Biosciences Research Symposium highlights students, Aug. 6

The Undergraduate Project in Technology and Medicine (UPTAM) at Stevens Institute of Technology will present its 2003 Biosciences Research Symposium, Wednesday, August 6th. The program will highlight sophisticated research work performed by six of the record-number 20 undergraduate participants in the UPTAM program, which is directed by program founder, Professor Ajay Bose. Keynoting the proceedings will be Guest of Honor Dr. Elsa Reichmanis, President of the American Chemical Society, which is the largest professional organization in the nation.

The program will be held on the Stevens campus from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the fourth floor Bissinger Room at the Wesley J. Howe Center, one block east of Castle Point Terrace and Eighth Street in Hoboken, N.J. Press are welcome to attend.

Welcoming remarks will be delivered at 10 a.m. by Professor Francis T. Jones, Director of the Stevens Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, followed by the six research presentations. Among the presenters will be Ms. Vasudha Nekkanti, "Solventless Reactions: Novel Grindstone Chemistry Approach"; Ms. Olga Ziouzina, "Green Chemistry: Improved Synthesis of an Anti-Leprosy Drug"; and Mr. Hoang Dang, "Large-Scale Preparation of Tylenol Using Computerized Microwave Applicator." Other students presenting are Ms. Poonam Patel, Ms. Crystal Tholany and Ms. Eugenee Lee.

Ms. Ziouzina and Mr. Dang will discuss revolutionary new production techniques that reduce the manufacture time frame of the anti-leprosy drug Dapsone and the common painkiller Tylenol from three or four days to three or four hours. Ziouzina's mentor and advisor is Dr. Subhendu N. Ganguly of the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department, a visiting scientist from Calcutta, India.

Receiving the Mary Good Award for outstanding professional work will be Stevens alumna Ruby Cruz Szewc ('97 B.S., '99 M.S.), currently assistant scientist at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Szewc, a former UPTAM student, works in Pfizer's Department of Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics and Metabolism. Her responsibilities include benchwork and data analysis in support of Exploratory Development compounds with indications for
cancer, immunology, respiratory and inflammation.

"Ruby, who came from an underrepresented minority group, is a tremendous role-model for all of our UPTAM students," said Bose. "Her achievements speak to the aspirations of our young biosciences undergraduates."

The unique biomedical research program called UPTAM was established by Professor Bose in 1972, primarily to help engineering students compete successfully for admission to schools of medicine and dentistry. This program received a boost in 1989 when a four-year, $1 million Hughes Foundation grant was awarded to Stevens for strengthening undergraduate biological and chemical science programs, in order to attract talented students to the biomedical field. It also became possible to launch a "Pre-UPTAM" program to accommodate research-oriented high school students and propel them to college training and biomedical careers.

Bose points out that Project SEED of the American Chemical Society and grant programs sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and some private foundations have made summer research possible for talented students from economically disadvantaged families and from underrepresented minority groups.

Former Project SEED students who have demonstrated a high potential for success in chemistry are awarded scholarships by Project SEED and the American Chemical Society.

The UPTAM program has received recognition and has earned the Dreyfus Award of the American Chemical Society and the (US) Presidential Award for Excellence in Mentoring for Bose. The program has enriched the careers of several hundred students in its 32 years of continuous operation.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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