Chemistry
For most students, Spring Break is when they take a break from academic rigors by taking a quiet (or loud) week away from Duke and its classes. But some students spent their week learning about subjects possibly far outside their normal areas of study. Spring Breakthrough is an annual set of courses offered during Spring Break that aren't graded, instead meant to be learning experiences that students otherwise wouldn't have access to. The 2023 Spring Breakthrough courses included: Motorcycle Revival: Repairing and… read more about Learning New Subjects During Spring Breakthrough 2023 »
Prof. Amanda Hargrove has received the Elisa Izaurralde Award for Innovation in Research, Teaching, and Service! The award, given by the RNA Society, recognizes an RNA scientist who holds an independent research position, completed their PhD 5-15 years ago, and who has demonstrated an innovative mindset or approach in the areas of research, teaching, and/or service. Amanda has been recognized for her innovative research program, highly collaborative approach, and mentoring style. read more about Hargrove Recognized for Innovation in Research, Service and Teaching! »
Professor Michael J. Therien has received the 2023 ACS Florida Section Award! The award is in recognition of his ground-breaking development of supermolecular porphyrinic chromophores, and his creative insights that have enabled synthetic control of the photophysical properties of highly conjugated molecular structures and assemblies. Mike Therien is one of our most creative chemists working on conjugated organic networks, and his work has always involved both leading edge physical studies and elaborate and elegant chemical… read more about Therien Receives 2023 ACS Florida Section Award »
Yuansi Chen, assistant professor of Statistical Science, and Kevin Welsher, associate professor of Chemistry, have been named Sloan Research Fellows for 2023. Awarded annually since 1955, Sloan Research Fellowships are one of the most prestigious awards available to U.S. and Canadian researchers. Yuansi Chen Chen’s research focuses on sampling algorithms – procedures that allow us to draw samples out of a distribution or population. They give us a glimpse into the unknown, whether the unknown is… read more about Two Trinity Faculty Named 2023 Sloan Research Fellows »
Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neal calls herself a daughter of Durham, and the native of the West End neighborhood has a record of long service to the community as judge, political leader and community activist to prove it. For that career of seeking to build a strong community, O’Neal received the Distinguished Service Award, one of five members of the Duke and local community celebrated for their activism at the Samuel DuBois Cook Society dinner Monday night at the Washington Duke Inn. The mission of the Cook Society is to… read more about Cook Society Honors Five for Helping to Build Stronger Communities »
Congratulations to Kamillah Kassam, the 2023 Samuel DuBois Cook Society Graduate Awardee! The Samuel DuBois Cook Society was established in the spring of 1997 to honor Dr. Cook, a retired Duke University professor who was the first African-American professor to hold a regular faculty appointment at a predominantly white college or university in the South. The society recognizes the years of service that Dr. Cook has offered to Duke University, to the cause of African-American advancement, and to the betterment of relations… read more about Kamillah Kassam Receives Samuel DuBois Cook Society Graduate Student Award! »
Prof. Matthew Becker, the Hugo L. Blomquist Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, has been elected as a Fellow to the 2022 class of National Academy of Inventors! Founded in 2010, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) recognizes academic inventors for their prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. Becker is an expert in organic polymer chemistry whose multidisciplinary… read more about Prof. Matt Becker Elected to National Academy of Inventors »
Professor Ben Wiley was a featured Innovator at the 4th Annual Invented at Duke event on December 12. Ben's company, Sparta Biomedical, is a Triangle-based startup creating a synthetic cartilage platform for implants like knee cartilage repair. Ben (and Sparta) was one of nine featured inventors selected by Duke’s Office for Translation & Commercialization, an entity that not only helps inventors protect their technologies’ intellectual property but also connects the inventor teams with more resources and mentorship,… read more about Ben Wiley and Sparta Biomedical Impacting Cartilage »
Duke chemist Matthew L. Becker and biomedical engineers Charles Gersbach and Warren M. Grill have been elected Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) class of 2022. They are among 169 distinguished new fellows this year and join 20 other Duke faculty who have been recognized by the 12-year-old organization since 2014. Matthew L. Becker is the Hugo L. Blomquist Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science and Biomedical Engineering. Charles Gersbach is the… read more about Duke Chemist One of Three From Duke Named to National Academy of Inventors »
The annual “Highly Cited Researchers” list is produced each year by Clarivate, the group running the Institute for Scientific Information. The names on this list are drawn from publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science™ citation index – the most-cited of the cited. In all, the 2022 list includes nearly 7000 researchers. Duke has 30 names on the highly cited list this year - to include Dr. Jie Liu! read more about Professor Jie Liu named Highly Cited (Again!)! »
Dr. Catherine Denning-Jannace Named 2022 Outstanding Postdoc at Duke! Dr. Catherine Denning-Jannace was nominated by numerous current and former research group members and her faculty mentor. Dr. Jennifer Lodge, Vice President for Research and Innovation, presented the award for Outstanding Postdoc to Catherine at the 15th Annual Postdoctoberfest held on October 7th. Read more about Catherine's nomination below or at the Duke Postdoctoral Services webpage. Dr. Denning-Janace’s faculty… read more about Dr. Catherine Denning-Jannace Named 2022 Outstanding Postdoc! »
Dr. Jonathon Yuly, a former graduate student in the Beratan Lab, has received the 2022 American Physical Society’s DBIO Dissertation Award! The award, which recognizes doctoral thesis research of outstanding quality and achievement in any area of experimental, computational, engineering, or theoretical biological physics, will be bestowed at an upcoming APS meeting. Dr. Yuly's dissertation work showed that a universal free energy landscape underpins near-reversible electron bifurcation reactions and assures their high… read more about Dr. Jon Yuly Receives American Physical Society’s 2022 DBIO Dissertation Award! »
Join the Duke Chemistry Virtual Open House on November 2 from 7-9pm! This will be an information session and virtual poster session with current Duke faculty and graduate students. Learn about the Duke Chem PhD Program, application and degree requirements, exciting research within the Department, and life at Duke and in Durham! Register by October 26! read more about Join for a Graduate Open House! »
Ivan Moreno-Hernandez is studying electrochemistry in action to develop new materials for clean energy In a sparsely decorated office on Duke’s west campus, new chemistry professor Ivan Moreno-Hernandez presses play on a video. It’s an action movie at the nanoscale. “It's hard to do this research justice without showing at least one video,” he says. If you could shrink down to a few millionths of an inch tall and watch the inner workings of a rechargeable battery, or a fuel cell for an electric vehicle, this… read more about Tackling Renewable Energy Challenges, at the Nanoscale »
The mere mention of public speaking reduces many to tears: sweaty palms and dry mouth, anxiety levels off the charts and the deafening silence that soon follows when the brain refuses to cooperate. Cue the panic attack. Now, imagine not just public speaking, but debating. Now, imagine debating in Arabic and at your first international competition against teams of native speakers in front of an audience of hundreds. Oh, and you are on a team that formed less than a year ago. This is what the Duke-UNC Arabic debate team… read more about No Arguments: Arabic Debate Team Among the Top Eight »
The Office for Research & Innovation has awarded funding to eight, interdisciplinary projects as part of the inaugural Duke Science and Technology (DST) Launch Seed Grant Program. This year’s winners include faculty from multiple disciplines across campus and the School of Medicine who were selected out of 61 proposal finalists for initiating high-impact projects that could lead to additional external funding. “The quality of innovative ideas our faculty have for advancing collaborative research projects continues to… read more about Meet the Winners of the 2022 DST Launch Seed Grants »
Kamillah Kassam, a graduate member of the Hargrove lab, has penned an impactful editorial featured in a recent Journal of Chemical Education. Kamillah has been a dedicated member of Diversity and Inclusion committees in Chemistry as well as throughout the University. We encourage you to read her piece, "Moving Beyond Politics: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect", and take a moment to enjoy the cover that she designed. Both the Editorial and Cover Art are part of the ACS-wide DEIR Cover Art Program. read more about "Issues of equity are not political, they’re humanistic" »
DURHAM, N.C. -- Over-the-counter pain relievers, physical therapy, steroid injections -- some people have tried it all and are still dealing with knee pain. Often knee pain comes from the progressive wear and tear of cartilage known as osteoarthritis, which affects nearly one in six adults -- 867 million people -- worldwide. For those who want to avoid replacing the entire knee joint, there may soon be another option that could help patients get back on their feet fast, pain-free, and stay that way. Writing in the journal… read more about Stiff, Achy Knees? Lab-Made Cartilage Gel Outperforms the Real Thing »
Dr. Jake Lindale has been awarded the international Raymond Andrew prize for outstanding thesis in magnetic resonance! In the clinic, magnetic resonance techniques are used to peer inside the body and monitor molecular changes associated with diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer’s, without using harmful radiation like X-rays and CT scans do. There’s just one major limitation: the technique’s low signal-to-noise ratio means that molecules that are too few or fleeting can be hard to detect. Jake's dissertation, supervised… read more about Jake Lindale Receives International Raymond Andrew Prize for Outstanding Thesis! »