ASU fetes Hao Yan as inaugural Glick Chair

September 27, 2012

In a celebration before a packed house at the Biodesign Institute, ASU professor Hao Yan was honored as the inaugural Milton D. Glick Distinguished Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

The award is named for chemistry professor Milton “Milt” Glick who passed away last year. Glick came to ASU in the early 1990s and served for 15 years – first as senior vice president, and then as ASU’s chief academic officer as provost and executive vice president, before assuming the presidency of the University of Nevada Reno from 2006 until his death. Headshot of Hao Yan Download Full Image

“Milt was one of America’s great educators, and helped ASU become a great university through his 15 years of leadership, intellect and drive," said Crow. “Since Milt started out his career as a chemistry professor, we wanted to honor one of the very brightest chemistry faculty stars here at ASU, professor Hao Yan.”

Yan is a recognized leader in the fast-moving field known as structural DNA nanotechnology, or DNA origami, that self-assembles DNA into a broad range of technological applications important for human health and bio-electronic sensing devices. Yan’s inspiration to his lab, students and break-neck speed of developing new technologies may spark a ‘bottom up’ nanotechnology industry to developing new solutions in medicine, energy and electronics.

“I am very honored and humbled to be the recipient of this great honor by the Glick family and President Crow,” said Yan. "I’d also like to give a special thanks to Stuart Lindsay, the director of Biodesign’s Center for Single Molecule Biophysics, who was instrumental in originally recruiting me to ASU, with its vision of performing science in service to society and solving grand challenges. This is truly a memorable moment for me, my family and my lab.”

In addition to his research team’s scientific achievements that have braced the covers of leading research journals such as Science and Nature, Yan is just as dedicated in the classroom. As a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Yan has created an interactive environment in undergraduate and graduate courses that allows students to participate in class discussions, developed graduate courses that integrate research advances in cutting-edge interdisciplinary classes, and mentored and inspired students to be original thinkers in both research and the classroom.

Joining the celebration were well-wishers from across ASU and members of the Glick family, including widow, Peggy Glick.

“I think Milt would be thrilled with this way of remembering him here,” said Glick. “He would be thrilled with associating him with the words ‘distinguished professor’. He would be thrilled that, with this professorship, there is one more of those ‘franchise players’ that he used to talk about at every department meeting. And he would happy to know it happened at this university, where he was the provost for so long, and where he really grow up as an academic administrator.”

A longtime friend of Glick’s on the ASU faculty, Regents' Professor and poet Alberto Rios, capped off the occasion with a special composition.

Alberto Rios

The Chemist

Who sees his work in all things is never lost.

Whose life has been iron and vapors in fire,

The elements themselves

Gathered in their thousand meetings

Tasked with making the things of the world,

Who has given and in that giving collected

An equal and like reward, a life served well

Serving yet, finished with nothing

But what is left behind, ahead

Undone and alive with still-to-do,

Humming with wanting-to-do,

Who has made a chemistry of days,

One day joined to a next, seven to five,

Five to five, a quarter to five, 365¾

That great molecule of time

All the alchemy of a single moment

Necessary, again and again, a year of days,

A day of hours, an hour full of work

And humor too, a hat worn on the heart.

This is the science of a man,

The science of composition, structure,

Properties, reactions of matter,

And of what matters.

Joe Caspermeyer

Manager (natural sciences), Media Relations & Strategic Communications

480-727-4858 joseph.caspermeyer@asu.edu

5th annual CSW/SC Professional Development Conference slated for Oct. 4

ASU CSW/SC Professional Development Conference

The conference will host a variety of one-hour workshop sessions, three different conference luncheons, as well as a conference reception/resource fair featuring more than 20 different organizations and units.

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5th annual CSW/SC Professional Development Conference slated for Oct. 4

September 27, 2012

The ASU Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), in conjunction with the ASU Staff Council (SC) presents the fifth annual ASU CSW/SC Professional Development Conference, scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 4. The conference will host a variety of one-hour workshop sessions on all four campuses, three different conference luncheons featuring inspiring keynote speakers, as well as a conference reception/resource fair featuring more than 20 different organizations and units.

The conference and all of its events are completely free of charge and open to all ASU staff, faculty and students. ASU CSW/SC Professional Development Conference Download Full Image

“We inaugurated the ASU CSW/SC Professional Development Conference five years ago, and over that time, the conference has grown significantly,” says Karen Engler, CSW senior coordinator. “This year we are expecting close to 1,000 people to attend workshops and events across the four campuses.”

There are 46 workshop sessions scheduled, on topics ranging from career development, leadership strategies, and legal issues in the workplaces to unique options such as “Working With & Supporting Your Student Worker,” “Project Management” and “De-Stress at Your Desk: Practicing Mindfulness at Work.” All the workshops are designed to provide concrete strategies for success that attendees can take back to their desk and apply immediately.

Attendees are invited to participate in as many sessions as their work schedules permit, whether that is just one workshop, or the full day. Staff and supervisors are encouraged to identify reasonable work modifications to provide for conference attendance without negatively affecting service.

The conference is co-sponsored by 24 different academic and administrative units, who not only provide financial support towards conference costs, but provide their support for the value and importance of the event.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to get high-quality training and development strategies from a variety of experts right here on campus,” explains Engler. “Each year, I am always overwhelmed by the positive feedback we receive from attendees and presenters. The comments speak to the quality of the conference and the unique opportunity it provides."

To register for the conference, visit: http://asu.edu/csw/pdc2012REGISTRATION.html

To date, the ASU CSW/SC 2012 Professional Development Conference is sponsored by:
ASU Commission on the Status of Women, ASU Staff Council, Office of Human Resources, University Business Services Administration, University Business and Finance, Barrett The Honors College, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, College of Technology and Innovation, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, ASU at the Downtown Phoenix Campus, W.P. Carey School of Business, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, University College, College of Public Programs, ASU Online, Graduate College, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Campus Environment Team at the Tempe Campus, Campus Environment Team at the Polytechnic Campus, ASU Faculty Women’s Association, Facilities Development & Management, University Libraries, Educational Outreach and Student Services at the Polytechnic Campus, Educational Outreach and Student Services at the Downtown Campus, and the ASU Employee Assistance Office.