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New director of Graduate School admissions is named
Posted 4/21/2008
 The Graduate School named Dean Tsantir director of its Office of Admissions, beginning June 9. Tsantir, appointed after a national search, is currently assistant to director Andrea Scott, who will retire June 6. Read the announcement.
2008 Distinguished Women Scholars
Posted 4/16/2008
 The 2008 Distinguished Women Scholars are Ruth Karras, history, internationally known for her transformative work on the history of women, gender and sexuality in Medieval Europe; and Stephanie Valberg, veterinary population medicine, who played an essential role in creating the University’s Equine Center, where she is currently director. The two awards, given by the Graduate School and the Office for University Women, will be presented at an annual celebration on April 24. Read more.
2008 DISTINGUISHED MCKNIGHT UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS NAMED
Posted 4/4/2008
 The Graduate School and the Office of the Provost have named four faculty members to the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship an award given to the University's most outstanding mid-career faculty members, whose work has brought great renown to the University of Minnesota.
Recipients hold the title for as long as they remain at the University, and each receives a grant of $100,000. Recipients are honored with a bronze medallion from the Board of Regents at its May meeting.
Professor Andreas Stein (pictured), chemistry, is an internationally recognized expert in the synthesis of porous solids with designed architectures. The other winners are Judith Berman, genetics, cell biology, and development; Jeffrey Derby, chemical engineering and materials science; and Sachin Sapatnekar, electrical and computer engineering.
Presenters at the January Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Seminar
Posted 2/4/2008
Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellows attend monthly seminars to present their research to other Fellows. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to learn about research outside their own discipline.
Paul Boswell, Chemistry, Ionophore-Based Sensor Design with Fluorous Matrixes for Enhanced Robustness and Selectivity. Ionophore-based membrane sensors selectively respond to specific ions even when in the presence of other ionic species. However, when these sensors are used directly in environmental or biological samples, they exhibit drift and loss of selectivity. This drift is caused by extraction of lipophilic compounds into the sensing membrane. Fluorous compounds are the least polar compounds known, giving rise to a low solubility of naturally occurring lipophilic compounds. In Boswell’s research, fluorous phases are used as novel membrane matrixes in ion-selective electrodes with a view to develop sensors that will be fully functional even when used in harsh media.
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April Schumacher, Biochemistry, Understanding how the human APOBEC3G protein destroys ‘jumping genes’. The human APOBEC3G protein can inhibit the replication of a broad number of retroelements, including retroviruses such as HIV and retrotransposons such as Ty1. Unfortunately, many retroelements encode a counter defense that prevents APOBEC3G from inhibiting their replication. In order to gain insight into this natural immune defense Schumacher has developed a yeast assay system to study the mechanism of APOBEC3G-mediated inhibition. Understanding the mechanism APOBEC3G uses to inhibit the replication of retroelements is a critical step towards identifying therapeutic targets that would convert APOBEC3G into an effective agent against retroviral infections such as HIV.
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The Graduate School and the Office of the Provost Name 2008 McKnight Land-Grant Professors
Posted 1/23/2008
 The Graduate School and the Provost's Office recently named thirteen junior faculty members as recipients of the prestigious McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, including Katsumi Matsumoto, Geology & Geophysics; Jason McGrath, Asian Languages & Literatures; and Shana Sturla, Medicinal Chemistry. See a full list of recipients and a description of the program.
Presenters at the December Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Seminar
Posted 12/21/2007
Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellows attend monthly seminars to present their research to other Fellows. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to learn about research outside their own disciplines.
 Jennifer Dechaine, Plant Biological Sciences, Evolutionary Potential and Genetic Basis of Maternal Effects in Competitive Environments Research in the field of invasive biology has made important steps in controlling the spread of invasive species, but the scientific community has surprisingly little understanding of the traits conferring invasiveness, and even less understanding of the underlying genetic mechanisms. Dechaine’s research investigates the evolutionary potential and genetic basis of seed traits in the invasive plant, Brassica rapa. |
 Shyeilla Dhuria, Pharmaceutics, Enhancing Intranasal Drug Targeting to the Brain using a Vasoconstrictor Nasal Formulation Intranasal delivery has rapidly emerged as a novel, non-invasive approach to bypass the blood-brain barrier and target drugs to the brain for the treatment of neurological disorders. The exact mechanisms underlying this rapid transport directly from the nose to the brain are not well understood. The objective of Dhuria’s research is to elucidate the contribution of blood vessels in intranasal delivery mechanisms by determining if constricting blood vessels in the nasal cavity using vasoconstrictors in intranasal drug formulations can reduce drug absorption into the blood and enhance delivery along neural pathways into the brain. |
Three Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellows presented posters at the December Seminar:
Curt Anderson, Mechanical Engineering
Seed-induced Recrystallization of Amorphous Silicon Films with Embedded Silicon Nanocrystals
Sabrina Curran, Anthropology
Cervid Ecomorphology and Hominin Paleoecology
Donna MacDuff, Biochemistry
Can the DNA mutator protein, AID, prevent the replication of retroviruses?
New Graduate School Associate Dean will facilitate reviews of U-wide Centers and Institutes
Posted 12/13/2007
 On topics from food to ethics, the number of interdisciplinary centers and institutes at the University is growing. More than 320 that focus on research and education have been identified.
Such centers respond to urgent issues, help attract funding, and keep the University competitive and responsive. They help faculty who share intellectual concerns find each other across departments and even colleges and campuses. They give students a home for working on new interdisciplinary research.
Some are University-wide centers, a designation that indicates substantial central investment and alignment with the University's strategic priorities. Over the past two years, the U has established the Institute on the Environment, the Institute for the Advancement of Science and Engineering, and several other U-wide centers and institutes--many in response to needs identified by planning task forces from 2004 to 2006.
"It all comes down to generating and disseminating new knowledge in a collaborative environment," says Doug Ernie, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "That's what these centers are all about."
Ernie is the new associate dean in the Graduate School with a new responsibility: administering the review of academic interdisciplinary centers, institutes, and initiatives that are designated University-wide. The Office of the Vice President for Research will participate in reviews that involve research centers, and other appropriate administrators will be involved in reviews for institutes and initiatives that primarily advance education and training. (con.)
Read the complete article on Associate Dean Doug Ernie
Presenters at the November Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Seminar
Posted 12/3/2007
 Anne Kern, a 2007-08 Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellow (DDF), is studying the quality of science teaching in U.S. schools and the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs. A Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum and Instruction, Kern’s research will provide information to redesign teacher education programs.
Chenguang Liu, a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering and a 2007-08 Doctoral Dissertation Fellow (DDF), is studying the heart-model-based 3-dimensional cardiac electrical imaging (3DCEI) technique. The results of his research may provide a useful tool not only for basic cardiovascular research, but may have future utility for the clinical diagnosis and management of arrhythmias.
Venugopal Maddipati’s dissertation examines the manner in which Mahatma Gandhi presents the village as a metaphor, as an extension of his philosophy of self. Maddipati, a Ph.D. candidate in Art History, received a 2007-08 Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.
Siyi Zhang, a Ph.D. candidate in Medicinal Chemistry, received a 2007-08 Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship to study tobacco specific nitrosamines as potent carcinogens in cigarette smoke. By studying metabolic activation and DNA adduct formation, her research team’s goal is to use the knowledge to prevent tobacco-related cancer in humans.
Water Resources Graduate Student Named Recipient of the U of M’s 2007 Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award
Posted 11/27/2007
 Adam W. Sealock was named recipient of the U of M 2007 Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award. The Graduate School has nominated him for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) master’s thesis award.
His MS thesis – An Investigation of Disturbance, Sampling Methods, the River Continuum Concept, and Hydroseres in Hardwood Creek, a Ditched Stream in Minnesota, USA has important implications for biomonitoring and bioassessment of disturbed stream systems. His work is being used by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Sealock received the M.S. degree in September 2007 under the direction of Professor Leonard Ferrington and is employed by the Metropolitan Council in the Environmental Services Division.
Presenters at the October Doctoral Dissertation Seminar
Posted 11/8/2007
 Bin Wu, a Ph.D. candidate in Physics and a 2007-08 Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellow (DDF), presented his research on fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy at a recent DDF seminar. Doctoral Dissertation Fellows meet monthly to discuss their research.
 Michelle Wieland, a 2007-08 Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellow (DDF), presented her research at a recent DDF seminar. A Ph.D. candidate in Conservation Biology, Wieland has done extensive research in the Republic of Congo and is particularly interested in how different stakeholder groups value and use Conkouati National Park.
 Adam Johnson, a 2007-08 Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellow (DDF), presented his research at a recent DDF seminar. How do we remember the past or imagine the future? Johnson, a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience, explained what role the hippocampus plays in addressing this question.
 Anthony Gamble, a 2007-08 Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellow (DDF), presented his research at a recent DDF seminar. A Ph.D. candidate in Conservation Biology, Gamble discussed the evolution of diurnality in geckos.
The American Indian College Fund selects Graduate Student as a
2007-08 Mellon Fellow
Posted 11/1/2007
 The American Indian College Fund has selected Matthew Martinez, as
one of four recipients for its prestigious Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Faculty Career Enhancement Fellowship Program for 2007-08. Martinez
will receive a $30,000 fellowship geared to assist tribal college
faculty members who are in the final stages of completing a terminal degree.
Through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fund launched
the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Faculty Career Enhancement Fellowship
Program in 2004. The program was created to increase the number of
faculty at the nation’s more than 30 tribal colleges and universities
possessing a terminal degree, and is designed to provide each Fellow
with financial assistance to complete the dissertation writing process
free of financial and professional demands.
Matthew Martinez (Ohkay Owingeh/San Juan Pueblo) is a Ph.D. student in
the American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. He also
serves as a faculty member in the Indigenous Liberal Arts department at
the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Martinez’s dissertation examines the fields of photography, tourism, and
Pueblo historiography. His research details how tourism helps construct
indigenous identities and representations. He explores how tourism has
changed since the 1980s as the northern Pueblo tribes exerted greater
participation and control in the industry, producing and circulating
photographic images that better represent themselves and their communities.
Martinez was a Diversity of Views & Experiences (DOVE) Fellowship recipient that is administered by the Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO). The DOVE Fellowship seeks to assist graduate programs to promote a diversity of views, experiences, and ideas in the pursuit of research, scholarship, and creative excellence. In addition, Martinez was a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship recipient and has served as an active member of the Graduate School Diversity Office's Community of Scholars Program.
Guy Stanton Ford Memorial Lecture
Posted 10/18/2007
 Dr. Tom Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) was at the University recently to present the 2007 Guy Stanton Ford Memorial Lecture. He is shown here meeting with University NIMH predoc and postdoc trainees.
Guy Stanton Ford Memorial Lecture
New Graduate School Associate Dean: Professor Doug Ernie Tapped to Administer Academic Program Reviews and New Review Process for University-Wide Academic Interdisciplinary Centers
Posted 9/13/2007
 During the past several months, the University of Minnesota Graduate School conducted a search for an Associate Dean. With great pleasure, Dean of the Graduate School Gail Dubrow announced the appointment of Professor Doug Ernie, Associate Head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, to fill this position on the Graduate School’s senior leadership team. His appointment began on Monday, August 27, 2007.
Professor Ernie brings a rich mix of research, teaching, and leadership experience to the position. He maintains an active research agenda and has significant experience collaborating on interdisciplinary committees and directing interdisciplinary centers, such as UNITE. He has enjoyed a long association with the Graduate School, most recently as chair of its Fellowship Committee and previously as chair of various graduate policy committees. Based on extensive experience with graduate education, he brings a deep commitment to and appreciation of the role the Graduate School plays in enhancing the University’s mission.
Professor Ernie’s new position is part-time, with two principal responsibilities: expanding the Graduate School's capacity to conduct academic program reviews, particularly for programs in the areas of science and technology; and administering a newly established review process for interdisciplinary centers, institutes, and initiatives across the University, a responsibility that the Graduate School has accepted on behalf of the Provost's Interdisciplinary Team.
While Professor Ernie has been asked to facilitate center reviews, other parties will play key roles in the process. External peer reviewers will provide insights into the intellectual trajectory and performance of the University of Minnesota’s university-wide centers and institutes, ensuring their competitiveness nationally and globally. The Provost's Interdisciplinary Team will play a critical role in the development and implementation of the reviews with the Dean of the Graduate School and Vice President for Research shaping the education/training and research-related elements of reviews, consistent with their particular expertise. Professor Ernie has been asked to serve as the administrator to ensure a fair, rigorous and integrative review process for entities that have been the focus of significant institutional investment and which are intended to further the strategic goals of the University of Minnesota. His past service on NSF and other review teams brings a wealth of experience to academic program reviews and the review of university interdisciplinary centers.
Graduate Student Wins Fulbright
Posted 7/24/2007
 Rachel Maureen Brummel, a Ph.D. student in Conservation Biology, is one of twelve students nationally to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to Australia. She will investigate collaborative decision-making and planning with regard to bushfire suppression and management. Brummel received a B.A. in Biology from Grinnell College in 2003.
See complete list of UM Fulbright recipients for 2007-08
Graduate School Names First Fesler-Lampert Public Humanities Recipients
Posted Posted 7/10/2007
 The Fesler-Lampert Endowment supports an annual Chair and Professorship in the Public Humanities, whose purpose is to strengthen the connections between humanities scholars and public audiences. The Graduate School is pleased to announce the first recipients of the awards for 2007-08.
Professor Lee, recipient of the Fesler-Lampert Professorship, plans to re-examine America’s immigrant past from comparative, interdisciplinary, and transnational perspectives. A story that is relatively untold, it promises to redefine the parameters of immigration history.
Professor Prell, Fesler-Lampert Chair recipient, will analyze the various institutional efforts to socialize young Jews growing up in the post-World War II era, in order to foster an identity that is both Jewish and American. Her project will make important contributions to the literature on assimilation, diversity, and identity.
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL NAMES FOUR 'BEST DISSERTATION' RECIPIENTS
Posted 6/6/2007
 Each year the University of Minnesota Graduate School recognizes the University's top recent Ph.D. graduates by presenting ‘best dissertation’ awards. The recipients receive an honorarium of $1,000 and a special certificate. Winners were honored recently at a lunch and ceremony at the Campus Club in Coffman Union.
All four 2007 recipients are pictured here: (l to r) Pamela Bjorklund, Nursing; Laura Díaz-Martínez, Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology & Genetics; Scott Laderman, American Studies; and Nathan Schultz, Chemistry.
2007 Distinguished McKnight University Professors Named
Posted 4/16/2007
 The Graduate School and the Office of the Provost have named six faculty members to the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship an award given to the University's most outstanding mid-career faculty members, whose work has brought great renown to the University of Minnesota.
Recipients hold the title for as long as they remain at the University, and each receives a grant of $100,000. Recipients are honored with a bronze medallion from the Board of Regents at its May meeting.
Professor Balas is a world leader in advancing control theory from theoretical development to actual aerospace applications.
The Graduate School and the Office of University Women Name 2007 Distinguished Women Scholars Awards
Posted 4/3/2007
 The Graduate School and the Office of University Women are pleased to announce the recipients of the Distinguished Women Scholars Award in 2007, an award given to acknowledge and honor the accomplishments of distinguished women scholars at the University of Minnesota.
Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts: Rosalie Kane, Division of Health Policy and Management, is an internationally known gerontologist who has been at the forefront of improving long-term care and support services for elderly people worldwide.
Science and Engineering: Ellen Longmire, Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, is internationally known for her work in multiphase flows and the application of optical measurement techniques to fluid mechanics.
The two awards will be presented at a ceremony to be held at the Annual Celebration for Women sponsored by the Office for University Women on Wednesday, April 25th, 2:30-4:30 p.m. in the McNamara Alumni Center Memorial Hall. All faculty and staff are invited to attend.
The Graduate School and the Office of the Provost Name 2007 McKnight Land-Grant Professors
Posted 1/22/2007
 The Graduate School and the Provost's Office recently named eleven junior faculty members as recipients of the prestigious McKnight Land-Grant Professorship. Professor Helene Muller-Landau, investigates tropical forest diversity. Professor Nihar Jindal, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, researches wireless communication networks. Christophe Wall-Romana studies film culture. See full list of recipients and description of the program.
Geography Graduate Student Named Recipient of the U of M’s 2006 Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award
Posted 11/29/2006
 Nicholas (Max) Handler, a graduate student in Geography, has been named recipient of the U of M 2006 Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award. The Graduate School will nominate him for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) master's thesis award. His MA thesis – Spawning Cod: Calculation and Colonization on Norway’s Northern Coast is a “genealogy” of the Norwegian Coast Cod, a type of fish stock that appeared in Norway’s fisheries literature in the mid-90s.
Upon entering Graduate School in 2003, Handler received a 2-year Graduate School Fellowship; he is also the recipient of a 3-year National Science Foundation Fellowship. Handler obtained the M.A. degree in October 2005 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. under the direction of Professor Bruce Braun.
Larry Knopp appointed as UMD Associate Dean
Posted 10/15/2006
 Gail Dubrow, Dean of the Graduate School & Vice Provost, is pleased
to announce the appointment of Professor Lawrence M. Knopp, Jr. to
the position of Associate Dean of the Graduate School. Dr. Knopp
will begin his 75% administrative duties on January 11, 2007 with a
special emphasis on the graduate programs on the UMD campus.
Larry
is a McKnight Land-Grant Professor who began his career at
Minnesota in the UMD Geography Department in 1989. He holds a BA
degree from the University of Washington and both a Master's and
Ph.D. degree from the University of Iowa. Please congratulate
Professor Knopp on this new opportunity to serve graduate education
at the University of Minnesota!
The University of Minnesota Graduate School in Beijing
Posted 07/26/2006
 The University of Minnesota Graduate School participated in the Beijing International Education Expo 2006 in Beijing, China, from July 21-23.
Andrew Lucas, assistant to the dean and member of The Graduate School admissions staff, and Dr. Bruce Wollenberg, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and of the graduate faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, joined several other representatives of the University of Minnesota at the event.
The Expo is an annual international education event, which is approved by the Ministry of Education of The People's Republic of China and sponsored by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission.
Dr. Wollenberg also met with representatives of Tsingua University and the Chinese Academy of Science to promote the University of Minnesota as a destination for graduate study by Chinese students.
The Graduate School Names Four “Best Dissertation” Award Recipients
Posted 06/12/2006
Each year the University of Minnesota Graduate School recognizes the University's top recent Ph.D. graduates by presenting ‘best dissertation’ awards. The recipients receive an honorarium of $1,000 and a special certificate. Winners were honored recently at a lunch and ceremony at the Campus Club.
Three of the four 2006 winners are pictured here: (l to r) Katja Guenther, Sociology; Jing Wang, Aerospace Engineering; Graduate School Dean Gail Dubrow; and John Troyer, Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society.
2006-07 Fulbright Scholarship to Norway
Posted 05/18/2006
 Adam Conrad Johnson, a Ph.D. student in Neuroscience, is the 2006-07 winner of the University of Minnesota Graduate School’s Fulbright Scholarship Exchange Program with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway.
He will join a team of researchers at the Centre for the Biology of Memory at NTNU, where he will examine how animal behaviors and cellular behaviors are modified under pharmacological manipulation.
Johnson graduated magna cum laude from Minnesota State University, Mankato with a B.S. in Physics in 2002.
2006 Distinguished McKnight University Professors Named
Posted 04/20/2006
The Graduate School and the Office of the Provost have named four faculty members to the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship an award given to the University's most outstanding mid-career faculty members, whose work has brought great renown to the University of Minnesota.
Recipients hold the title for as long as they remain at the University, and each receives a grant of $100,000. Recipients are honored with a bronze medallion from the Board of Regents at its May meeting.
Professor Uggen (Sociology) is one of the leading sociological criminologists in the country, whose work on the re-integration of felons into society has gained much public and scholarly attention.
University Faculty Win NEH Summer Stipend Awards
Posted 04/04/2006
The Graduate School is pleased to announce that both of its National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) nominees, Timothy A. Brennan, Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, and Shaden M. Tageldin, Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, have been awarded a NEH Summer Stipend.
Professor Brennan's project is titled “Borrowed Light: The Colonial Imagination in Modern European Thought (1900-1968).” Professor Tageldin's project is “Disarming Words: European Empires, Native Intellectuals, and the Seductions of Translation in Egypt, 1798-1952.”
Summer Stipend grants provide individuals with an opportunity to pursue research in the humanities that contributes to scholarly knowledge or to the public’s understanding of the humanities and are designed to support two months of full-time research and writing. The Graduate School matches the stipend.
Luce Scholarship Winner
Posted 03/16/2006
The Graduate School is pleased to announce that its nominee, Joseph Hartman Walla, a CLA Honors student in Political Science, has just won a Luce Scholarship for a professional internship experience in Asia, one of eighteen such awards nationwide.
Internship assignments are arranged for each Scholar on the basis of individual career interests, experience, and qualifications. His country of assignment will be decided by late spring, when he will begin language training. Walla will graduate with a B.A. in Political Science in May.
The Graduate School and the Office of the Provost Name 2006 McKnight Land-Grant Professors
Posted 02/01/2006
The Graduate School and the Provost's Office recently named ten junior faculty members as recipients of the prestigious McKnight Land-Grant Professorship. Professor Efie Kokkoli, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, is working on tissue engineering. Professor Ronald Krebs, Department of Political Science, studies the effects of war on democracy. See full list of recipients and description of the program.
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