News and Highlights
From the Chemistry Department
Arthur Chavez wins 2023 President's Outstanding Staff Award
Senior Procurement Officer, Arthur Chavez has been named the winner of a 2023 President's Outstanding Staff Award. This prestigious honor comes with a cash award and Arthur will be recognized by the President of the University at a ceremony in late s...
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Atmospheric Chemistry Models Missing Key Mechanism Related to Air Pollution, Says New Study
Atmospheric chemists have struggled for years to explain why our atmosphere has so much nitrous acid, a compound involved in the creation and removal of common air pollutants that impact human health. According to their computer simulations, there should only be about half as much nitrous acid as is actually measured in places like Beijing and Mexi...ExxonMobil Hosts Graduate Students for Laboratory Safety Workshop
ExxonMobil’s Baytown Technology and Engineering Center recently hosted 80 graduate students from six universities for its annual Partners in Academic Laboratory Safety (PALS) Workshop. Now in its fifth year, the PALS program establishes mentoring relationships between ExxonMobil and faculty, staff and students from partner universities to enhance l...Exploring Greener Approaches to Nitrogen Fixation
Chemistry professor Richard Crooks co-authored a review article in the May 25 edition of the journal Science, exploring more environmentally friendly ways to produce nitrogen-based fertilizers. About half of the nitrogen in our bodies today comes from bacteria via the enzyme nitrogenase, which converts, or “fixes,” unreactive nitrogen gas in the at...Kami Hull and Zachariah Page Joining Department
The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Drs. Kami Hull and Zachariah Page will join the University of Texas at Austin in the 2018/2019 academic year. Kami Hull received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan under the supervision of Melanie Sanford. She went on to be an NIH postdoctoral fellow in Barry M. Trost’s laboratory at St...Olja Simoska Awarded ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Graduate Fellowship
Graduate student Olja Simoska, member of the Keith Stevenson and Jason Shear research groups, is the recipient of an American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Graduate Fellowship sponsored by the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP). This competitive fellowship recognizes outstanding research ability ...Cynthia LaBrake, Fatima Fakhreddine, and Kate Biberdorf Promoted
Congratulations Cynthia LaBrake, Fatima Fakhreddine, and Kate Biberdorf on recent promotions. Drs. LaBrake and Fakhreddine are being promoted to Distinguished Senior Lecturer and Dr. Biberdorf is being promoted to Senior Lecturer.Que Group Students Win at 3MT
Two graduate students in Emily Que's research group received top places at the second annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition at the University of Texas at Austin. Rahul Kadakia won the people’s choice award and Kanchan Aggarwal is the first place winner. Kanchan advances to the regional competition in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 3M...Kate Biberdorf Awarded H-E-B’s Tournament of Champions Charitable Trust Grant
Lecturer Kate Biberdorf is the recipient of a $5,000 grant from H-E-B's Tournament of Champions Charitable Trust. This generous grant will support the Department of Chemistry's outreach program Fun with Chemistry. In addition, Dr. B was invited to give a talk at the Central Texas H-E-B Women’s Conference. H-E-B’s Tournament of Champions C...Leyah Schwartz and Seung Wook Kim Awarded Summer Internships at Genentech
In connection with the Krische-Genentech collaboration on C-N bond formation, graduate students Leyah Schwartz and Seung Wook Kim of the Krische Group will be performing summer Internships at Genentech in San Francisco, California.Krische-Genentech Collaboration on C-N Bond Formation
Professor Michael J. Krische and collaborators at Genentech have developed a highly enantioselective method for C-N bond formation. Krische’s signature π-allyliridium C,O-benzoates, which are commercially available and known to catalyze nucleophilic allyl acetate-mediated carbonyl allylation, are now shown to catalyze asymmetric electrophilic amina...Roberts Research Published in JACS
Singlet fission is a process wherein an energetically excited electron in an organic crystal uses its energy to excite multiple electrons on neighboring molecules. Singlet fission can potentially be used to boost the performance of light harvesting systems such as solar cells and photocatalysts, yet designing materials that undergo this proc...Livia Eberlin Receives Changing the Face of STEM (CTFS) Mentoring Grant
Assistant Professor Livia Eberlin is the recipient of a Changing the Face of STEM (CTFS) mentoring grant from the L'Oréal USA For Women in Science program. The program supports former L'Oréal USA For Women in Science (FWIS) fellows in their efforts to inspire the next generation of girls in STEM. In 2014, Eberln receiv...Shagufta Shabbir and Sean Roberts Receive Teaching Excellence Awards
Congratulations to Lecturer Shagufta Shabbir and Assistant Professor Sean Roberts, recipients of College of Natural Sciences 2017 Teaching Excellence Awards. This award recognizes faculty who have had a positive influence on the educational experience of our students.Graeme Henkelman's 2017 Peter O’Donnell Distinguished Research Award Recognizes Innovative Battery Research
Source: The Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (ICES)The Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (ICES) Graeme Henkelman is a hidden asset in building better batteries--for cars, cell phones, and all manner of energy-saving devices. Henkelman, who leads the Center for Computational Molecular Sciences, and is a pr...Krische Catalysis Research to Appear in Science
Professor Michael J. Krische and coworkers have developed a ruthenium catalyst that enables insertion of saturated C-H bonds of adjacent diol carbon atoms into C-C σ-bonds to form products of cycloaddition. These processes merge C-H and C-C bond activation, enabling convergent assembly of structural motifs evident in type II polyketides, broadening...Chemists Create First Bicyclic Aromatic Compound
An international team of researchers including UT Austin chemist Jonathan Sessler has created the first compound that exhibits bicyclic aromaticity in its ground state. These types of compounds had been theorized decades ago but had remained elusive until now. The authors speculate that these compounds “may have a role to play in extending the fron...Chemistry Library Moves Out for Welch Hall Renovation
Question: How do you move a library collection of over 70,000 volumes? Answer: With lots of careful planning and lots of muscle power. The Mallet Chemistry Library, founded by UT’s first chemistry professor and faculty chairman John Mallet in 1883, has occupied its current space in Welch Hall since a 1978 building expansion....Grant Willson Receives the Billy & Claude R. Hocott Research Award
Source: http://che.utexas.edu/2017/05/19/willson-receives-the-billy-claude-r-hocott-research-award/ Dr. Grant Willson has been awarded the Billy & Claude R. Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineering Research Award by the Cockrell School of Engineering. The award honors faculty members who have brought s...Livia Eberlin Named Science Super Hero
Assistant Professor Livia Eberlin has been named a Science Super Hero by Discovery Communications. Each month, Discovery awards those who use science to make a difference in their communities. Science Super Heroes are featured on the Science Channel the first Thursday of the month.News
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Celebrating the 2024 College of Natural Sciences Dean’s Honored Graduates
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Two UT Scientists Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
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New Advanced Quantum Science Institute Will Bridge Basic Research and Applied Science
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Cancer Prevention, Screening and Research Programs Expanding With CPRIT Support
