(February 26, 2018) A paper from Prof. Joe Merola's group has been featured on the front cover of the February 26th issue of Organometalics. The paper, titled "Synthesis, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Activity of Rh^III and Ir^III β-Diketonato Piano-Stool Compounds", describes the synthesis of a library of rhodium(III) and iridium(III) complexes with substituted tetramethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*^R) and beta-diketonato ligands. Several of these complexes were found to have good antimicrobial activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis. The issue's cover artwork, featured at left, created by Chrissy DuChane, a 5th year graduate student in the Merola Lab, highlights the modular nature of the synthetic process by comparing it to an assembly line in a factory.  

(February 26, 2018) Prof. Robert Moore has been awarded a three-year NSF Award through the Polymers Program in the Division of Materials Research. This $450K award titled “Tailored Chain Sequences of Pendant Functional Groups and Resulting Phase Behavior of Gel-State Functionalized Blocky Copolymers,” will focus on a fundamentally new way to create blocky sequences of comonomer units along a polymer chain using a post-polymerization modification of commercially-available homopolymers. By avoiding complicated synthetic schemes required in the polymerization of conventional block copolymers, this novel approach will provide cost-effective, readily available materials alternatives needed to meet critical demands for water purification membranes, fuel cell membranes for clean energy conversion, and environmentally-friendly materials for the medical and healthcare industries. Read more about the project here.

(January 30, 3018) Prof. Nicholas Mayhall's group will contribute to a $1.8M, 4-year project funded by the US Department of Energy. The team, led by Prof. Ed Barnes from the Virginia Tech Department of Physics, will work to develop a multiscale modeling approach that ranges from different levels of ab-initio quantum chemistry simulations to effective models and time-dependent external control, and will use this approach for the systematic design and control of quantum information processors with TbPc2 single-molecule magnets. Although computing power has historically increased exponentially, the physical limitations of computer hardware are quickly approaching. Quantum computing offers an alternative platform and has the potential to significantly increase the speed of future computers. For more information and to read the abstract, click here.

(January 29, 2018) Last November, the research groups of Professors Bob Moore and Lou Madsen joined forces for the annual Virginia Tech Science Festival, organizing an interactive "gel science" exhibit titled "Are you gellin'?". The booth, created by a group of eight graduate students led by Kristen Felice, saw over 400 visitors over the course of the six-hour festival. Kids got to make "slime" gel networks with a polymer, poly(vinyl alcohol), and a crosslinking agent, sodium borate (commonly known as borax); watch as ions conducted through a gel to power a lightbulb and learn how long macromolecules join together to form gels and solids. Both the kids and their parents alike enjoyed and learned from the exhibit, asking questions and soaking in the science. Both research groups regularly participate in community outreach events, such as last year's science festival and through events with KidsTech University, a program associated with the Virginia Tech Biocomplexity Institute.

(December 14, 2017) First-year chemistry graduate student Chris Garcia, a scholar in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program funded by NIGMS in the National Institutes of Health, is one of the students featured in a VT News article sharing about the program. IMSD supports students from underrepresented groups who are pursuing careers in biomedical science. Chris, who studies with Dr. Webster Santos, is interested in drug discovery at a pharmaceutical company. Read more about Chris and the program here.

(December 12, 2017) We are pleased to announce that a major donation of instrumentation by the Celanese Corporation has been moved into HHS 1007 and is now operational. The Waters SYNAPT G2 High Definition Mass Spectrometer is a hybrid quardrupole, ion mobility, orthogonal acceleration, time-of–flight mass spectrometer controlled by MassLynx software. This system combines exact-mass, high resolution mass spectrometry with high-efficiency ion-mobility-based measurements and separation (IMS). Inlet systems include a Acquity UPLC, an Agilent 7890A GC with autosampler, and an Atmospheric Solids Analysis Probe (ASAP). Supported ionization modes are APCI, ESI, APPI, APGC, and MALDI. Dr. Mehdi Ashraf-Khorassani has been working with Celanese staff and Waters tech support to learn the operation of this instrument. He would be happy to show you "around the system" and discuss your MS research project needs.

(December 4, 2017) Prof. John Morris has been named the Dr. A.C. Lilly Jr. Faculty Fellow in Nanoscience by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. The Fellowship was established in the College of Science through an endowment by A.C. Lilly Jr, a Virginia Tech alumnus. He established the Faculty Fellowship Endowment in Nanoscience to provide support for an outstanding faculty member in the field of nanoscience. The Fellowship appointment is for three years. Dr. Morris and his group are working to develop nanoscience approaches that can be used to build new catalysts and to provide insight to how small-scale materials affect the environment. More information about his research can be found on his website: http://www.jrmorris.chem.vt.edu/. Congratulations Prof. Morris!

(Nov. 27 2017) Prof. Guoliang (Greg) Liu has been awarded a five-year NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award through the Polymers Program in the Division of Materials Research. Liu's work will focus on polymer nanocomposites containing plasmonic nanoparticles, which will enable the design of the next-generation functional composites capable of maneuvering light as desired. With tunable light adsorption and reflection, the polymer nanocomposites can find applications in solar cells and light-reflecting windows for energy-efficient buildings. This $585K CAREER award will facilitate the synthesis and characterization of both plasmonic nanoparticles and polymers. The assembly of the two materials will help researchers to better understand the polymer-nanoparticle interactions at the nanometer scale. Read more about Prof. Liu's research here.

(November 14, 2017) Prof. Webster Santos has been reappointed as the Cliff and Agnes Lilly Faculty Fellow by President Tim Sands. Agnes Lilly established the fellowship to provide annual support to outstanding faculty involved with the Institute for Advanced Study in the College of Science. The Lilly Fellowship appointment is for three years, and Prof. Santos has held it since 2014. His research centers around working to develop a drug that increases metabolism without exercise. You can read more about his research on his website: http://www.santosgroup.chem.vt.edu/research.php. Congratulations Prof. Santos!

(November 9, 2017) Prof. Emeritus Harold McNair was named to The Analytical Scientist magazine's Magnificent Tens Power List for 2017. This year, the list was separated into 10 categories, from Separation Scientists to inventors. Prof. McNair earned the #2 spot in the "Mentors" category, which recognizes "supervisors, colleagues, or teachers inspiring the next generation of scientists". He was nominated for "his charismatic nature, his style of open inquiry and inquisitive research, and his caring nature [that] have made him a mentor to emulate". More information can be found here. Congratulations, Prof. McNair!

(November 8, 2017) The Virginia Tech Chemistry Club, an American Chemical Society student chapter, has won, for the second year in a row, a Commendable award for its activities conducted during the 2016–2017 academic year. Last year, of the over 400 chapter activity reports submitted, only 114 received a commendable award. Special commendation goes to Prof. Maggie Bump, for her commitment of time and energy that a successful chapter requires. The list of award winners will appear in the November/December 2017 issue of inChemistry and will be honored at the 255^th ACS National Meeting in New Orleans.

(October 18, 2017) Prof. Tim Long has been appointed the new Editor-in-Chief of Polymer International, a Wiley publication. In his open letter to the PI community, Prof. Long shared his vision for the publication to serve as the leading venue for the most significant fundamental advances in teamed science, coupled with an alignment to industry and societal impact. Prof. Long will succeed Prof. Kurt Geckeler, who previously held the position for nine years, starting in 2018. Congratulations Dr. Long!

(Oct 3, 2017) Prof. Feng Lin has been awarded the ICTAS Diversity and Inclusion Seed Grant to collaborate with Jackson State University on designing electron transport layers for perovskite solar cells. The Lin Lab will design and synthesize semiconductor nanocrystals with tunable facet terminations and study charge transport processes. As part of the objective of the grant program, this new collaboration will build direct faculty-to-faculty research partnerships between the faculties of Virginia Tech and Jackson State University.

(September 20, 2017) At the College of Science Faculty and Staff Fall Reception, Prof. Maggie Bump was honored with the College of Science Outreach Excellence Award. The award honors a faculty or staff member who has made significant and sustained outreach activities in a local, regional or national program. Prof. Bump's extensive outreach accomplishments impact, invigorate and inform children and community members in the New River Valley and beyond. She leads the Chemistry Club's ongoing outreach activities which include demonstrations, science fairs, workshops and more. In 2005, Prof. Bump established the Youth Experiencing Science (YES) program which pairs rising 3rd-7th graders in rural southwest Virginia counties with Virginia Tech graduate students to design and carry out summer projects. Congratulations Prof. Bump!

(September 19, 2017) A few weeks ago, Hurricane Harvey devastated the area in and around Houston, Texas. One of the communities affected was Pasadena, Texas, which was in the direct path of the storm and received 43 inches of rain. Prof. Amanda Morris' sister-in-law is an employee at Park View Intermediate School, a Title I, 7th and 8th grade middle school where a majority of the students are at-risk and low-income. Many of the students' families were devastated by the flooding of the community with some families losing everything. Through an effort by Kristen Felice and Prof. Morris, the Department of Chemistry is "adopting" Park View Intermediate School to help their students and their families recover from this disaster. If you would like to contribute, you can make a donation through Venmo to Prof. Amanda Morris (@ProfAJM-VTChem) or through cash or check. To help in other ways, including donations of clothing or personal hygiene items, contact Kristen Felice at kfelice@vt.edu.

(September 8, 2017) Each academic year, the Graduate School, through the College of Science, provides assistantships through the Graduate School Doctoral Assistantship program. In the Department of Chemistry, the awardees are nominated by their research advisors and selected based on strong evidence of research productivity; demonstrated leadership, creativity and independence; and excellent academic performance in the core and foundation requirements. This fall, the Department of Chemistry awardees are Fabijan Pavosevic from the Valeev Group, Shu Liu from the Edgar Group, Jie Zhu from the A. Morris Group, and Mingjun Zhou from the Matson Group. Congratulations to the awardees!

(August 23, 2017) Prof. Amanda Morris has been featured in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) Young Investigators Virtual Issue for her work on metal-organic frameworks. This collection of articles highlights premier research in diverse areas from around the world. The publications were carefully selected based on this criteria, reviewer input, and editorial evaluation by the knowledgeable JACS Editors. Read her full paper here.

(August 10, 2017) Prof. Gordon Yee will be going on sabbatical to Lawrence Berkeley National Labs during the fall semester and will be back on campus in the spring semester. Prof. Yee has served the department as the Director of Undergraduate Programs since 2010. At the Berkeley Lab, Prof. Yee will be studying rechargeable batteries. Starting in the fall, Prof. Amateis will be assuming the role of Director of Undergraduate Programs.

(August 3, 2017) Scott Radzinski (Ph.D. '17) has won the 2017 Harold M. McNair Graduate Research Award in Chemistry. This prestigious award has been made possible by the generosity of one of our most well known and beloved faculty members, Prof. Harold McNair. In the lab, Scott's goal was to synthesize tapered bottlebrush polymers which take on a cone shape rather than the common cylinder shape. His research led to the development of several new methods to synthesize traditional bottlebrush polymers and resulted in five first-author papers and three talks at the San Francisco ACS meeting in April 2017, including one for the Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research Symposium as part of that award from the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry.  In addition to his lab achievements, he has been described as an excellent mentor to younger students and fastidious when it comes to safety in the lab. He will continue his training as a postdoc at the Army Research Labs in Aberdeen Proving Ground. Congratulations Scott!

(August 3, 2017) Prof. Amanda Morris' research, focusing on using metal organic frameworks to build a new type of solar cell, was recently featured in Research Features Magazine. The team behind Research Features has one simple goal: to make complex scientific research accessible to global audiences. Their mission is to break down the barriers between scientific literature and non-specialists who wish to learn more. Prof. Morris' lab is looking to develop new methods of storing the energy harvested from the sun using frameworks inspired by nature.

(July 21, 2017) Prof. John Matson, has been awarded a 4-year, $198,000 collaborative grant from the BiNational Science Foundation. he BSF supports joint research efforts between US and Israeli scientists. Prof. Matson's research group will work with the group of Prof. Ronit Bitton (Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel) on peptide-based hydrogel materials with applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

(July 21, 2017) Prof. Emeritus Harold McNair, was named an American Chemical Society Fellow for 2017. This year the highly competitive program honored just 65 members worldwide for outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and the Society. Prof. McNair was recognized for Basic Gas Chromatography originally published in 1967 and now in its second edition; it has been translated into seven other languages. His contributions to the Society include recognition as the father of the ACS short course, which provides intensive, area-specific training to professionals. He has delivered chromatography and related short courses for more than 50 years, with all proceeds going towards student travel and research support. Over the course of his career as a professor, he supervised 61 graduate theses and taught Separation Science and General Chemistry, receiving many research and teaching awards including one of the first two Virginia Tech Alumni Teaching Awards. Congratulations Prof. McNair!

(July 21, 2017) Prof. Feng Lin, has received a highly competitive 2017  Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. The $5,000 Powe Award, which is matched by Virginia Tech, will support The Lin Lab in developing high energy and safe cathode materials for next-generation lithium batteries. These materials will accelerate the development of reliable battery technologies for consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and grid energy storage. At Virginia Tech, The Lin Lab focuses on developing advanced materials for batteries and catalysis.

(May 11, 2017) Dr. Bob Allen, a distinguished research staff member and senior manager of the Materials Discovery and Innovation Department at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California, will receive the  2017 Graduate School Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. The award recognizes achievements of national distinction in any field of enduring significance to society. Allen, who was awarded his Ph.D. at Virginia Tech in 1985 under the direction of Prof. Jim McGrath (who passed away in 2014), leads the IBM Research Center’s chemical/materials research.

(May 8, 2017) Prof. Gordon Yee was selected as an Outstanding Advising Award Winnerin the Faculty Advising category as part of the 2017 NACADA Global Awards Program for Academic Advising. This award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated qualities associated with outstanding academic advising of students. The Faculty Academic Advising category includes those individuals whose primary responsibility is teaching and who spend a portion of their time providing academic advising services to students.The award will be presented during a ceremony at the NACADA Annual Conference in St. Louis this October.

(April 20, 2017) Prof. Brian Tissue was recognized for his unwavering commitment to safety with receipt of one of two 2017 Virginia Tech Awards for Safety Excellence. The honor recognizes members of the university community whose safety efforts or initiatives have resulted in a safer work environment or substantially helped eliminate or minimize loss or injury. Read more here!

(April 13, 2017) The Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI), co-directed by Prof. Daniel Crawford, was highlighted in a recent article in the April 6 issue of C&E News: "Chemistry and computer coding brought together in NSF-funded institute." The MolSSI celebrated its launch with a reception earlier this month at the American Chemical Society national meeting in San Francisco. The Institute will serve as a nexus for science, education, and cooperation serving the worldwide community of computational molecular scientists – a broad field including of biomolecular simulation, quantum chemistry, and materials science.

(March 23, 2017) Prof. Gordon Yee has received one of just two campus-wide Alumni Teaching Awards! This annual award recognizes a Virginia Tech faculty who advances the "highest standards of instruction, the vigilant pursuit of new forms and technologies of teaching, the continual evaluation of practices and standards of teaching effectiveness, and personal and organizational commitment to the importance of teaching in the research university." Prof. Yee will be inducted into the Academy of Teaching Excellence this spring.

(March 6, 2017) A research team headed by Prof. John Matson has received a $1.5M grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop therapeutic H2S-releasing small molecules, polymers, and polymer assemblies. In collaboration with Prof. Khosrow Kashfi from City College of New York, the Matson lab seeks to develop new methods to deliver this noxious, yet important, biological signaling gas. The work aims to address the controversial role of H2S in cancer through control over the timing, rate, and location of delivery.

(February 27, 2017) VT's Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER) has recognized Prof. Joseph Merola for excellence in teaching across all levels of instruction from large General Chemistry classes of 320 students to mentoring graduate and undergraduate researchers one-on-one. Specifically, Merola is being recognized for creating effective, engaged, and dynamic teaching and learning environments that reach all students.

(February 20, 2017) Prof. Gordon Yee has received the 2017 Alumni Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Academic Advising by the Office of the Provost.  This annual award recognizes a Virginia Tech faculty who has been particularly dedicated to and effective in the advising of undergraduate students. As one student noted in the nomination package: "Professor Yee shows ingenuity and dedication interacting with students. A thoughtful and collected man, he tirelessly serves students at Virginia Tech in whatever capacity he is able. I believe he could do nothing to be any more deserving of this award." Congratulations Prof. Yee!

(February 1, 2017) A research team from the VT Center for Drug Discovery, headed by Prof. Paul Carlier, has received a $431,126, two-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to make improved versions of a promising compound (8138 for short) to test against malaria in animal models. The team includes Prof. Belen Cassera (U-Georgia) and Daniel Slade (VT-Biochemistry), and Max Totrov (Molsoft LLC in San Diego); together they are seeking to identify analogs of the drug that have superior potency and selectivity for inhibition of IspD, an enzyme in the MEP pathway for isoprenoid precursor biosynthesis in the malaria parasite. A major benefit of a compound like 8138 is that side effects in humans are expected to be low. Read the VT-wide news story here.

(January 30, 2017) Along with the departments of Physics and Biological Sciences, Chemistry has received one of three University Exemplary Department Awards! The 2016 award recognizes exceptional efforts in “developing and sustaining effective large class instruction.”  Singled out for their contributions to the nomination package—and for their teaching contributions to the department—are Profs. Amateis and Arachchige (general chemistry), Profs. Berg, Matson, Gandour, Bump, and Josan (organic chemistry), and Profs. Troya and Marand (pchem). Chemistry was also so designated in 2009, 2014, and 2015—earning it a "three-peat" and making it the academic unit with the most Exemplary Department Awards at Virginia Tech. Read the VT-wide news story here.

(December 12, 2016) Prof. Webster Santos, along with Profs. Alban Gaultier and Kevin Lynch at UVA, received pilot funding to study drugs developed in the Santos lab as potential multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy. MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. The 70K grant from the UVA-VTC neuroscience seed fund program is designed to bring neuroscience investigators together to tackle important questions and perform transformative work.

(November 17, 2016) Prof. David Kingston is featured on the VT homepage today for his research on cancer therapies that may reduce the side effects of chemotherapy. In collaboration with colleagues from the biotech firm CytImmune Sciences, Prof. Kingston is working to develop a cancer drug that utilizes gold nanoparticles and shows promise to be effective in fighting cancer, while at the same time reducing the toxic side effects of so many cancer therapies. Read more here!

(October 14, 2016) Prof. Guoliang (Greg) Liu was named one of 58 scientists and engineers from across the country to receive a Young Investigator Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The objective of this program is to foster creative basic research in science and engineering, enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators, and increase opportunities for the young investigators to recognize the Air Force mission and the related challenges in science and engineering. Dr. Liu has been funded to investigate “Nanoporous Carbon Fiber Based on Polyacrylonitrile-containing Block Copolymers: A Hierarchical, Multi-lengthscale.”

(October 11, 2016) Prof. Lou Madsen was interviewed by two local television stations (WSLS and WBDJ), and the Richmond affiliate of National Public Radio, about what might be causing Samsung cellphones to spontaneously self-ignite, resulting in a massive recall. His work on a new “ion gel” represents a safe and efficient solution for lithium transport and increasing battery energy density. His NSF-funded research (in collaboration with colleagues in Australia and the Netherlands) may lead to a commercial solution for this serious problem. More information is available through the highlighted links

(September 15, 2016) Prof. Ed Valeev's Group will contribute to a $10M+, 4-year project funded by the US Department of Energy as part of the National Exascale Computing Project. The NWChemEx team, composed of computational chemists, computer scientists, and applied mathematicians (and led by Dr. Thom Dunning at the Pacific Northwest National Lab) will redesign the popular computational chemistry code, NWChem, to run on the exascale high-performance computer systems planned for deployment after year 2020. The term exascale refers to a billion billion arithmetic operations per second, or a factor of 50 to 100 times faster than the nation’s most powerful supercomputers in use today. NWChemEx is expected to serve as the next-generation fully-featured molecular modeling package, scalable from a laptop to the largest computers of tomorrow.

(September 1, 2016) Profs. Webster Santos and Kevin Lynch (University of Virginia) were awarded a new 4-year $2.1M award from NIH to investigate the therapeutic potential of sphingolipids. This grant will enable the researchers to understand the role of sphingolipids in vivo by developing enzyme and transporter inhibitors of an endogenous signaling molecule, sphingosine-1-phosphate. Their work could lead to drugs that can treat cancer, kidney disease, sickle cell disease, and infections from zika and chikungunya virus.

(July 28, 2016) Prof. T. Daniel Crawford will lead a five-year, $19.4 million National Science Foundation-funded initiative to build a national team of software scientists to design and build new, powerful software tools that can help researchers of all stripes tackle wide-ranging, complex, data-heavy issues, such as cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease, as well as create new energy storage systems that can help stem climate change.  The Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI), which will eventually be situated at VT’s Corporate Research Center, will serve as a nexus for science, education, and cooperation serving the worldwide community of computational molecular scientists – a broad field including of biomolecular simulation, quantum chemistry, and materials science. The Institute will spur significant advances in software infrastructure, education, standards, and best-practices that are needed to enable the molecular science community to open new windows on the next generation of scientific Grand Challenges, ranging from the simulation of intrinsically disordered proteins associated with a range of diseases to the design of new catalysts vital to the global chemical industry and climate change. 
This award will enable the computational molecular science community to work together to leverage its diverse capabilities that will reduce or eliminate the gulf that currently delays by years the practical realization of theoretical innovations. Ultimately, MolSSI will enable computational scientists to tackle problems that are orders of magnitude larger and more complex than those currently within our grasp, and will accelerate the translation of basic science into new technologies essential to the vitality of the economy and environment. 
For more details, link to the NSF announcement or VT’s Press Release.

(August 29, 2016) Prof. T. Daniel Crawford was recently named the Ethyl Corporation Chair in Chemistry by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. Ethyl Corporation established the chair position in 1986 to support the Department of Chemistry by providing resources to recruit and retain the most highly qualified research and teaching faculty. Crawford has published more than 100 papers, has been cited more than 4,500 times, and has attracted more than $4.5 million in external funding. As noted in the preceeding story, Crawford is now leading the multi-institutional NSF-funded Molecular Sciences Software Institute. For more details, link to VT’s Press Release.

(August, 2016) Prof. John Morris is leading a collaborative team of scientists from VT, Emory University, Brookhaven Natl. Lab, Yesheva University, and the Army Research Laboratories to explore “The Catalytic Decomposition of Chemical Warfare Agents.” The $2.6M award from the Dept. of Defense will assist the military in developing materials that trap and then render harmless chemical warfare agents. The Morris Group is featured in a Virginia Tech News article that details this important research.

(July 26, 2016) The Valeev Group was awarded a new 4-year $600K NSF award to develop novel methods for computational prediction of physical and chemical properties of solids and their interactions with molecules. The new award from the Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure will bring the predictive capabilities of high-end molecular electronic structure theory to the realm of solids; this will facilitate quantitative descriptions of phase diagrams of molecular crystals, band gaps in semiconductors, and catalysis on metal surfaces. This award is part of a $1.8M VT-led collaboration with the California Institute of Technology and Northwestern University.

(May 2016) Prof. Amanda Morris has been selected as one of only 13 national Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar recipients for 2016. The award supports exceptional young academic researchers who are making "frontier research accomplishments" in the chemical sciences. Awardees are selected based on "an outstanding independent body of scholarship and a deep commitment to education." Read more about this recent honor and her work with artificial photosynthetic arrays HERE.

(May 2016) Professor Joseph M. DeSimone, chief executive officer and co-founder of Carbon, received Virginia Tech’s 2016 University Distinguished Achievement Award during the 2016 Spring Commencement. The award recognizes achievements of national distinction in any field of enduring significance to society. Later this month, DeSimone will be honored by President Obama with theNational Medal of Technology and Innovation. That award recognizes people who have made lasting contributions to America’s competitiveness and quality of life while helping strengthen the nation’s technological workforce. Prof. DeSimone earned his PhD in 1990 under the direction of Prof. Jim McGrath, who passed away in 2014.

(April 2016) Prof. Lou Madsen can now add National Public Radio to a list of media sources publicizing his research on ion gel electrolytes and their potential use in next-generation batteries. Listen to WVTF's Interview with Prof. Madsen and his graduate student, Ying Wang, as they discuss the exciting possibilities for these intriguing materials. See also the VT News Story from March 8, and the original article in Advanced Materials. Their research is also detailed in the news snippet posted earlier this year (shown in the News Archive).

(February 2016) Prof. Amanda Morris has been selected as a 2016 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in Chemistry.  The award comes with a $55,000 prize that Morris will use to further research in several areas, including creating new methods to transform carbon dioxide into methane, thus reducing air pollutants and providing a means to recycle carbon-based fuels. Prof. Morris's achievement is featured today in the VT News. Congratulations Prof. Morris!

(February 2016) Prof. Lou Madsen and colleagues have just published their work “Highly Conductive and Thermally Stable Ion Gels with Tunable Anisotropy and Modulus” in the high-impact journal,Advanced Materials.  This publication describes a new “ion gel” electrolyte based on a Kevlar®-like polymer and an ionic liquid. This gel has high conductivity and widely tunable stiffness, properties required to build safe and practical rechargeable batteries that use Li-metal electrodes.  Such batteries have much higher energy density than conventional Li-ion batteries.   Read more about these gels in an article appearing on the VT website here, or link to the publication here.  
This work was spearheaded by PhD student Ying Wang in Prof. Madsen’s group, and involves international collaborations with the polymer chemistry group of Prof. Theo Dingemans at Delft University in the Netherlands and the electromaterials group of Prof. Maria Forsyth at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia.

(April 2016) Prof. S. Richard Turner was awarded an NSF Division of Materials Research Grant of $181,943 for fundamental research on “Nanoporous Polymer Particles and Gels Containing Semi-rigid Copolymer Structures.”  The 18-month grant will fund research on the synthesis and properties of novel semi-rigid, sterically-crowded, and precisely-functionalized nanoporous hypercrosslinked polymeric materials. These new polymeric materials will possess high concentrations of functional groups and have the potential to serve as effective sorbents for carbon dioxide and other gases and to scavenge metal ions or other reactive molecules. Such materials could be employed as sorbents for applications targeted at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution.

(March 2016) Prof. Harry Gibson was awarded $470,000 from the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the National Science Foundation (Chemistry Division) to explore the use of mechanical linkages (threaded loops and knots) at the molecular scale to build large molecules. This research program seeks ways to efficiently prepare new and novel types of polymers with unusual and/or improved properties, e.g., self-healing, responsive to external stimuli such as mechanical stress, heat, pH or solvents, and rubber-like elasticity. The convergence of polymer and supramolecular sciences as complementary fields offers great opportunities for the design and preparation of new materials with unique properties and potentially novel practical applications.

(January 2016) For the second consecutive year, Chemistry has received the Exemplary Department Award! This year, the award recognized the work of programs and/or departments that maintain exemplary teaching and learning environments for students and faculty, and, in particular, accomplish this through collaborative, group efforts. Read more about how Chemistry is serving this university HERE.

(December 2015) Prof. Amanda J. Morris has been awarded a five-year, $605,000 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award through the Solid State and Materials Chemistry Program (DMR) and the Chemical Structure, Dynamic & Mechanism B Program (Chemistry). The goal of the project—which addresses today’s critical environmental and energy technology challenges at the interface of many scientific disciplines (chemistry, physics, and biology)—is to learn how to control optical and electronic properties of metal organic framework thin films arrays. Her findings will aid in the development of artificial photosynthetic assemblies capable of converting solar energy into chemical fuels for long-term storage and use.  This timely project features a hands-on educational program that will educate future scientists and teachers at the high school level.  More on Prof. Morris.

(January 2016) Professor Joe DeSimone (Ph.D. in 1990 with Prof. Jim McGrath) received the 2015 U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation – our nation’s highest honor for achievement and leadership in advancing the fields of science and technology. Prof. DeSimone was recognized at a ceremony at the White House earlier this year. The White House press release can be found HERE.

(December 2015) Prof. Amanda Morris has been elected as Chair of the Solid State Division of the Div. of Inorganic Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. During the course of this two-year position, Morris will be will responsible for inviting and organizing symposia in the area of solid state inorganic chemistry for national ACS Meetings. The Division of Inorganic Chemistry represents a diverse body of scientists who come together to understand and promote the richness of the chemistry of the elements.

(October 2015) Members of the Chemistry’s Analytical Services—Kenneth Knott, Bill Bebout, Geno Iannaconne, Medhi Ashraf-Khorassani, and Naraimhamurthy "Murthy" Shanaiah—have been named this year’s recipients of VT’s award for "Outstanding Performance in Labs." The five are honored for their exemplary work servicing undergraduate education and training, graduate and faculty research, other universities, and regional industry in the areas of NMR spectroscopy, MS spectrometry and chromatography. In addition to receiving individual plaques, the team will split a $2,000 prize.Congrats Analytical Services!

(October 2015) Prof. Felicia Etzkorn is a co-PI (with PI Deborah Tatar, Professor of Computer Science, ICAT Fellow and Member of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction) on a newly-funded project on “CHEM+C: Integration of Environmental Chemistry and Computing to Advance Evidence-based Reasoning, Problem Solving, and Computational Thinking (CT) in Middle School Students.” This two-year, $1,250,000 award funded by the National Science Foundation will investigate a method of broadening access to CT by providing it in a context that all students take: 8th Grade Integrated Science. Students will investigate chemical systems with visual models, modify and adapt the code to better represent the chemical systems using CT, based in a pedagogy of structured scientific argumentation. Two additional co-PIs, Drs. Victor Sampson and Stephanie Rivale from the University of Texas Austin, bring expertise in Science Education and Assessment. Video: Computational Thinking

(September, 2015) Prof. John Morris will head a collaborative team of scientists from VT, Emory University, Brookhaven Natl. Lab, Yesheva University, and the Army Research Laboratories to explore “The Catalytic Decomposition of Chemical Warfare Agents.” The $2.6M award from the Dept. of Defense will facilitate the use of high-energy X-rays to decipher molecular scale reaction pathways when highly toxic gases impinge on a new class of catalytically active materials. By developing rules for predicting how chemical bonds are broken and formed during the gas-surface reactions, the research team will develop new strategies for creating the next generation of catalysts that effectively decompose dangerous gases upon contact. The new technology could be used in gas masks, air-handling filters, and incorporated into smart materials that detoxify ambient air.

(September, 2015) The VT homepage highlights the research of two Virginia Tech faculty who are investigating a new group of antibiotics that may provide relief to some of the more than 2 million people in the US affected by antibiotic resistance. Chemistry’s Joe Merola and Microbiology’s Joseph Falkinham are collaborating on the creation of iridium-containing, non-toxic antibiotics that target drug-resistant strains commonly known as MRSA.

(September 11, 2015) Retired Prof. Jim Wightman competed in his sixth triathlon on Sept. 12, a hobby he didn’t pick up until 2009 when he was 74 years old. This time, however, his son and 10-year old grandson were at his side at Claytor Lake. His remarkable story (Jim finished second in the 70-80 age group!) was featured in The Roanoke Times.

(September 2015) Dr. Harold M. McNair, Professor Emeritus of Analytical Chemistry, was selected as the 2016 recipient of the American Chemical Society Award in Chromatography sponsored by Supelco/Sigma-Aldrich. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of chromatography with particular consideration given to the development of new methods.

(August 2015) Prof. Amanda Morris is the lead PI on a new multi-investigator award (including Chemistry professors John Morris and Lou Madsen) entitled “MRI: Acquisition of an X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer for the Development of Materials and Catalysts for Next Generation Energy Solutions.” This $788,360 National Science Foundation award leverages the expertise of PIs and senior personnel from across multiple disciplines to explore emerging energy technologies, which will significantly improve our understanding of the effects of surface chemistry on efficacy. This award will advance research and education at all levels to explore energy solutions (e.g., energy storage and generation), thereby solidifying VT as a leader in the energy field.

(July 2015) Prof. Daniel Crawford was named an American Chemical Society Fellow for 2015. This year, this highly-competitive program honored just 78 ACS members worldwide for outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and the Society. Prof. Crawford was recognized for the development of high-accuracy reduced-scaling quantum mechanical models of the optical properties of chiral compounds, including first-principles simulations of optical rotation and circular dichroism spectra. His many service contributions include organizing national symposia, serving as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Division of Physical Chemistry, and for advancing graduate education nationally through his organization of Software Summer Schools. Congratulations Prof. Crawford!

(May 2015) The Department of Chemistry is proud to announce that "soon-to-be" Dr. Amanda Nelson (advisor: Prof. Webster Santos) has been selected to receive a 2015-16 Fulbright Scholarship to study abroad. She will be working in Germany with Prof. Todd Marder (Universität Würzburg), developing copper-based chemistry as an alternative to palladium for carbon-carbon bond formation. We are exceptionally proud of Amanda's accomplishment, and have no doubt that she will do well in her research, as well as serve as an exceptional representative of Virginia Tech and the U.S.

(May 2015) An article by Prof. Lou Madsen co-authored with PhD student Zhiyang Zhang and entitled Observation of separate cation and anion electrophoretic mobilities in pure ionic liquids, was named an Editor Choice publication for 2014 by the Journal of Chemical Physics. This distinction honors significant and definitive research in experimental and theoretical areas in the field of chemical physics. This work is leading to a deeper understanding of ion conduction in advanced battery materials.

(April 2015) Paul Carlier and VT Biochemistry professor Maria Belen Cassera have discovered a compound that "packs a mean punch to a dangerous malaria parasite." In response to increasingly drug-resistance malaria parasites, Carlier and Cassera are developing compounds that will be effective against both the major African malaria parasite  Plasmodium falciparum, as well as  Plasmodium vivax, a major vector of malaria in South America and Asia. Their work was published this month in Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters. Read more on  VT's News page  as well.

Prof. John Matson Earns NSF Career Award

John Matson Receives 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award

Tim Long Named Virginia Outstanding Scientist for 2015!

(January 8, 2015) The Department of Chemistry has been named a "University Exemplary Department" for 2014.  This annual distinction recognizes a department "for effectively developing and sustaining innovative and effective departmental approaches to fostering  Ut Prosim(That I May Serve) at the undergraduate or graduate level." This year four faculty were singled out for "actively performing work that is essential for sustaining a truly excellent academic environment": Drs. Karen Brewer (who sadly passed away in late October), Shami Arachchige, Maggie Bump, and Amanda Morris.  The department, which will be honored at a reception later this month, will also receive a cash award that will be used to support the service and outreach activities of the  Chemistry Club and Alpha Chi Sigma, as well as promote K-12 outreach efforts.

(December 10, 2014)  Prof. Edward Valeev  has been selected to receive the 2015 Dirac Medal, which honors the outstanding computational chemist  in the world  under the age of 40.  The award is given annually by the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists (WATOC).  Prof. Valeev was recognized for  his development of practical methods for predictive descriptions of electrons in molecules. He  will receive the medal at the 2017 WATOC Congress in Munich. Prof. Valeev is the second VT faculty member to be honored with a Dirac Medal (Daniel Crawford earned the title in 2010).  Congratulations Prof. Valeev!

(October 24, 2014) It is with great sadness that the Chemistry Department notes the passing of Professor Karen Jenks Brewer.   Karen joined the Virginia Tech faculty in the Fall of 1992 as an assistant professor after starting her career at Washington State University; she was promoted to the rank of full professor in 2005.   Karen's research in the areas of photochemical production of hydrogen gas and the use of supramolecular complexes of ruthenium, platinum, and rhodium, for the potential treatment of cancers by photodynamic therapy earned her an international reputation as a researcher.   Her 100+ peer reviewed research publications have garnered over 3,000 citations and her research pace was as active as ever at the time of her premature death on Friday, October 24th.  Read more on the life and accomplishments of Karen here.  She will be missed more than we can say.

(October 10, 2014)  Claudia P. Brodkin, Chemistry's Undergraduate Lab Coordinator, took the first step in becoming a Diversity Ambassador by earning recognition as a Diversity Ally.  The  Diversity Development Institute's certificate program  provides a curricular path for anyone in the VT community who wants to develop competency in diversity and inclusion in course content and/or practice.  Claudia also serves the department in her role as a member of the Hispanic Caucus Steering Committee, as a district counselor for Alpha Chi Sigma (the national professional chemistry fraternity), and as an active advocate for the diversity of women in science.

(Sept. 29, 2014)  Prof. Webster Santos  has been named the Cliff and Agnes Lilly Faculty Fellow by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. The Lilly Fellowship appointment is for three years. A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2006, Santos is an internationally recognized expert in drug discovery and drug development. His research, which focuses on the development of new drugs for cancer therapy, has implications for patients with three common cancers: breast, ovarian, and prostate. (read more...)

(Sept. 9, 2014) Prof. John B. Matson has received a highly-competitive 2014  Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award.  This is the third consecutive year that a Chem faculty member from VT has won the award (Tijana Grove in 2012 and Amanda Morris in 2013).  The $5,000 Powe Award, which is matched by Virginia Tech, will be used by the Matson lab to pursue new synthetic routes to bottlebrush polymers. These specialized polymers have unique mechanical properties and are currently being studied as new elastomeric materials for applications in vibration-damping materials, as well as synthetic mimics of the shock-absorbing biopolymers present in human cartilage. Through this work, the Matson lab will develop methods to simplify their synthesis through a strategy that combines two powerful polymerization catalysts. (more on Dr. Matson)

(Sept. 2, 2014) Recent NSF-funded work by  Prof. Daniel Crawford  and his colleague, Dr. Benjamin Pritchard, in reducing the redundancy of developing software for quantum chemical calculations is featured in the recent issue of C&E News (8/25/14).  Crawford, Pritchard, and their collaborators from Georgia Tech (C.D. Sherrill and E. Chow) are leading Quantum Chemistry's Modular Movement via their research on the PANACHE (PArallel Numerical Approximations in CHemistry Engine) library, which is designed to accelerate the writing of new code for quantum chemical calculations.  The work is also directly connected to Crawford's NSF-supported efforts to develop a Software Institute for chemistry, materials science, and biomolecular simulation (www.s2i2.org).  Their work could enable chemists to eventually pick and choose components when building software.  Read the full story  here.

(August, 2014) Prof. Edward Valeev is the 2014 recipient of the Medal of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Sciences (IAQMS). The Academy membership consists of some of the most important scientists in the field worldwide and has included such famous quantum theorists such as John Pople, Robert Mulliken, Louis de Broglie, Erich Huckel, Linus Pauling, and Friedrich Hund.  The Medal of the Academy is awarded annually to a "young member of the scientific community who has distinguished himself by a pioneering and important contribution.  Valeev's selection as this year's winner puts him in a truly elite group of scientists that includes Roald Hoffmann, Bill Miller, and more. Congratulations Prof. Valeev!

(August 6, 2014) In her role as an ACS Expert in Sustainable Energy, Prof. Amanda Morris will be one of three national experts taking part in a press conference at the ACS National Meeting in San Francisco to discuss Toyota's first hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle--as well as the small-series production of hydrogen fueling stations, which are essential for this new transportation technology.   The press conference will be held Monday, August 11, at 9 AM PST in the Moscone Center, North Building.   Interested parties can access a live video of the event at the  ACS Ustream channel. For more information about this press conference, check out the ACS article  here.

(May 7, 2014) The Morris research group  has developed a new research facility at Aberdeen Proving Grounds for studying the surface chemistry of chemical warfare agents. This high security laboratory is the first of its kind for exploring how the most toxic compounds ever created, such as sarin and VX nerve gases, interact on surfaces of environmental and military importance. Of particular interest are the strengths and mechanisms of hydrogen-bonding interactions that govern the uptake of agents on polar surfaces such as silica, one of the most abundant materials on earth. To date, scientists have largely been restricted to conducting experiments with less toxic analogues (often referred to as simulants) of the actual agents. These simulants contain the central phosphoryl ester of the agents, but they lack the structure and key chemical functionality of the agents, which makes the prediction of agent-surface chemistry tenuous. Morris and colleagues (including former students) have therefore developed a new surface science approach to uncover the mechanisms and energetics that govern agent-surface hydrogen bonding forces on silica. This information will help scientists predict the environmental fate of agents and devise methods for agent decontamination.   Read the full article  here.

(April 10, 2014)  Prof. Amanda Morris, an ACS designated "Expert in Sustainable Energy," is featured in a  Richmond Times Dispatch  editorial discussing the potential "enormous opportunity for new commercial innovations" that could be realized through passage of the bipartisan Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (Senate Bill 1392).  According to Prof. Morris, "We can be both sustainable and profitable through our energy use habits.  We just need to harness our ingenuity."  Read the full editorial  here.

(April 10, 2014)  The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce that the following eight faculty members were recognized as "Favorite Faculty" for the 2013-14 academic year:  Shamindri Arachchige, Jeannine Eddleton, Alan Esker, Mike Berg, John Matson, Gordon Yee, Patricia Amateis and Maggie Bump.  The Favorite Faculty Program, coordinated through the Division of Student Affairs, affords students the opportunity to recognize faculty members who have positively impacted their learning experiences at Virginia Tech.