Alumni News

Mentor Program doubles

Each year the College of Biological Sciences enlists alumni and friends as mentors to help students prepare for life after graduation. This year, the Mentor Program matched more than 140 students with mentors; a 100 percent increase over 2002. CBS would like to thank everyone who shared their time and experience with CBS undergraduate students this year.

Class Notes

David Dilcher (M.S. in Botany, 1960) presented a keynote address at the annual meeting of the German Botanical Society, held in September 2003 in Frankfurt, Germany. The talk, entitled "Searching for the First Flower in the World," focused on ancient flowers in Northeast China and reproductive biology of flowering plants.

Roy Hammerstedt (Ph.D in Biochemistry, 1968) is president of a new company called ADP Life Sciences. ADP's vision is to accelerate the market readiness of proprietary life science technologies that improve quality of life and health. Located in Pennsylvania, ADP was founded in 2003.

Shelley Steva (B.S. in Zoology, 1975) is in her fourth year of teaching science at Red Lake County Central School in Plummer, Minnesota. She is happy that her daughter is a freshman at the University of Minnesota majoring in environmental science.

Huan Ngo (B.S. in Microbiology, 1986) is a science teacher at Sheridan Communications and Technology Middle School in New Haven, Connecticut. He is equipping the school's lab for biomedical science and biotechnology in order to introduce students to leading-edge science in these fields.

David Blehert (B.S. in Biology, 1993) recently completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He is relocating to Madison, Wisconsin to manage the diagnostic bacteriology laboratory at the National Wildlife Health Center, which is part of the United States Geological Survey. David, his wife, Regina, and their daughter, Mirra, are excited to be moving back to the Midwest.

Charles Johnson (B.S. in Microbiology, 1996) moved to Ames, Iowa this winter to start a combined residency and Ph.D. program in veterinary pathology at the Iowa State University Veterinary College.

Mark Schoenbeck (Ph.D. in Plant Biological Sciences, 1997) was appointed assistant professor in the biology department at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Mark teaches biology, writing, and plant physiology at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

James Ross (B.S. in Biochemistry, 2003) is pursuing an M.D. at Harvard Medical School.

Join the UM Legislative Network

The Legislative Network is a coalition of volunteers who are committed to educating elected officials about the importance of the University of Minnesota to the state.

After a long history of alumni involvement in legislative advocacy on behalf of the U, the University of Minnesota Alumni Association created the Legislative Network more than 15 years ago. The Network has worked to keep alumni, students, faculty, staff, and community involved in important University initiatives at the Legislature.

UMAA plans 100th birthday bash

Join CBS alumni and the University community as we celebrate the University of Minnesota Alumni Association's 100th birthday on January 30, 2004. Mark your calendars today.

Your membership makes a difference. UMAA and the Biological Sciences Alumni Society are your lifelong connection to the University of Minnesota and the College of Biological Sciences.

CBS Alumni Relations