Buchanan Outlines Recent UW Accomplishments

Sept. 15, 2006 -- President Tom Buchanan today (Friday) presented to UW trustees a report of recent major accomplishments at and gifts to the University of Wyoming. Among them were:

The National Institutes of Health has awarded UW a $10.3 million, five-year grant for neuroscience research. The grant, one of the largest in UW's history, will support neuroscience projects aimed at advancing understanding of plasticity of the nervous system, says Bill Flynn, principal investigator and director of UW's Neuroscience Program. He says plasticity is the ability of the nervous system to change in response to the environment, experiences, or trauma.

Private giving to UW during the past fiscal year reached $24.3 million contributed by a record 26,778 alumni and friends. The total gifts and pledges received included four gifts of more than $1 million, says UW Foundation President Ben Blalock.

Department of Chemistry Professor Pat Sullivan and colleagues have developed and patented a technology that can rapidly detect explosives such as the liquid compounds that were part of a recently-thwarted plot to detonate bombs on as many as 10 U.S.-bound airliners. Tony Nevshemal, director of UW's Research Products Center (RPC), says the technology, called surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, offers substantial commercial opportunities.

UTEK Corporation and Avalon Oil and Gas have acquired the rights to license a UW invention that removes waste deposition on pipes and other surfaces, a common problem in oil fields. Brian Towler, head of the UW Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, invented the system that uses ultrasonic waves. Kent Rodriguez, Avalon Oil and Gas chief executive officer, says, "We believe this technology will help us to maintain optimal oil viscosity and increase production efficiency."

A Laramie-based company founded by two UW professors has for the second straight year received a national research and development award for a new product. DeltaNu LLC, a UW spin-out company founded in 1997 by Keith Carron and Robert Corcoran, was recognized for its latest product, "The RockHound," a hand-held Raman spectrometer used specifically for earth science applications. The RockHound is among 100 products nationwide to receive a "R&D 100 Award" for 2006, presented by R&D Magazine, a monthly publication based in New York City, N.Y.

Bart Geerts, associate professor in the UW Department of Atmospheric Science, received a Fulbright Professorship grant to do research at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany. Geerts will study the mechanisms of thunderstorm initiation using radar and aircraft.

Fulbright Scholar award recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership in their fields.

The National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER) presented UW with its 2006 Nicholas Michelli Award for Promoting Social Justice. The national organization cited UW's Shepard Symposium on Social Justice, an annual event that promotes strategies and actions that can eliminate social inequality.

The UW Cap and Gown Chapter of the senior class honor society Mortar Board was rewarded for its commitment to scholarship, leadership and service at this summer's national conference held in Columbus, Ohio. UW was one of 19 of the 214 national chapters to receive the Golden Torch, honoring chapters that met standards set by the organization's constitution. UW was among 27 chapters to receive the project excellence award.

Posted on Friday, September 15, 2006