Newswise — Sivaguru Jayaraman, (Siva) Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry and molecular biology at North Dakota State University, Fargo, has been selected as the 2010 laureate of the Swiss Chemical Society’s Grammaticakis-Neumann Prize. The honor includes an invitation to speak at the Swiss Chemical Society Fall Meeting in September 2010, a diploma and a financial award of 5,000 (CHF) or approximately $4850 (USD). Dr. Siva will receive the Grammaticakis-Neumann Prize in Zurich, Switzerland on Sept. 16, 2010.
The prize from the Swiss Chemical Society is awarded to a promising young research scientist for an outstanding contribution in photochemistry, photophysics or molecular photobiology. Research conducted by Prof. Siva involves the use of light to initiate chemical reactions and control photoreactivity in the excited state using molecular design and nanoconfinement.
The cornerstone of Prof. Siva’s program involves synthetic effort that allows a freedom of design to produce new structural motifs not only for studying stereoselective reactions, but also for chemical and bio-molecular recognition of encapsulated guests within water soluble nano-reaction vessels. Dr. Siva’s research investigates the molecular and supramolecular assembly characteristics of systems to gain a deeper understanding of the interplay between molecular structure, assembly, dynamics and the role of external interactions critical for molecular recognition events in light-initiated reactions. Additionally, Dr. Siva’s research group uses modern molecular tools and spectroscopic techniques to gain deeper understanding of molecular interactions in chemical and biological systems, using light as both a reagent that initiates the chemistry and as the product of excited state reactivity of organic molecules.
“This international award recognizes the exceptional contribution of Dr. Siva’s work, highlighting the caliber of research conducted at NDSU that carries global impact,” said Philip Boudjouk, vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer. “Faculty members such as Siva also provide valuable research and mentoring opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at NDSU.”
Dr. Siva previously received a National Science Foundation CAREER award that supports the early career-development activities of scholars who are likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century. The goal of Dr. Siva’s research is to use environmentally-benign ways to synthesize chiral molecules and to understand the interaction of light with matter leading to stereoselective photo-transformations.
Dr. Siva joined the faculty at NDSU in August 2006. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Columbia University, New York, N.Y., with Prof. Nicholas J. Turro, after receiving his Ph.D. from Tulane University, New Orleans, La., under the guidance of Prof. V. Ramamurthy. Prof. Siva received his master’s degree in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, (IIT-M), Tamil Nadu, India, and completed his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from St. Joseph’s College, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India. For details regarding Dr. Siva’s research, teaching and outreach activities, visit http://sivagroup.chem.ndsu.nodak.edu/
The Swiss Chemical Society that selected Dr. Siva for the Grammaticakis-Neumann Prize is an international professional organization engaging in information, discussion and education in all fields of pure and applied chemistry including economical, ecological and social perspectives. The SCS has approximately 2600 individual and 40 corporate members and five collective member societies. For information about the Swiss Chemical Society, visit www.swiss-chem-soc.ch/ For information about the award to Dr. Siva, visit www.swiss-chem-soc.ch/news/news.cfm?ID=167
With a reputation for excellence in teaching and multidisciplinary research, North Dakota State University, Fargo, is a metropolitan land grant institution with more than 14,000 students. NDSU is listed in the top 100 of several National Science Foundation annual research expenditure rankings in the areas of chemistry, physical sciences, agricultural sciences and social sciences, with more than $100 million total research expenditures annually. www.ndsu.edu/research
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