Alumni & Development
About Leland McClung
Professor Leland S. McClung, Ph.D., came to Indiana University in 1940, where he excelled as a professor, administrator, and researcher. McClung, who was internationally known for his research on anaerobic bacteria, created and then led for 25 years the Department of Bacteriology, which has now evolved into our microbiology program. In addition to building a model curriculum, McClung recruited prominent scientists for the department; the first faculty member he hired, Salvadore Luria, later became a Nobel Laureate.
According to Gary Sojka, former chair of Biology, “Professor McClung’s administrative talents were widely recognzied, appreciated, and sought after outside Indiana University.” Among his many esteemed positions, McClung was Vice President of the Society of Industrial Microbiology in 1958, President of the National Association for Biology Teachers in 1965, and the Archivist for the American Society for Microbiology. He also conducted numerous highly acclaimed summer institutes supported by the National Science Foundation that trained high school biology teachers in microbiology. Because of his experience running these institutes, the NSF later asked him to serve as a consultant to Taiwan and India. In 1980, he was awarded an honorary membership to the American Society of Microbiologists, one of the society’s highest distinctions.
The Microbiology Undergraduate Summer Research Award
With your support, this award now generates an estimated annual income of $8,800. Thanks to the contributions of donors like you, microbiology undergraduates can jumpstart their research careers.
About the Microbiology Undergraduate Summer Research Award
The Microbiology Undergraduate Summer Research Award was established by the late Leland S. McClung in 1989. The award assists a student conducting scientific laboratory research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Dr. McClung believed that independent research was crucial to the success of an undergraduate.
The Microbiology Undergraduate Summer Research Award is open to undergraduate microbiology majors who are performing independent research on the Bloomington campus during the summer. First preference is given to students who have received the L.S. McClung Scholarship. Recipients are required to write a publishable manuscript that reports the results of their research.
 Eloise Weir (left), Tiffany Tsui, Malcolm Winkler, and Lauren Christiansen. (Photo: Kathy Wyss) |
Eloise Weir, 2011 Microbiology Undergraduate Summer Research Scholar
Junior Eloise Weir is also a recipient of the L.S. McClung Scholarship this year. She works in Professor Malcolm Winkler’s laboratory on a project to create a Streptococcus pneumoniae single knockout mutant library. The research she conducts this summer will be the basis for her Senior Thesis.
Lauren Christiansen, 2011 Microbiology Undergraduate Summer Research Scholar
Lauren Christiansen is earning her degree in Microbiology with minors in Chemistry and French. Like Eloise, she is working in Malcolm Winkler’s lab with the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. Lauren is a member of the Hutton Honors College and has received the IU Excellence Scholarship.
Read more about the Microbiology Undergraduate Summer Research Award requirements »