MESSAGE FROM THE DEPARTMENT HEAD

UConn Chemistry has a lot of great news to report from the past year. Three new professors set up labs, and our faculty and students published exciting science, earned awards, and engaged in entrepreneurial activities.

Alas, the global pandemic affected us in ways that cannot be ignored. Most of the Department’s activities moved online—with some notable exceptions! This fall, we taught some of the largest socially-distant, in-person classes on campus, with lectures held in Jorgensen Auditorium. We successfully moved our courses online, although we cannot wait to bring students back to the lab (I think we can all agree that the practice of chemistry cannot be experienced solely in front of a screen). Research was also interrupted in March but was ramped back up over the summer under new rules and parameters. Because of travel restrictions, only one third of the graduate students accepted into our program were able to arrive in the fall. Only time will tell the cumulative impact.

On a positive note, the strict measures and the discipline of everyone at UConn were rewarded with comparably low infection rates. The switch to online learning introduced many of us to educational technologies, from online grading tools to recording and posting lectures for remote students. I am sure these tools will become part of our future in-person offerings, enriching future classes.

Please enjoy this newsletter. Be well, and feel free to keep in touch—we love to hear from you!

Sincerely,

Christian Brückner
Professor and Head, Department of Chemistry