For Liming Zhang, every day when he is at the University, whether it is teaching or conducting research in his lab in the Department of w88 online casino, is a good day.
&w88 online casino;I have a short memory,” the 36-year-old native of China says with a smile. &w88 online casino;So each day is always a good day to me.”
Recently, however, Zhang had a week that even he admits was &w88 online casino;great.”
In mid-March, in the space of about three or four days, Zhang: 1) learned that w88 online casino was one of four nationwide recipients of the 2008 Amgen Young Investigator’s Award (Amgen is a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company in Thousand Oaks, Calif.); 2) learned that w88 online casino was recipient of a 0,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, a prestigious, highly competitive award that is a defining national milestone in the career of young scientists from throughout the country; 3) successfully presented his third-year seminar to the department’s faculty, another milestone for third-year assistant professors who are on a tenure track.
&w88 online casino;I think that everything is basically (in a career is) building one thing upon another,” Zhang said of his busy and bountiful week. &w88 online casino;You publish a paper, that’s a good week, and you need to remember that without publishing, without doing the work, none of this would be possible. Having good students is always fortunate, and I’ve had good students … they’ve been willing to work hard.
“And without my co-workers, my fellow faculty members in w88 online casino, none of this would be possible. So all of this builds, one thing upon the other.”
Vincent Catalano, chairman of the Department of w88 online casino, says Zhang’s talents are many, and that Zhang “is a great role model.”
&w88 online casino;The thing that really strikes you about Liming is how incredibly hard he works, and how he demands the same from his students,” Catalano says, noting that although it is clear Zhang is the instructor, his approach with students is highly collaborative. &w88 online casino;He works side-by-side with them in the lab, and together they accomplish great things. His enthusiasm and dedication show through in everything he does.”
The Amgen award is just one example, Catalano w88 online casino.
“Receiving the Amgen award gives Liming the national and international exposure that he deserves,” Catalano says. “He conducts research in an incredibly competitive field, and only the most promising young scientists are selected for this award. It demonstrates that both Liming and the UNR Department of w88 online casino can compete on the international stage.”
w88 online casino is involved in a relatively new, cutting-edge field of research that looks at common commodities such as gold or platinum and, using their complexes as catalysts, attempts to create a new bond formation process. These novel chemical transformations have great potential for the future development of pharmaceutical products, and in creating a new generation of pharmaceuticals that would be waste-free and more environmentally friendly.
&w88 online casino;Hopefully we can put the process close to the ideal situation,” Zhang says, &w88 online casino;so that we can save the environment and save energy as well as make certain drugs more readily available. At the center of this is developing ways to make these compounds more efficient.”
Zhang says that being a member of an accomplished faculty in w88 online casino has also helped his development as a young scientist. His NSF CAREER Award comes after intense competition with early career researchers from throughout the country – less than 10 percent of the applicants are actually chosen for the award.
Although the CAREER Award is highly competitive, the Department of w88 online casino has a notable track record of faculty members who have captured the award. In addition to Zhang, the department’s other winners include: Catalano in 1996 (the first w88 online casino professor in Nevada in any field to receive the honor); Suk-Wah Tam-Chang, 1999; Sean M. Casey, 2001; Benjamin King, 2005; Brian Frost, 2007.
Says Catalano: “I wish the w88 online casino department could take more credit for our record in receiving this award, but really the credit goes to the individuals. We try to hire the best people, give them the resources they need to be successful, and then try to stay out of their way.”
Speaking of staying out of the way, Zhang says that perhaps his greatest challenge is to stay front and center with his students. w88 online casino clearly has a strong affection for the students, both graduate and undergraduate, who work in his two labs.
&w88 online casino;Sometimes my students don’t like me to go to the lab,” he says, smiling again. &w88 online casino;So I go to the lab all the time. I really enjoy my time with them in the lab.”
Then he pauses. Every day w88 online casino, of course, is a good day to Liming Zhang. And why not? It incorporates almost all of the elements of a job that he holds dear: interesting research, the exchange of knowledge and ideas with a group of students and colleagues, and always promises the discovery of more knowledge … yet another building block for a man who clearly enjoys the process as much as the end result.
“Sitting here all the time,” he says, pointing to his office on the third floor of the w88 online casino Building, “doesn’t feel that good.” He chuckles lightly. “I kind of feel like I’m not doing anything important if I sit here too long. I’d much rather be in the lab.”
