News | Chemistry at Illinois

Chuanjing Xu standing next to the brick sign at the Morrow Plots on the UIUC campus.

Family and friends of alum establish scholarship to “pay it forward”

12/13/2023 - Family and friends of Chuanjing “Charlie” Xu (PhD, ’92) made a gift to Chemistry at Illinois, establishing the Chuanjing Xu Memorial Scholarship in his memory, because UIUC was instrumental in the Xu...

Research Associate Anuj Yadav receives Anuj Khandelwal Memorial Travel Award

12/11/2023 - The Anuj Khandelwal Memorial Fund was established in 2019 in memory of Anuj Khandelwal, who was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of chemistry Prof. Martin Burke. Created by his friends and family...

Computer-assisted image showing dark blue and light red molecular structures of supercharged protein monomers (red, negative, and blue, positive) in the process of association to form a supercharged hexadecameric protein complex. Image rendered using Blender and PyMOL.

Submit Research Images in the 2023 SCS Science Image Challenge

12/01/2023 - The School of Chemical Sciences invites graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral associates/fellows, and staff members within the school, including the departments of chemistry and chemical...

Portrait of Ying Diao on a dark background

Researchers identify unexpected twist while developing new polymer-based semiconductors

11/28/2023 - A new study led by professor Ying Diao brings fresh insight into the development of semiconductor materials that can do things their traditional silicon counterparts cannot – harness the power of...

Side by side head shots of David Shapiro and Paul Hergenrother

Unprecedented Compound Takes a Step Toward Breast Cancer Clinical Trials

11/28/2023 - An anticancer compound developed in the collaborative labs of Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) researchers Paul Hergenrother, a professor of chemistry at Illinois, and David Shapiro, a professor of...

Three members of the research team pose together, two standing and Hergenrother seated, in a lab on campus.

Chemistry researchers discover rules for breaking into Pseudomonas

11/28/2023 - A team led by chemistry professor Paul Hergenrother and former graduate student Emily Geddes (PhD, '22) has discovered the physical and chemical rules for overcoming the defenses of Pseudomonas...

Outdoor portrait of Katie standing in front of trees with sun shining through trees.

Getting to know: Graduate student Katherine Hatzis

11/15/2023 - A fifth-year PhD student who grew up on a farm in rural Ohio, Katherine Hatzis is involved in researching fundamental surface science of gold nanomaterials and engagement and outreach activities like...

Ken Suslick honored as one of Caltech's 2023 Distinguished Alumni

11/14/2023 - The Chemistry at Illinois faculty member received the alumni award for contributions to sonochemistry and chemical sensing, which have advanced the field of medical imaging and facilitated lifesaving...

Photo of Mary-Dell Chilton standing next to President Joe Biden in front of a gold curtain with a medal around her neck in a ceremony at the White House.

Alum Mary-Dell Chilton awarded National Medal of Technology and Innovation

11/13/2023 - Dr. Chilton (MS, '60; PhD, '67) was presented the award by U.S. President Joe Biden in a ceremony at the White House on Oct. 24, 2023, for her work producing the first transgenic plant and for...

An illustration of the Electrolab on a white background.

Lightening the load: Beckman researchers develop autonomous electrochemistry robot

11/09/2023 - Chemistry professor Joaquín Rodríguez-López co-led a team of researchers in developing a cost-friendly, customizable, electrochemistry robot called the Electrolab to perform autonomous lab...

Researchers stand side by side between a green and yellow sculpture outside the Carl R. Woese Institute on the UIUC campus.

New antifungal molecule kills fungi without toxicity in human cells, mice

11/08/2023 - Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison report in the journal Nature that a new antifungal molecule, devised by tweaking...

Portrait of Suri Bandyopadhyay standing in front of the steps on west side of Noyes Laboratory.

Getting to know: Graduate student Suritra Bandyopadhyay

11/06/2023 - A graduate student from India, Bandyopadhyay was drawn to the Illinois chemistry graduate program by research related to photoacoustic applications of porphyrin. In his second year, he has a first...

Two tone portrait of Carlos Montezuma in a suit sitting with one arm leaning on a table.

Gift honors memory, legacy of University of Illinois’ first Native American graduate

11/02/2023 - A native Yavapai from central Arizona, Carlos Montezuma was an Illinois chemistry major, who became the first Native American graduate of the University of Illinois in 1884 and one of the first...

Picture of the west-facing arch entrance to Noyes Laboratory

Fifth round of Discovery Fund awards will support an electrochemistry project and catalyst research

11/01/2023 - Two research proposals in the Department of Chemistry have been selected to receive Discovery Fund awards. The funding will support electrochemistry research that could lead to improvements in the...

Five members of the research team two seated and three standing pose together in the atrium of the Beckman Institute.

Microdroplets, macro results: Beckman researchers pursue Energy Earthshots

10/30/2023 - A research team at the Beckman Institute that includes several chemistry professors will conduct electrochemical reactions in microdroplets to produce clean hydrogen, sequester carbon dioxide, and...