Thursday, November 10, 2011

Congratulations to CHE major Anthony DiDomenico

Drs. Yuan Mei-Ratliff and Russ Selzer, co-chairs of the Chemistry Department, share this terrific news:

"[O]ne of our students, Anthony DiDomenico, recently took 1st place at the 14th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for outstanding research.  He offered the paragraph below to give a synopsis about this award.

"On Saturday, October 22nd, 2011 the University of Maryland at Baltimore County hosted the  symposium in which undergraduates could present their research. This symposium was available to selected schools from around the Maryland area. The University of Maryland is an honors college and has an excellent reputation for academics and research. The symposium consisted of two poster sessions and a workshop concerning the importance of Mass Spectroscopy followed by a tour of the facilities.

"To wrap up the day’s events, an awards ceremony was held to announce 1st and 2nd place winners for outstanding poster presentations. The awards were given out to outstanding presenters in chemical, biological, and biochemical & molecular chemistries independently.

"Out of over 200 presenters, Anthony DiDomenico, an undergraduate chemistry major at WCSU, took home 1st place for his research conducted during a summer research experience for undergraduates (REU) at James Madison University during the summer of 2011. REU programs are competitive summer programs that allow undergraduates to get a feel for what research is like at the graduate level. Accepted students are expected to complete a 10 week program involving in-depth research followed by a presentation to sum up their findings. These research experiences provide an excellent way for students to network as well as promote their educational resume for possible admission to graduate school.

"Taking home 1st place during this event is not only a personal achievement, but also brings up WCSU’s name at an event where most participating schools are more nationally known. This means that WCSU’s chemistry program is not only successful at producing students ready for grad school, but also has a competitive program that allows students to excel in chemistry. Contending recipients came from universities such as: John Hopkins, Penn State, University of Delaware, Georgetown, University of Maryland, James Madison, and Villanova. "

Way to go, Anthony!