1999 IOTA SIGMA PI ANNA LOUISE HOFFMAN AWARD FOR
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN GRADUATE RESEARCH

Joanne Marie Wittbrodt, Wayne State University

Joanne is a computational chemist whose research is primarily focused on studying the gas phase reactivity of small molecules and their interactions with surfaces. She has studied competing pathways for thermal decomposition of dichlorosilane, on interactions of water with models of an aluminum oxide surface and on the isomerization pathways and reactivities of a set of silicon-phosphorus compounds. Another portion of her work is performed in direct collaboration with experimentalists and involves the use of ab initio calculations to help interpret and explain the observed structure and behavior of newly synthesized compounds. Professor H. Bernhard Schlegel, Joanne's advisor and nominator called her "truly one of our outstanding graduate students". He commented that by the end of her first year of graduate studies, Joanne already completed three papers. "It was clear to me right from the start that Joanne is highly self-motivated and driven to excel," Professor Schlegel wrote. With all her projects, Joanne carried out the calculations with minimal supervision from her advisors, and wrote the papers from beginning to end by herself. Joanne has authored seven publications from her graduate research and has made several posters presentations at national and regional conferences. In addition to her scientific achievements, Joanne has initiated an undergraduate course on Computational Chemistry at Saginaw Valley University. She developed this new course single-handedly and enjoyed the challenge of teaching. Her students enthusiastically agree that she is an excellent teacher. Joanne has been awarded the Jaspar Teaching Fellowship and the Thomas C. Rumble University Graduate Fellowship from Wayne State University. She was also awarded the Esther and Stanley Kirschner Teaching Award in 1998.

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