Good Sense of Humor Goes a Long Way

This spring, Dr. Roger Nielsen completed his service as Chair of the Department of Geosciences.

Folks here at the Breakthroughs in Science HQ Annex are utterly grateful for his leadership. Roger is the best when it comes to helping us attract funding for science breakthroughs, plus he’s got a great, dry sense of humor–you might call it gallows humor.

(Not to say that gallows are part of every day life here, but from what we can tell, the role of Department Chair might be the toughest one that exists on a university campus.)

Roger juggled a huge breadth of projects, needs, opportunities, etc. with aplomb and was always availalble for last-minute requests.

In thanks, we’re going to buy him a slice at American Dream Pizza. We hastened to point out that the cost of a slice is hugely inversely related to our gratitude. He seemed to understand. Said something about how we all get by on bread and water because of budget cuts, so a slice would be a nice change of pace. Again, Roger’s sense of humor always comes in handy.

Roger and his son Karl took a much-deserved trip this summer. Highlights included Mt. Rushmore:

Dr. John Kimmerling has stepped into the role of Interim Department Chair and we’re really looking forward to working with him to build on the good work Roger did.

David T. Wong named Indiana Living Legend

On July 18, 2008, Dr. David T. Wong (’64 Chemistry) was honored as an Indiana Living Legend by the Indiana Historical Society. He is best known for his work discovering Prozac, Strattera and Cymbalta, but here at OSU, we also know him as a 2003 OSU Alumni Fellow. He remains active in the OSU community, serving as a member of the Department of Chemistry Advisory Board–we are fortunate to have his ongoing guidance and friendship.

David has made OSU proud in yet another way this summer. Along with four other Hoosiers, he has been selected from more than 150 nominations by a committee of civic and corporate leaders, volunteers and IHS trustees as an Indiana Living Legend. Here’s a bit more background on David:

Dr. Wong is President of DT Wong Consulting, LLC, and is an internationally renowned biochemist and neuropharmacologist. He worked at the Lilly Research Laboratories from 1968 until his retirement in 2000 as a Lilly Distinguished Research Fellow. He is a co-discoverer and co-inventor of several centrally acting drugs, which have revolutionized the fields of psychiatry and neuropharmacology, including Prozac for the treatment of depression (1986) and related disorders (1988); Strattera for attention deficit disorder (2003); and Cymbalta for depression (2004), diabetes neuropathic pain (2004) and general anxiety disorder (2007).

Dr. Wong has received several notable awards for his contributions to science, including the Discoverer’s Award, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association in 1993; the Pharmaceutical Discoverer’s Award, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression in 1996; the Outstanding Achievement in Research, Development and Innovation Award, Indiana Health Industry Forum in 1996; the Outstanding Achievement in Neuroscience Research Award, Lilly Neuroscience, Eli Lilly and Company in 2000; and the Excellence in Science Award, U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce in 2002.

Dr. Wong has published more than 160 papers and book chapters in the fields of neuropharmacology and biochemistry and is an inventor or co-inventor for some 35 U.S. Patents. Dr. Wong is an adjunct professor, Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry, at the Indiana University School of Medicine and Nankai University in Tianjin, China.

Our hearty congratulations to an Indiana Living Legend!

Images and biography provided by the Indiana Historical Society