{"634620":{"#nid":"634620","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Christine Conwell, Alumna and Georgia Tech Director, Wins 2020 Outstanding Achievement in Research Enterprise Enhancement Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt was nearly 10 years ago that the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/centerforchemicalevolution.com\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Chemical Evolution\u003C\/a\u003E, a joint research project of Georgia Tech, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/\u0022\u003ENational Science Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/\u0022\u003ENASA\u003C\/a\u003E, opened on campus to investigate the origins of life.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2020, the Center is now \u0026ldquo;the premier program in the world investigating compelling questions about how life arose on Earth,\u0026rdquo; says \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/finn\/m.g.\u0022\u003EM.G. Finn\u003C\/a\u003E, professor and chair of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E and James A. Carlos Family Chair for Pediatric Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn honor of her near-decade of work as the managing director of the Center for Chemical Evolution (CCE), \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/people\/christine-conwell\u0022\u003EChristine Conwell\u003C\/a\u003E has been announced as the winner of the 2020 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/provost.gatech.edu\/faculty-and-staff-awards\u0022\u003EOutstanding Achievement in Research Enterprise Enhancement Award\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe honor, presented by the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/leadership\/chaouki-abdallah\u0022\u003EOffice of the Executive Vice President for Research,\u003C\/a\u003E is given to \u0026ldquo;faculty whose research results have had a demonstrable and sustained societal impact,\u0026rdquo; according to the Office of the Provost website.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This jewel in Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s crown would not have been possible without her efforts,\u0026rdquo; Finn says. \u0026ldquo;As a jointly funded center by the NSF and NASA, it has been both unique and uniquely successful, bringing together investigators from the U.S. and around the world. This demands administrative skill and leadership of the highest order, and Dr. Conwell has provided exactly that.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EConwell, who earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry in 2004, returned to Georgia Tech in 2011 to take the reins of the CCE. \u0026ldquo;I did not appreciate at that point how being a part of this $40 million research enterprise would immerse me in the larger research efforts at Georgia Tech,\u0026rdquo; says Conwell. \u0026ldquo;I am absolutely honored to have been chosen for this award. I love what I do every day for the center. I get to interact with teams of amazing people at Georgia Tech and across the country, to do science that is changing the outlook of a field, and educate others about our efforts.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn February 2020, the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EStrategic Energy Institute at Georgia Tech\u003C\/a\u003E named Conwell its new Director of Planning and Operations. The SEI focuses its efforts on integrating, facilitating and enabling programs at Georgia Tech exploring the energy landscape.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe scientific objective of the Center for Chemical Evolution, as stated on its website, \u0026ldquo;is to demonstrate\u0026nbsp;small molecules within a model inventory of prebiotic chemistry can self-assemble into polymers that resemble RNA and proteins.\u0026rdquo; It\u0026rsquo;s not just about the history of molecular evolution on Earth; it\u0026rsquo;s also about the possible creation of new biopharmaceutical drugs.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Finding molecules with the ability to self-assemble into RNA- or protein-like polymers, regardless of whether these can be proven to be the ancestors, would undoubtedly create considerable excitement among scientists and the general public, represent a major advancement in the field of molecular self-assembly, and prove abundantly useful to synthetic chemists.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EConwell worked with CCE Regents\u0026#39; Professor and Principal Investigator \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/faculty\/hud\/\u0022\u003ENicholas Hud\u003C\/a\u003E, and Education Outreach and Diversity Director \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/comscicon.com\/Christopher-Parsons\u0022\u003EChristopher Parsons\u003C\/a\u003E. Conwell\u0026nbsp;managed day-to-day operations of the CCE and its $40 million budget, led collaborative efforts with scientists, and represented the center to NSF and NASA, as well as others within the NSF\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nsf-cci.com\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Chemical Innovation\u003C\/a\u003E program, which CCE is part of.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFinn also praises Conwell\u0026rsquo;s efforts in engaging the public about the CCE\u0026rsquo;s role. He credits her passion, experience and communications expertise. Conwell says those aspects of the job, as well as collaborating on interdisciplinary projects with scientists, made the managing director\u0026rsquo;s position \u0026quot;a really perfect role.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Beyond the official day-to-day efforts, I love being a part of the collaborative research environment that Tech has created. No day is boring, between chatting up the grad students and postdocs about life and dreams, working with other teams to develop large-scale collaborative teams, or just engaging with other staff to work on streamlining efforts, I could not have asked for a more rewarding experience,\u0026quot; Conwell says.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Conwell\u2019s decade of leadership in growing the Center for Chemical Evolution wins her top award from Executive Vice President for Research"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChristine Conwell helped turn the Center for Chemical Evolution from an idea to a well-established research organization devoted to studying the origins of life. Her leadership over nearly 10 years won her the 2020 Outstanding Achievement in Research Enterprise Enhancement Award.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Conwell\u2019s decade of leadership in growing the Center for Chemical Evolution wins her top award from Executive Vice President for Research"}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2020-04-21 21:34:42","changed_gmt":"2020-04-22 20:08:49","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-04-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-04-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"634622":{"id":"634622","type":"image","title":"Christine Conwell, former managing director of the Center for Chemical Evolution ","body":null,"created":"1587505181","gmt_created":"2020-04-21 21:39:41","changed":"1587505181","gmt_changed":"2020-04-21 21:39:41","alt":"","file":{"fid":"241496","name":"Christine Conwell.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Christine%20Conwell.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Christine%20Conwell.png","mime":"image\/png","size":575306,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Christine%20Conwell.png?itok=0EaJfkSD"}},"634621":{"id":"634621","type":"image","title":"Center for Chemical Evolution logo ","body":null,"created":"1587505056","gmt_created":"2020-04-21 21:37:36","changed":"1587505056","gmt_changed":"2020-04-21 21:37:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"241495","name":"CCE Logo.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/CCE%20Logo.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/CCE%20Logo.png","mime":"image\/png","size":291678,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/CCE%20Logo.png?itok=wZ3CpUny"}}},"media_ids":["634622","634621"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/centerforchemicalevolution.com\/","title":"Center for Chemical Evolution"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/helix-dna-fame-may-have-arisen-startling-ease","title":"The Helix, from DNA Fame, May Have Arisen With Startling Ease"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/georgia-tech-researchers-expand-utility-common-reagent","title":"Georgia Tech Researchers Expand Utility of Common Reagent"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/silica-may-have-helped-form-protein-precursors-prebiotic-earth","title":"Silica May Have Helped Form Protein Precursors in Prebiotic Earth"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/asteroid-time-capsules-may-help-explain-how-life-started-earth","title":"Asteroid \u201cTime Capsules\u201d May Help Explain How Life Started on Earth"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/pre-life-building-blocks-spontaneously-align-evolutionary-experiment","title":"Pre-Life Building Blocks Spontaneously Align in Evolutionary Experiment"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/research-horizons-video-2-nicholas-hud","title":"Georgia Tech Research Horizons: Center for Chemical Evolution"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"10339","name":"center for chemical evolution"},{"id":"166928","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"184591","name":"Christine Conwell"},{"id":"184592","name":"2020 Outstanding Achievement in Research Enterprise Enhancement Award"},{"id":"363","name":"NSF"},{"id":"408","name":"NASA"},{"id":"136661","name":"origins of life"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERenay San Miguel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}