Southern Miss Students Capture Prestigious Awards at Scientific Seminar

University of Southern Mississippi polymer science students Vipul Padman and Kathleen Davis took home impressive awards recently from the Society of Cosmetic Chemists' Annual Scientific Seminar in Las Vegas.

Padman, a doctoral student, captured first place for Best Student Poster. His current research involves understanding basic mechanisms that are directed toward the delivery of beneficial agents from shampoos.

Davis, a rising senior, won third-place recognition in the same category. She is working on the interaction between a rheology modifier and an emulsifier to enhance the stability and performance of systems for topical application of therapeutic drugs.

“The significance of these achievements is that universities from all over the United States and Canada were represented at the event,” said Dr. Robert Lochhead, chair of the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials at Southern Miss. “All of the other universities' entrants were final-year graduate students, so our undergraduate Kathleen did exceptionally well by successfully competing against a slew of graduate students.”

Padman and Davis are both leaving this week for summer internships: Padman at Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati and Davis with BASF in Tarrytown, N.Y.

For more information about the Schools of Polymers and High Performance Materials at Southern Miss call 601.266.4868 or visit http://www.usm.edu/polymer/