2025-04-14
- Sometimes less is more. That’s what chemistry researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign discovered as they were developing a new chemical reaction to produce a widely used chemical additive that gives polypropylene near-glass-like clarity and lower processing temperatures, making the plastic ideal for a variety of everyday items, from food containers to medical...
Posted: 2025-04-14
2025-04-11 - The Beckman Institute recognized two community members during its annual April celebration of Arnold Beckman’s birth.Microscopist and Outreach Specialist T Josek won the Staff Spirit and Dedication Award; Professor...Posted: 2025-04-11
2025-04-11 - As the global population grows, the demand for food and energy is increasing even as extreme weather events make crops more vulnerable to stress. While traditional breeding takes years to develop more resilient crops, plant bioengineering offers a faster, more precise way to improve traits for higher yields and better stress tolerance.But engineering plants to enhance their helpful traits is a...Posted: 2025-04-11
2025-04-03 - Drug-carrying DNA aptamers can deliver a one-two punch to leukemia by precisely targeting the elusive cancer stem cells that seed cancer relapses, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign report.The aptamers — short single-strand snippets of DNA that can target molecules like larger antibodies do — not only deliver cancer-fighting drugs, but also are themselves toxic to the...Posted: 2025-04-03
2025-04-03 - The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Illinois International named chemistry alumnus Taeghwan Hyeon (Seoul National University), Sharifa Sultana (Illinois), Colby Silvert (University of Maryland), Illinois graduate student Mehrdad Mohammadi, and Illinois undergraduate student David Mock as the recipients of the 2025 International Achievement Awards. These awards recognize...Posted: 2025-04-03
2025-04-02 - Juan Velásquez vividly remembers that Saturday in June 2006 when he first wandered onto the quad on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus as a new graduate student in chemistry.Less than 24 hours after landing in the wide-open Champaign County landscape dominated by corn and soybean fields, he was feeling a bit anxious about choosing the U. of I. without visiting. Those feelings...Posted: 2025-04-02
2025-03-27 - Chemistry Professor Stephan Link is one of three faculty members at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who have been named 2024 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society. Link and animal sciences professors ...Posted: 2025-03-27
2025-03-24 - Renovations are now complete, and crews are installing equipment in a 6,000-square-foot area on the second floor of Noyes Laboratory that features two state-of-the-art instructional laboratories that will position the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at the forefront of chemical sciences education. Half of the space was designed for the revitalization of the Department of Chemistry'...Posted: 2025-03-24
2025-03-24 - Two postdoctoral researchers in the Department of Chemistry have been awarded the 2025 Anuj Khandelwal Memorial Travel Award: Dr. Chieh-Kai Chan, a postdoctoral researcher in Martin D. Burke’s group, and Dr. Josseline Ramos Figueroa, a postdoctoral researcher in Wilfred van der Donk’s group. The ...Posted: 2025-03-24
2025-03-18 - For the second consecutive year, Xiaolin Liu, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry, submitted a science image that has been selected the winner of the Main Category in the School of Chemical Sciences Image Challenge. Liu conducts research in chemistry professor Jeffrey Moore's group and her winning image this year is called "Polymer Mosaic". It's an image of a thin...Posted: 2025-03-18
2025-03-17 - Abiotic, or nonliving, self-replicating materials are often a topic of science fiction — but researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are working to synthetize materials that self-replicate, the same way biomolecules like DNA do in nature. This work will improve the polymers’ real-world resilience and...Posted: 2025-03-17
2025-03-04 - Mikael Backlund, assistant professor of chemistry, has received a 2025 National Science Foundation CAREER Award for a research proposal combining theory and experiments to determine the quantum information limits of single-molecule spectroscopy which could lead to advancements in the areas of health, defense, and energy. Backlund's proposal — "Quantum Information Limits of Single-molecule...Posted: 2025-03-04
2025-03-03 - A special issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry was issued on Feb. 27, 2025, celebrating Illinois chemistry Prof. John A. Katzenellenbogen and his 55-year career exploring the interface among chemistry, biology, and medicine. Read the special issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry...Posted: 2025-03-03
2025-02-28 - On her path to becoming a pharmacist, Brandi Hudson discovered her passion for chemistry in an organic chemistry class. Encouraged by her professors, she decided to change her major. Gaining hands-on experience in organic chemistry research during her senior year further solidified her interest in the field, ultimately leading her to pursue a career in chemistry, specifically in drug discovery....Posted: 2025-02-28
2025-02-25 - Seven alumni of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences will receive recognition during the college’s 2025 alumni awards at a celebration in April. They are researchers, volunteers, and political thinkers who have made incredible impacts in their fields and communities. One of the seven is chemistry alumnus, Juan E. Velasquez (PhD, ’11), who will receive the Outstanding Young...Posted: 2025-02-25