Quantum Leaps – Kosolapoff Award and Lecture features cutting-edge research on capturing carbon dioxide and harvesting water from the atmosphere

Laura Gagliardi, the Richard and Kathy Leventhal Professor at the University of Chicago, is the 2023 recipient of the G. M. Kosolapoff Award and Lecture for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She was honored with the award on March 15 and gave a lecture on how quantum chemical calculations assist in the discovery and improvement of materials needed to cover modern needs.

Gagliardi’s focus of research is on computational chemistry and material science. She has had more than 440 publications and her work has been cited more than 30,000 times. The goal of her research is to create quantum chemical methods and apply them to make a direct impact towards clean energy.

25th Anniversary Summer Bridge Program Alumni Spotlight: Baylor graduate student Leo Burdett shares importance of friendships and mentors found through Bridge

Leo Burdett, a homeschool graduate from Altamonte Springs, Florida, came to Auburn University in 2017 as a participant in the College of Sciences and Mathematics, or COSAM, STEM Summer Bridge Program. Established in 1997 and celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year, Summer Bridge is a four-week, summer program that assists incoming freshmen from historically underrepresented groups majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields with academic preparedness and social support to excel within the academic rigor of the COSAM curriculum.

Through Summer Bridge, Burdett found the extensive professional development presentations and exercises most helpful, yet most impactful were the lasting friendships that he formed with fellow participants.

Biological Sciences Study Abroad Program visits Costa Rica during Spring Break 2023

Four Department of Biological Sciences faculty members spent Spring Break 2023 in Costa Rica with 18 students on a study abroad program trip. The course, entitled “Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability: Costa Rica,” included introductory class sessions before Spring Break. Student groups collected data for short-term research projects during the trip to Costa Rica for analysis and presentation to the class at the end of the semester. The students included 13 undergraduate and five graduate students. 

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