News

Portland State University microbiologist David R. Boone has been selected to receive the 2005 United States Federation for Culture Collections (USFCC)/J. Roger Porter Award by the Officers of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), the Committee on Awards and the American Academy of Microbiology.

The award honors an outstanding effort by a scientist who has demonstrated the importance of biodiversity through sustained curatorial or stewardship activities for a major resource used by the scientific community. The award includes a $2,000 cash prize and will be presented at the ASM General Meeting Awards Dinner, on Monday, June 6, 2005, in Atlanta, Ga., at which Boone will present the USFCC/J. Roger Porter Award Lecture.

David R. Boone is a microbial ecologist and physiologist with interests in the microbial degradation of organic matter in oxygen-free environments. He is best known for his work on methane-producing bacteria and their syntrophic colleagues, but his research has expanded to include other anaerobic bacteria including iron-reducing and sulfate-reducing bacteria. Boone is also the director of the Oregon Collection of Methanogens, one of the two major sources of these organisms in the world.

For more information on David Boone's research, visit methanogens.pdx.edu/boone. A description of the award can be found at www.asm.org/awards by clicking on Achievement Awards.

Portland State University's position in Oregon's economic and cultural center allows for deep community engagement and the creation of partnerships with hundreds of organizations throughout the region-partnerships that give PSU students valuable learning opportunities as they solve real-world problems of business and community. Portland State offers more than 100 undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees, as well as graduate certificates and continuing education programs. PSU serves more students and confers more master's degrees annually than any other Oregon university.