Tag Chemistry
Save power, make power: UW chemist confronts ambitious agenda with a brash laugh
Trisha Andrew, a UW assistant professor of chemistry, holds a solar cell that her research group printed on paper last year. She’s currently…
Scientists get to the heart of fool’s gold as a solar material
As the installation of photovoltaic solar cells continues to accelerate, scientists are looking for inexpensive materials beyond the traditional silicon that can efficiently convert sunlight into electricity.
New process transforms wood, crop waste into valuable chemicals
Scientists today disclosed a new method to convert lignin, a biomass waste product, into simple chemicals. The innovation is an important step toward replacing petroleum-based fuels and chemicals with biorenewable materials, says Shannon Stahl, an expert in "green chemistry" at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Professor honored for green chemistry research
University of Wisconsin–Madison chemistry professor Shannon Stahl is one of five scientists nationwide to receive a Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recognition of his research on using oxygen from the air in chemical reactions.
UW-Madison chemist named Packard Fellow
Trisha Andrew, a University of Wisconsin–Madison assistant professor of chemistry, is one of 18 early career scientists from around the country named a Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering. The award includes a grant of $875,000 over five years to pursue research and is given in recognition of the potential significance of scholarship and innovation from the nation’s most promising young scientists and engineers.
Researchers study vital ‘on/off switches’ that control when bacteria turn deadly
No matter how many times it’s demonstrated, it’s still hard to envision bacteria as social, communicating creatures. But by using a signaling system called “quorum sensing,” these single-celled organisms radically alter their behavior to suit their population. Helen Blackwell, a professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has been making artificial compounds that mimic the natural quorum-sensing signals, including some that block a natural signal from binding to its protein target.
In directing stem cells, study shows context matters
In a new study, a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison has added a new wrinkle to the cell differentiation equation, showing that the stiffness of the surfaces on which stem cells are grown can exert a profound influence on cell fate.
Water’s reaction with metal oxides opens doors for researchers
A multi-institutional team has resolved a long-unanswered question about how two of the world’s most common substances interact. In a paper published recently in the journal Nature Communications, Manos Mavrikakis, professor of chemical and biological engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and his collaborators report fundamental discoveries about how water reacts with metal oxides
‘Science is fun’ offers traditional July Fourth show
Chemist and stage master Bassam Shakhashiri will present “Science and Fireworks: Sights and Sounds for Independence Day,” on the Memorial Union Terrace July 4.
Chemical strategy hints at better drugs for osteoporosis, diabetes
By swapping replacement parts into the backbone of a synthetic hormone, UW–Madison graduate student Ross Cheloha and his mentor Sam Gellman, along with collaborators at Harvard Medical School, have built a version of a parathyroid hormone that resists degradation in laboratory mice. As a result, the altered hormone can stay around longer - and at much higher concentration, says Gellman, professor of chemistry at the UW.
UW–Madison chemist wins young teacher-scholar award
Jordan Schmidt, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is one of 15 young researchers to win prestigious 2014 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar awards.
Lighting up the lab: Team harnesses light for controlled chemical reaction
When chemist Tehshik Yoon looks out his office window, he sees a source of energy to drive chemical reactions. Plants “learned” to synthesize chemicals with sunlight eons ago; Yoon came to the field a bit more recently. But this week, in the journal Science, he and three collaborators detail a way to use sunlight and two catalysts to create molecules that are difficult to make with conventional techniques — a finding that may eventually have implications for drug making and materials science.
New, inexpensive production materials boost promise of hydrogen fuel
Generating electricity is not the only way to turn sunlight into energy we can use on demand. The sun can also drive reactions to create chemical fuels, such as hydrogen, that can in turn power cars, trucks and trains.
Prolific chemistry student wins Churchill Scholarship
As a child, Joshua Shutter's introduction to chemistry came through library books, learning to make rock candy and bottle rockets.
Grad student’s proteins cut a rug, win ‘Dance Your Ph.D.’ competition
Graduate school research can get long and tricky and complex beyond the easy understanding even of your fellow grad students. Unless it has a beat, that is, and you can dance to it.
New look identifies crucial clumping of diabetes-causing proteins
People get type 2 diabetes. So do cats. But rats don’t, and neither do dogs. Subtle differences in the shape of proteins protect some and endanger others.
UW-Madison chemist named ‘Friend of Education’
Bassam Shakhashiri, known far and wide for his annual holiday season exhibitions of chemistry, has been named a "Friend of Education" by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Researchers capture speedy chemical reaction in mid-stride
In synthetic chemistry, making the best possible use of the needed ingredients is key to optimizing high-quality production at the lowest possible cost.
Retired Dow exec joins UW, will focus on innovation
An industry executive who has spent his entire career translating inventions into products that are both profitable and beneficial to society has joined the University of Wisconsin–Madison.