UWG News Item
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UWG student recognized by USA Today
February 15, 2006
CARROLLTON,
GA - University of West Georgia junior Logan Leslie of Carrollton has
been named by USA Today as a member of the All-USA College Academic Team.
The All-USA College Academic Team honors full-time undergraduates who not only excel in scholarship but also extend their intellectual abilities beyond the classroom to benefit society. Criteria include grades, academic rigor, leadership, activities, and most important, the student's essay describing his or her most outstanding intellectual endeavor done while in college.
Leslie’s research experience started in seventh grade when he began working with Dr. Andrew Leavitt, professor of chemistry, in the UWG chemistry lab. Dr. John Hansen, professor of chemistry at UWG and Logan’s research mentor for the last three years, nominated the biochemistry major.
“Logan is a serious student with a lot of passion,” said Hansen. “His desire to dig deeper into a problem provides him with the instinctual ability of being a great researcher.”
Leavitt and Dr. Don Wagner, dean of the Honors College and director of special programs, also wrote supporting letters to USA Today.
Leslie
stands out as an Honors College student with a 4.0 GPA and several academic
awards under his belt. He has earned the Goldwater Scholarship, a national
undergraduate award in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and
engineering, the UWG Presidential Scholarship and the Analytic Chemistry
Award. He was named outstanding Honors College Freshman and Sophomore
and is co-authoring a research paper that will be submitted to a major
international journal.
“I didn’t realize how interesting research was until I began working with Andy Leavitt,” said Leslie. “As a researcher, you’re part of a big science community and share each other’s knowledge. You can make a difference.”
Leslie has presented several research papers at national conventions and completed a summer research program at Stanford University last year with noted chemist Dr. Richard Zare.
The 20-year-old has concentrated his research on protein folding, a molecular processes that leads to diseases of the brain like Alzheimer’s and Mad Cow disease. He hopes to stay in academia and continue his research after graduate school.
UWG has received national recognition for several years
for its undergraduate research programs and its outstanding students and
mentors, said Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna, president of the university.
“Logan Leslie is an outstanding student of the Honors College at
the University of West Georgia,” said Sethna. “We take pride
in his accomplishments and in this recognition by USA Today.”
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