WUSTL photo
Liviu Mirica, PhD, assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, and Yinjie Tang, PhD, assistant professor of chemical engineering, receive Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Achievement Awards on June 14 from Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. The research grants awarded by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) provide seed money for research by junior faculty at ORAU institutions. Mirica and Tang are among 32 recipients nationwide of this award in 2010-2011. The recipients, each of whom are in the first two years of a tenure track, will receive $5,000. WUSTL will match with an additional $5,000. Mirica’s award supports his research to develop novel chemical agents for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Tang’s supports his efforts to engineer thermophilic bacteria capable of producing biofuel from biomass.