Kruegel awarded Novartis Scholarship
Sheeraz Hyder
Issue date: 11/13/09 Section: Campus News
Andrew Kruegel, a senior in the Chemistry program at Stevens Institute of Technology, was recently awarded the Novartis Science Scholarship. The Independent College Fund of New Jersey gives eight of these scholarships a year to "high-achieving science students who conduct independent scientific research." Kruegel is the third Stevens student to receive the scholarship since it was established in 2008, following on the heels of Brian Dunican and Michael Bertucci, class of 2009, who received it last year.
Kruegel is studying "the mass spectrometry of inorganic compounds using laser ionization" with Professor Athula Attygalle, a field that Kruegel said, "has not been much studied." Kruegel spends his days studying the basic behavior of the compounds. The group is looking at future uses including pollutant analysis and geological applications. Since they are in the early stages of the research, a lot of the details are vague. Kruegel, along with Professor Attygalle, recently submitted a joint paper to the Journal of American Society for Mass Spectrometry which showed that sulfur can be used as a calibrant for mass spectrometry. Attygalle noted that "Every year I have several students who undertake research projects with me. However, only rarely an undergraduate produces sufficient results that culminates as a research publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The project Andrew undertook on "Elemental Sulfur as a Versatile Low-Mass-Range Calibration Standard for Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry" belongs to that exceptional category." He noted that "it is a big achievement for an undergraduate to be an author on a research publication. In this case, Andrew is not only the first author but also the only author beside me because he was primarily responsible for the work presented in the paper." Kruegel started working for Professor Attygalle one and a half years ago. He approached him about doing Scholars research during the summer between his sophomore and junior years. Since that time he has worked on several projects closely related to his original research. This past summer he interned at Hoffman-LaRoche, where he worked on drug discovery. The work in Attygalle's lab got Kruegel interested in medicinal organic chemistry, something he hopes to pursue in graduate school.
In order to win the scholarship, Kruegel had to be recommended by Professor Attygalle, and there was a short application process in which they detailed his research. A minimum grade point average of 3.5 was required to be eligible for the $3,000 scholarship. Attgalle also said that Kruegel's "second research paper is current undergoing peer review for "Analytical Chemistry," a very prestigious journal published by the American Chemical Society." Given Attygalle's faith in Kruegel, he is "confident that he will have at least three publications before he leaves Stevens. I don't have the statistics, but I think this is a remarkable achievement if not an all time record."
Kruegel is studying "the mass spectrometry of inorganic compounds using laser ionization" with Professor Athula Attygalle, a field that Kruegel said, "has not been much studied." Kruegel spends his days studying the basic behavior of the compounds. The group is looking at future uses including pollutant analysis and geological applications. Since they are in the early stages of the research, a lot of the details are vague. Kruegel, along with Professor Attygalle, recently submitted a joint paper to the Journal of American Society for Mass Spectrometry which showed that sulfur can be used as a calibrant for mass spectrometry. Attygalle noted that "Every year I have several students who undertake research projects with me. However, only rarely an undergraduate produces sufficient results that culminates as a research publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The project Andrew undertook on "Elemental Sulfur as a Versatile Low-Mass-Range Calibration Standard for Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry" belongs to that exceptional category." He noted that "it is a big achievement for an undergraduate to be an author on a research publication. In this case, Andrew is not only the first author but also the only author beside me because he was primarily responsible for the work presented in the paper." Kruegel started working for Professor Attygalle one and a half years ago. He approached him about doing Scholars research during the summer between his sophomore and junior years. Since that time he has worked on several projects closely related to his original research. This past summer he interned at Hoffman-LaRoche, where he worked on drug discovery. The work in Attygalle's lab got Kruegel interested in medicinal organic chemistry, something he hopes to pursue in graduate school.
In order to win the scholarship, Kruegel had to be recommended by Professor Attygalle, and there was a short application process in which they detailed his research. A minimum grade point average of 3.5 was required to be eligible for the $3,000 scholarship. Attgalle also said that Kruegel's "second research paper is current undergoing peer review for "Analytical Chemistry," a very prestigious journal published by the American Chemical Society." Given Attygalle's faith in Kruegel, he is "confident that he will have at least three publications before he leaves Stevens. I don't have the statistics, but I think this is a remarkable achievement if not an all time record."