Bowie State University News August 18, 2015 Bowie State Professor Honored for Mentoring Aspiring Scientists A Bowie State University biology professor, known for mentoring budding scientists, received a prestigious professorship from the University System of Maryland to continue his international research in biotechnology with undergraduate students. Associate Professor George Ude is the first tenured Bowie State professor to receive the highly competitive Wilson H. Elkins Professorship<http://www.usmd.edu/usm/academicaffairs/elkins.html>, awarded to USM faculty each year to support their innovative work to engage students through teaching, research and service. It is named for the former University of Maryland president who led the growth of the university in size, scope, and standing over 24 years. "Dr. Ude is a great thinker whose professional career is devoted to nurturing the creative spirits of our youth," said Bowie State President Mickey L. Burnim. "[He] is passionate about stimulating interest in science." The professorship will provide additional funding for Dr. Ude's work to expand opportunities for Bowie State undergraduate students to become lab assistants and travel to academic conferences to present their research. "I will continue in Professor Wilson H. Elkins' legacy by exposing our students to hands-on learning through real-life problem-solving research projects and by continuing to advocate for the adoption of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) <https://curenet.cns.utexas.edu/> activities," he said. He was recently awarded a grant of nearly $400,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF)<http://www.nsf.gov/> to develop the Applied Biotechnology Initiative to prepare more Bowie State students for careers in that emerging field. Students taking molecular biology can now conduct real-world research as part of the course and even travel abroad through a partnership with the Godfrey Okoye University in Nigeria, West Africa, and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, one of the nation's top research institutions. This summer, Dr. Ude traveled to Nigeria with three Bowie State students to conduct DNA barcoding analysis on native species of yams. The students leaned food forensics skills that could aid the nation in fighting future agroterrorism attacks. The team continued their research at Bowie State in the plant genomics lab. Senior biology major Julian McCormick, one of the students who traveled with Dr. Ude to Nigeria this summer, never dreamed that he would work on international research with his mentor. Because of that experience, he now plans to work with the Peace Corps before becoming the first in his family to become a doctor. "Dr. Ude has made such a phenomenal difference in my undergraduate career," he said. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.