Sources: Gary W. Conrad, 785-532-6662, gwconrad@k-state.edu;
and Michael Reppert, mreppert@k-state.edu
Photos available. Contact media@k-state.edu or 785-532-6415.
News release prepared by: Andy Badeker, 785-532-6415, abadeker@k-state.edu
Thursday, April 24, 2008
PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND MENTORING AT K-STATE HONOR BIOLOGIST, CHEMISTRY STUDENT
MANHATTAN -- The Presidential Awards to honor work that promotes undergraduate research at Kansas State University are being presented to a chemistry student and an expert in the development of the cornea.
Michael Reppert, senior in chemistry, Manhattan, is the recipient of the Presidential Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Student in Research. He receives $1,000 and a plaque. The award was established to recognize outstanding individual contributions to the discovery and creation of new knowledge at K-State.
Gary W. Conrad, university distinguished professor of biology, has won the Presidential Distinguished Faculty Award for the Mentoring of Undergraduate Students in Research, which includes $2,500 and a plaque. The award is based on mentoring performed in the previous academic year.
"K-State welcomes the many contributions undergraduates make to research," said Jon Wefald, university president, "and our faculty members are known for encouraging those efforts. Michael Reppert and Gary Conrad are wonderful examples of this all-important faculty-student connection."
Reppert was schooled at home by his parents, Sue and Jay Reppert, whose acquaintance with international researchers at K-State gave their son an early exposure to scientific investigation. Since summer 2005, he has been working in the research group of Ryszard Jankowiak, K-State professor of chemistry. Jankowiak's lab investigates the basics of photosynthesis under extremely low temperatures, gaining knowledge that one day might lead to ultra-efficient solar cells.
"When I was a kid, I sometimes dreamed about using plants in man-made solar devices, although I didn't have any idea how it could be done," Reppert said. "I was very excited about Dr. Jankowiak's research since it begins to make a connection between natural systems and man-made ones at a very fundamental level.
"What I like most about research is that it's a bit like a giant jigsaw puzzle," he said. "You pick up a few pieces of information here, a few more there, and then try and put them together to answer the questions you're interested in."
Conrad teaches courses in developmental biology, cell biology and principles of biology. His current research includes improving the safety of LASIK surgery and determining how nerve endings grow into the cornea as it becomes transparent during embryonic development. Undergraduates have been a vital part of Conrad's work since he joined K-State in 1971.
"For the 37 years that I've been here, they've been our closest colleagues in the lab," Conrad said. He prefers to find freshmen for training in the meticulous work of cleaning equipment.
"It doesn't matter how they're supported, they all begin as dishwashers and autoclave assistants," Conrad said. "In a year they learn where everything is, and they're also watching people do research.
"After three to four years, they're colleagues. And if we're lucky, their work becomes part of a publication from our lab, and their names appear as co-authors on the study."
A native of New York state, Conrad received his undergraduate degree at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. After receiving his master's and Ph.D. in biology from Yale University, he completed postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago.