2025-10-10
- Scientists are exploring many ways to use light rather than heat to drive chemical reactions more efficiently, which could significantly reduce waste, energy consumption, and reliance on non-renewable resources.A team of chemistry researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been studying plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer (PIRET) — conveying energy from a...
Posted: 2025-10-10
2025-10-09 - Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting more than 2.9 million people worldwide. It occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath, the protective insulation around nerve fibers, causing disruption of nerve signals between the brain and body. Symptoms can include...Posted: 2025-10-09
2025-10-08 - Illinois chemistry alumnus Omar Yaghi (PhD, '90) has won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, that Susumu Kitagawa, Kyoto University, Japan; Richard Robson, University of Melbourne, Australia; and Omar M. Yaghi, University of California, Berkeley, USA have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for the...Posted: 2025-10-08
2025-10-03 - Illinois Professors Mikael Backlund, Pengjie Wang, and Elizabeth Goldschmidt are participating this month in the ...Posted: 2025-10-03
2025-10-03 - The Younger Chemists Committee (YCC) has received the 2025 ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding Local Section Younger Chemists Committee. This distinction recognizes local section YCCs that demonstrate organizational stability, strong membership and participation, meaningful involvement with their ACS local section, and a well-rounded portfolio of activities.Receiving national recognition on...Posted: 2025-10-03
2025-10-02 - A fully renovated chemistry instructional facility in Noyes Laboratory has officially been dedicated the “Peter Beak Advanced Synthesis Laboratory” in memory of long-time chemistry Professor Peter A. Beak. Family, friends, and former colleagues of Prof. Beak joined university officials, faculty, and staff in dedicating the modernized lab in a special ceremony on Sept. 29, 2025, that...Posted: 2025-10-02
2025-09-18 - The superior strength and light weight of high-performance carbon and plastic composite materials have reduced the fuel consumption and harmful emissions of automobiles and airplanes and improved the efficiency of electric cars and wind turbine blades. But those same superior qualities make these indispensable materials difficult to recycle.To avoid their disposal in landfills or recycling...Posted: 2025-09-18
2025-09-15 - Two graduate students in the School of Chemical Sciences are recipients of Gender Equity in the Chemical Sciences Inclusive Leadership Awards.This award was created to recognize graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering who are models of inclusive excellence and demonstrate a commitment to promoting...Posted: 2025-09-15
2025-09-10 - Photosynthesis, or the ability of plants, algae and some bacteria, to convert light energy into chemical energy is inspiring one research team at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to improve synthetic electronics systems.The Beckman research team includes Ying...Posted: 2025-09-10
2025-09-08 - The manufacture of many things in our everyday lives, from clothing to electronics to vital medical devices, are dependent on petrochemicals derived from fossil fuels like crude oil and natural gas, finite raw materials whose extraction and use are harmful to the environment.For decades, scientists have searched for ways to wean the chemical industry off petroleum in favor of...Posted: 2025-09-08
2025-08-20 - The American Chemical Society has announced that Martin Gruebele, professor emeritus of chemistry, is the 2026 recipient of the Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry.The 2026 ACS national award winners were announced on Aug. 18. Recipients will be honored at an award ceremony on March 24...Posted: 2025-08-21
2025-08-21 - The American Chemical Society has selected chemistry Prof. M. Christina White as the 2026 recipient of the Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods. The 2026 ACS national award winners were announced Aug. 18. The prestigious H.C. Brown award was established in 1997...Posted: 2025-08-21- 2025-08-12 - Two graduate students in chemistry have been recognized with awards from the American Chemical Society for their leadership in mentoring and research safety.Chang Jiang — Leadership in Mentoring Chang Jiang is a PhD student in chemistry advised by Jefferson Chan. Jiang also received the Gary Schuster Mentoring Award this year. The ACS Leadership in Mentoring award highlights outstanding...Posted: 2025-08-12
2025-08-11 - Three faculty members in the Department of Chemistry have received promotions. Josh Vura-Weis has been promoted to full professor by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. And Hee-Sun Han and Lisa Olshansky have been promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure by the university. This summer, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees approved the promotions of all three...Posted: 2025-08-11
2025-08-05 - As an Illinois undergraduate, Makenna Pinkham was afraid of failing Organic Chemistry I her sophomore year, but that fear quickly faded, and she started looking forward to the 8 a.m. class taught by Jordan Axelson, director of undergraduate studies, and senior lecturer.“Dr. Axelson did everything in her power to make the content digestible, interesting and even fun,” said Pinkham, a 2025...Posted: 2025-08-05