Biochemistry Major Finalist for Award
Posted on Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Nicholas Mizenko, a Westminster College junior biochemistry major, was runner-up for the 2008 M.J. Collins Award for Outstanding Young Innovator in Microwave Chemistry. The presentation was made at the fall national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Aug. 19 in Philadelphia.
The award recognizes outstanding research by a student in the field of microwave chemistry and is open to undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and post-doctoral students attending academic institutions in the United States.
Mizenko's project, "Fluorescence Flow System for Near Real-Time Analysis of Protein Conformational Changes: Effects of Microwave and Conventional Heating," was advised by Dr. Helen Boylan, Westminster associate professor of chemistry and 1995 Westminster graduate.
"I am very proud that undergraduate research being done at Westminster is being recognized at this level," Boylan said. "Nick has been working very hard on this project and deserves recognition."
Mizenko said, "I am honored that CEM picked our research project as a finalist for the M. J. Collins Award."
His attendance at the ACS meeting was funded in part by a travel/presentation grant from Westminster's Drinko Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
"An important component of the work of the Drinko Center is to enhance opportunities for undergraduate research," said Dr. Terri Lenox, Westminster College associate professor of computer science and co-director of the Drinko Center. "The Undergraduate Research Initiative provides funding for students to conduct research and present their research at regional and national conferences."
Mizenko is a son of Nicholas Mizenko and Jeanette Porvbovich-Mizenko of Medina, Ohio, and a graduate of Highland High School.
Contact Boylan at (724) 946-6293 or e-mail boylanhm@westminster.edu for more information.
More Stories
