{"id":4830,"date":"2025-10-15T15:06:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T15:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4830"},"modified":"2025-10-15T15:06:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T15:06:05","slug":"gower-symposium-showcases-siu-chemistry-student-research-celebrates-donor-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4830","title":{"rendered":"Gower Symposium Showcases SIU Chemistry Student Research, Celebrates Donor Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Britni Bateman<\/p>\n

CARBONDALE \u2014 The School of Chemical and Biomolecular Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale honored three graduate students Friday, Sept. 19, during the annual Gower Research Award Symposium at the newly dedicated Gower Translational Research Center.<\/p>\n

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The Gower fellowship provides full stipend support for summer and a monetary award to each student. This year\u2019s Gower Fellows, Samsul Arafin, Peshala Jayamaha Hitihamillage and Zahid Siraj, presented their findings at the symposium in the presence of Bob and Beth and their daughter Allison. The symposium also includes a poster presentation highlighting the research activity in the school,<\/p>\n

The fellowship program, sponsored by Dr. Bob Gower for 19 years, will mark its 20th anniversary in 2026. Since its inception in 2006, the program has supported 54 Ph.D. candidates, averaging three recipients per year. A plaque in the Neckers atrium displays the names of all fellows.<\/p>\n

Eligible applicants are Ph.D. students who have been admitted to candidacy. A faculty committee reviews applications each March, and fellows are announced in time to begin their summer research. In addition to the symposium, the event includes a poster session where graduate, undergraduate and postdoctoral students informally share their work.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThe Gower Fellowship has a direct and lasting impact on the careers and lives of its recipients. Equally, the unwavering support Bob and Beth Gower have extended to the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Sciences and to SIU is immeasurable,\u201d said Dr. Qingfeng Ge, director and professor of the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Sciences.<\/p>\n

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The Gower Symposium highlights the impact of donor support on SIU\u2019s research mission. In 2023, Bob and Beth Gower committed $2.5 million to name the Gower Translational Research Center, further cementing their legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Gower family\u2019s generosity has empowered nearly two decades of student research in chemistry and continues to strengthen SIU\u2019s reputation as a center for discovery,\u201d Chancellor Austin Lane said.<\/p>\n

A West Frankfort native and two-degree SIU graduate, Dr. Gower built a distinguished career in the chemical and energy industries, serving as CEO and chairman of Lyondell Petrochemical Company and co-founding Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc. He is now executive chairman of Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. He and his wife, Beth, have supported SIU for decades through scholarships, endowed professorships and capital projects.<\/p>\n

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SIU holds a rare distinction as one of only 21 universities nationwide \u2014 out of nearly 4,000 \u2014 recognized by the Carnegie Classification for both Research 1 status, the highest level of research activity, and as an Opportunity College and University, which honors institutions that expand access and foster social mobility. The Gowers\u2019 commitment to student research embodies that mission, advancing discovery while ensuring SIU remains a place where students from all backgrounds can succeed.<\/p>\n

This contribution also supports Imagine SIU 2030, the SIU Foundation’s comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the campaign has raised more than $425 million toward its $500 million goal, making it the fifth-largest fundraising effort in Illinois higher education. In the most recent fiscal year, the SIU Foundation awarded more than $5.6 million in scholarships to 2,111 students, representing 17 percent of the student body.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Britni Bateman CARBONDALE \u2014 The School of Chemical and Biomolecular Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale honored three graduate students Friday, Sept. 19, during the annual Gower Research Award Symposium at the newly dedicated Gower Translational Research Center. The Gower fellowship provides full stipend support for summer and a monetary award to each student. … Continue reading Gower Symposium Showcases SIU Chemistry Student Research, Celebrates Donor Impact<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,3,4,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donor-stories","category-higher-education","category-illinois-higher-education","category-siu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4830"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4837,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4830\/revisions\/4837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}