houck2040/artisci huggingface dataset:
reveille is recognized the world over as the first lady of aggieland and texas a&m universitys official mascot however bryan-college station locals and anyone who has ever attended the annual texas a&m chemistry open house and science exploration gallery can claim familiarity (if not also a keepsake photograph) with the campuss lesser-known mascot: the chemistry mole officially known as professor molenium the character makes regular appearances at all types of science outreach events along with the occasional command performance including the aug 23 college of arts and sciences launch party held in conjunction with 2022 howdy week the good professor has been a chemistry open house mainstay since 2010 the same year texas a&m instructional professor emeritus of chemistry and longtime event coordinator wendy keeney-kennicutt was inspired to order a texas a&m-customized mole suit after seeing one at an american chemical society conference
the tongue-in-cheek concept uses the common animal of the same name to inspire students of all ages to learn more about one of chemistrys most basic units of measurement the mole as explained by texas a&m chemist joanna goodey-pellois who served as chemistry open house event coordinator in 2013 and 2014 a mole is like a chemists dozen goodey-pellois said its just a very big number because atoms weigh on the order of 10^-24 grams anytime chemists are handling gram amounts of substances they are handling moles of that substance by definition a mole or mol is a standard scientific unit for measuring large quantities of very small entities such as atoms molecules and other specific particles it designates an extremely large number of units 602 214 076 000 000 000 000 000 to be precise or in short form known as avogadros number 602 x 1023 mole day is celebrated every year on oct 23 from 6:02 am to 6:02 pm in commemoration its hard to visualize just how big a mole is but if you covered the continental us in a mole of un-popped popcorn kernels the kernels would stack up to a depth of nearly nine miles goodey-pellois said my colleague christian hilty gives this example in his class texas a&m chemist and first year chemistry program instructor daniel collins has served since 2015 as the primary mole mascot a role originated by fellow chemist and current department head simon north dozens of chemistry graduate students including north research group member ashley (britt) moran '24 at the aforementioned artsci launch party also have spent time under science-outreach-inspired cover through the years in the name of educational excitement and encouraging fun
due to the suits materials and complexity north says it must be hand-cleaned after each use an other duties as assigned task that falls to sandy horton program coordinator in the chemistry graduate office during the past two decades she has had to make a variety of minor repairs including sewing new elastic onto the moles trademark green safety goggles i was indeed the mole in the past north said there are shifts so that no one faints first shift is good but beyond that it doesnt matter how often it is cleaned while its creature comforts are limited goodey-pellois says the suit does include an optional ice-pack vest that can be worn under the costume along with a fan in its head that texas a&m chemistry staff electrician tim pehl has had to fix on more than one occasion the mole also has to have a handler to make sure that he doesnt fall down any stairs if youre curious you can meet the acs moles (there are two in addition to professor molenium) or read on to learn more from the current man behind the texas a&m chemistry mole 2020 mcgraw hill aleks all-star educator and 2022 texas a&m association of former students distinguished achievement award in teaching recipient dan collins who graciously took time out with artsci marcomm to answer the following questions: how long have you been the texas a&m chemistry mole and how exactly did you get the job i've been the mole since open house in 2015 as the new faculty at that time the joke was that the "newbie" had to go in the mole suit so it was between me or ed lee first time i saw it i was 100% on board and put the head on since then anytime anyone wants the mole at their event i love to do it
what do you think you/the mole bring to the various events you attend it brings a level of joy and happiness to people of all ages many kids might start out being scared of a 7-foot mole but with a few waves and a high-five most of them have a huge smile on their face when it comes to older kids it is great to take pictures and even with high school students many of them take selfies with the mole for extra credit in their chemistry courses people might not know of the mole unit but when they see the mascot they sure love something chemistry specific what's your favorite part about being the chemistry mole the best part are group pictures with science clubs and schools and the mole being right in the middle especially on social media i am a very outgoing person but in the suit i remain quiet it is so fun for me to see school posts instagrams and selfies on the internet with the mole and knowing that people are having fun putting those online and them having no idea a big kid and chemistry professor is in the mole costume is it better to be first or last shift at chemistry open house and why absolutely the first shift it is very warm in the mole costume we do have a cooling vest with ice in it and a fan in the head but depending on the event we could be outside while we do the best we can to be cool the part of the suit that is the worst is the hands they get very damp and moist and they take days to dry out i love to do the first couple of shifts in the suit then i will normally have a graduate or undergraduate student take over and help with pictures if i have to do the last shift i usually have a fresh pair of clothes for it what's your most memorable experience through the years as the chemistry mole probably the most memorable moment is when small kids are so happy to see me but they almost knock me over trying to hug me or they somehow pull my tail it has happened a few times and i haven't fallen over yet but they almost tackle me when it comes to fun events the mole recently took on first friday in downtown bryan walking around downtown and getting pictures with everyone in a community environment really was a ton of fun and kind of kicked off our new social media for the moleone dream that i have is when the mole goes to kbtx to do the bravos valley this morning show to promote the chemistry open house i have always asked to do the weather segment one of these days i am hoping that they will let me do it
by virtue of the costume design you can't talk as the mole what would you like to tell people about being the mole the mole's [unit of measurement] relevance to chemistry or chemistry as a discipline possible career and facet of everyday life i think the thing i would say that i can't is how much fun chemistry is the mole is our unit and for us to have that costume really gives us a fun character side most people hear the horror stories of chemistry courses but most chemists have so much passion about what we do helping the students we teach and love spreading that fun to anyone i am just lucky enough that i get to do it in the suit as well as in the classroom texas a&m's other famous mascot has her own social media presence any chance we'll see @tamuchemistrymole on the social media scene anytime soon we are starting to get the mole a greater social media presence thanks to instagram (@tamuchemoutreach) and tiktok (tamuchemoutreach) we are doing more events mini videos and planning additional fun features for the future for instance monthly mole adventures will highlight fun notable places on campus so that students can see how chemistry the mole and everyday life are all connected at texas a&mthe mole would love to do a photoshoot with the first lady of aggieland and we hope that in time both mascots can get together for some social media fun!
olga kocharovskaya distinguished professor of physics and astronomy at texas a&m university has been selected to receive the american physical society's 2023 norman f ramsey prize in atomic molecular and optical physics and in precision tests of fundamental laws and symmetries established in 2017 and named for 1989 nobel prize in physics recipient norman foster ramsey the ramsey prize is awarded annually to recognize outstanding work in precision measurements of fundamental constants and tests of fundamental laws and symmetries or in atomic molecular and optical physics kocharovskaya who is recognized as one of the top quantum optics and laser physics researchers worldwide joined the texas a&m department of physics and astronomy faculty in 1998 after 12 years as the leading research scientist at the institute of applied physics of the russian academy of sciences she was appointed as a distinguished professor in 2007 and is a member of the institute for quantum science and engineering kocharovskaya is cited by the ramsey prize selection committee "for pioneering work in quantum coherence and x-ray quantum optics" she will be presented with her $10 000 check and accompanying certificate at the 54th annual meeting of the aps division of atomic molecular and optical physics (damop) set for june 5-9 in spokane washington kocharovskaya received her phd from the nn lobachevsky nizhny novgorod state university in russia in 1986 as well as a dr of sciences (habilitation) degree from the highest attestation commission of the russian federation in 1996 her research is in the areas of quantum and nonlinear optics laser physics x-ray optics attosecond physics and quantum information science throughout her career kocharovskaya has made major contributions to the rapidly developing field of atomic coherence phenomena including pioneering works on lasing without inversion electromagnetically induced transparency "stopped light" and shaping the waveforms of the single gamma photons via their resonant interaction with the nuclear ensembles she has authored or co-authored more than 200 scientific papers her most recent work is focused on coherent control of the optical electronic and gamma-ray nuclear transitions in solids a fellow of both the american physical society and optica (formerly known as the optical society of america) kocharovskaya's previous recognitions include the inaugural willis lamb medal for laser physics and quantum electronics the presidential award of the russian academy of sciences as the outstanding young professor of the russian federation the texas a&m association of former students distinguished achievement award in research and the sigma xi distinguished scientist award jointly administered by the aps topical group on precision measurement and fundamental constants and the aps damop the ramsey prize is funded by contributions from the family and friends of norman ramsey individual donations from aps members corporate sponsorship by toptica and thorlabs and additional support from menlo systems previous recipients include harvard university physicist and 1998 texas a&m physics phd graduate mikhail lukin (2022)
four college of arts and sciences graduates have been named to the 2023 cohort of the texas a&m university 12 under 12 young alumni spotlight maj kenneth bell '10 (bachelor of arts in political science 2010) keegan bradley md '10 (bachelor of arts in biology 2010 and doctorate in medicine 2015) andrew wipke '10 (bachelor of arts in both english and history 2010) and liang feng '20 (doctorate in chemistry 2020) are among this year's 12 recipients selected by the association of former students to receive the prestigious honor recognizing former students who have graduated within the past 12 years for demonstrating excellence in business and service while representing texas a&ms core values of excellence integrity leadership loyalty respect and selfless service additional members of the 2023 cohort include cameron brown '10 matt fransted '10 lt cmdr m scott lassiter '10 maj paden allen '11 capt maxwell anthony '12 melinda mcclure haughey '15 sharareh "sherri" kaermanshachi '16 and stefan gresham '18
bell has been a united states air force intelligence officer for nearly 13 years and a faculty member at national intelligence university in bethesda maryland since april his previous assignments include the joint space operations center defense intelligence agency joint staff military commissions prosecution and support to f-15e strike eagles at 4th fighter wing at seymour-johnson air force base in north carolina a member of the texas a&m college of liberal arts advisory council since 2016 and a former appointed member of the santa barbara county alcohol and drug advisory board (2013-2015) bell was recognized with the george hw bush military outstanding volunteer service medal for his boys & girls club involvement he also led 270 volunteers for an air force assistance fund campaign while at seymour-johnson "intelligent and hard-working with keen attention to detail major bells work on highly classified projects was flawless " bell's nominator said
bradley is an emergency medicine physician with mckinney-based envision physician services as well as medical director for multiple area fire/emergency medical services (ems) agencies since may he has served as medical team manager for texas a&m task force 1 one of 28 federal teams under the federal emergency managment agency (fema) national urban search and rescue system and as a physician for the region 2 emergency medical task force state disaster response team while previously affiliated with atrium health bradley helped design and oversee the covid-19 vaccination operation in north carolina a past volunteer for the bryan/college station spina bifida association he also was the motorcade physician for president donald trump during the 2020 republican national convention"he is exactly the kind of person who best represents the core values of texas a&m " bradley's nominator said "the medical profession is better because dr bradley chose to become a part of it"
wipke has been assistant county attorney for fort bend county since 2019 and a former assistant criminal district attorney in both lubbock county (2016-2019) and wichita county (2014-2016) a 2011 john jay institute fellow he earned his doctorate of jurisprudence from texas tech university school of law in 2014 graduating with honors he also received a master's degree in public administration from texas tech that same year in addition to chairing various county committees and boards wipke's record of service includes stints on the texas a&m college of liberal arts advisory council and association of former students young alumni council he also is a volunteer at local churches"to him nothing is more important than justice for victims and restoration for local constituents and stewardship of the public trust " wipke's nominator said "this is what we hope all former students leave with the idea that ones own success in some form is founded upon the service of others"
feng is a postdoctoral fellow in chemistry at northwestern university where he works with 2016 nobel prize in chemistry recipient fraser stoddart on nanotechnology-related problems feng recently discovered a new chemical concept at the nanoscale called mechanisorption and his research could help the development of life-like materials for applications ranging from chemical separation to computing to energy storage areas he first explored as a member of texas a&m chemist hongcai joe zhou's research group en route to his phd while at texas a&m feng was recognized with multiple awards including a distinguished graduate student award and the doctoral thesis of the year for 2020 most recently he was named to the forbes 30 under 30 list for 2022 feng also takes an active role in promoting socioeconomic diversity and first-generation college students in stem fields"liangs ability to collaborate with others and lead combined with his innovative vision interdisciplinary research experiences and driving passion for doing work on challenges in chemistry and materials science will take his career in exciting directions lying at the interfaces of porous materials polymers catalysis and biomedicine " his nominator said
the 12 under 12 young alumni spotlight was conceived by the young alumni advisory council a selected body of younger former students who advise the associations staff on ways to better connect with the hundreds of thousands of recent graduates of texas a&m since the award's inception in 2014 only 120 of texas a&ms 500 000-plus former students have been recognized with the accolade the association of former students established in 1879 is the official alumni organization of texas a&m university the association connects hundreds of thousands of members of the worldwide aggie network with each other and the university and provided $136 million in impact to university scholarships awards traditions and student activities and recognition for students faculty staff and former students in 2021 for more information about the texas a&m 12 under 12 young alumni spotlight or the association visit wwwaggienetworkcom
the college of arts and sciences is joining texas a&m university and institutions across the nation in recognizing first-generation students as part of first-generation week 2022 set for nov 7-11 nearly a quarter of texas a&m undergraduates identify as first-generation students broadly defined as being the first in their families to pursue and earn a bachelors degree throughout the week the campus will host a variety of daily events showcasing different aspects of their day-to-day university life including college day celebrations a poster gallery a student panel and a national virtual event the weeklong celebration is jointly supported by the routh first-generation center within the office for student success the office of the president and the office of the provost in coordination with the academic colleges and schools and other units texas a&m arts and sciences plans to celebrate its first-generation students on tuesday (nov 8) with breakfast tacos photo opportunities and free swag from 10 am to noon on the second-floor patio of the john r blocker building according to associate dean for student success leroy g dorsey however its a celebration that spans far more than a single day or week given the many resources and opportunities the college provides to ensure holistic success in all facets of first-generation life our first-generation initiatives in the college of arts and sciences are focused on three pillars: to help these students to become academically professionally and socially successful said dorsey a professor in the department of communication and journalism thats at the heart of all our programming whether its education abroad mentoring or connecting students to faculty to work on research-related projects
dorsey notes that texas a&m arts and sciences has approximately 4 000 first-generation students among its 17 000-plus current undergraduate student population including 700 who are first-generation freshmen to help them navigate the ins and outs of the college environment to achieve their academic and extracurricular aspirations dorsey and the colleges advising team offer several college-specific programs including hullabaloo u regents scholars and science leadership scholars while each is tailored to specific purposes they share a several common factors such as peer mentoring special meetings and workshops and social and networking events in addition to easing their college transition and making their overall texas a&m experience more successful and enjoyable its about creating a more intimate community said dorsey who founded the freshmen innovation group (fig) program for first-generation students as an associate dean in the former college of liberal arts first-generation student programming is about shrinking the size of this college from 17 000 students to a much more intimate 20-to-25 class size creating a welcoming and academically rich environment and setting a strong foundation for students to progress to graduation since 2019 texas a&m has offered hullabaloo u as a common experience for all 10 000-plus of its first-year students the one-hour course which is required for all freshmen is targeted differently depending on major and population but ultimately designed with community and both academic and personal success in mind currently arts and sciences features approximately 60 sections taught by nearly 30 different instructors including some who teach multiple sections i was a first-generation college student and had no idea what i was doing fumbling through college said david tarvin an instructional associate professor in communication and journalism and a fig instructor at that time at my institution there were not many support services for first generation students i share my own stories of failures and successes as a first-gen student to all my classes with hopes that it helps any student who might be struggling the educational success of this demographic of students depends on how well they navigate the uncertainties of college through our example and by providing programs that encourage connection and networking we can help students develop strategies to succeed
several of the colleges 18 academic departments also offer first-generation-specific programming including the department of biology whose biofirst learning community supports freshmen biology majors in good academic standing who are not already regents scholars in addition to peer tutoring for introductory biology chemistry and mathematics courses biofirst students take an additional one-credit course biol 100: horizons in biology and are eligible for an aggie success scholarship funded by the office of the provost since its inception in 2017 the program has supported nearly 200 freshmen and helped place dozens of students in both the biology honors program and research labs the most helpful tools included the separate si [supplemental instruction] instructors and the community of biology students said one biofirst student "many of the biofirst students became close friends and studied together for most of our classes we were given a community of people who were in our class and who we saw in a small setting at least twice a week it was hard not to become close with one another" when it comes to potential students who might be weighing their own readiness for college lee recommends fully embracing the unknown and banking on the reality that both help and success are theirs for the asking and taking people are often afraid of what they do not know lee said some are afraid of heights because they feel like they might fall over others are afraid of the dark because they do not know what is in front of them accordingly some are afraid of pioneering their own path through college always ask for help whether it is through the form of friends advisors tutors or our health services i promise you that help is somewhere around the corner life is already more difficult than it has to be as a first-generation student so do not let ignorance or fear get in the way of your success tarvin likewise advises first-generation students to get involved on campus with other first-generation students and in student organizations to ask questions even if they seem dumb and to take pride in the progress and change they individually and collectively represent first-generation students have an inner drive that is inspiring tarvin added when that inner drive meets avenues of real possibilities when they see a real and different future for their families and when their self-actualization begins to blossom thats when we all succeed we must support these initiatives because first-generation students represent change they represent progress they represent hope