Karl Feierabend and James West Win Cottrell College Science Awards

Coveted grants support significant research by early career scientists

WOOSTER, Ohio, May 24 – Karl J. Feierabend, assistant professor of chemistry, and James D. West, assistant professor of biochemistry and microbiology, have received Cottrell College Science Awards from Research Corporation for Science Advancement, a leading advocate for the sciences and a major funder of scientific innovation and research in America’s colleges and universities. The $35,000 Cottrell grants support research by early career scientists at primarily undergraduate institutions and the recipients must involve students in their research in meaningful ways.

“These are very prestigious awards granted to about 45 scientists a year,” said Heather Fitzgibbon, dean for faculty development. “For The College of Wooster to receive two in one year is a great coup.”

Feierabend will work with a Wooster student to construct a new incoherent broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy instrument that will be used to investigate the structure and bonding of organic acids. West and his students will explore how thioredoxin peroxidase I, an enzyme that normally detoxifies hydrogen peroxide in baker’s yeast might be used to help other proteins maintain their proper three-dimensional structure.

“Encouraging and supporting early career scientists and their students is of crucial national importance, as the United States seeks to maintain its preeminence in scientific innovation,” said Dr. James M. Gentile, president and CEO of Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement. “These awards provide ‘seed’ funding for significant research.”  

The College of Wooster is an independent liberal arts college, nationally recognized for teaching excellence and a curriculum built around mentored undergraduate research. Every Wooster senior works one-on-one with a faculty adviser to create an original research project, written work, performance or art exhibit. Founded in 1866, the college enrolls approximately 2,000 students.