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Winter 2007 • Volume 13, Issue 1

Bulgarian student dedicates American flag

At the September 11th observance ceremony, Georgi Georgiev '08 dedicated an American flag issued to him by his battalion to Bradley University. Georgiev, a native of Bulgaria who moved to Chicago with his family in 2000, joined the Army National Guard as a student at DeVry University. After transferring to Bradley, he was called to a year of active duty in Iraq. The donated flag was displayed at several events, was framed in a shadow box along with its certificate and a bronze plate, and was given a place of honor in the Michel Student Center.

“The American flag has unbelievable significance for everybody who has served,” said Georgiev. “I gave one to my family, and I gave one to Bradley because I wanted to give something to my school. It’s not a big gift, but I hope it will mean a lot to the people here. I feel good about this flag that was carried in Iraq by my battalion.” He said he viewed the flag as a “piece of me that will stay here.” He added, “I am happy with what I am studying and everything here.”

Georgiev is working toward a degree in management information systems. He hopes to continue learning about different cultures, and credits his Bulgarian heritage for making it easier for him to learn languages. He intends to put his knowledge and travel experiences to work after graduation, possibly in the CIA or FBI.

“I take the positives from each culture—America, Iraq, Bulgaria,” Georgiev said. “In Iraq, we wanted to help them, and they wanted to help us. We had a mutual respect for each other. I was always respectful of their customs, always had an interpreter, and only spoke to the man of the house. We all have our differences.”

*The flag was proudly flown during Task Force Balckhawk's Operation Iraqi Freedom on March 4, 2006. Serving as a beacon of hope and justice, the flag was proudly raised at Camp Dunham, Al Taqaddum, Iraq.

Bradley police officer Andrew Myers and his daughter share a moment at the September 11th
observance ceremony. Myers credits the 5-year-old as his reason for surviving the 2001
attack on the Pentagon, where he worked and aided in rescue efforts.

Pielak’s Parkinson’s research wins NIH award

University of North Carolina chemistry professor Dr. Gary Pielak ’77 was awarded a five-year, $2.5 million Director’s Pioneer Award from the National Institute of Health (NIH) in September. Pielak is also a professor of biochemistry and biophysics in the School of Medicine at the UNC where he is a member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is the first scientist at UNC to receive this NIH award honoring highly innovative approaches to major challenges in biomedical research.

Pielak will use his Pioneer Award to study proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases at the atomic level inside living cells, including those involved in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. He is credited with discovering how crowded conditions in cells can cause collapse and prevent structure formation in one of the proteins associated with Parkinson’s disease.

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