticals Corp. Falb earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry with honors in 1983. He earned his doctorate in molecular biology from Harvard University in 1991.

* Henry Gaw of Redwood City, Calif. Gaw is senior vice president for real estate and in-house consultant for real estate at C.M. Capital Corp. He worked as a laboratories supervisor at St. Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee and a private medical lab in Covina, Calif. In 1980 he became CEO for Juniper Properties, a real estate investment and development company. In 1989 he joined C.M. Capital as vice president of real estate. Gaw completed his studies in analytical chemistry at Purdue and earned a master's degree in management from Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1994.

* Nancy Wang-Yang Ho of West Lafayette. Ho is a research professor in Purdue's School of Chemical Engineering. She earned her doctorate in molecular biology from Purdue in 1968. In 2007 she was invited to attend President Bush's State of the Union address in honor of her work in cellulosic ethanol and was recognized by Bush earlier that year for her efforts in developing renewable energy sources. She received her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from National Taiwan University in 1957 and her master's degree in organic chemistry from Temple University in 1960.

* George W. Kabalka of Knoxville, Tenn. Kabalka is the Robert H. Cole Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Tennessee. He joined the chemistry department faculty at Tennessee in 1970 and serves as the Alumni Distinguished Service Professor. He has published more than 500 journal articles and presented more than 300 invited lectures at colleges and research institutions around the world. He was awarded the American Chemical Society's Southern Chemist Award in 1993. Kabalka earned his doctorate degree in organic chemistry from Purdue in 1970 after earning his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in 1965.

* William A. Nugent of Cambridge, Mass. Nugent is a senior scientific fellow in the chemical department at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. A former high school chemistry teacher, Nugent began his research career at DuPont Central Research in 1976 and has published 115 papers, ranging from inorganic chemistry to novel methodology for drug manufacturing. At Vertex, Nugent divides his time between the development of drug manufacturing processes and mentoring young scientists. Nugent earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry with honors from Purdue in 1969 and his doctorate in organic chemistry from Indiana University in 1976.

* Ramona Quintanilla of West Chester, Ohio. Quintanilla is a senior scientist for Procter & Gamble Co., where she has worked since 1995. She is a formula designer for the autodish detergent business and chairs the Research and Technical Careers in Industry Conference with Procter & Gamble. She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Purdue in 1986, her master's degree in organometallic chemistry from San Diego State University in 1993 and a doctorate in organometallic chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, in 1995. She is vice president of the Purdue Latino Alumni Organization and a member of the College of Science Alumni Board.

* Nitin Samarth of State College, Pa. Samarth is a professor and associate head of the physics department at Pennsylvania State University. He completed his undergraduate education in physics at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, India, in 1980 and earned his doctorate in experimental condensed matter physics from Purdue in 1986. He joined Pennsylvania State after postdoctoral research at the University of Notre Dame. He was named a fellow at the American Physical Society in 2003, won the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching at Pennsylvania State in 2007 and the Faculty Scholar Medal in physical sciences from the university in 2008.

* Martha L. Twaddle of Libertyville, Ill. Twaddle serves as the chief medical officer for Midwest Palliative & Hospice Care Center in Glenview, Ill. She is the past president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians. Twaddle was the inaugural winner of the Josefina B. Magno Distinguished Hospice Physician Award, given by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in 2005. She received her bachelor's degree in biology with honors from Purdue in 1981 and went on to earn her doctor of medicine degree from Indiana University in 1985.

The College of Science has 324 faculty members, and it enrolls more than 1,000 graduate students and almost 3,000 undergraduates. It is made up of seven departments: biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, earth and atmospheric sciences, mathematics, physics, and statistics.

Writer: Clyde Hughes, (765) 494-2073, jchughes@purdue.edu

Source: Jonathan Harbor, (765) 494-1938, jharbor@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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