News and Highlights
From the Chemistry Department
Arthur Chavez wins 2023 President's Outstanding Staff Award
Senior Procurement Officer, Arthur Chavez has been named the winner of a 2023 President's Outstanding Staff Award. This prestigious honor comes with a cash award and Arthur will be recognized by the President of the University at a ceremony in late s...
More
Eliezer Ortiz Awarded University Graduate Continuing Fellowship
Graduate student Eliezer Ortiz of the Krische Group is a recipient of the University Graduate Continuing Fellowship. The University Graduate Continuing Fellowship is based on the student’s record since coming to UT. It includes a stipend of $35,000 for 12 months, health insurance assistance and tuition assistance that pays the cost of in-state...Aja Nicely Receives 3rd Annual Rising Black Scientist Awards Honorable Mention
Graduate student Aja Nicely of the Hull Group has been selected by Cell Press as a Rising Black Scientist Awards honorable mention. Her essay, “Dismantling the curse of the ‘First’," appears in the journal iScience. The Rising Black Scientist Awards were created in 2020 to break down barriers and create opportunities by providing visibil...Hang Ren Receives Scialog: Negative Emissions Science Award
Assistant Professor Hang Ren is a recipient of the Scialog: Negative Emissions Science Award, which aims to catalyze advances to make removal of CO2 & other greenhouse gases more efficient, affordable and scalable. Ren is part of a team working on "Robust Scalable Multifunctional Electrode for CO2 Reduction and C-C Coupling in Seawater."&n...Hang Ren selected for NSF CAREER award
We are pleased to announce that Assistant Professor Hang Ren has been selected for a highly prestigious NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award. The CAREER award is an early career honor, and it will support Hang’s research program to develop nanoscale scanning electrochemical probe methods to characterize the electrical do...Kami Hull Receives D&A Accessibility Champion Award
Associate Professor Kami Hull has been recognized as an Accessibility Champion by Disability and Access. This is a student-nominated honor given to those faculty who have shown dedication to enhancing the accessibility and inclusivity of our campus for students with disabilities. Well-done, Kami!Jonathan Sessler Receives Supramolecular Chemistry Award
Congratulations to Professor Jonathan Sessler, recipient of the prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Supramolecular Chemistry Award. He will be honored and give a plenary lecture at the Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry Meeting in Nottingham, UK, in December.
Atreya Dey Wins Three Minute Thesis Competition
Graduate student Atreya Dey of the Thirumalai Group is the winner of the the 2023 Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition. His presentation is titled "The theory of a hundred thousand grandmas." 3MT was developed at The University of Queensland in 2008 and has competitions in 63 countries. Graduate students from all disciplines h...
Michael Krische Appointed Honorary Member of the Israel Chemical Society
The Israel Chemical Society (ICS) has awarded honorary membership in the society to Professor Michael Krische.The ICS is dedicated to the advancement of pure and applied chemistry, both nationally and internationally.Jim Chelikowsky Awarded The Foresight Institute Feynman Prize for Theory
Professor Jim Chelikowsky has been honored with the 2022 Foresight Institute Feynman Prize for Theory for his pioneering use of computational strategies to understand and predict material properties at the nanoscale.Chemistry Graduate Student Awards Showcase 2022
Dear Colleagues and Friends, I am delighted to present the Chemistry Graduate Student Award Showcase for 2022 to acknowledge and celebrate the major fellowships and awards received by our graduate students over the 2021 - 2022 academic year. We are so proud of our students, both for their individual successes and their contributions to our de...
Sumit Sinha Receives ACS 2022 Graduate Award in Theoretical Chemistry
We are pleased to recognize former graduate student Sumit Sinha, recipient of a 2022 Graduate Award in Theoretical Chemistry sponsored by the ACS Physical Chemistry subdivision and The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. Sumit earned his doctorate under the supervision of Professor Dave Thirumalai earlier in 2022, and he is currently pursuing po...Hang Ren Receives MIRA Grant
Congratulations to Assistant Professor Hang Ren, recipient of a five-year NIH Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) grant titled, “Spatially and Temporarily Resolved Precision Delivery for Quantitative Biological Studies." This $1.87M grant will support Dr. Ren's research in the area of developing nanoelectrochemistry ...Carlos Baiz and Mike Rose Receive DOE Office of Science Grants
Congratulations to Associate Professors Carlos Baiz and Mike Rose who have received grants from the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. Dr. Baiz’s grant is titled, "Ultrafast Chemistry in Confined Environments: Understanding the role of H-bond dynamics” and will support his research in the area of electrocatalytic react...Connor Saludares Receives NIH Research Supplement
Congratulations to graduate student Connor Saludares of the Krische Group, recipient of an NIH Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research. The Diversity Supplements Program is designed to facilitate the recruitment and training of promising scientists from diverse backgrounds.Thushani Herath, Simon Humphrey, and Matt Worden Promoted
The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Thushani Herath, Simon Humphrey, and Matt Worden have been promoted, effective September 1, 2022. Thushani Herath and Matt Worden have been promoted to Associate Professors of Instruction. Herath received her PhD from Wayne State University and joined the department in 2016. Worden r...Ku-Lung (Ken) Hsu Joining Department
The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Dr. Ku-Lung (Ken) Hsu will join the University of Texas at Austin in 2023 as a CPRIT Scholar. Dr. Hsu will bring his innovative program in chemical biology, focusing on protein biology and metabolism to develop new pharmacological approaches for cancer and immunology.Doran Bennett Joins Department
The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Dr. Doran Bennett will join the University of Texas at Austin as an assistant professor. Currently an assistant professor at Southern Methodist University, he will move to UT Austin in Summer 2023. Dr. Bennett’s research area is theoretical physical chemistry (featuring quantum dynamics, bioph...Jonathan Sessler Awarded Mond-Nyholm Prize for Inorganic Chemistry
Professor Jonathan Sessler is the 2022 recipient of the Royal Society of Chemistry Mond-Nyholm Prize for Inorganic Chemistry in recogition of his pioneering work on f-element complexes of expanded porphyrins. The Mond-Nyholm Prize for Inorganic Chemistry recognizes outstanding contributions to the chemical sciences in the area of ino...
