Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate Matthew Howell, the recent recipient of a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. This fellowship will begin in Fall 2020 and continue through Spring 2023. Given the growing crisis of antibiotic resistant bacteria, Matthew—in collaboration with advisor Dr. Alfredo Angeles—is interested in examining the relationships between peptides, metal ions, and antibiotics. Together, they are searching for combinations that […]
Research News
Research Spotlight: Following your scientific passion with Gregory Sotzing
Researchers from the University of Connecticut’s Sotzing Research Group are studying conductive and dielectric polymers for a number of applications, from color-changing fabric to medical applications of chemicals in cannabis to high-speed projectile launchers for the military. The group is led by chemistry professor Gregory Sotzing. The group’s wide-ranging base of research is due to […]
UConn Recognized As Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars
The University of Connecticut has been recognized among the top producers of Fulbright U.S. Scholars from research institutions for the second time in the past four years. The University has six Fulbright Scholars on its faculty who are teaching and performing research around the world in the 2019-20 academic year, according to the U.S. Department […]
Across the Pond and Back: Chemical Biology in Edinburgh, Scotland
Undergraduate student Eric Mohan ’20 (CLAS), recipient of an Office of Undergraduate Research award, shares his experience conducting research abroad. “I am the recipient of the 2019 Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) award, and I had the privilege of spending last summer in the laboratory of Professor Dominic Campopiano, in the School of Chemistry at the prestigious […]
Research Safety Workshop
The Department of Chemistry held their 2020 Research Safety Workshop for first year graduate students and Laboratory Safety Officers (LSOs) on Wednesday, January 15. The Workshop was organized by the Department Safety Committee and the Joint Safety Team (JST) in conjunction with EH&S. Presentations were made by Dr. Jing Zhao (Chair of the Department Safety […]
Nature Communications Paper Publishing
Enzymes provide optimal three-dimensional structures for substrate binding and the subsequent accelerated reaction. Such folding-dependent catalytic behaviors, however, are seldom mechanistically explored with reduced structural complexity. A recent article in Nature Communications, from collaborated research between Professor Jianjun Cheng at UIUC and Professor Yao Lin at UConn, demonstrates that the α-helix, a much simpler structural […]
Professor Rusling Receives Commercialization Grants
Professor Jim Rusling recently received START and SPARK Technology Commercialization Grants for Self-powered Bioelectronics. Aiming to commercialize the world’s first battery-free implantable pacemaker, Professor Rusling and his team received two early-stage technology commercialization grants, START ($10K) and SPARK ($50K). Unlike current pacemakers which are battery-powered and require replacement surgery when the battery is drained, the new self-powered pacemaker […]
UConn Chemistry Professor Receives NSF Grant
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded UConn Chemistry Professor José Gascón and Michigan State Professor Warren Beck a grant to study Carotenoid Photophysics in Photosynthetic Light-Harvesting. With this $590,000 award, the Chemistry of Life Processes Program in the Chemistry Division is funding Dr. Gascón (PI) and Dr. Beck (co-PI) to investigate the energy transfer and […]
LambdaVision/Birge Group NASA Phase I SBIR Award
LambdaVision was awarded a NASA Phase I SBIR Award ($125K) to follow up on previous work that was conducted on the International Space Station. Initial experiments used a microgravity environment to manufacture their retinal implant technology, which is aimed at treating patients suffering from blinding retinal degenerative diseases. The NASA SBIR will help them continue this […]
Chemistry Faculty Dr. Jie He and Dr. Jing Zhao Receive NSF EAGER
Dr. Jie (Jay) He and Dr. Jing Zhao, both faculty members of the Chemistry Department with appointments in IMS, were recently awarded the NSF Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER). The grant supports exploratory work in its early stages on untested, but potentially transformative, research ideas or approaches. Dr. He was awarded $149,991 for his […]