2019-09-03 - Yaroslav Boyko, a third-year graduate student in the David Sarlah lab, has received a Bristol-Myers Squibb Graduate Fellowship in Synthetic Organic Chemistry. Boyko’s research is focused on the total synthesis of a rare family of marine natural products, the isomalabaricanes—molecules which have attracted much interest due to their potent anticancer activity. Unfortunately, detailed biological...

2019-08-30 - Illinois Chemistry alumnus St. Elmo Brady (Ph.D., ’16) was the first African American to obtain a PhD in chemistry in the United States. More than fifty years after his death in 1966, Brady will receive the 2019 Sankofa Award from the University of Illinois Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The Sankofa Award recognizes champions of diversity who made significant...

2019-08-30 - On August 17, 2019, the LGBTQ+ chemists held their 3rd annual Welcome BBQ for the Out community in the Department of Chemistry. The main goal of the event is to foster community building and promote visibility of the LGBTQ+ students, postdocs, faculty, and staff in the chemistry department. Furthermore, it helps new students establish connections with people who can be their mentors and role...

2019-08-29 - Steven Zimmerman, graduate student Ephraim Morado, and their colleagues are attempting to create a more environmentally-friendly form of polyurethane, a frequently-used polymer that is difficult to recycle.

2019-08-27 - The American Chemical Society (ACS) has announced their 2020 national award winners. Three award winners, Professor Catherine Murphy, Professor Jeffrey Moore and Professor Ken Suslick are among the winners. They will be honored at an awards ceremony on March 24, 2020 in Philadelphia, which coincides with the ACS Spring National Meeting. 

2019-08-23 - Professor Martin Burke will receive the 2019 iCON Innovator Award at the iCON Award Dinner on September 26, 2019. This award recognizes those scientists who demonstrate leadership potential at the frontier of knowledge in the life sciences and conduct research that is anticipated to enhance economic development in the State of Illinois.

2019-08-21 - A collaboration between the Sweedler and the Rodriguez-Zas labs at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the Pradhan lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago has identified genes that are involved in opioid-induced hyperalgesia, an abnormally increased sensitivity to pain.

2019-08-16 - The Pan Research Group has recently developed a probe made of nanoparticles by crosslinking biliverdin molecules, which are pigments that exist naturally in the body. This probe will be able to detect cancer metastases in lymph nodes without causing toxicity or prolonged accumulation in organs and can disappear after the detection. In collaboration with Jefferson Chan’s lab in chemistry, the...

2019-08-14 - The National Science Foundation is funding the new Center for Synthesizing Quantum Coherence (CSQC) as a Phase I Center for Chemical Innovation. Led by Duke, and featuring distinguished chemists at Northwestern University, University of California – Berkeley, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the Center aims to unmask the coherent quantum mechanical flow of...

2019-08-08 - The Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is comprised of almost 30% international students. To understand the unique challenges faced by international students and their experience at Illinois, we interviewed two graduate students and an alumnus. Yiming Wang (YW) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Lu lab working on functional DNA nanotechnology. Dinumol...

2019-08-08 - Originally from Central Mexico, Professor Joaquín Rodríguez-López grew up in Monterrey, the third-largest city in Mexico, famous for its industrial centers and mountains. He attended Tecnológico de Monterrey, one of the most prestigious institutions in Mexico, widely known for innovation and engineering. Even though Monterrey Tec had a relatively small chemistry program, López said that he was...

2019-08-07 - The teaching labs in Chemistry Annex and Noyes Lab both received the Environmental Impact Achievement Award from the University of Illinois. The award recognizes their efforts to recycle lab materials and contributions to the University's overall recycling and sustainability goals. Thanks to all the teaching lab staff, students, and faculty for their commitment to making our spaces more...

2019-08-01 - Peixin He (PhD, '85, Faulkner) and his wife, Xiaoming Chen, made a donation to endow the Larry R. Faulkner Endowed Chair in Chemistry. Peixin He studied and worked with Faulkner and authored seven journal articles in electrochemistry with him. Meanwhile, Xiaoming Chen also worked under Faulkner as a visiting research scientist.

2019-07-31 - On June 29 and July 13, more than 100 local middle school girls attended the 11th annual Bonding with Chemistry Day Camp for Girls, organized by the Women Chemists Committee.

2019-07-30 - Professor Sweedler will receive the award in December 2019 at the 49th Internationl Symposium on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques (HPLC) in Kyoto, Japan. He receives the award for his contributions to separation science and technology, with particular consideration given to developments of new methods and techniques.