Campus News
Herzig and Musah
Win National Science Foundation Awards
by Carol Olechowski
![Abbe Herzig](herzig_abbe01.jpg) |
![Rabi Musah](musah_rabi01.jpg) |
Abbe Herzig |
Rabi Musah |
Two University at Albany professors, Abbe Herzig
and Rabi Musah, have won significant grants from
the National Science Foundation.
Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education
Abbe Herzig has embarked on a study aimed at helping
graduate mathematics programs to recruit, retain,
and graduate a more diverse student body.
Supported by a five-year, $635,000 NSF grant,
Herzig will investigate factors that affect the
participation of women and of Latinos, Chicanos,
African- Americans, and Native Americans in graduate
study. She will conduct case studies of graduate
mathematics programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln;
the University of Maryland, College Park; Rice
University; the University of New Mexico; and
American University � five programs selected,
she explained, �because they are programs in which
students who are traditionally underrepresented
in mathematics have succeeded in unusually large
numbers relative to national averages.�
The case studies will be based on interviews
with faculty and graduate students; observations
in classes; and collection of reports and grant
proposals. Herzig will also do an on-line survey
and in-depth interviews with a national sample
of mathematics graduate students � women and students
of color � �to assess their experiences in graduate
mathematics.�
Professor Rabi Musah, Department of Chemistry,
has received a Career Award from the NSF of $502,316
to explore the chemistry of sulfur-containing
natural products, including garlic. It has become
increasingly evident that other plants possess
considerably different organosulfur chemical makeups.
Given the rich diversity of compounds and chemistry
observed in garlic and onions, it is likely that
other novel compounds with important chemical
and biological properties are present in other
plants. Musah will explore the isolation, characterization,
and attendant chemistry and biochemistry of organosulfur
products from natural sources. In addition, Musah
will develop a K-12 scientific outreach program
and implement a mentorship program at the undergraduate
and graduate levels.
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