Departmental News

Outstanding Senior Award

Elizabeth Wittenborn, a 2011 Chemitry major, who finished her bachelor’s degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA and worked for two and a half years in the laboratory of Professor Peter Flynn, received the College of Science’s Outstanding Senior Award, given each year by the University of Utah Alumni Association. For more information, please click here

Inaugural Ragsdale Lecture

The first Ragsdale Lecture was pres ented on March 20, 2012, by Professor Saundra Y. McGuire, LSU. The title of the lecture was "Get Chemistry Students to Focus on Learning Instead of Grades: Teach Them How to Learn". To see the lecture slides, please click here

TA of the Month Award

The American Chemical Society Student Chapter is sponsoring a TA of the Month Award. Kirsten Khoe and Alex Long were the March winners. Students from all chemistry courses can nominate their TA for this award by submitting an online nomination form. For more information, please click here

Ted Eyring Receives 2011 Governor’s Science Medals

Ted Eyring won the 2011 Utah Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology medal in the academia category. The winners were announced on January 10 by Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert, State Science Advisor Tami Goetz, and the State Advisory Council on Science and Technology.

Crystal Clear Ice Formation

Valeria Molinero and graduate student Emily Moore used computer simulations and theory to solve the puzzle of what determines the lowest temperature to which water can be cooled before freezing to ice. Their work was published in Nature.

New Way to Design Catalysts

Matt Sigman and Kaid Harper reported on their new discoveries in catalyst design in Science magazine. Click here to read the article.

Peter Stang Receives National Medal of Science

President Obama named seven eminent researchers as recipients of the 2011 National Medal of Science. Among the receipients of this highest honor bestowed by the United States government on scientists and engineers is Peter Stang. Click here for the White House press release.

Ron and Eileen Ragsdale Scholarship

Ron Ragsdale, a professor of chemistry for 47 years, and his wife, Eileen, recently established the Ragsdale Scholarship Endowment Fund, a scholarship program for undergraduate chemistry majors. This program is a tremendous opportunity to support some of the top students at the university as they begin their careers in science and medicine. To download the Ron and Eileen Ragsdale Scholarship Endowment pledge form, please, click here

The Thatcher Building

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), recognizing the excellence of Utah Chemistry’s faculty and the importance of its advanced research to our nation’s health and economic prosperity, has awarded $8 million toward the cost of constructing a $20 million biological and biophysical chemistry research facility. The building will be constructed alongside the Henry Eyring Building. For more information on the progress of the Thatcher Tower please, click here. For information on the building campaign, and the ways you can become involved, please, click here. To download the Thatcher Building pledge form, please, click here

2011-12 Faculty Awards

• Joel Harris, Coblentz Society Bomem-Michelson Award
• Gary Keck, University of Utah Distinguished Scholarly & Creative Research Award
• Ted Eyring, Utah Governor’s Medal of Science
• Henry White, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Matt Sigman, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Peter Stang, National Medal of Science
• Jen Heemstra, Army Research Office Young Investigator Award
• Gary Keck, Utah ACS Award
• Peter Armentrout, U of U Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence
• Jon Rainier, ASUU Student Choice Teaching Award
• Henry White, Fellow in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
• Valeria Molinero, College of Science Myriad Faculty Award for Research Excellence
• Ilya Zharov, IUPAC Young Observer Award
• Scott Anderson, U of U Distinguished Professor
• Matt Sigman, U of U Distinguished Scholarly & Creative Research Award
• Scott Anderson, Fellow in The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Cindy Burrows, University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award
• Dale Poulter, ACS Nakanishi Prize