| Alumni Updates |
Allor, Catherine ('00, Microbiology) - Received MS in Criminal Justice with specialization in forensic science (MSU, '04). Working as a forensic scientist with Michigan State Police, examining evidence collected from crime scenes for the presence of biological materials and DNA analysis.
Bakita, Tom ('89, Computer Science) - Received his MBA from Duke University ('04). Working as product marketing manager at Cisco Systems in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Recently took golf lessons and is having a blast.
Bloss, Christopher ('95, Biochemistry) - Received his MD from Drexel University ('00). Practicing as an OB/GYN physician in Troy, New York.
Cooper, Mary Ann ('71, Biochemistry) - MD (MSU '74). Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Recognized as an international authority on lightning injury and injury prevention. Directs the Lightning Injury Research Program. Trainer for the National Weather Service and serves on the NOAA National Lightning Awareness Week.
Fabrizio, Joseph ('96, Physiology) - Partner at the law firm of Fabrizio & Brook, P.C. candidate for Judge of 52-2 District Court. Fabrizio For Judge.
Goudreau, John ('88, Medical Technology) - Directing MSU's role in a nationwide study to determine the effectiveness of a drug that could slow the progression of Parkinson's disease (MSU Today, Spring 2008). John received his Ph.D. in neuroscience/pharmacy from MSU in 1994 and D.O in 1995. He is an associate professor of neurology and ophthalmology.
Heil, Darren ('93, Science & Technology) - Received Master's in International Education from Framingham State College in Massachusetts. Currently working in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia as the middle school math and science teacher in the International School of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Hoover (Gerras/Walker), Patricia ('80, Biology) - Practicing physician at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, MI.
Jablonowski, Adam Carl ('05, Physiology) - Received his degree in Mortuary Science from Wayne State ('06). As far as he knows he is the only Briggsie to become a funeral director. Working for A.J. Desmond & Sons, Royal Oak, MI.
Klassen (Rooze), Sarah ('04, Physical Science) Received Master's of Forensic Science in 2006 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She married in 2005 and is now working in Indianapolis for the county crime lab.
Kolaja, Kyle ('92, Physiology) -Received Ph.D. in Toxicology from Indiana University ('96). After post-doctoral fellowship has been working in the pharmaceutical industry. Currently the Director of Discovery and Investigative Safety at Roche in Palo Alto, CA.
Wiebelhaus, Karen ('92, Zoology) - After graduation Karen served as a national park ranger in Thailand through the Peace Corps. She worked as an environmental analyst running a Thai-American wastewater treatment chemical company in Thailand for 8 years. Presently she is a diplomat with the Department of State, Damascus, Syria.
|
|
Join Our List
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
 Announcing the new Briggs online alumni community!
This online community is designed to help you make and maintain the connections that will lead to personal and professional success. Network with other Briggsies, post your own blog, stay up-to-date with the latest news & events, visit your group homepages and photos, maintain your own profile page, buy from a wide assortment of BriggsWear and more.
This site is only open to registered members so you will be able to interact without the worry of your information being viewed by outside parties. Alumni, faculty/staff and friends of Briggs can locate other members of your graduation class year.
Check it out! Register now at:
As always, we love hearing from our alumni and friends. Send your comments, stories, news and pictures to mckean@msu.edu.
We would also appreciate your help in finding other alumni and friends of Briggs - those who lived in Holmes Hall, or were Briggs students that did not graduate from Briggs.
Take a moment to forward this email to a friend.
|
| Professor Walter Benenson Retiring |
|
Beginning August 16, University Distinguished Professor Walter Benenson will retire to accept new responsibilities at Briggs. Dr. Benenson will oversee the new LBC physics group to help them with the transition to a new staffing configuration and effectively meet their new responsibilities to keep the help labs moving smoothly
Dr. Benenson came to MSU in 1963 from Strasbourg, France. His area of scholarship is experimental nuclear physics and the use of computers in undergraduate science education. In 2005 Dr. Benenson moved to Briggs with a 75% appointment from physics and has been instrumental in updating the physics curriculum at Briggs.
A nationally recognized physicist, Dr. Benenson is known as a thorough and well organized teacher. He is remembered by alumni as a scholar, friend and mentor. Some will tell you that his lectures that reveal a dry sense of humor, which also shows up in his humorous articles in New Scientist.
During the preparation for the superconducting cyclotron project at MSU, Dr. Benenson was one of the main writers of the physics justification section of the proposal for funding of the laboratory which is now the National Super Conducting Laboratory (NSCL). Dr. Benenson served as Associate Director for the NSCL from 1990 - 1995. He was one of the first physicists to join founding NSCL Director Henry Blosser's staff in 1963, and was science consultant on the 1991 Exploring the Hidden Nucleus. His research on rare isotopes forms the basis for MSU's world reputation in the field.
In 2006, Dr. Benenson was a part of a team to publish the Handbook of Physics (Sprinter Science & Business Media, Inc.), a complete desktop reference for scientists, engineers and students.
For more information about Dr. Benenson and his work visit: Dr. Walter Benenson. |
| Cool New BriggsWear - That's No Ordinary Helix |
|
 That's actually a septuple helix.
Now you can order BriggsWear when you want and from a large assortment of items.
This latest design has been supplied by the LaDuca group that investigates the synthesis and structure determination of novel inorganic/organic hybrid coordination polymers.
The image shown is a septuple helix pattern within the structure of Cu2(phthalate)2(di-4-Pyridylamine), a coordination polymer that can selectively absorb ammonia from a mixture of ammonia and nitrogen.
ANOTHER FEATURED PRODUCT:
License Plate Frame $14.99
To view and order BriggsWear follow this link:
BriggsWear. Proceeds support the Student Advisory Committee and other Briggs programs. |
| Kent Workman Receives Service-Learning Award |
|
 MSU Curricular Service - Learning and Civic Engagement Awards.
Kent is one of a very dedicated faculty/staff that lives the mission of Lyman Briggs College to be a place where learning and living are integrated in a dynamic way.
Kent Workman is active with international Habitat for Humanity and participates in Jimmy Carter Work Projects around the world. He co-teaches ANR 210, Pathways in Connected Learning, with the Bailey Scholars program. He serves as an advisor for numerous student service organizations including the MSU Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and advises the Briggs Multiracial Alliance. For many years Workman has volunteered his time with the Alternative Spring Break program.
For the last two years he has led groups into New Orleans, Louisiana for service and support programs. As a colleague, Workman brings a vibrant passion for service-learning into Lyman Briggs College. He is a true model of an engaged citizen and lifelong learner.
You can congratulate Kent at: workman@msu.edu |
| Briggs Students among 22 Honored by MSU Board of Trustees |
|
22 students who achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average were honored by the MSU Board of Trustees.
Awards are made at the fall and spring commencements to the six or more graduating seniors who achieved the highest cumulative scholarly records by the close of the preceding semester. At least three-fourths of the credits for the degree must be numerical grades earned at MSU. Fall, spring and summer graduating seniors are eligible for the awards.
Briggs recipients of the awards are:
Kurtis L. Geerlings of Zeeland, a physics major in the Lyman Briggs School of Science in the College of Natural Science and a member of the Honors College. Married to Heidi Geerlings, he is the son of Steve and Dawn Geerlings and is a 2004 graduate of Zeeland High School.
Kathryn L. Fletcher of Ypsilanti, a human biology major in the Lyman Briggs School of Science in the College of Natural Science and a member of the Honors College. The daughter of Roger and Kristie Fletcher, she is a 2004 graduate of Tecumseh High School. | |
|
|
|
