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NEWS ABOUT FACULTY AND STAFF

• Nanoscale Science and Engineering Grows at Penn State
• Cathy Arney Retires and Angela Clark is Hired

Nanoscale Science and Engineering Grows at Penn State

A very recent Pennsylvania Ben Franklin Technology Partners grant in the amount of $60,000 has enabled the establishment of a Center for NanoCellulosics (CNC) at Penn State. The focus of the new center is to work with Pennsylvania companies and economic development
organizations, as well as companies nationally, to bring nanoscale science and engineering into forest products and related industries. Applications of nanotechnology are expected to enhance scientific understanding of natural materials while stimulating the creation of technologically advanced materials.

Nanotechnology is an umbrella term that is used to describe a variety of techniques to fabricate and manipulate materials and devices on the nanoscale; that is, on a scale smaller than one micrometer, typically an atomic or molecular scale.

The CNC will include research, education, and outreach thrusts, including extensive interaction with industry. Dr. Jeffrey Catchmark, a faculty member with a shared appointment in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering, is director of the CNC. Dr. Nicole Brown, assistant professor of wood chemistry in the School of Forest Resources, is assistant director. Prior to receipt of the Ben Franklin grant, Drs. Catchmark and Brown had been collaborating to explore the use of emerging nanoscale engineering technologies for understanding and manipulating cellulose-based materials.

Catchmark holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and has years of experience in nanotechnology research. He co-established the Penn State site of National Science Foundation National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network that enables the nanotechnology research and education of hundreds of students and researchers each year. Brown has expertise in wood science, polymer science, and materials characterization.

The CNC brings together eleven faculty, including Catchmark and Brown, from four different colleges at Penn State: Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Science, and Earth and Mineral Sciences. School of Forest Resources faculty involved, in addition to Brown, are Dr. Paul Smith, professor of wood products marketing; Dr. Chuck Ray, assistant professor of wood products marketing; and, as collaborator, Dr. John Carlson, associate professor of molecular genetics.

As a related success, Brown is also pleased to announce a recent, separate award of $229,500 in USDA funds, also to stimulate nanotechnology research and education at Penn State. Brown and two colleagues, Catchmark and Dr. Tom Richards (from the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State) are co-project directors on the proposal, which provides support for three outstanding Ph.D. students.

Matching support from the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering will fund an additional two Ph.D. students. The School of Forest Resources, the Department of Geosciences, and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology also each contributed additional matching support. In all, the proposal involves twelve faculty from four different colleges, including Carlson and Smith from the School of Forest Resources.

The five fellowships, coupled with a contribution of $25,000 in user fees from Penn State's Materials Research Institute, provide a great start for nanotechnology research and education efforts on natural materials. Brown is currently recruiting Ph.D. candidates for the three-year fellowships.

For more information, visit: http://www.nanobioresources.psu.edu.

Cathy Arney Retires and Angela Clark is HIred

Cathy Arney retired in December 2006, having completed 35 years of service at Penn State. She spent the majority of her career in the School of Forest Resources, serving as administrative assistant for 22 years-a position in which she worked with four directors and two interim directors.

Angela Clark (left) and Cathy Arney

Back in 2002, Cathy was honored with the first-ever Staff Laureate Leadership Award given by the College of Agricultural Sciences. Her leadership continued thereafter, and her efforts were a critical component of our successful move to our new Forest Resources Building last spring. Faculty and staff honored Cathy at a December 13 retirement luncheon, and her husband, children, and grandchildren were also present to celebrate the end of a successful career and the beginning of retirement.

The reins have been passed to Angela Clark who was hired as administrative assistant in the School effective January 2007. Angela comes to us from Penn State's Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, where she had been a staff assistant to the department head since July 2003. She has also worked as a staff assistant in the Political Science Department and in the English Department, and as a receptionist in Outreach and Cooperative Extension. Angela's quick and steady rise through the staff ranks are a testament of her abilities, effectiveness, and work ethic.

Angela joins a rather elite and admirable group of women who have served our School as administrative assistant. Over the past 65 years, our School has had but three individuals in that position: Kathryn Johnson, Sally Clark, and Cathy Arney. In turn, these three women have shepherded the work of thirteen directors and interim directors. One could argue that the continuity of the School's direction has stemmed from the dedication of our administrative assistants.

Penn State | College of Agricultural Sciences | School of Forest Resources