Andreas Ehnbom, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University, has been selected as a 2019 Phil Gramm Doctoral Fellowship Award recipient, announced Thursday (March 28) by Dr. Karen L. Butler-Purry, associate provost for graduate and professional studies.
Ehnbom is one of five Texas A&M doctoral students honored this year with the prestigious award, established in 2006 with the support of Phil Gramm, the former United States Senator from Texas who served as a professor of economics at Texas A&M for 12 years before being elected to Congress.
Ehnbom will be presented with a $5,000 cash award and a framed certificate as part of an April 4 awards ceremony in the Memorial Student Center Stark Galleries at which each recipient also will deliver a three-minute presentation about their academic work and Gramm Fellowship-worthy accomplishments. All five students henceforth will be recognized as Senator Phil Gramm Doctoral Fellows for general scholarship excellence and contributions to their disciplines.
“Dr. Gramm appreciated the roles of graduate students at a public university, from teaching undergraduates in introductory courses, to conducting vital research, to volunteering in the community,” said Dr. Mark J. Zoran, executive associate dean in the Texas A&M College of Science as well as longtime associate dean for graduate studies. “Mr. Ehnbom’s efforts in the Department of Chemistry and at Texas A&M University exemplify Senator Gramm’s vision for graduate students and their importance to our broad Aggie missions.”
Since June 2015, Ehnbom has been pursuing doctoral studies at Texas A&M as a member of two different laboratories — Texas A&M chemist Dr. John A. Gladysz’ research group and that of Texas A&M theoretical chemist Dr. Michael B. Hall within the Laboratory for Molecular Simulation. The ultimate goal of Ehnbom’s research is to understand and predict the function of newly designed Werner complexes, a new class of catalysts for enantioselective organic synthesis. He previously was honored in 2018 with a predoctoral fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation that enabled him to visit RWTH Aachen and several other research groups throughout Germany.
“Only eight or so doctoral students are honored with a Senator Gramm fellowship each year at Texas A&M,” Zoran added. “In the last eight years, 10 College of Science doctoral researchers have received this award. Mr. Ehnbom’s fellowship adds to our graduate student body’s recognition for their meritorious scientific research and teaching.”
Prior to coming to Texas A&M four years ago, Ehnbom received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from Lund University in Sweden in 2013. As an undergraduate, he participated in exchange studies abroad at the University of California at Irvine (2011-2012), earning summa cum laude honors as a junior specialist in Dr. Suzanne A. Blum’s research group, where he focused on a single-molecule project — investigating the mechanism of a Pd-catalyzed reaction.
Ehnbom received numerous awards, including the Oxford University Press Award for excellence in chemistry and the Dean’s Summer Student Scholarship from University College London (UCL), the latter of which enabled him to perform research on antimalarial drugs as a member of Dr. Graeme Hogarth’s research group at UCL. In addition, Ehnbom was a guest researcher at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, during the summer of 2011 with Dr. Selwin Mapolie. He continuously worked in Dr. Ebbe Nordlander’s laboratory during his undergraduate studies — work that later resulted in a highly cited publication.
After his stint at Irvine, Ehnbom returned to Lund University, where he worked with gold (I) catalysis in the Dr. Ola Wendt’s research group en route to his master’s degree. He then worked as a project researcher with Dr. Peter Somfai, focusing on photoredox catalysis and authoring a book chapter in Organic Reactions entitled “Aziridination of Alkenes using Nitrene Transfer Reagents.”
Gramm spent two decades serving in the U.S. Congress and Senate, using his economic and financial expertise to create important laws and policies, and to provide advice to legislators and the White House. He authored numerous articles and books while at Texas A&M, ranging from monetary theory to mineral extraction economics. Currently, Gramm is senior adviser to U.S. Policy Metrics, an economic and public policy research firm in Washington, D.C. He is married to Wendy Lee Gramm, a former member of The Texas A&M System Board of Regents and former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission under Presidents Reagan and Bush. They have two sons, Marshall, Texas A&M Class of 2000, and Jeff.
For additional information about the ceremony or to RSVP, contact LaToya Morris at (979) 845-3631 or ljmorris@exchange.tamu.edu.
To learn more about the Gramm Fellowship Program and other opportunities for graduate and professional students at Texas A&M, visit http://ogaps.tamu.edu/.
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Contact: Shana K. Hutchins, (979) 862-1237 or shutchins@science.tamu.edu
Hutchins Shana
