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Western Illinois University Department of Chemistry Assistant Professor Brian Bellott was presented with the Award of Excellence in Mentoring during the closing ceremonies of the WIU Centennial Honor College's 2015 Thomas E. Helm Undergraduate Research Day, held April 15 at Western.
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WIU Chemistry's Bellott Awarded Excellence in Mentoring at Helm Undergraduate Research Day

April 16, 2015

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MACOMB, IL — Western Illinois University Department of Chemistry Assistant Professor Brian Bellott was presented with the Award of Excellence in Mentoring during the closing ceremonies of the WIU Centennial Honor College's 2015 Thomas E. Helm Undergraduate Research Day, held April 15 at Western.

According to WIU Centennial Honors College Associate Director Paul Schlag, the award was created in 2012 to celebrate faculty who energetically support and mentor student research.

Bellott was nominated for the honor by Honors College student Hannah Drake (Charleston, IL), a Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program honorable mention recipient and a junior forensic chemistry major (with a double minor in philosophy and mathematics). Bellott joined the chemistry department in 2012 and has been actively involved in that department and across campus since that time, Schlag said.

"Dr. Bellott takes initiative to ensure that each of his students receives the assistance, motivation and encouragement they need," Drake said of Bellott. "For me, this has meant encouraging me to apply for scholarships, taking me to numerous conferences and research symposiums, assisting me in obtaining research internships and working to ensure I get the best education in chemistry that I can."

Drake added that each of Bellott's students is similarly supported, motivated and academically mentored.

Bellott is the graduate advisor for the chemistry department, the Chemistry Club advisor, the chemistry department's alternate representative for the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Council, an active member of the hiring committee for new chemistry professors and the program coordinator for the Chemistry Research Inspiring Student Excellence (RISE) Program at Western. In addition to fulfilling his responsibilities as a faculty member and advisor, he also has an active research laboratory, where he supervises five graduate students and 11 undergraduate students.

For more information, contact the Centennial Honors College at (309) 298-2228. Learn more about the WIU Centennial Honors College at wiu.edu/honors.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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