News & Events

Partridge Group Selected for MIRA Grant

August 23, 2024

Congratulations to Ben Partridge's group for winning a National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) MIRA grant!

Tessa Baker wins the 2024 Sandra M. Beach Memorial Award

July 8, 2024

Tessa Baker was particularly recognized for being instrumental in installing new NMR devices, and for her helpfulness and ability to tackle problems with a positive attitude, no matter what the issue might be.

Two UR chemistry students win 2024 Merck Underrepresented Chemists of Color Research Award

April 10, 2024

Congratulations to Ignacio Gustin and Medina Afandiyeva for winning the 2024 Merck Underrepresented Chemists of Color Research Award! Only 17 people across the United States were selected for this award!

Shauna Paradine receives 2023 Eili Lilly Grant

February 21, 2024

Congratulations to Shauna Paradine for being a recipient of the 2023 ACC Lilly Grantee Award! The Eli Lilly Grantee program was established in 1965 to support emerging young leaders in organic chemistry and is the longest running grant program in the pharmaceutical industry. Grantees are selected on the basis of innovative and creative research and potential for impact of their research on the pharmaceutical industry. The award, given to 2 or 3 investigators each year, comes with a two-year $100,000 unrestricted research grant.

Benjamin Partridge wins Young Investigators Award

February 6, 2024

Congratulations to Benjamin Partridge for winning a Young Investigators Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)! Fewer than 50 academics received this award in this cycle. The Young Investigators Program from AFOSR identifies academics early in their career in the U.S. who “show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research.”

Brandon Barnett receives NSF CAREER Award

January 29, 2024

Congratulations to Brandon Barnett, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, for being a recipient of the 2023 Faculty Early CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF)! His proposal was titled “Cavity-Enforced Structure and Reactivity of High-Valent Iron Oxo, Nitrosyl, and Superoxo Complexes.”

William Girtin wins SCSGR Fellowship

December 7, 2023

Congrats to graduate student William Girtin of the Krauss Group for winning an Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCSGR) Fellowship! This fellowship is hosted by the Department of Energy and allows students to pursue part of their thesis research at a DOE lab/facility in collaboration with a DOE scientist.

Professors Paradine and Kennedy each win MIRA award from NIH

August 8, 2023

Congratulations to Shauna Paradine and Rose Kennedy, both assistant professors of chemistry, for being recent recipients of the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA, R35) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)! Dr. Paradine's proposal was titled “Discovering catalytic strategies for transition metal-catalyzed reactions to construct topologically complex organic scaffolds.” Dr. Kennedy's proposal was titled "Mechanistic Insights into Catalytic Acyl C-O and C-N Activation and Cross Coupling".

Chemistry Welcomes New Faculty Member, Dr. Agnes Thorarinsdottir

July 12, 2023

The Department of Chemistry warmly welcomes Dr. Agnes Thorarinsdottir as an assistant professor of chemistry.

Barbara Smith Wins 2023 Chemistry Department Sandra Beach Award

July 7, 2023

Congratulations to Barbara (“Barb”) Smith, who is the recipient of the 2023 Sandra M. Beach Memorial Award for outstanding service to the Department of Chemistry. The award was presented to Barb at the Department's Staff Luncheon and honors her four years of service as a member of the Department of Chemistry.

Chemistry Welcomes New Faculty Member, Dr. Michael Ruggiero

July 3, 2023

The Department of Chemistry warmly welcomes Dr. Michael Ruggiero as an associate professor of chemistry. His first day is July 3, and while the weather forecast is dreary and calls for rain, we are certain that his future in the department is bright! 

Chemistry Students Help Make University History

April 10, 2023

For the first time in the University’s history, each of our students that was nominated for a Goldwater Scholarship was selected!

Six Chemistry Students Win NSF's Graduate Fellowship Research Program Grant

March 31, 2023

Congratulations to Loren Cardani, Bo Couture, Justine Drappeau, Ellen Irving, Daniel Nakamura, and Leyla Valerio for winning this prestigious grant, which provides an annual stipend and three years of financial support.

Donna Dolan wins an AS&E ACE Award

March 17, 2023

Department of Chemistry secretary Donna Dolan won one of two AS&E ACE Awards in February 2023! This award recognizes staff members who emulate MELIORA values.

Shauna Paradine Receives NSF CAREER Award

March 8, 2023

Congratulations to Shauna Paradine, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, for being a recipient of the 2023 Faculty Early CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF)! Her proposal was titled “Establishing Ligand Platforms to Enable Selective, Catalytic Olefin Difunctionalization Reactions for Constructing Diverse Heterocyclic Scaffolds.”

Rose Kennedy wins Thieme Chemistry Journals Award

January 11, 2023

The editorial boards at Synthesis, Synlett, and Synfacts nominate candidates, but only the most promising professors at the beginning of their career are selected for the award. This year, fewer than 100 people were selected. Only 10 awardees are based in the USA, and Rose Kennedy is one of them. 

The Fall 2022 Chemistry Awards

December 23, 2022

The Junior Scholar Award recognizes undergraduates in their junior year who have showed outstanding accomplishments and promise for a professional career in chemistry. Congratulations to Loren Cardini, Ellen Irving, Daniel Nakamura, Xijie Wu, and Zeyuan Zhu!

David McCamant wins the first Kearns Center Award for Dedication to Student Success

November 21, 2022

Congratulations to David McCamant for winning the first ever Kearns Center Award for Dedication to Student Success at the Kearns Center’s Colleague Appreciation Lunch on Tuesday, November 15, 2022!

Significant Figures: Steven Townsend

November 10, 2022

Raised in Detroit by a single mother without a high school diploma, Dr. Townsend is now a leading expert on breast milk chemistry and inspires the next generation of scientists.

Graduate Student Jakub Vaith wins Bristol Myers Squibb Graduate Fellowship

October 20, 2022

Congratulations to Jakub Vaith, a 5th year PhD student in the Paradine group, for receiving a Bristol Myers Squibb Graduate Fellowship in Organic Chemistry for 2022-2023!

Rose Kennedy named one of 20 Packard Fellows nationwide

October 18, 2022

Congratulations to Rose Kennedy, an assistant professor of chemistry and one of only 20 science and engineering professors across the United States to be awarded a 2022 Packard fellowship.

Linda Boyle Wins 2022 Chemistry Department Sandra Beach Award

July 11, 2022

Congratulations to Linda Boyle, who is the recipient of the 2022 Sandra M. Beach Memorial Award for outstanding service to the Chemistry Department. The award was presented to Linda at the Department's Staff Luncheon on June 30th, and honors her many years of service as a member of the Chemistry Department.

Maria Camila Aguilera Wins 2022 WCC Merck Research Award

July 5, 2022

Congratulations to Maria Camila Aguilera, Ph.D. candidate in the Neidig Lab, on being selected as the winner of the 2022 WCC Merck Research Award! Her Merck Mentor is Renee Sifri from Merck’s Catalysis group.

Arkajit Mandal Wins 2022 Outstanding Dissertation Award

May 26, 2022

Arkajit Mandal was recently selected as the winner of the 2022 Outstanding Dissertation Award for the Natural Sciences in Arts, Sciences and Engineering.  This award is in recognition of the truly outstanding dissertation and Arkajit's exceptional research as a graduate student at the University of Rochester. 

Ray Teng Receives Witmer Award for Distinguished Service

May 25, 2022

Ray Teng, Senior Laboratory Engineer with the Department of Chemistry was recently honored with the University of Rochester Witmer Award for Distinguished Service. The prestigious award is presented to staff members whose careers have been characterized by outstanding and sustained contributions to the University.

2022 Undergraduate Chemistry Awards

May 11, 2022

Chemistry Welcomes New Faculty Member, Dr. Benjamin E. Partridge

April 21, 2022

Benjamin E. Partridge will officially join the UR Department of Chemistry as of July 1, 2022, as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Levinson-Shapiro Faculty Scholar.

Dr. Hafensteiner Awarded Professor of the Year Award in Natural Sciences

April 13, 2022

Congratulations to Dr. Benjamin Hafensteiner on being awarded the 2021-2022 Student's Association Professor of the Year Award in Natural Sciences!

Ellen Irving Selected as a 2022 Goldwater Scholar

March 31, 2022

Congratulations to Ellen Irving on being awarded a 2022 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious national awards for undergraduates in the STEM fields. This is in recognition of her research accomplishments in the Fasan group and academic excellence.

Leopoldo Mejía Wins an ACS Graduate Award for Theoretical Chemistry

March 23, 2022

Leopoldo Mejía, a Ph.D. student in the Franco Group at the University of Rochester, received the 2021 ACS Graduate Award in Theoretical Chemistry! The award is sponsored by the ACS Physical Chemistry subdivision and The Journal of Physical Chemistry, and recognizes excellence in graduate research. Dr. Mejía defended his doctoral work in the Fall 2021 and is now a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, working in the Rabani Group.

Chemistry Grad Students win ACS Awards

November 29, 2021

Congratulations to chemistry students Karla R. Sanchez Lievanos (Knowles Group), Maria Camila Aguilera-Cuenca (Neidig Group), and James L. Stair (Knowles Group), and materials science student Brittney Beidelman (Knowles Group) for receiving awards from the Rochester Section of the American Chemical Society!

Elena Quigley Wins 2021 oSTEM Scholarship

September 30, 2021

Congratulations to Elena Quigley (they/them/theirs) with the Nilsson Group on being selected as a winner of the 2021 oSTEM Graduate Scholarship!  Graduate scholarship winners receive a $5,000 award and will be recognized as an awardee at the annual oSTEM Conference on October 28 – 31, 2021.

Professor Neidig Appointed Marshall D. Gates, Jr. Professor of Chemistry

September 27, 2021

We are pleased to announce that Michael Neidig has been appointed as the new Marshall D. Gates, Jr. Professor of Chemistry.  Marshall D. Gates, Jr. is known around the world as the first person to synthesize morphine in the laboratory. He was a scholar and teacher at the University of Rochester from 1949 -1981. Gates established the Department of Chemistry as a major center of chemistry research, created hundreds of compounds, and was awarded 13 patents in his quest for the perfect painkiller. A new University endowed Professorship was created in his honor and remembrance.

In Memory of Chemistry Professor Emeritus Robert K. Boeckman, Jr.

September 7, 2021

It is with deep sorrow that we share news of the passing of Robert K. Boeckman, Jr., Marshall D. Gates Professor of Chemistry Emeritus.  At the age of 77, Bob contributed more than 40 years of service to the University of Rochester.

Rochester researchers join national initiative to advance quantum science

July 30, 2021

Todd Krauss, chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Rochester, and his fellow researchers are joining a $73 million initiative, funded by the US Department of Energy, to advance quantum science and technology. Krauss’s project, “Understanding coherence in light‐matter interfaces for quantum science,” is one of 29 projects intended to help scientists better understand and to harness the “quantum world” in order to eventually benefit people and society.

Chemistry Welcomes Dr. Courtney Stanford

June 11, 2021

Courtney Stanford, Assistant Professor of Teaching, will officially join the UR Department of Chemistry faculty as of July 1, 2021. Dr. Stanford is joining us from Ball State University where she was developing inquiry general chemistry labs that focus on engagement, inclusivity, and real world connections. She will be continuing this work at the University of Rochester in her new role teaching general chemistry laboratory to science and engineering students.  

Arkajit Mandal Wins ACS COMP Award

May 28, 2021

Congratulations to Arkajit Mandal, graduate student in the Huo Group, on being awarded an ACS (COMP) Chemical Computing Group (CCG) Excellence Award for Graduate Students!  He will receive funding to attend the Fall 2021 Atlanta ACS National Meeting and present his work, "On-the-fly Quantum Dynamics Simulation with Quasi-Diabatic Propagation Scheme".

David Vargas Wins 2021 Merck Research Award for Underrepresented Chemists of Color

May 19, 2021

Congratulations to David Vargas (Fasan Group) on being selected as the winner of the 2021 Merck Research Award for Underrepresented Chemists of Color!  This award is for underrepresented groups in chemistry including that are third year chemistry graduate students (minimum) or postdocs.  Awardees receive a Merck mentor and networking opportunities, as well as travel funds for participation to the 2021 Merck Award Symposium where they will present their research.

Michael Klaczko Wins 2021 Art of Science Competition

May 11, 2021

Congratulations to Michael Klaczko, one of our 3rd year PhD candidates in the McGrath Lab, for winning the top prize at this year’s Art of Science Competition for his submission, “Crystals in Bloom” (below). The competition, which was open to currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff at the University and sponsored by the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in collaboration with River Campus Libraries, received 48 submissions representing 16 different disciplines Nearly 400 members of the University community cast their votes for the People’s Choice award.The prizes are $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place, and $250 each for third place and People’s Choice. The winning entries will be displayed in Carlson Library.

2021 Undergraduate Chemistry Awards

May 5, 2021

Several of our outstanding chemistry majors have won awards from the Chemistry Department, the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the College.  Seniors will be recognized at this year’s Chemistry Diploma Ceremony, on Saturday, May 22, 2021.  Congratulations to all!  

William Jones Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

April 23, 2021

William D. Jones, Charles F. Houghton Professor of Chemistry, has been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Founded in 1780, the Academy honors excellence and convenes leaders from every field of human endeavor to address issues of importance to the nation and the world. Studies performed by the Academy have helped set the direction of research and analysis in science and technology policy, as well as international affairs, social policy, education, science and the humanities. Election to the Academy is highly selective and reflects the esteem in which new members are held.

Ellen Matson Wins G. Graydon Curtis ’58 and Jane W. Curtis Award for Nontenured Faculty Teaching Excellence

April 16, 2021

Professor Ellen Matson, Wilmot Assistant Professor of Chemistry, will be awarded the G. Graydon Curtis '58 and Jane W. Curtis Award for Nontenured Faculty Teaching at this year's commencement in May 2021.

Ignacio Franco is the 2021 recipient of the College Award for Undergraduate Teaching and Research Mentorship

April 15, 2021

Research requires “a whole different set of skills to be successful versus being successful in the classroom,” says Ignacio Franco, an associate professor of chemistry and the Leonard Mandel Faculty Fellow at the University of Rochester. “When you’re doing classwork, you typically know that the problems you’re given are solvable. When you’re doing research, you’re in unchartered territory.”

Daniel Carstairs Awarded 2021 ACS SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship)

April 2, 2021

Congratulations to Daniel Carstairs ('22), an undergraduate researcher in the Paradine lab, on being awarded the 2021 ACS Division of Organic Chemistry SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship). This competitive fellowship provides support for outstanding undergraduate students in organic chemistry to carry out research at their home institutions during the summer between their junior and senior year. Fellows are selected on the basis of their research proposals, academic records, and demonstrated passion for laboratory science.

Kaelyn McFarlane-Connelly Selected as a 2021 Goldwater Scholar

March 30, 2021

Congratulations to Kaelyn McFarlane-Connelly on being awarded a 2021 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious national awards for undergraduates in the STEM fields. Kaelyn is a chemistry major in her junior year, and has been working in the Krauss lab studying semiconductor nanocrystals. She is one of 410 Goldwater Scholars selected from a pool of over 1,256 students that were nominated by faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

Maria Camila Aguilera-Cuenca Selected for Donald M. and Janet C. Barnard Fellowship

March 29, 2021

Maria Camila Aguilera-Cuenca, third year graduate student in Professor Michael Neidig's group, has been awarded the Donald M. and Janet C. Barnard Fellowship. The fellowship committee noted her exceptional research record as well as her clear commitment to mentoring, outreach and service to the department and the field of chemistry. 

NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Awarded to Garrett Beals, Rachel Garwick, Alison Salamatian & Michael Taylor. Others Receive Honorable Mention.

March 24, 2021

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is the country’s oldest fellowship program that directly recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in various STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 to the institution. 

Rochester YCC Wins Outstanding New Local Section YCC Award

February 15, 2021

Congratulations to the ACS Rochester Local Section for winning of the 2020 ACS ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding New Local Section YCC!

Chemistry Awards 2020

January 26, 2021

We are happy to share the recipients of several Chemistry Department awards and fellowships in recognition of outstanding performance, research, service, and teaching by undergraduate and graduate students during the 2019-2020 academic year. 

David Vargas and Mevan Dissanayake receive ACS YCC Leadership Development Award

January 19, 2021

Congratulations to David Vargas (Fasan Group) and Mevan Dissanayake (Matson Group) on receiving ACS YCC Leadership Development Awards.  With this award, the Younger Chemists Committee (YCC) of the American Chemical Society (ACS) recognizes emerging leaders in the profession, helping them prepare for leadership opportunities.  Participation costs associated with attending the Young Chemist Leadership Development Workshop are covered by the award.

Kathryn Knowles Receives NSF CAREER Award

December 22, 2020

Congratulations to Kathryn Knowles, UR Chemistry Assistant Professor, who has been named as a recipient of a 2020 Faculty Early CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her proposal entitled, “Combining Main Group and Transition Metals to Tune the Electronic Structure, Photophysics, and Photocatalytic Activity of Spinel Oxide Nanocrystals.”  

Chemistry Welcomes New Faculty Member, Dr. Brandon Barnett

December 22, 2020

Brandon Barnett, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, will officially join the UR Department of Chemistry faculty as of January 1, 2021. 

UR Chemistry Selected as ACS Bridge Program Partner Site

December 16, 2020

We are delighted to share that the University of Rochester Department of Chemistry has been selected as a partner site for the American Chemical Society Bridge Program (ACS-BP)! 

Huo Awarded ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award

November 11, 2020

Pengfei “Frank” Huo, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, has been awarded the ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in Computational Chemistry. Professor Huo is one for four outstanding tenure-track junior faculty members to be selected. He presented his work titled, "Quasi-Diabatic Propagation Scheme for on-the-fly Quantum Dynamics Simulations," at the national ACS Meeting held virtually this past August. 

Arkajit Mandal Wins an ACS Graduate Award for Theoretical Chemistry

November 9, 2020

Arkajit Mandal, graduate student in the Huo Group, was awarded an ACS Physical Chemistry Division Award in Theoretical Chemistry.  This award is sponsored by The Journal of Physical Chemistry (JPC), and includes a $500 prize. 

David Brewster Selected for an SCGSR Award by the Department of Energy

October 12, 2020

David Brewster, a 5th year Ph.D. student from the Chemistry Department, has been selected to receive a 2020 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) award! This award is given in recognition of David’s outstanding academic accomplishments and the merit of the research proposed in his SCGSR application and reflects David potential to advance in his Ph.D. studies and make important contributions to the mission of the DOE Office of Science.

Rudi Fasan Receives 2020 Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

September 28, 2020

Professor Rudi Fasan, Andrew S. Kende Professor of Chemistry, has been honored with the 2020 Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Established in 1997 by University Trustee Robert Goergen and his wife, Pamela, the award aims to acknowledge the full scope of work that contributes to excellence in undergraduate education, and recognizes the distinctive teaching accomplishments and skills of faculty in the College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering. Professors are nominated by undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff members, and administrators.

Professors Knowles and Matson Selected as Scialog Fellow for Negative Emissions Science

July 20, 2020

Professors Kathryn Knowles and Ellen Matson have been named Fellows for a new Scialog initiative, Negative Emission Science (NES). Cosponsored by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) the series will begin virtually with its first conference November 5-6, 2020.

Nikki Wolford Receives GWIS Travel and Conference Award

June 22, 2020

Nikki Wolford received a travel and conference award from Graduate Women In Science (GWIS) to attend the 52nd annual Inorganic Discussion Weekend (IDW), which was held at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario. Nikki is a 4th year doctoral candidate in the Neidig lab.  Her oral presentation, titled "Homoleptic Uranium Complexes of Uranium (IV)", focused on her research recently published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition as well as some more recent work. (View Nikki's Travel report followup.)

Brittany Abraham awarded the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student

June 10, 2020

Brittany Abraham has been chosen as a recipient of the 2020 Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student.  Established to encourage excellence in the work of graduate students who assist undergraduate instruction, this award seeks to recognize full-time graduate students who have had significant face-to-face interaction with undergraduate students in classroom and research settings.

Zachary Piontkowski wins 2020 Outstanding Dissertation Award

June 1, 2020

Zachary Piontkowski has been selected as the winner of the 2020 Outstanding Dissertation Award for the Natural Sciences in Arts, Sciences and Engineering.  This award is in recognition of an outstanding dissertation and serves as a testament to Zak’s exceptional work as a graduate student at the University of Rochester. 

Professor Matson Named 2020 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar

May 25, 2020

Ellen Matson, Wilmot Assistant Professor of Chemistry, has been named a 2020 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar by The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. Matson is one of 14 early-career teacher-scholars in chemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences, who were honored. Faculty, who are within their first five years of their academic careers, are chosen because they have created an outstanding independent body of scholarship, and are deeply committed to education. Each Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar receives an unrestricted research grant of $100,000. 

2020 Undergraduate Chemistry Awards

May 12, 2020

Several outstanding chemistry undergraduates have won awards from the Chemistry Department, the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the College.  Seniors will be recognized at this year’s Chemistry Diploma Ceremony, on May 12, 2020. 

NSF GRFP Awarded to Michela Maiola & Others Receive Honorable Mention

April 20, 2020

Michela Maiola, an undergraduate student ('20) working in Prof. Matson's group, has been selected as an awardee for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP). Michela is graduating this year with the class of 2020, with a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Business.  She plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Michigan starting in the fall.

UR Chemistry at convention of National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)

March 6, 2020

The University of Rochester's Chemistry Department was well represented at the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers(NOBCChE) convention with five affiliates including then current NOBCChE President, Dr. Emanuel Waddell (see photo above).  Liz Daniele, UR Assistant Director for Graduate Diversity, also attended the convention which was held in St. Louis, MO in November 2019 at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel. The conference included professional development workshops, networking, mentoring opportunities and a Career Fair. 

Ignacio Franco Receives Mandel Faculty Fellow Award

February 28, 2020

Ignacio Franco, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Physics, has been  designated as the Leonard Mandel Faculty Fellow of the University of Rochester for a two-year period beginning July 1, 2019.  The Department of Physics and Astronomy established the award in 2014 in honor of the late Leonard Mandel, a longtime University physicist and pioneer of quantum optics.

Fifty Years of Research in the University of Rochester Chemistry Department

February 20, 2020

Professor John S. Muenter recently collaborated with several others on an article titled, “Photodissociation transition states characterized by chirped pulse millimeter wave spectroscopy”, which was published in PNAS.  John stated this is probably the last publication there will be with his name on the author list, and that “it has been a good run” since his first published paper in the early 60's.

Frank Huo Named 2020 Cottrell Scholar

February 12, 2020

Frank Huo, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, has been named a 2020 Cottrell Scholar by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), America's first foundation dedicated wholly to science.  Huo is one of twenty-five 25 early-career scholars in chemistry, physics and astronomy who were honored. Each awardee receives $100,000.  New and established Cottrell Scholars also meet each year to share insights and inspiration at the Cottrell Scholar Conference. This year’s event, to be held July 8-10 in Tucson, Ariz., will focus on cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset through research and educational activities.

Jisoo Woo & Julian Maceren win Research Initiative Award

February 1, 2020

Congratulations to two of our seniors, Jisoo Woo (Paradine Group) and Julian Maceren (Benoit Group) for winning this year's Undergraduate Research Initiative Award, sponsored by FURL (Friends of the University of Rochester Libraries). This annual award recognizes excellence in the early phases of undergraduate research, demonstrated by the initiation and organization of a project leading towards a senior thesis, capstone project, or an independent research project.

Prof. Todd Krauss named AAAS Fellow

November 26, 2019

Todd Krauss, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry, was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  Krauss was one of two UR faculty and among 443 members of the association being recognized this year for their “efforts toward advancing scientific applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.”

Prof. Kathryn Knowles Receives ACS PRF Doctoral New Investigator (DNI) Award

November 18, 2019

Kathryn Knowles, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, recently received the American Chemical Society (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) Doctoral New Investigator (DNI) Award for her work titled, "Colloidal Copper and Copper (I) Oxide Nanocrystals as Redox-Tunable Multi-Functional Catalysts and Photocatalysts for Cross-Coupling Reactions.” 

2019 Chemistry Fall Awards

November 6, 2019

Chemistry Department faculty, students and staff gathered at the annual Fall Awards Ceremony on November 6th, 2019, recognizing outstanding performance, research, service, and teaching by undergraduate and graduate students. 

Is a ‘quantum leap’ in chemistry in the offing?

October 1, 2019

Researchers at the University of Rochester have come up with a theoretical framework demonstrating how photons trapped in optical cavities are able to control chemical reactions.

Professor Pengfei Huo selected for virtual special issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry A highlighting young physical chemistry scientists

September 15, 2019

This Virtual Special Issue presents 82 papers in The Journal of Physical Chemistry (JPC) A, B, and C, authored by young scientists in physical chemistry and related fields from around the world. The project began in 2018 by developing a list of scientists who were publishing in physical chemistry (not necessarily in JPC), and then inviting them to submit original research papers. The papers have since gone through the editorial process, and published versions have appeared, some in 2018 but others only very recently.

NIH Funds Fasan Group’s Research on Macrocyclic Peptide Technologies

September 13, 2019

Professor Rudi Fasan and his group have been awarded a new 4-year, $1.3 million R01 grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIGMS) to develop new technologies for the discovery of selective macrocyclic peptide inhibitors of proteins and protein-mediated interactions.  The mission of the NIH program sponsoring this research is to support the development of highly innovative technologies that will address significant opportunities to enable the advancement of biomedical research.

Prof. Ellen Matson Recognized by DOE as Exceptional Researcher

August 19, 2019

Professor Ellen Matson has been named as one of two University of Rochester faculty recipients of Early Career Research awards from the Department of Energy (DOE). The award, now in its tenth year, is designed to bolster the nation’s scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional researchers during the crucial early career years, when many scientists do their most formative work.

Rudi Fasan Appointed Andrew S. Kende Professor

August 8, 2019

Rudi Fasan, professor of chemistry, has been appointed as the Andrew S. Kende Professor in Synthetic Organic Chemistry.  Fasan’s lab focuses on the design, development, and investigation of novel chemobiosynthetic and chemoenzymatic strategies for the synthesis and discovery of biologically active molecules. The group develops novel chemical agents useful for probing cell signaling pathways and controlling biomolecular interactions implicated in cancer and other diseases.

In Memory of Chemistry Professor Emeritus William Saunders

June 21, 2019

The Chemistry Department mourns the loss of Emeritus Professor William “Bill” H. Saunders, Jr. who passed away in Rochester, NY on Monday, June 17, 2019, at the age of 93.

Ellen Matson Appointed Wilmot Assistant Professor

May 22, 2019

Ellen Matson is one of four appointed Wilmot Assistant Professors. This award shines light on promising young men and women in the early stages of their academic careers.  The two-year  appointments, one in each of the four divisions of Arts, Sciences and Engineering, include an annual research fund of $5,000.

Ignacio Franco - G. Graydon Curtis ’58 and Jane W. Curtis Award for Nontenured Faculty Teaching Excellence

May 10, 2019

Ignacio Franco, assistant professor of chemistry and physics, will be awarded the G. Graydon Curtis '58 and Jane W. Curtis Award for Nontenured Faculty Teaching at this year's commencement, May 2019. The award was established in honor of Professor Ralph Helmkamp ’11, Professor of Chemistry, and recognizes teaching excellence by a non-tenured member of the faculty. To quote the donor: “Recognizing that many tenured faculty members excel in both teaching and research, it is my expectation that this annual award, directed exclusively to the non-tenured faculty, will encourage both interest and excellence in instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels.” 

William D. Jones—William H. Riker University Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching

May 10, 2019

William D. Jones, the Charles F. Houghton Professor of Chemistry, will be presented the William H. Riker University Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching at the University's Doctoral Commencement Ceremony on Saturday May 18, in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. The award recognizes a faculty member who has excelled in graduate instruction, particularly in the University’s doctoral programs.

2019 Undergraduate Chemistry Awards

May 9, 2019

Several outstanding chemistry undergraduates have won awards from the Chemistry Department, the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the College.  Seniors will be recognized at this year’s Chemistry Diploma Ceremony, on May 19, 2019. 

Jana Jelusic awarded Best Poster in the Natural Sciences Division at the Undergraduate Research Expo

April 23, 2019

Jana Jelusic, an undergraduate working in the Bren Lab in collaboration with the Krauss Lab, won "Best Poster" in the Natural Sciences for her work in "Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Using CdSe Quantum dots and Cobalt Catalysts" at the Undergraduate Research Expo.

Lauren VanGelder awarded Anna Louise Hoffman Award for Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Research

April 19, 2019

Lauren VanGelder, graduate student in the Matson Group, was awarded the 2019 Anna Louise Hoffman Award for Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Research from Iota Sigma Pi, National Honor Society for Women in Chemistry.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Awarded to Trevor Tumiel and David Vargas. Others Receive Honorable Mention.

April 9, 2019

Trevor Tumiel, a graduate student working in Prof. Todd Krauss’s lab, has been selected as an awardee for the NSF Graduate Fellowship Award. After graduating from St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, Trevor attended Canisius College where he obtained a degree in Chemistry (B.S.). He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester, where his research focuses on studying carbon nanotube photophysics, probing how surface defects can be used circumvent obstacles in developing nanotube-based photochemical applications.

Lauren VanGelder awarded the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student

March 27, 2019

Lauren VanGelder has been chosen as one of the winners of the 2019 Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student, an award given to a small number of full-time graduate students with a role in undergraduate education. Awardees are selected by the Dean of Graduate Studies and a University faculty committee, based on evidence of outstanding teaching, such as TA student and faculty evaluations, faculty letters of support and student recommendations. With this award, Lauren is recognized for her outstanding performance as a teaching assistant in a wide variety of chemistry courses, her dedication and commitment to students, and her exceptional service to the Department of Chemistry.

Chemistry Welcomes New Faculty member, Dr. C. Rose Kennedy

February 22, 2019

Assistant Professor Rose Kennedy will officially join the Department of Chemistry faculty as of January 1, 2020.  Dr. Kennedy received a B.S. in Chemistry in 2011 from the University of Rochester. She then joined the lab of Prof. Eric Jacobsen at Harvard University as an NSF graduate research fellow, completing her dissertation entitled “Mechanistic Studies in Ion-Pairing Catalysis with Dual Hydrogen-Bond Donors” in December 2016. Dr. Kennedy has since been conducting research as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow with Prof. Paul Chirik at Princeton University. We are thrilled to have Dr. Kennedy return to Rochester and the Department of Chemistry soon.

Chemist Ellen Matson named 2019 Sloan Research Fellow

February 20, 2019

Ellen Matson, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Rochester, is a recipient of the 2019 Sloan Research Fellowship. Awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955, the fellowships recognize young scientists for their independent research accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become leaders in the scientific community.  Each fellowship carries a $70,000 two-year award.

Prof. Ellen Matson named a 2019 Cottrell Scholar

February 11, 2019

Ellen Matson, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Rochester,  has been named a 2019 Cottrell Scholar by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), an organization devoted to the advancement of STEM through funding projects in the physical sciences. RCSA funds innovative research of college and university faculty members. The foundation was originally established by UC Berkeley professor Frederick Gardner Cottrell in 1912, who invented the electrostatic precipitator to counter air pollution produced by the industrial revolution.

New grad student chapter tackles underrepresentation in STEM

February 4, 2019

Raven Osborn thought long and hard about continuing a PhD at the University of Rochester. Other minority students she knew at the Medical Center had also felt the isolation, the constant “being on edge” and “code-switching”—shifting the way they express themselves—that comes with being an underrepresented minority in a STEM field.

Department receives funding for a new X-ray diffractometer

January 30, 2019

The chemistry department recently received funding for a new X-ray diffractometer from the NSF’s Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program. The principal investigator on the proposal, Professor William Jones, along with co-investigators Professors Rich Eisenberg, Ellen Matson, Michael Neidig, and Daniel Weix, successfully demonstrated the current need for this new instrument in support of their respective research programs. Additional strong contributions to the proposal came from Professor Kathryn Knowles and crystallographer Dr. William Brennessel. Rounding out the team was Ms. Debra Haring, whose superb technical expertise with grant proposals made for a smooth process.

Pengfei (Frank) Huo receives 2018 NSF CAREER Award

December 13, 2018

Congratulations to UR Chemistry Assistant Professor Pengfei (Frank) Huo who is the recipient of a 2018 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation for his proposal entitled “Quantum Dynamics of Photochemical Reactions in Solar Energy Conversions.”  The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide program that offers the NSF's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such support is expected to help build a firm foundation for a lifetime of faculty leadership in integrating education and research.

Kara Bren named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences

November 28, 2018

Dr. Kara Bren has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS). She was among 416 members of the association being recognized for their “efforts toward advancing scientific applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.” Fellows were selected for diverse accomplishments that include pioneering research, leadership within their field, teaching and mentoring, fostering collaborations and advancing public understanding of science.

Antonio Tinoco Valencia Awarded Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation in Organic Chemistry at 2018 SACNAS

October 13, 2018

Antonio Tinoco Valencia (Fasan Group) was awarded “Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation in Organic Chemistry” at the 2018 Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Diversity in STEM Conference. This year the three day (10/11-10/13) conference was held in San Antonio, TX where SACNAS awarded 105 graduate and undergraduate underrepresented minority students for their research and presentation skills.  The Presentation Awards recognize the next generation of scientists and STEM leaders for exemplary science, while giving visibility to their investigations and home institutions. The awards also encourage students to continue growing a career in science.

Professor Ellen Matson selected as Scialog Fellow for Advanced Energy Storage

September 10, 2018

Professor Ellen Matson has been selected as a Scialog Fellow for Advanced Energy Storage by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA). RCSA is a foundation providing catalytic and opportunistic funding for innovative scientific research and the development of academic scientists-advancing American competitiveness in science and technology.

UR Chemistry volunteers at Horizons!

August 10, 2018

During the summer of 2018, several graduate students from the Chemistry Department participated as volunteers for the annual Horizons at Warner Summer Program. The Horizons Program is a high quality academic enrichment program for low-income K – 8^th grade students from the Rochester City School District that takes place each summer on the University of Rochester Campus. The students experience a non-traditional school setting on our university campus for six weeks. A notable approach of the Horizons program is that it provides opportunities for blending academics with arts, sports, cultural enrichment, field trips, and confidence-building activities.

UR Chemistry's summer outreach with the Early Connection Opportunity (ECO) Program

August 10, 2018

Each summer at the University of Rochester, a group of about 60 incoming undergraduate students participate in the Early Connection Opportunity program - a bridge program between high school and university that is designed to start students off in the right direction. Operating within the Office of Minority Student Affairs (OMSA), the program runs for four weeks, during which time the students live on campus and take a full course load to prepare them for their first semester at UR. For the past three years, the Chemistry Department has participated in this excellent program, with a chemistry lecture course being created and taught by graduate student Lauren VanGelder (Matson Group). The course content is structured to prepare the scholars for their UR general chemistry course; it consists of lecture four days of the week, workshops twice each week (lead by teaching assistants Shukree Abdul-Rashed and Jordan Andrews), and one laboratory experiment. As a result of the program, ECO scholars are well prepared to take on their undergraduate studies at UR.

Dr. Ellen Matson wins Edith Flanigen Award 2018

August 9, 2018

Dr. Ellen Matson has been announced the winner of the 2018 Edith Flanigen Award. The Edith Flanigen Award is conferred annually by the CRC 1109 to an exceptional female scientist at an early stage of her career (postdoctoral fellow, junior researcher) for outstanding results on metal oxide water systems. It is associated with a financial support of 15,000 Euro, one third of which represents a personal award, while the other two thirds are meant to enable research stays within the surroundings of the CRC thus establishing collaborative links. 
This years award ceremony is taking place at the 10th of October.

Matson Group ‘cleaves’ oxygen from surface of metal oxide, enhancing reactivity

August 1, 2018

Metal oxides have been shown to be effective catalysts in converting greenhouse gases to useful chemical fuels, for example transforming carbon dioxide into methanol.

Prof. Ellen Matson wins fellowship supporting innovative teaching

July 27, 2018

Ellen Matson, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Rochester, is one of five inaugural recipients of the Course Hero-Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching. 

Arkajit Mandal awarded best poster at CECAM and "Cokerfest"

July 14, 2018

Arkajit Mandal (3rd year graduate student in the Huo Group) was awarded two best poster awards, one at the “Path Integral Quantum Mechanics” school hosted by Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire (CECAM) and the other at the “Cokerfest” held at Boston University, for the development of the Quasi-diabatic scheme for on-the-fly quantum dynamics propagation (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jctc.7b01178).

Laser Bursts Generate Electricity Faster Than Any Other Method

June 22, 2018

Take a glass thread a thousand times thinner than a human hair. Use it as a wire between two metals. Hit it with a laser pulse that lasts a millionth of a billionth of a second.

Dr. Bing Gu Wins ACS 2018 PHYS Division Postdoctoral Research Award

June 18, 2018

Dr. Bing Gu (Franco group) has been named as one of four recipients to win a 2018 Young Investigator Award by the Physical Chemistry division (PHYS) of the American Chemical Society (ACS).  Each year the PHYS division recognizes four young researchers for their work as postdoctoral fellows (two for theory and two for experiments).  The winners are invited to speak about their research at the Fall ACS meeting in August, this year in Boston. 

UR Chemistry runs the Teacher’s Challenge 5k!

June 11, 2018

Matson, Neidig, Knowles, Jones, Bren and Fasan labs participate in the 2018 WNYIS

June 4, 2018

Graduate Students Receive ACS Travel Awards

May 10, 2018

Viktoria Steck, a fourth-year graduate student in Prof. Fasan’s research group, was awarded an American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Inorganic Chemistry Travel award. With support from this award, Viktoria attended the 255th ACS Meeting in New Orleans, LA, where she presented a talk on her research entitled: “Mechanism-guided design of efficient P450 catalysts for C-H amination via nitrene transfer“.

Merjema Purak Wins Best Talk at Western NY ACS Undergraduate Research Symposium

May 1, 2018

Merjema Purak, undergradute student in the Matson Group, was awarded best talk at the 2018 ACS Western New York Undergraduate Rsearch Symposium. Merjema presented her research on "Kumada Coupling of Halogenated N-Heterocycles Using a Manganese Salt."

Dr. Farnaz Shakib Awarded 2018 Wiley Computers in Chemistry Outstanding Postdoc Award

April 30, 2018

Farnaz A. Shakib was one of the two awardees of the 2018 Wiley Computers in Chemistry Outstanding Postdoc Award. Farnaz received the recognition at a public reception in the 255^th American Chemical Society National Meeting in New Orleans presenting her work on incorporating nuclear quantum effects into nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulation via ring polymer surface hopping. Farnaz has obtained her BSc degree in applied chemistry in Tabriz University, Iran, followed by a MSc degree in Organic Chemistry. Switching to theoretical and computational chemistry she joined Dr. Gabriel Hanna’s group in the University of Alberta, Canada, where she received her PhD in 2016. Afterwards, she continued her research on developing novel quantum dynamics methods by joining Huo group in the University of Rochester. Engaging in the continuous effort in Huo group to push the boundaries of quantum dynamics simulation techniques her main focus was on developing efficient yet accurate methods to study the nonadiabatic dynamics of charge transfer reactions in natural and artificial photosynthesis.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Awarded to Hayden Carder & Chemistry Alumni Receives Honorable Mention

April 27, 2018

Hayden Carder, who graduates this year with a B.S. in Chemistry, has been selected as an awardee for the NSF Graduate Fellowship Award.

Undergraduate Chemistry Awards

April 27, 2018

The seniors who have won Chemistry Awards, will be recognized at this year’s Chemistry Diploma Ceremony, on May 20, 2018.

Knowles, Poletti are Furth Fund award recipients

April 13, 2018

Kathryn Knowles, assistant professor of chemistry, and Martina Poletti, assistant professor of neuroscience, are this year’s recipients of University Furth Fund awards. The Furth Fund, established through the generosity of Valerie and Frank Furth, provides early career scientists with $10,000 in research funds. The funds are used to promote the research activities of the faculty member, which may include the purchase of new equipment or support for graduate students or postdocs. 

Brittney Petel Selected as Recipient of ACS Women Chemists Committee/Eli Lilly Travel Award

April 13, 2018

Brittney Petel, graduate student in the Matson Group, was awarded the ACS Women Chemists Committee/Eli Lilly Travel Award for Fall 2018. This is awarded on the basis of scientific merit and financial need and funds registration, travel, and accommodations to meetings within the United States.

In memory of Chemistry Professor Emeritus Andrew S. Kende

March 29, 2018

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Professor Andy Kende passed away suddenly on the 20th of February, 2018. He was 85 years old. Andy Kende was the Charles F. Houghton Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus and a former Department Chair. At Rochester, Andy had the reputation for demanding scientific excellence and would not settle for less than the pursuit of science at the highest level. He mentored over 50 postdocs and 50 students during his career.

Chemistry Professor David McCamant wins Inaugural College Award For Undergraduate Teaching and Research Mentorship

March 26, 2018

Congratulations to Dave McCamant for being selected as the first recipient of The College Award for Undergraduate Teaching and Research Mentorship. Thanks to the generous support of Frederick D. and Susan Rice Lewis in 2017, the College Award for Undergraduate Teaching and Research Mentorship recognizes a tenured faculty member in Arts, Sciences and Engineering who excels as a scholar, teacher, and mentor of undergraduate students. The College will honor Dave at the Undergraduate Research Exposition and Awards Presentation on Friday April 20, 2018 at 3:00pm in Flaum Atrium.

Compound could transform energy storage for large grids

January 31, 2018

In order to power entire communities with clean energy, such as solar and wind power, a reliable backup storage system is needed to provide energy when the sun isn’t shining and the wind doesn’t blow.

Humboldt Research Awards support professors’ collaborations in Germany

December 28, 2017

 Two University of Rochester faculty members—William Jones of the Department of Chemistry and Xi-Cheng Zhang of the Institute of Optics—have received prestigious Humboldt Research Awards. The awards will enable them to spend up to one year cooperating on a long-term research project with specialist colleagues at a research institution in Germany.

Chemist go 'back to the future' to untangle quantum dot mystery

December 12, 2017

For more than 30 years, researchers have been creating quantum dots—tiny, crystalline, nanoscale semiconductors with remarkable optical and electronic properties.

Professor Fasan finds new means to "block" cancer cell growth

November 3, 2017

Fasan and coworkers have developed a new class of inhibitors against a notoriously challenging protein target implicated in the Hedgehog signaling pathway, one of the major cell signaling pathways found in human cells.  This work, entitled “Design and Evolution of a Macrocyclic Peptide Inhibitor of the Sonic Hedgehog/Patched Interaction”, was recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and soon after highlighted as a JACS Spotlight paper and in Chemical & Engineering News, the official magazine of the American Chemical Society, as well as shared by the UR Newscenter.

At 85, chemist Donald Batesky makes late-career discovery

October 25, 2017

Back in 1959, early in his career as a Kodak chemist, Donald Batesky was lead author of a paper in the Journal of Organic Chemistry. Now, at 85 years old and in his “third career” as a research associate in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Rochester, Batesky is lead author of another paper in the journal—a “featured article,” no less, selected as an “editor’s choice,” and the seventh-most read article in the journal for the previous 12 months.

Robert Boeckman Honored as 50-Year Member at ACS Awards and Recognition Dinner

October 13, 2017

The local Rochester section of the American Chemical Society honored 50, 60 and 70 year members at their awards and recognition dinner on Wednesday, October 11^th.  Prof. Bob Boeckman and his wife, Dr. Mary Delton, were honored as 50-year members of the ACS.  Shown below are each honoree with Dr. Allison Campbell, current president of the ACS and research scientist from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. A big crowd of Rochester chemists came together to celebrate.

Lauren VanGelder Selected as First Prize Winner in the NY-BEST Future Leaders Poster Contest

October 12, 2017

Lauren VanGelder (3rd year graduate student in the Matson Group) was awarded 1st prize in a poster contest at yesterday’s "New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST) Energy Storage Conference", for her work on Vanadium-oxide Clusters as electrolytes for Redox Flow Batteries.

Summer research that’s totally (nano)tubular

August 11, 2017

Chemistry major Austin Bailey ’18 (T5) has been able to carry out specialized research to a rare degree for an undergraduate student. As a participant in the National Science Foundation–funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in summer 2015, he was introduced to the world of carbon nanotubes. He’s been studying them ever since.

Light emitting quantum dots could ease synthesis of novel compounds

May 29, 2017

At one time you could wander through the labs of pharmaceutical companies and hardly ever see light being used to mediate chemical reactions. Now “photoredox catalysis” has become an essential way to synthesize novel organic compounds.

Ignacio Franco Selected as Recipient of ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award

May 17, 2017

Ignacio Franco, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Physics, was awarded the ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award for Fall 2017. The ACS COMP OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award program provides $1,000 to up to four outstanding tenure-track junior faculty members to present their work in COMP poster session at the Fall 2017, Washington DC ACS National Meeting. The Awards are designed to assist new faculty members in gaining visibility within the COMP community. Award certificates and $1,000 prizes will be presented at the COMP Poster session.

Jones Receives Royal Society of Chemistry Award

May 10, 2017

William Jones, the Charles F. Houghton Professor of Chemistry, will receive the 2017 Organometallic Chemistry Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry for finding new methods for converting hydrocarbons into chemicals found in useful, everyday products. 

Antonio Tinoco Selected as Recipient of a Ford Predoctoral Fellowship

May 1, 2017

Antonio Tinoco (2rd year graduate student in the Fasan Group) was awarded a Ford Predoctoral Fellowship this past March.  This program is a highly competitive, nation-wide program seeking to increase the diversity of the university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. Selected students have showcased superior academic achievement and a degree of promise of continuing achievement as scholars and as teachers, along with a personal engagement with underrepresented communities and an ability to bring this asset to learning and teaching at the university level.

Undergraduate Chemistry Awards

April 20, 2017

The following seniors have won Chemistry Awards, and will be recognized at this year’s Chemistry Diploma Ceremony, on May 21, 2017.

Chemistry Seniors and Juniors Win University of Rochester Awards!

April 20, 2017

Matson, Wojtovich receive Furth Fund awards

April 17, 2017

Ellen Matson, assistant professor of chemistry, and Andrew Wojtovich, assistant professor of anesthisiology, are recipients of the 2017 Furth Fund awards from the Provost's Office. 

Bren wins 2017 Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

March 31, 2017

The University of Rochester has announced that Chemistry Professor Kara L. Bren has been selected as the recipient of the 2017 Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The award will be presented to Professor Bren at the College Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 21, 2017. Kara received strong nomination letters from both current and former colleagues and undergraduate students.  Kara’s students described her enthusiasm for teaching chemistry, and provided passionate testimonials of how she has been an enormous influence in their budding scientific careers. A common thread in all the student letters is that Kara deepened their interest in science, especially Chemistry, and that as a result the interactions between Kara and these students were life-altering.

Joint paper by Krauss and Weix groups on catalysis with Quantum Dots published in JACS

March 27, 2017

Congratulations to the Krauss and Weix research groups for the March 10, 2017 publication of their Journal of the American Chemical Society(JACS) article entitled “General and Efficient C-C Bond Forming Photoredox Catalysis with Semiconductor Quantum Dots.”  The first paper of the nascent Krauss/Weix collaboration shows, for the first time, that semiconductor quantum dots are actually excellent, long-lived catalysts for a variety of photoredox reactions normally conducted with small molecule dyes (Ir, Ru, organic dyes). This is a nice advance because QDs can be tailored for a purpose, provide many of the advantages of heterogeneous catalysts without the disadvantages, and have excellent photophysical properties. From the Weix group, Dr. Jill Caputo with assistance from undergraduate Norman Zhao, handled the synthetic end while Leah Frenette and Dr. Kelly Sowers, of the Krauss group, supplied custom QDs and helped with measurements.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Awarded to UR Students and Alumni. Others Receive Honorable Mention.

March 23, 2017

Lauren VanGelder, a graduate student working in Prof. Ellen Matson’s lab, has been selected as an awardee for the NSF Graduate Fellowship Award. After graduating from Brockport High School, Lauren attended the University at Buffalo (SUNY), where she obtained degrees in Chemistry (B.S.) and Biomedical Sciences (B.S.). Following graduation, she returned to her hometown to pursue a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Rochester, where she is a founding member of the Matson Lab. Her research focuses on the synthesis of heterometallic polyoxometalate-alkoxide clusters and their applications in small molecule activation.

Prof. Eisenberg featured in a new series called, "Chemistry in Retrospect"

March 7, 2017

The Sceptical Chymist, a blog from Nature Chemistry​, has a new series called “Chemistry in Retrospect”. Check out their inaugural story which features Professor Rich Eisenberg as he recounts the story behind how his group came to develop parahydrogen-induced polarization NMR techniques as a case study in how curiosity can take fundamental research in new and unexpected directions. It serves as a reminder that sometimes you don’t get what you sought out, and a well-prepared mind can capitalize on that.

Building a better microbial fuel cell, using paper

February 8, 2017

The concept behind microbial fuel cells, which rely on bacteria to generate an electrical current, is more than a century old. But turning that concept into a usable tool has been a long process. Microbial fuel cells, or MFCs, are more promising today than ever, but before their adoption can become widespread, they need to be both cheaper and more efficient.

Ellen Matson receives 2017 NSF CAREER Award

February 1, 2017

Congratulations to UR Chemistry Assistant Professor Ellen Matson  who is the recipient of a 2017  CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation for her proposal entitled “Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of Iron-Functionalized Polyoxovanadate-Alkoxide Clusters for the Activation of Small Molecules.” The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide program that offers the NSF's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such support is expected to help build a firm foundation for a lifetime of faculty leadership in integrating education and research.

Austin Bailey wins Research Initiative Award

December 19, 2016

Congratulations to Austin Bailey, who won First Prize in this year's competition for the Research Initiative Award, organized by the Friends of the UR Library.  This annual award recognizes excellence in undergraduate research leading towards a senior thesis, capstone project, or an independent research project.  Applicants must be full-time undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Rochester and be interested in working towards a senior thesis, capstone project, or an independent research project.

Congratulations to Prof. Weix, our new AAAS Fellow!

November 28, 2016

AAAS - The American Association for the Advancement of Science​ Council elected 391 members as Fellows of the association, in recognition of their contributions to innovation, education, and scientific leadership. Prof. Weix will receive his award on February 18 at a Fellows Forum at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston.

UR Chemistry completes new NSF-funded Raman facility!

November 16, 2016

The Chemistry Department recently completed construction of its new multi-user Raman spectroscopy facility, funded by a grant to Profs. Neidig and McCamant from the National Science Foundation's Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program. The facility has 11 different CW diode lasers from the ultraviolet to the near infrared, combined with a triple spectrograph and CCD detection system and cryogenic sample handling. Raman spectroscopy can give detailed molecular information about materials by probing their molecular vibrational frequencies.

Congratulations to Prof. Turner on receiving the Poland - U.S. Science Award!

November 11, 2016

Congratulations to Douglas Turner, professor of chemistry, who, with his collaborator Ryszard Kierzek, a professor at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, has received the Poland – U.S. Science Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Foundation for Polish Science. The award, established in 2013 and given once every two years, honors their collaboration of more than 30 years investigating the thermodynamics, biology, and structure of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and RNA chemical synthesis. Because of their work, AAAS says, it is possible to predict the structure of any RNA based on its sequence. Their research also elucidates RNA folding rules and the use of modified oligonucleotides to modulate biological activity of pathogenic RNAs, such as inhibiting the growth of the influenza virus. Turner is an internationally acclaimed expert on the biophysics of RNA, especially in RNA thermodynamics. The parameters he developed, known as “Turner Rules,” allow for the prediction of RNA folding. He has published more than 230 scientific articles, cited more than 15,000 times. 

Seed grant enables researchers to try new approach to targeting leukemia

November 4, 2016

University researchers hope to improve the odds of surviving acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a promising drug that traces its lineage to a chemical found in magnolias. They will load the drug into nanoparticles that will target the inner recesses of bone marrow where leukemia stem cells lurk.

Bradley Nilsson Recipient of the 2016 Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

September 15, 2016

Chemistry Professor Bradley Nilsson has been selected to receive the 2016 Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The award will be presented at a special award ceremony in the Hawkins Carlson Room located in Rush Rhees Library at 4:00pm on Wednesday October 5, 2016, just before Meliora Weekend.

UR Chemistry volunteers at Horizons!

August 30, 2016

Lauren Bolz (CHM BS ’17) Back from New Zealand

July 13, 2016

Can you be a chemistry major and participate in Study Abroad opportunities? Absolutely! Just ask Lauren Bolz, pictured here in Kaikoura, New Zealand.

Reactions: Ellen Matson

July 11, 2016

"The Sceptical Chymist", a Nature Chemistry blog, recently featured Ellen Matson, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, in the blog's "Reactions" feature. Marshall Brennan, blog author, interviewed Prof. Matson asking things like, "What made you want to be a chemist?", and "When was the last time you did an experiment in the lab – and what was it?", as well as a few fun and personal questions such as, "Which historical figure would you most like to have dinner with – and why?".

Susan Cardinal Wins Chemistry Department Sandra Beach Award

July 8, 2016

Neidig recognized by Department of Energy

June 24, 2016

Michael Neidig, an assistant professor of chemistry, is one of 49 scientists to be recognized this year by the Department of Energy as one of the nation’s “exceptional researchers” in his or her “crucial early career years.”

Chemistry Welcomes New Inorganic Materials Faculty member, Dr. Kathryn Knowles

June 9, 2016

Assistant Professor Kathryn Knowles will officially join the Department of Chemistry faculty as of July 1, 2016.  Dr. Knowles received a B.S. Chemistry, and a B.A. in Mathematics in 2008 from the University of Rochester.  She completed her Ph.D. at Northwestern University with advisor Prof. Emily Weiss on her thesis entitled: “Decay and Dissociation of Excitons in Colloidal Semiconductor Quantum Dots in the Presence of Small Molecules.”    Dr. Knowles then went to the University of Washington for postdoctoral research.  We are thrilled to have Dr. Knowles return to Rochester and the Department of Chemistry.

Laura Ackerman chosen as finalist of the 2016 Reaxys PhD Prize

June 1, 2016

Professors Fasan, Benoit, and Frisch Receive University Research Award

May 20, 2016

Prof. Rudi Fasan, Associate Professor of Chemistry; Danielle Benoit, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering; and Benjamin Frisch, Research Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology) were recipients of a 2016-17 University Research Award.

Undergraduate Chemistry Awards

May 10, 2016

Several chemistry majors have been awarded Chemistry Awards and will be recognized at this year’s Chemistry Diploma Ceremony, on May 15, 2016.

Christine Ziegler, Rachel Kasimer and Lauren Bolz win University awards!

May 6, 2016

The 2016 Janet Howell Clark Prize is being awarded to Rachel Kasimer (CHM BS ’16). The Janet Howell Clark Prize is awarded annually to a senior woman who has shown the greatest promise in creative work in astronomy, biology, chemistry, or physics, and who has shown outstanding versatility in the mastery of allied fields. Selection is based on recommendations by the respective departments, which are evaluated by a committee appointed by the Dean of the College. The award consists of a cash prize and recognition at a special senior ceremony the Saturday of commencement. Rachel will also be recognized at the Chemistry Diploma Ceremony.

Professor Michael Neidig Appointed as Wilmot Assistant Professor

May 3, 2016

As of July 1, 2016, Professor Michael Neidig will serve for two years as Wilmot Assistant Professor in the School of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering. The announcement was made by Dean Peter Lennie, who explained that this appointment carries with it an annual research fund of $5,000.

NIH Renews Funding for Research on Reductive Coupling

April 27, 2016

Professor Daniel J. Weix and his group have been awarded renewed funding of $1.3 million over 4 years by the National Institutes of Health (NIGMS) to develop new reductive cross-electrophile coupling reactions and study their mechanisms. Cross-electrophile coupling reactions were pioneered in the Weix group and are now frequently used at pharmaceutical companies in drug discovery and development.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Awarded to Astrid Olivares & Two Chemistry Alums. Others Receive Honorable Mentions.

March 29, 2016

Astrid Olivares, a second-year graduate student working in Prof. Dan Weix’s lab, has been selected as a 2016-2019 NSF Graduate Research Fellow.  Two of our Alumni, Louis Papa (now at MIT), andKevin McClelland (now at Northwestern), also were selected to receive this prestigious award.

Ignacio Franco receives 2016 NSF CAREER Award to Investigate the Fundamental Limits in the Quantum Control of Electrons

March 25, 2016

Congratulations to UR Chemistry Assistant Professor Ignacio Franco who is the recipient of a 2016 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation for his proposal entitled “Decoherence, Non-Equilibrium Properties and Stark Control of Electrons at the Nanoscale.” The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide program that offers the NSF's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such support is expected to help build a firm foundation for a lifetime of faculty leadership in integrating education and research.

Chemistry Faculty Receive Awards from Technology Development Fund (TDF)

March 10, 2016

UR Ventures Technology Review reports that after presenting their projects to the Technology Development Fund Executive Committee, Chemistry faculty members are co-investigators on two of the four teams that have received the latest round of awards from the University's Technology Development Fund. TDF funding allows for proof-of-concept experimentation and pre-clinical studies.

Bill Jones Interviewed on WXXI News Radio about "Potentially Better Ethanol"

January 5, 2016

Connections, a radio show with WXXI News, featured Professor Jones, when their Monthly Science Roundtable asked the question: "What if science could fix one of our country's big energy mistakes?" Evan Dawson, host of Connections with WXXI News, states that: "A decade ago, government was all-in on corn-based ethanol. This produced bad results on a number of levels: environmental, energy efficiency, the impact on food and crop rotation, etc. But now a team led by a researcher at the University of Rochester is zeroing in on a method to make ethanol much more efficient, and much less corrosive. Will it work?"

Weix Group Reveals New Multimetallic-Catalyzed Biaryl Synthesis

September 25, 2015

The Weix Group recently discovered a new solution to the long-standing challenge of cross-coupling two different aryl electrophiles - a multimetallic cross-Ullman reaction. Graduate student Laura Ackerman, assisted by undergraduate Matt Lovell, developed a method to couple an aryl bromide with an aryl sulfonate ester selectively. The secret is to use a combination of two different metal catalysts, palladium and nickel, along with a simple fluoride salt. Given the abundance of the aryl starting materials and the importance of biaryls in pharmaceuticals and materials, this new reaction could find wide application.

Terrell Samoriski Wins Chemistry Department Sandra Beach Award

June 24, 2015

Terrell Samoriski, Journal of Organic Chemistry Editorial Assistant to Professor Bob Boeckman, is this year's recipient of the Sandra M. Beach Memorial Award for outstanding service to the Chemistry Department.

Chemistry Welcomes Pengfei Huo

April 24, 2015

PENGFEI (FRANK) HUO will officially join our Chemistry faculty in July 2015. Frank received his B.S. in chemistry from Lanzhou University of China in 2007. He then moved to Boston University to pursue his Ph.D. in theoretical chemistry with David Coker. Frank's Ph.D. work focused on developing efficient and accurate nonadiabatic dynamic methods to understand the excitation energy transfer process and the electronic coherence in natural light harvesting systems. In 2012 he joined CalTech as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Tom Miller where he worked on extending the linearized path-integral method to simulate the electron and excitation transfer dynamics, as well as applying a variety of novel computational methods such as ab-initio molecular dynamics tools and wavefunction-in-DFT embedding approach to explore the fundamental aspects of electron and proton transfer mechanisms in cobaltbased hydrogen evolution catalysts. He was recognized as one of the "top reviewers for The Journal of Chemical Physics" (2012) and received an "ACS PHYS Division Postdoctoral Research Award" (2014). The Huo research group develops and applies multiscale theoretical approaches that combine novel dynamics and methods and scalable electronic structure methods to investigate the complex reaction dynamics associated with solar energy harvesting and storage processes.

Chitavi Maulloo, Rachel Kasimer and Christine Ziegler win University awards!

April 16, 2015

The 2015 Janet Howell Clark Prize is being awarded to Chitavi Devi Maulloo(CHM BS, BMG BS ’15). The Janet Howell Clark Prize is awarded annually to a senior woman who has shown the greatest promise in creative work in astronomy, biology, chemistry, or physics, and who has shown outstanding versatility in the mastery of allied fields. Selection is based on recommendations by the respective departments, which are evaluated by a committee appointed by the Dean of the College. The award consists of a cash prize and recognition at a special senior ceremony the Saturday of commencement. Chitavi will also be recognized at the Chemistry Diploma Ceremony.

Michael Neidig Receives Sloan Research Fellowship

March 3, 2015

Michael L. Neidig, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, has been named a 2015 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in Chemistry. Professor Neidig’s research focuses on non-precious metal catalysis in organic chemistry, including iron-catalyzed cross-coupling and iron- and cobalt-catalyzed direct C-H functionalization.

Lukiana Anka-Lufford Awarded Division of Organic Chemistry Travel Award!

February 17, 2015

Lukiana Anka-Lufford, a graduate student in Dan Weix’s group, was recently awarded the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Organic Chemistry Travel award in the amount of $600. With this award, Lukiana plans on attending the Spring ACS meeting in Denver, CO ( March 22-26, 2015) where she will present a talk on her research entitled: “A new co-catalyst strategy: Cobalt and nickel-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling of benzyl mesylates and aryl halides.“ Congratulations Lukiana!

Chemistry Welcomes New Inorganic & Organometallic Faculty member: Dr. Ellen Matson

February 17, 2015

Assistant Professor Dr. Ellen Matson will officially join the Department of Chemistry faculty as of July 1, 2015. Dr. Matson comes to Rochester after completing her Ph.D. at Purdue University with advisor Professor Suzanne C. Bart on her thesis entitled: “Synthesis of Low-Valent Uranium Alkyl Complexes: Exploring the Reactivity of the Uranium Carbon Bond for the Activation of Small Molecules.” Dr. Matson then went to the University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign for postdoctoral research in the area of first-row transition metal complexes with Professor Alison R. Fout.

Michael Neidig Receives NSF CAREER Award for Research on Iron- and Cobalt-Catalyzed Direct C-H Functionalization

February 17, 2015

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Michael L. Neidig who is the recipient of a 2015 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. The Chemical Catalysis Division will support Professor Neidig’s research by providing $675K over the next five years.

NIH Funds Neidig Research on Iron-Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon Cross Coupling

January 27, 2015

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michael L. Neidig and his group have been awarded a 5-year, $1.4 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIGMS) to study new iron-catalyzed coupling reactions. Their long-term goal is to develop iron-catalyzed C-C cross-coupling to the level of understanding currently present for palladium, thus permitting the rational development of iron chemistry across the spectrum of desired C-C bond forming reactions. The objective of the proposed project is to utilize a novel experimental approach combining inorganic spectroscopies, density functional theory and synthesis to develop molecular-level insight into active catalyst structure and the mechanisms involved in current leading edge iron-catalyzed C-C cross-coupling reactions, and to utilize this insight to develop new catalysts and reaction methodologies with improved catalytic performance. The iron-based cross-coupling reaction studies in this grant utilize low-cost, non-toxic metals that offer the potential for the development of sustainable catalytic systems for use in the health sciences. The proposed research is relevant to public health and the mission of the NIH because it is from these low-cost, sustainable methods that affordable routes to the next generation of pharmaceuticals and molecular probes will be discovered.

Daniel Weix to receive a Novartis Early Career Award

January 15, 2015

Daniel J. Weix, an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Rochester, has been named a recipient of the Novartis Early Career Award in Organic Chemistry. Novartis, a multi-national pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland, honors two scientists each year who are “within 10 years of having established an independent academic research career in the areas of organic or bioorganic chemistry in the broadest sense.” The Novartis Early Career Award comes with a $150,000 grant over three years to continue the recipient’s research. Weix, who specializes in organic (carbon-based) synthesis, is working on developing better ways of creating molecules in order to accelerate the discovery of new, useful compounds, including pharmaceuticals.

Daniel Weix Receives Two Awards for Green Chemistry Research

December 18, 2014

Daniel J. Weix, an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Rochester, was selected to receive a Pharmaceutical Roundtable grant by the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute and was also a recipient of the 2014 Pfizer Green Chemistry Award for his research of non-precious metal catalysis.

Todd Krauss Elected OSA Fellow

November 5, 2014

Professor Todd Krauss has been selected to join the 2015 class of Fellows of the Optical Society(OSA). Todd is being recognized for major contributions to the measurement and understanding of spectroscopy and excited state relaxation dynamics in II-VI semiconductor nanocrystals and carbon nanotubes at both the ensemble and single particle levels. One of his enthusiastic letter writers made the comment, “Todd has clearly distinguished himself as one of the leaders worldwide in the photophysics of nanomaterials. He communicates his ideas very well; he is motivating, enthusiastic and connects with the audience. He has an excellent sense of humor and understands how to capture the attention of the audience. To summarize, Todd’s scientific contributions and service to the Optics community need to be recognized. I strongly support his nomination and hope he’ll soon be a fellow Fellow.” Todd will be inducted as an OSA Fellow during one of the OSA conferences to be held in 2015. Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional association in optics and photonics, home to accomplished science, engineering, and business leaders from all over the world.

The Art and Science of Organic Chemistry

September 17, 2014

Associate Professor of Chemistry Daniel J. Weix is a scientist, but he nonetheless talks about the creative aspects of chemistry and the art of organic synthesis. Weix specializes in organic (carbon-based) synthesis and is working to develop better ways of creating molecules in order to accelerate the discovery of new, useful compounds, including pharmaceuticals.

Daniel Weix wins Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award

May 6, 2014

Dan earned his B.S. in Chemistry at Columbia University in 2000, and his Ph.D. degree under the direction of Professor Jonathan Ellman at the University of California, Berkeley in 2005. He spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow with Professor John Hartwig at Yale University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign prior to joining our department. On July 1, 2008. Dan came to Rochester with an extremely strong background in synthetic and organometallic chemistry, focusing on the development of new methods for C-C bond formation used in organic synthesis. In recognition of the novelty and importance of his published and ongoing work, Dan has also recently been awarded major NIH research support, a Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (2013), a Thieme Chemistry Journal Award (2013), and a Green Chemistry Award from the Pfizer-Groton Green Chemistry Team (2012). Dan is also an extraordinarily effective teacher at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and he has developed new curricula for several courses including CHM 435, a graduate level course on synthetic methods, and CHM 210, an honors level organic chemistry laboratory course.

Barbara Snaith and Elly York Win Chemistry Department Award

May 6, 2014

Sandra Beach served as the Department Secretary from 1991 until her tragic death in an automobile accident in 1993. She was an extremely important and well-liked staff member whose cheerful and helpful attitude made her an invaluable asset.

Daniel Everson selected as 2013-2014 Outstanding Dissertation Award Winner in the Natural Sciences for the University of Rochester

May 6, 2014

Congratulations to Daniel Everson, who received his Ph.D. in 2013 under the guidance of research advisor Dan Weix. The title of this thesis was “Nickel-Catalyzed Electrophile Cross-Coupling of Aryl Halides”. Dan received his B.S. in Chemistry in 2007 from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is currently working as a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Christopher J. Douglas at the University of Minnesota in the Chemistry department. As Wendi Heinzelman, Dean of Graduate Studies for Arts, Sciences and Engineering wrote in her notification letter: This award is testament to your exceptional work as a graduate student at the University of Rochester. We are proud of all your accomplishments. Dan will receive a certificate and a monetary award in recognition of his achievement.

Rochester Distinguished Scholar Award goes to Dr. Yuh-geng Tsay

May 6, 2014

The Rochester Distinguished Scholar Award recognizes alumni whose careers in academia, industry, government or the arts have exemplified the values and attributes of the University.

Douglas Turner Wins 2014 UR Lifetime Achievement Award in Graduate Education

March 24, 2014

Chemistry professor Douglas H.Turner has been recognized by the University for his contributions to graduate education over his 39 year career at Rochester with the 2014 UR Lifetime Achievement Award in Graduate Education. For Doug, this award is the capstone of an outstanding career as a scholar, researcher, teacher and graduate mentor.

New Faculty Member and Research on Nanoscale Dynamical Processes: Theory and Computation

February 26, 2014

Ignacio Franco joined the Chemistry faculty at the University of Rochester in July 2013. Ignacio received his B.Sc. in chemistry from the National University of Colombia in 2001. After completing the diploma program in condensed matter physics at The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste in 2002, he moved to the University of Toronto to pursue a Ph.D. in theoretical chemical physics under the guidance of Paul Brumer. Ignacio’s Ph.D. work was in the field of Quantum Control and focused on investigating the use of lasers to induce ultrafast controllable currents along nanoscale junctions. In 2008 he joined Northwestern as a postdoctoral fellow in the groups of Mark A. Ratner and George C. Schatz where he worked on the theory and simulation of single-molecule pulling experiments. He then moved to Berlin to take a position as group leader and Humboldt research fellow in the Theory Department of the Fritz Haber Institute in 2011, where he investigated electronic decoherence processes in molecules.

Ian Goldsmith-Rooney invited to attend the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in April

January 27, 2014

The National Conference on Undergraduate Research is an organization that seeks to promote undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity using partnerships with faculty and other mentors as a way to achieve a higher education. Chosen from over 4,000 submissions, Ian will have the opportunity to present his work and interact with other student researchers and faculty from across the country throughout the four day event. The conference also includes graduate school fairs, oral and poster presentations, performing arts presentations, and speeches by renowned innovators such as Kris Kimel, the founder of IdeaFestival, and the president and co-founder of Kentucky Science and Technology Corp.

Dan Weix invited to attend Kavli Frontiers of Science Symposium

November 13, 2013

Professor Daniel J. Weix was invited to attend the 25th annual Kavli Frontiers of Science Symposium held November 7-9, 2013 in Irvine, California. The 80-100 attendees were selected from among recipients of prestigious fellowships, awards, and other honors, as well as from nominations by NAS members and other participants. They are a group of distinguished scientists under 45 who have already made significant contributions in their fields. Since the symposium's inception in 1989, more than one hundred fifty of its "alumni" have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and ten have been awarded Nobel prizes.

Rich Eisenberg 2013 Oesper Award Recipient

November 1, 2013

The Cincinnati Section of the American Chemical Society and Chemistry Department at the University of Cincinnati recently announced Rich Eisenberg as the 2013 Oesper Award Winner. The Oesper Award is given annually to recognize an outstanding chemist of our time for a lifetime of significant accomplishments in the field of chemistry with long lasting impact on the chemical sciences. Rich just recently received the Award when he spoke at the Symposium held in Cincinnati last week. Congratulations Rich!

Rudi Fasan & Dan Weix chosen to speak at Award Symposium

October 12, 2013

Rudi Fasan and Dan Weix were chosen to speak at the 8th Organic Young Academic Investigators Award Symposium held recently at the ACS National Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. The intent of the Symposium is to have the program composed of Assistant Professor speakers who are entering their fifth or sixth years and are not yet tenured. Sixteen speakers were invited to give 30-minute presentations on their work.

Chemistry Department Pioneer Wins Top Philanthropy Award

October 12, 2013

The Rochester Area Community Foundation recently presented Dr. Walter Cooper, an alumnus of the University of Rochester, with its highest honor in recognition of his many charitable contributions. Cooper received the Joe U. Posner Founders Award at the foundation's annual luncheon at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center on September 18.

Dave McCamant Wins Inaugural Lectureship

October 11, 2013

The Journal of Physical Chemistry and the ACS Physical Chemistry Division created a new Lectureship Award which began in 2013. These awards, which will be held annually, honor the contributions of THREE investigators who have made major impacts on the field of physical chemistry in the research areas associated with each journal section. Dave McCamant was chosen as the winner of the Journal of Physical Chemistry B Lectureship: Biophysical Chemistry, Biomaterials, Liquids, and Soft Matter. The inaugural award Lectureships were held in September at the Fall 2013 ACS National Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Where Does the Energy Go in a Chemical Reaction?

August 20, 2013

Answering the question "Where does the energy go in a chemical reaction?" has been an abiding interest of Jim Farrar and his research group. Recognizing that ion-molecule reactions are among the fastest known gas phase processes has motivated the group to develop crossed molecular beam methods to study energy and angular momentum disposal in these chemical reactions. The experimental observations provide important correlations between reaction motifs and topological features of the underlying potential surfaces that describe the forces experienced by approaching reactants and separating products. The study of gas phase ion chemistry is based on mass spectrometry, with the result that molecular beam methods measure velocity vector distributions of reaction products. Measuring these distributions, generally with an energy analyzer that rotates around the collision center, produces an image of the products in velocity space that provides direct information on the velocities and scattering angles of newly formed reaction products.

Selective C—H functionalization in complex antimalarial drug via fine-tuned P450 catalysts

August 20, 2013

The ability to construct and manipulate biologically active molecules is central to the discovery of compounds with novel or improved pharmacological properties. Methods for the selective functionalization of aliphatic carbon-hydrogen (C—H) bonds are of particularly high synthetic value, as these chemical bonds are ubiquitous in natural and synthetic bioactive molecules. Performing this transformation with high efficiency and selectivity constitutes however a formidable challenge due to the strength of C−H bonds and the presence of several C−H bonds of similar energy in organic compounds, especially in complex molecules. A research team led by Prof. Rudi Fasan has reported a novel strategy to obtain cytochrome P450-based catalysts useful for the late-stage functionalization of unactivated C—H bonds in artemisinin, a complex natural product of prominent value in the fight against malaria (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012; 134(45): 18695–704). This impressive work was highlighted in the Chemical & Engineering News and selected for the JACS Spotlight "Enzyme Targets Hard-To-Oxidize Chemical Bonds".

Rudi Fasan wins Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award

July 3, 2013

Congratulations to Rudi Fasan for winning the 2014 Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award in the Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry field (a second award is given for the field of Organic Synthesis). These two awards were created in 2005 by the Executive Board of Editors and the Publisher of Tetrahedron Publications and are presented to two individuals who have exhibited "exceptional creativity and dedication" in the fields Bioorganic/ Medicinal Chemistry and Organic Synthesis respectively.

Pat Holland wins Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists

June 21, 2013

The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists competition has announced the results of their 2013 regional competition, naming Professor Pat Holland, Synthetic Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry, one of five faculty winners. These exceptional scientists, along with two postdoctoral fellows and five finalists, were selected from a pool of more than 160 nominations across 35 scientific disciplines, submitted by 43 research institutions in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Sarah Koniski and Louis Papa Awarded DAAD RISE Scholarships for research in Germany!

May 10, 2013

Congratulations to Sarah Koniski ('14, BS Chemistry, Bren group) and Louis Papa ('14, BS Chemistry, Fasan group) who will be spending their summer conducting research in German laboratories through the German Academic Exchange Service-Research Internships in Science & Engineering Scholarship (DAAD-RISE) program.

Undergraduate Research Expo and Writing Contest Awards

May 8, 2013

David George, '13 (BS Chemistry, Weix group), won the President's Award for Undergraduate Research in the Natural Sciences at the recent Undergraduate Research Symposium held in April. Pictures of the event, including David with University President, Joel Seligman, are located in the second row down, #3, 4, 5 (left to right) at: http://uofrphoto.smugmug.com/Events/2013-Events/2013-04-19-Undergraduate/29062877_QqmcTP#!i=2473181660&k=B2jXKd8

Chemistry Alums, Katherine Garner, Matthew DeMars, II, and Jonathan Goldberg Receive Honors!

May 7, 2013

Chemistry alumna Katherine Garner, '11/T5, (BS, Chemistry; minor, ASL) has won a 2013-14 Carnegie Junior Fellowship. She is the first-ever UR student or alumna to receive this prestigious and extremely competitive fellowship. Only 8-10 Carnegie Junior Fellows are chosen each year. Kate will serve as a research assistant to a senior fellow in the Energy & Climate Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC, where she will help produce policy papers, op ed pieces, briefs for Congressional committees, and interact with government and international officials. More about Kate can be found on the University website using the link to the right.

Ben Hafensteiner named Professor of the Year in the Natural Sciences

April 5, 2013

Congratulations to Ben Hafensteiner on being named this year’s Professor of the Year in the Natural Sciences. This award is bestowed on behalf of the University of Rochester Students’ Association who determined, after a careful screening of the pool of nominations, that Ben best fulfilled the criteria for this high honor.

Kim Manbeck awarded the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student

April 4, 2013

Kim Manbeck has been chosen as one of the recipients of the 2013 Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student. Awardees are selected by the Dean of Graduate Studies and a University faculty committee, based on evidence of outstanding teaching, such as TA student and faculty evaluations, faculty letters of support and student recommendations. With this award, Kim is recognized for her outstanding performance as a teaching assistant in a wide variety of chemistry courses, her dedication and commitment to students, and her exceptional service to the Department of Chemistry. We will be having a get together (day/time to be announced) during which a member of the Dean's staff will present her award. Great job Kim! Our sincerest congratulations on this well-deserved honor!

Dan Weix Receives Sloan Research Fellowship

February 14, 2013

Dan Weix, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, has been named a 2013 Sloan Research Fellow. According to Chemistry Chair Robert Boeckman, Jr., "There is no question the breadth and depth of Dan's research program, developed in a mere four years, ranks him at the very top of his cohort of young faculty working in the area of organometallic synthesis methodology."

Dan Weix Receives 2013 Thieme Chemistry Journal Award

January 11, 2013

Dan Weix is the recipient of a 2013 Thieme Chemistry Journal Award! This award, established in 1999 with the aim to encourage young scientists, is granted to prospective chemists who have been recognized as high-potential researchers in the field of synthetic organic chemistry by the editorial board members of SYNTHESIS, SYNLETT and SYNFACTS. Congrats!

The Weix group is chosen for "Green" Award!

January 11, 2013

Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development in Groton, Connecticut, actively promotes the twelve principles of green chemistry amongst their staff. One of the key components of the program facilitated by their Green Chemistry Team is internal recognition through the “Groton Labs Green Chemistry Award.” Annual awards are presented to Pfizer scientists who demonstrate outstanding performance by incorporating green chemistry into pharmaceutical research and development activities.

Departmental Gathering and Fall Awards

Thursday, November 17, 2016