2018-11-14 - The gold nanocrystals created by Catherine Murphy carry huge potential The gold nanoparticles created by Catherine Murphy, the Larry R. Faulkner Endowed Chair in Chemistry, range in size from 5 to 100 nanometers. To get an idea how small that is, consider this: Your fingernails grow about 1 nanometer per second. One of those virtually invisible gold nanoparticles might not pack much market...

2018-11-08 - As a senior studying sociology and chemistry, Tonisha Thacker is used to people questioning her choice of majors, which on paper can seem like complete opposites. “People are always like, ‘Why?’” she said. But her track record of success speaks for itself—recently, Thacker was named the Research Park’s most advanced marketing-business...

2018-11-08 - Professor Chad Rienstra, who came to Illinois in 2002, was recently named the John Witt Professor of Chemistry in a ceremony lauding his work in research and teaching. Rienstra’s research into producing high-resolution structures of protein structures through nuclear magnetic resonance technology has driven progress in medicine, especially in brain diseases associated with aging.

2018-11-02 - Theodore “Ted” Brown, the founding director of the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois, celebrated his 90th birthday with family, friends and former colleagues during a two-day symposium. The Ted Brown 90th Birthday and Research Symposium on Confronting the Challenges of Climate Change was held at the Beckman Institute from Monday, October 15 to Tuesday, October 16, 2018....

2018-11-01 - Name: Alayna Johnson. Year: Junior. Hometown: Minneapolis, MN. Why Illinois? I actually enrolled at Illinois because of its highly-rated physics program, but I quickly realized I was more suited for the chemistry curriculum; what I especially like is that chemistry majors take a different sequence of courses than chemistry minors and other students, so we're in smaller, more rigorous classes...

2018-10-31 - At the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, Professor John A. Katzenellenbogen was inducted into the Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was established in 2006 by the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the ACS to honor "members of the Division who have made outstanding contributions to medicinal chemistry through research, teaching and/or division service."...

2018-10-26 - We are saddened to share that Rebecca (Becky) J. Simon, long-time director of the School of Chemical Sciences Placement Center and friend to all who she encountered, passed away on October 15, 2018.

2018-10-06 - Researchers at the University have designed an enzyme that helps decrease harmful chemical compounds and contaminants in the environment. The research was published on Sept. 14 and focuses on how the newly designed enzyme can transform sulfite, a chemical compound that can be harmful for the environment, into sulfide, another chemical compound that can improve the efficacy of catalysts.

2018-10-17 - Prof. Renske van der Veen is the recipient of a Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering for 2018. The prestigious fellowship from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation provides $875,000 over five years for an early-career faculty member to pursue research. The Packard Fellowship, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, goes a long way toward boosting a faculty member’s...

2018-10-09 - The LAS Dean's Quadrangle Award was inaugurated in 2000 to honor people who have demonstrated profound support for the college’s diverse mission and who have personified throughout their lives and careers the unique benefits and responsibilities that define a liberal arts and sciences education. Previous recipients affiliated with chemistry include Audrey (BA, '89, religious...

2018-09-27 - Professor Rodríguez-López, analytical and materials chemistry, was listed in the most recent SN 10. The SN 10 is a list of the top 10 scientists to watch put out by Science News (Magazine of the Society for Science & the Public).

2018-09-27 - Congratulations to the WCC and YCC! The East Central Illinois (ECI) chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS) received the following from the ACS:

2018-09-27 - Professor Prashant Jain was admitted by the Council to the Royal Society of Chemistry as a Fellow. RSC fellowships are the highest level of membership one can attain with the RSC. You must achieve a high professional standing and make a significant impact in the chemical sciences to receive this fellowship. Please join us in congratulating Professor Jain on his achievement. 

2018-09-26 - Oxford University Press has published a print copy of the ACS Symposium Series 1231: The Power and Promise of Early Research, edited by Desmond H. Murray, Sherine O. Obare, and Illinois Chemistry alumnus James H. Hageman (BS, ’64). After leaving Illinois, Hageman went on to complete his PhD in biochemistry at UCLA (1968), and was a postdoc at Yale University. As a faculty in...

2019-05-01 - Professor M. Christina White is the 2019 winner of the ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, one of the American Chemical Society’s highest National Awards. Prof. White joins a very impressive list of previous awardees, including Illinois faculty Nelson Leonard and Scott Denmark, and Nobelists such as R.B. Woodward and K. Barry Sharpless, who represent the most prominent...