2012 COMP Election

Post date: Jul 11, 2012 3:29:54 PM

The election this year will be held electronically via a Survey Monkey ballot. This ballot will be sent to your ACS e-mail address. If you have blocked e-mail from ACS or from Survey Monkey, you will not see the ballot. If you are looking to vote and are a COMP member, but have not seen the ballot, please contact the Secretary.

This year's election will be to choose a Chair of the division for 2014 who will serve as the Chair-Elect in 2013. We will also be electing two councilors and two alternates. Of the four members running for this position, the two members receiving the most votes will be elected to the primary Councilor positions with the other two candidates holding the position of Alternate.

Chair-Elect (for Chair 2014)

• Terry Stouch

• Angela Wilson

Councilors (2 to be elected for 2013-2015)

• Rommie Amaro

• Rigoberto Hernandez

• Peter Jurs

• Melisa Landon

Biographies of Candidates for COMP Election 2012: Chair

1) Terry Richard Stouch

My research experience includes: computer-aided drug design, QSAR, force field

development, molecular dynamics simulation, protein structure, membrane structure,

crystallography, molecular electrostatics, software development, quantum chemistry,

and material science. During my 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry – 14 years

at Bristol-Myers Squibb, a large pharmaceutical company and four years at Lexicon

Pharmaceuticals, a genomics-based biotech – I worked in every aspect of drug discovery

research: genomics, target selection, cheminformatics, compound collection design, hit

determination, lead optimization, delivery, and development.

I earned my PhD with Peter Jurs at Penn State University and was a postdoc in the

Laboratory for the Structure of Matter, the crystallographic laboratory at the Naval

Research Lab. I am the founder, president, and principal scientist at Science for

Solutions, LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in drug discovery, antisense, chemical

software, chemical and biomolecular databases, data evaluation, and ADME/Tox. I’ve

had a long-term consultancy with the Protein Data Bank. I have always been predisposed

to finding solutions to practical problems, but believe that this is best done through an

understanding of the underlying fundamental science. Although I have held a succession

of organizational and managerial roles, I believe in maintaining a "hands-on" approach in

order to truly understand the research being done. My research focuses on drug design,

QSAR, large scale biomolecular molecular dynamics simulations (largely in biological

membranes), and force fields.

I’ve learned that experience is the best teacher and even though I have shared what

I have learned in over 70 publications and 140 invited lectures I want to reach out

to the next generation of computational chemists. Consequently, I am an adjunct at

Duquesne University and previously at the University of Kentucky. In recognition of my

accomplishments as a computational chemist, I am a Fellow of both IUPAC and AAAS,

served on computational committees at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories and

IUPAC. I am currently the Senior Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Computer-Aided

Molecular Design (JCAMD). A former chair of the Gordon Research Conference on

Computational Chemistry, I continue to serve on its executive committee.

A 32-year member of the ACS, I am actively involved in the COMP division. I have

organized and/or chaired several symposia (most recently “The PDB & Chemistry”

and “Tautomers in Biology”), frequently presented research at and attended a majority

of the national meetings over the last 30 years, and participated as a judge in several of

the competitive symposia hosted by the COMP division. For the past several years I have

participated in the COMP Division’s Executive Committee and Programming Board

meetings in my JCAMD editorial role in order to provide support for the excellent work

of COMP. Consequently, JCAMD has supported many symposia.

I have always seen the COMP division as one of the most active and dynamic ACS

divisions and I would like to contribute to the momentum. More active member

participation will be one goal. This does not need to be centered on national ACS

meetings. As a member of the MACCs (Middle Atlantic Computational ChemistS)

Executive Committee, a recent speaker at BAGIM (Boston Area Group for Informatics

and Modeling), and a member of “COMP Together”, I have seen that the COMP division

can make a contribution to local computational chemistry meetings and believe that more

can be done. I would also like to see an even closer collaboration with other divisions

to ensure that COMP bridges all disciplines where computational chemistry is used or

could be of value, including materials, agrochemistry, geochemistry, energy, and green

chemistry as well as pharmaceutical and life sciences which has been a strength of the

COMP division.

In this era of rapid organizational change, consolidation, and reorganization, it behooves

all of us to be increasingly aware of career options and educational advancement.

In keeping with the best interest of its membership, the COMP division can – and

should – play an integral role in communicating to its members career and educational

opportunities and more closely integrate with related ACS activities.

2) Angela K. Wilson

Angela is a Regents Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Center for Advanced

Scientific Computing and Modeling (CASCaM), and leader of the Computational

Chemical Biology (C3B) research cluster at the University of North Texas (UNT),

where she leads a research group of over two dozen scientists including undergraduate

students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. She obtained her B.S. in chemistry

from Eastern Washington University, her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, and

completed her postdoctoral work at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with

Thom H. Dunning, Jr. She has been a visiting research scientist at the University of

Sydney (Australia), PNNL, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Angela’s current research, sponsored by both federal grants and the pharmaceutical

industry, spans multiple areas including computer-aided drug design; development

and application of methods for the prediction of mechanical properties of composite

materials; CO2-molecule interactions, from small molecule to CO2-protein interactions of

potential importance in CO2 reduction, utilization, or sequestration; quantum mechanical

method and basis set development (ab initio and density functional theory), and

application of the developed methodologies in areas including environmental chemistry,

transition metal chemistry, and materials science.

Angela has been an active member of ACS for 22 years. She is a Fellow of ACS, an

ACS National Councilor (2004-Present), is on the ACS Committee on Nominations

and Elections, where she serves as secretary, and is an Executive Member of the

Division of Physical Chemistry. She has been active on the ACS Committee on Science

and has organized numerous computational chemistry conferences and symposia

at ACS meetings, including the 2010 ACS Award for Computers in Chemical and

Pharmaceutical Research Symposium.

Angela is on the editorial advisory boards of the ACS Journal of Physical Chemistry,

International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, and Computational and Theoretical

Chemistry. She has been a guest editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, editor

of an ACS series book, and is presently editing another ACS series book. She is on the

leadership team for IUPAC’s Division of Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, is on the

U.S. National Committee for IUPAC, is a National Associate of the National Academies,

and has been appointed twice by the National Academies to serve on the six-member

U.S. delegation to the IUPAC General Assembly to represent U.S. interests.

The COMP Division has a strong history of quality meeting programming and

opportunities for our membership. If elected, Angela will continue these efforts and will

work towards strengthening ties with other divisions, developing strategies to further

emphasize the importance of computational chemistry across fields, and providing new

opportunities for our membership.

Biographies of Candidates for COMP Election 2012: Councilor

1) Rommie Amaro

Dr. Amaro received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-

Champaign (UIUC) in 2005. Following that, she was a NIH Ruth Kirschstein

postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Diego. From 2009-2011,

Dr. Amaro was an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Irvine, and in

2012, she joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of

California, San Diego. In 2010 she was selected as a NIH New Innovator Awardee and

also received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Dr.

Amaro’s research is broadly concerned with the development and application of state-

of-the-art computational methods to address outstanding questions in drug discovery

and molecular-level biophysics. She has served as an Alternate Councilor for the

American Chemical Society’s Division of Computers in Chemistry since 2008 and has

focused much of her service efforts towards outreach and diversity initiatives, including

establishing the popular mentor lunches at the national ACS meetings, helping to

launch the Teach Discover Treat (TDT) initiative, and the development of her lab’s own

CompChemBioCamp.

2) Rigoberto Hernandez

Georgia Section. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.

Academic Record: Princeton University, B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering and

Mathematics, magna cum laude, 1989; University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D.,

1993; Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel), Postdoctoral Fellow,

1994; University of Pennsylvania, Postdoc, 1995-1996.

Honors: Vasser Woolley Faculty Fellow, Georgia Tech, 2011-2013; APS Fellow,

2011, ACS Fellow, 2010; Sackler Visiting Chair in Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv

University, 2010; Humboldt Research Fellow, 2006-08; American Association

for the Advancement of Science, Fellow, 2005; Goizueta Foundation Junior

Professor, Georgia Tech, 2002-06; Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 2000; Sigma Xi

Southeast Regional Young Investigator, 2002 and 2000; Research Corporation

Cottrell Scholar, 1999; Blanchard Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Georgia

Tech, 1999-01; National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 1997; NSF

Graduate Fellow, 1989-92; and Sigma Xi, Member, 1994.

Professional Positions (for past 10 years): Georgia Institute of Technology, Professor,

2009 to date; Associate Professor, 2002-09; Co-Director of Center for

Computational Molecular Sciences & Technology, 2000 to date; Assistant

Professor, 1996-02.

Service in ACS National Offices: By-Laws Councilor, 2012; Committee on Committees

(ConC), 2009-14; ConC Liaison to LSAC, 2009-11; ConC Liaison to CWD,

2009-11; Committee on Divisional Activities (DAC), 2004-08; DAC Liaison

to PHYS, 2005-08; DAC Liaison to COMP, 2006-08; Joint DAC/LSAC

Subcommittee, Co-Chair, 2005-07; Board Committee on “Minorities in Academe

Implementation Team,” 2003-04; Hildebrandt Award Canvassing Committee,

2002-04.

Service in ACS Local Offices: Member ACS since 1992. Georgia Section: Councilor,

2003-11; Chair, Herty Award Committee, 2006-present; Webmaster, 2006-

present; Founding Chair, Herty Medal Undergraduate Research Symposium

(HMURS), 2006-10; Chair, 75th Herty Medal Celebration 2009; Past-Chair, 2000;

Chair, 1999; Chair-Elect, 1998.

Member: American Association for the Advancement of Science; American Physical

Society; Biophysical Society. ACS Divisions: Computational Chemistry, Physical

Chemistry; and Polymer Chemistry.

Related Activities: Director of the Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity

(OXIDE), 2010 to date; NIH MSFB Study Section, 2009-2013; Research

Corporation Cottrell Scholars Advisory Committee, 2011-13; Chair of the

Telluride School on Theoretical Chemistry (TSTC), Telluride, Co, 2011;

National Academies Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, 2007-10;

Board of Directors of Telluride Science Research Center (TSRC), 2007-09;

External Review Committee for Morehouse College Chemistry Department,

2007; Steering Committee for NSF Workshop on complexity and emergent

phenomenon, 2007; Steering Committee for NSF Workshop on excellence

empowered by a diverse workforce, 2007; National Academies Committee on

advanced chemical imaging, 2005-06; published over 60 peer-reviewed articles to

date.

3) Peter Jurs

Division of Computers in Chemistry (Central Pennsylvania Section). Pennsylvania

State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.

Academic Record: Stanford University, B.S., 1965; University of Washington, Ph.D.,

1969.

Honors: ACS Fellow, 2009; Presidential Award for Excellence in Academic Integration,

Penn State, 1998; ACS Award for Computers in Chemistry, 1990; Barbara and

Dean Martin Lecturer, University of South Florida, 2000; Archer Lecture in

Organic and Medicinal Chemistry, Renssalear Polytechnic University, 2001;

American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, 1987; Merck

Award for Faculty Development, 1970.

Professional Positions (for past ten years): Pennsylvania State University, Emeritus

Professor, 2005 to date; Professor, 1978-05; Assistant Head for Undergraduate

Education, 1995-04; Acting Department Head 1998-99.

Service in ACS National Offices: Council Policy Committee, 2012-14; Committee

on Nominations and Elections, 2006-11; Committee on Publications, 1997-

04, Committee Associate, 2005-08; Society Committee on Publications, 1991-

97; Society Committee on Chemical Abstracts Service, 1982-90; Committee

on Membership Affairs, Committee Associate, 1979; Advisory Board, Journal

of Chemical Information and Modeling, 2005-07; Advisory Board, Journal of

Chemical Information and Computer Science, 2004, 1977-85; Advisory Board,

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1994-98; Advisory Board, Analytical Chemistry,

1988-90.

Service in ACS Offices: Member ACS since 1965. Division of Computers in

Chemistry: Councilor, 1997-08, 1979-93; Alternate Councilor 1994-96. Central

Pennsylvania Section: Secretary, 1971.

Member: American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow. ACS

Divisions: Analytical Chemistry; Chemical Education; Computers in Chemistry,

and Professional Relations.

Related Activities: Editorial Advisory Board, Chemical & Engineering News, 2000

to 2004; Consultant to: Los Alamos National Laboratory; Molecular Design,

Ltd.; W.R. Grace; Beilstein Institute; Chemical Manufacturers Association;

Chair, Organizing Committee, 3rd Symposium on Computer-Enhanced Analytical

Spectroscopy, Snowbird, Utah, June, 1990; Gordon Research Conference on

Computer Aided Drug Design, Chair, July 2005, Program Chair, July 2003;

National Science Foundation, Program Director, Chemical Analysis, 1983-84;

Analytica Chimica Acta, Editorial Board, 1977-88; ChemTracts, Analytical and

Physical Chemistry, Contributing Scholar; Member-at-Large, Section Committee

on Chemistry of the AAAS, 1999-03; supervised 57 graduate chemistry degrees;

co-author of general chemistry textbook Chemistry: The Molecular Science, 4th

Edition, Brooks/Cole; approximately 270 research publications.

4) Melissa Landon

Melissa has been active in the COMP division for several years, first serving as secretary

and then assistant programming chair. Raised a navy brat in Virginia, Melissa received

bachelor's degrees in chemistry and applied mathematics from Virginia Commonwealth

University. Based on her keen interest in interdisciplinary research, she pursued

graduate studies in bioinformatics at Boston University, where she developed methods

for in silico fragment-based drug design in the laboratory of Sandor Vajda. After

spending many years behind a computer, upon completion of her PhD Melissa decided

to move to the lab bench. She received postdoctoral training in protein biochemistry and

x-ray crystallography in the laboratory of Greg Petsko and Dagmar Ringe. While she

greatly enjoyed this experience, Mel decided that pipeting wasn't for her and returned

to her roots as a structural bioinformaticist at Cubist Pharmaceuticals. While at Cubist

she worked on numerous early-stage drug discovery programs, performing tasks ranging

from bioinformatics to chemoinformatics and modeling. Two years ago she embarked

on a new adventure and moved to Toronto with her husband Joe and dog Tui. During

her time in Toronto she has worked with academic groups on commercial translation of

their research and started her own company, LogPhase LLC. As a consultant she works

primarily with venture capital and startup biotech companies to advance their research

programs and make sound scientific decisions. Mel also greatly enjoys teaching and

in her spare time teaches a distance learning structural bioinformatics course. When

she needs a break from science, she hammers away at metal or makes jewelry in her art

studio. She recently finished her first half marathon and enjoys cycling and other outdoor

activities.