Professor David Sarlah and Professor Hee-Sun Han have interdisciplinary projects that have been selected for the Cancer Center at Illinois’ annual seed grant awards.

Professor Wilfred Van der Donk, the Richard E. Heckert Endowed Chair in Chemistry, has been named the winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Pedler Award for the combined application of organic chemistry, molecular biology, and biochemistry to study posttranslationally modified peptides and phosphonate natural products.

Professor Yi Lu, the Jay and Ann Schenck Professor of Chemistry, has won the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Joseph Chatt Award for elucidating design principles of artificial metalloproteins to gain novel and deeper insights into the structure and function of natural systems.

Prashant Jain has been announced as one of 31 finalists for the Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists, which elevate the work and research of early-career scientists in three categories, chemistry, life sciences and physical sciences and engineering.

Professor Catherine J. Murphy becomes the first women to receive the American Chemical Society’s National Award in Inorganic Chemistry.

Professor Wilfred van der Donk has been awarded The Harrison Howe Award for 2020, a prestigious honor that recognizes an outstanding chemist in an acknowledgement of the idea that chemistry and the pursuit of chemical knowledge contribute to the betterment of society.

A documentary about Illinois chemistry alumnus St. Elmo Brady, the first African American to earn a PhD in chemistry in the United States, has garnered a Telly Award.

Professor Lisa Olshansky is one of 15 researchers chosen for the Searle Scholars Program, a national biomedical research grant program primarily focused on the potential of applicants to make innovative and high-impact contributions to research over an extended period of time.

The American Chemical Society’s Division of Physical Chemistry has awarded recent graduate David Qiu an undergraduate award, recognizing and honoring talented young chemists across the country.

As an alumna and faculty member, Professor Cathy Murphy brings a rare perspective to her new role as head of the Department of Chemistry, and her role also marks a historic moment as the first woman to lead the department in its 152-year history.

Professor Prashant Jain receives special recognition in promotion to full professor and is named to Alumni Scholar position in the Department of Chemistry.

Namuunzul Otgontseren, a junior studying chemistry who also works in Professor Jefferson Chan’s research group, has been awarded a Beckman Institute Undergraduate Fellowship.

Three chemistry graduates, Elizabeth McDaniel, Elizabeth Murphy and Alayna Johnson are part of a select group, Senior 100 Honorary, which recognizes students who are academically successful, but more heavily focuses on campus involvement and service.

For demonstrating exceptional leadership on campus, chemistry senior Elizabeth Murphy has been awarded the Patricia E. Askew Leadership Award for 2020.

Seven University of Illinois graduate students have been named 2020 Beckman Institute Graduate Fellows, including chemistry graduate student Amanda East. The program offers University of Illinois graduate students the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary research at the institute.