The Office of the Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies has awarded a Duke Support for Interdisciplinary Graduate Networks (D-SIGN) grant to the Triangle Molecular Simulation Society! Professor David Beratan will lead three chemists and a physicist in kickstarting an interdisciplinary and cross-school network of students, researchers, enthusiasts, and members of industry interested in the methods and applications of molecular simulation. This network will eventually nurture research collaboration, support, and community within the Triangle area.

Professors Stephen Craig and Michael Rubinstein hosted the annual Triangle Soft Matter Workshop in May. The workshop rotates among Triangle Universities and the team effort has helped establish the Research Triangle region of North Carolina as a global center for soft matter research.

David Beratan, Tuan Vo-Dinh & Michael Rubinstein have received Royal Society of Chemistry Awards in recognition of their originality and impact in chemical research. Professor Beratan, a Duke alumnus, has received the Bourke Award for developing tunneling pathway and flickering resonance theories of biological electron transfer.

Azim Dharani and Kunal Shroff, both Chemistry majors, have been selected as Goldwater Scholars! Azim and Kunal were selected from more than 1200 applications for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, a federally endowed award that encourages students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Azim has studied metal-binding therapeutic molecules with Professor Katherine Franz since his Freshman year and plans to obtain a Ph.D.

Congratulations to Professor David Beratan, the 2018 Murray Goodman Memorial Prize recipient! Professor Beratan received the award from Biopolymers in recognition of his seminal contributions to biophysics and their impact on our understanding of charge transport in biomolecules.