Science & Technology

Student Chemist Receives National Leadership Award

Utah State University undergraduate researcher Brooks Marshall is among about 15 students nationwide recognized by the American Chemical Society with a 2010 Student Leadership Award. The honor afforded the chemistry major the opportunity to attend the society’s Leadership Institute Jan. 22-24 in Fort Worth, Texas.
 
Marshall is the first USU student ever to receive the award which, according to the ACS Web site, recognizes and provides guidance to emerging leaders.
 
“The training institute was interesting, fun and they kept us going each day from 7:30 in the morning to early evening,” says Marshall, a 2006 graduate of Wyoming’s Laramie High School. “We heard from ACS leaders and talked about ways to motivate volunteers and make our student chapters more effective.”
 
A longtime member and officer in USU’s ACS student chapter, he says participation in the group is helping him “become a better chemist.”
 
“The chapter offers networking opportunities, exposes you to many different aspects of chemistry, provides meaningful research opportunities and gets you involved in community outreach,” says Marshall, who graduates from USU this May.
 
He and fellow chapter members are leading outreach activities at local elementary and high schools – Marshall will visit USU’s Children House next week — and preparing to present a poster on green chemistry instructional techniques at this spring’s ACS annual meeting in San Francisco. On April 22, they plan to again lead USU’s Earth Day Extravaganza on the quad.
 
Faculty mentor Lisa Berreau calls Marshall an outstanding student leader.
 
“Brooks and his fellow USU ACS chapter members do a tremendous amount of community outreach,” says Berreau, associate dean and associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “The chapter has received multiple honors from the ACS, including a Green Chemistry Chapter Award and an ‘Outstanding Chapter’ designation, the highest honor given to student groups.”

 
While Marshall is busy filling out grad school applications and making future plans, he’s not quite ready to hang up his lab coat at USU. The senior was among the recipients of a fall 2009 Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities grant. In Berreau’s lab, he’s investigating chemical reactions that result in the release of carbon monoxide.
 
“We generally think of carbon monoxide as a poison,” Marshall says. “It seems counterintuitive but the substance, in small quantities, actually has some beneficial properties for our bodies.”
 
Current research indicates that minute quantities of carbon monoxide may improve acceptance rates of liver transplants in rats. Marshall is studying molecules that could be used to release carbon monoxide in controlled physiological conditions.
 
The skiing and rock climbing enthusiast says he chose USU for its location but recommends it to others because of the personalized instruction.
 
“I like that professors remember my name and greet me at the supermarket,” Marshall says. “Here at USU, I’m not just a number.”
 
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Contact: Lisa Berreau, 435-797-3509, lisa.berreau@usu.edu
Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto, 435-797-3517, maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu
USU chemistry undergraduate researcher Brooks Marshall

Undergrad researcher Brooks Marshall is USU's first recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Student Leadership Award.

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