News
12/10/2020
Seth Cohen on the frontlines of science policymaking
UC San Diego professor maneuvers between chemistry labs and service at the White House and beyond, calling scientists to civic duty
12/08/2020
Tadeusz Molinski elected 2020 AAAS Fellow
Five researchers and leaders at University of California San Diego have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the largest general science organization in the world and publisher of the journal Science.
11/19/2020
Rommie Amaro and team receive Gordon Bell special prize for COVID-19 research
Computational Chemist Rommie Amaro and her research team win one of the most coveted awards in supercomputing for research related to COVID-19
11/12/2020
Jordan Meier, PhD Alumni, recognized as rising star in Chemical Biology by ICBS
This award is dedicated to advancing the career development of young chemical biologists. The individuals who receive this honor are recognized annually for their impactful work within the global community. The 2020 awardees will present their award lectures at the ICBS2020 Virtual Conference (November 11-13, 2020).
11/10/2020
Mark Thiemens published in Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
Recent research by UC San Diego’s Mark Thiemens, Tokyo Institute of Technology’s Mang Lin and Naohiro Yoshida and scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) provides an overview of the complete isotopic compositions of nitrate in aerosol, snow, ice and water samples collected across sub-regions of the TP. The scientists’ findings, published recently in Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres as a cover article, narrow down the complex nitrogen cycles at work in the atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and, potentially, the biosphere.
10/30/2020
Michael Burkart and colleagues receive funding for plastics recycling project
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced funding for 12 projects that will support the development of advanced renewable plastics and new recyclable-by-design plastics. Two of the dozen projects—collectively funded belong to UC San Diego researchers
10/24/2020
Joshua Figueroa to Receive NSF Award for Special Creativity
Professor Joshua Figueroa has been awarded a 2021 NSF Special Creativity Award by the National Science Foundation Chemical Synthesis Program (CHE-SYN). The rare and prestigious Special Creativity Award, which is initiated by NSF Program Officers, recognizes unusually creative research accomplishments by a principal investigator. Recipients receive an automatic two-year extension of an existing NSF award to continue high-risk research at the forefront of their field. Professor Figueroa is being recognized for his pioneering investigations into the synthesis and reactivity of low-coordinate metal isocyanide compounds.
10/23/2020
Mario Molina Scholarship and Fellowship in Environmental and Atmospheric Chemistry
Donations can be made in Mario Molina’s memory by making checks payable to UC San Diego Foundation for the Mario Molina Scholarship and Fellowship in Environmental and Atmospheric Chemistry. These funds will be used to support students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry whose research and interests are focused on environmental and atmospheric chemistry. Please mail checks to UC San Diego Gift Processing, 9500 Gilman Drive, #0940, La Jolla, CA 92093-0940, noting the gift is in memory of Professor Mario Molina for the following fund: E-6960. Donations can also be made online. 1.Click the "Read More" link below 2.Under “Select a Giving Priority,” scroll to Divisions & Schools. 3.Under “Select an Area,” scroll down and click on Physical Sciences. 4.Under “Select a Fund,” scroll down to Mario Molina Scholarship & Fellowship in Environmental and Atmospheric Chemistry. 5.Select or input preferred donation amount.
10/22/2020
Katja Lindenberg awarded Revelle Medal
On Nov. 20, the Revelle Medal will be awarded to five current and former faculty members, including Katja Lindenbery, for sustained, distinguished and extraordinary service to the campus.
10/21/2020
Shaowei Li receives AVS NSTD Early Career Award
Professor Shaowei Li received the AVS Nanoscale Science and Technology Division Early Career Award.The NSTD holds an Early Career Competition at the annual AVS International Symposium to highlight and celebrate exceptional researchers working on the frontiers of nanoscience
10/15/2020
Valerie Schmidt receives NSF CAREER Award
Valerie Schmidt, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, was named a recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. This prestigious and highly competitive five-year award supports the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization. Nearly one-third of the United States Gross National Product is derived from chemical manufacturing. This highly impactful industry relies on innovation to maintain market competitiveness. In this project, Professor Valerie Schmidt seeks to design new chemical reactions that produce unique chemicals of value. The new synthetic processes have potential to be used to design and make new drugs and materials. The research uses laboratory experiments to monitor and characterize all new chemicals made. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a robust and general way to activate carbon-carbon (C=C) double bonds to form cyclic 4-atom patterns in molecules. This research describes the detailed pathways for the new chemical reactions. The research group of Professor Schmidt trains future scientists, particularly students from backgrounds that are under-represented in science. The group also hosts and organizes “All Hands-On!” events on the campus of UCSD, inviting K-12 students in the San Diego county area to participate in hands-on activities designed to generate interest using pop-culture entry points. In light of needs for physical distancing and limiting group gatherings, strategies to provide similar hands-on experiences using virtual means at participants homes are being developed
10/09/2020
Rommie Amaro and colleagues featured in the New York Times
Rommie Amaro and colleagues featured in the New York Times for their cutting-edge research into the structure of the Coronavirus
10/08/2020
Guy Bertrand jointly awarded the 2020 Grand Prix de la Maison de la Chimie
The award was jointly given to Professor Guy Bertrand and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski due to the impact of their work in polymeric materials science.
10/07/2020
Passing of Distinguished Professor Mario Molina
It is with great sadness that the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry announces the passing of our friend and colleague Mario Molina. Mario Molina was a true hero in the field of chemistry. His Nobel prize winning research on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and his strong leadership showed how science can guide international agreements and policy. His research and teaching on climate change have inspired a new generation of scientists. He was a giant in our field and he will be missed.
09/29/2020
Neal Devaraj awarded 2021 Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award
Neal Devaraj to receive the 2021 Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award for Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry. The Tetrahedron Young Investigator Awards were created in 2005 and are presented annually to two individuals under 40 years of age who have exhibited "exceptional creativity and dedication" in the fields of Organic Synthesis and of Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry respectively.
09/15/2020
Michael Galperin recognized as Top Reviewer for The Journal of Chemical Physics
Congratulations to Michael Galperin on being recognized as a top reviewer for JCP in 2018 and 2019.
09/02/2020
Alexis Komor named as one of Fortune Magazine's 40 under 40 in Healthcare Category
Alexis Komor has been named to Fortune’s 40 under 40 Class of 2020. This year’s list highlights five categories of 40—finance, tech, health, government and politics, and media and entertainment—for a total of 200.
08/14/2020
Vicki Grassian to Receive 2021 ACS National Award
Chair Vicki Grassian named 2021 winner of American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Surface Chemistry
07/31/2020
Alexis Komor and student Carlos Vasquez receive the 2020 Gilliam Fellowship
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute created the Gilliam program to increase the diversity of scientists at the college and university faculty level by supporting students who will become scientific leaders. Congratulations to Alexis Komor and her student Carlos Vasquez on recieving this fellowship.
07/27/2020
Alexis Komor receives Rosalind Franklin Medal
Alexis Komor was awarded the Rosalind Franklin Medal for her leading edge research and for her mentorship and advocacy of women in science.
07/21/2020
Joshua Figueroa and Galia Debelouchina receive MRI Award from NSF
Professors Galia Debelouchina and Joshua Figueroa have been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program for the acquisition of a new, state-of-the art Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectrometer. The new spectrometer, which will be housed in the department’s NMR umbrella facility, will support research, teaching and outreach efforts focusing on the characterization of paramagnetic compounds and materials in the areas of inorganic, organic and materials chemistry, as well as chemical biology and biochemistry. This instrument acquisition, featuring cryogen-free cooling down to 4K, will significantly enhance the department’s existing strengths in solution and solid- state magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In addition, this new spectrometer will provide reliable access to a wide range of users from across the UC San Diego campus, as well as many regional institutions and our local PUI partners.
07/09/2020
UCSD has been awarded grant to fund a new Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC)
Congratulations to Michael Sailor, leader of the center, Stacey Brydges and other incredible team members on this wonderful achievement.
07/02/2020
Joel Yuen-Zhou named 2020 Blavatnik National Awards Finalist
The Blavatnik Family Foundation chose Yuen-Zhou, along with the 30 other finalists, out of more than 300 nominations from 161 academic and research centers across 41 U.S. states. These esteemed finalists will compete to be one of three Blavatnik National Awards Laureates in the following categories: chemistry, physical sciences & engineering, and life sciences. The three laureates will be announced July 22, 2020
07/01/2020
Galia Debelouchina selected to receive 2020-2021 Hellman Fellowship
The Hellman Fellowship Program was designed to provide support and encouragement to young faculty in the core disciplines who show capacity for great distinction in their research and creative activities. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy holds great promise for in-cell structural biology applications: it can provide structural and dynamic data for a wide range of cellular molecules and it is compatible with living cells and even organisms. To fulfill its promise as a versatile and practical cellular structural biology tool, however, several outstanding challenges remain: sensitivity, selectivity and spatial resolution in the cellular environment. We propose to tackle these challenges with targetable polarization agents, small molecules that can be attached to a protein of interest in the cell. These polarization agents will enhance the signals of the protein selectively and efficiently to allow the determination of its structure in the cellular environment. The generous funding provided by the Hellman fellowship will allow the Debelouchina Lab to use these tools to study proteins involved in neurodegeneration and gene regulation.
06/11/2020
UCSD named American Chemical Society Bridge Program Site
UCSD named American Chemical Society Bridge Program ACS-BP) site in effort to increase chemical science PhDs awarded to underrepresented minority students.
06/02/2020
Doctoral Student Alejandra Arroyave selected to conduct thesis research at National Laboratory
Arroyave is one of the first students to receive UC San Diego’s University Center for Exemplary Mentoring Fellowship and is also one of the country’s few doctoral students to earn support for research in a national lab.
05/20/2020
Thomas Bussey selected to receive 2019-20 Distinguished Teaching Award
Professor Bussey's selection for this award speaks volumes about the excellence of his teaching and the many contributions he has made both to his students and to the importance of pedagogy and mentorship at UC San Diego.
05/06/2020
UCSD American Chemical Society Student Chapter (ACSSA) Receives Award for 2018-2019 Academic Year
Congratulations to UCSD ACSSA for being selected to receive an outstanding award for it's activities conducted during the 2018-2019 academic year. Faculty Advisors Stacey Brydges and Thomas Bussey deserve special commendation for their willingness to commit the time and energy required to make the chapter successful.
05/05/2020
Mark Herzik named 2020 Searle Scholar
The Searle Scholars Program supports high risk, high reward research across a broad range of scientific disciplines. New members of the Searle Scholars pursue ground-breaking research in chemistry and the biomedical sciences.
05/01/2020
Cliff Kubiak and Kimberly Prather elected into the National Academy of Science
The National Academy of Sciences elected five professors from UCSD, including Cliff Kubiak and Kimberly Prather, to membership in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors bestowed on U.S. scientists and engineers.
04/24/2020
Vicki Grassian elected as member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences represents one of the highest levels of professional achievement and recognition in science.
04/09/2020
Congratulations to the 2020 Recipient of the AHA Predoctoral Fellowship!
We proudly announce that Connie Torres-Paris (Komives group) has been selected as the recipient of the 2020 American Heart Association (AHA) Predoctoral Fellowship!
04/06/2020
Congratulations to the 2020 Recipient of the Ford Predoctoral Fellowship!
We proudly announce that the Ford Foundation and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have selected Carlos Vasquez (Komor group) as the recipient of the 2020 Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship!
04/03/2020
Congratulations to the 2020 Recipients of the NSF-GRFP!
We proudly announce that the National Science Foundation has selected Adam Cooper (Slade Lab), Ruben Elias (Deshmukh Lab) and Nicole Torquato (Kubiak Lab) from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as the recipients of the 2020 Graduate Research Fellowship!
03/30/2020
Neal Devaraj named inaugural Russell F. Doolittle Faculty Scholar
The Russell Doolittle Faculty Scholar was established in 2020 by the Endowment Committee to honor our distinguished colleague Russell Doolittle who passed away at the end of last year. The Russell Doolittle Faculty Scholar is awarded to a mid-career faculty with excellent research at the intersection of chemistry and biology. Neal’s term for this scholar appointment is from Spring 2020 to Spring 2025. Please join me in congratulating Neal on this well-deserved distinction.
03/10/2020
Francesco Paesani and group receive Cozzarelli Award
Chosen from the more than 3,300 papers that appeared in the journal in 2019, this year's winners represent exceptional scientific achievement, originality, and innovation in their fields. Paesani and group won for their paper titled "The end of ice I."
03/02/2020
Thomas Bussey Selected as Lattimer Research Fellow
The George W. and Carol A. Lattimer Faculty Research Fellowship is designed as a generative tool, effectively seeding innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and cross-disciplinary initiatives. The award recognizes that intellectual integration essentially forged UC San Diego’s reputation, with faculty from across campus having built an extraordinary network for interdisciplinary research and training. This award provides for the continuation of this momentum for generating new ideas and research areas.
02/28/2020
Francesco Paesani receives 2020 MURI Award
Since it's inception in 1985, the tri-Service multidisciplinary university research initiative (MURI) program has convened teams of investigators with the hope that collective insight from multiple disciplines could facilitate the growth of newly emerging technologies and address the Department of Defense's unique problem sets.
02/28/2020
Andrew McCammon to receive Philip and Marjorie Newmark Award in Biochemistry
This Award is in memory of Professor Philip Newmark of the University of Kansas. It has been awarded on an annual basis since 1964. Dr. McCammon’s Award lecture will be presented at the University of Kansas on April 27, 2020.
02/19/2020
Congratulations to Jesse Peltier on being selected as one of the 2020 Bouchet Scholars!
Named for the first African American doctoral recipient in the United States (in Physics from Yale University in 1876), the Bouchet Society recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. Five UC San Diego Bouchet Scholars were selected from among an outstanding group of nominees, all of whom demonstrated a commitment to the tenets of the society.
02/12/2020
Wei Xiong named 2020 Sloan Research Fellow
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced the 2020 Sloan Research Fellowships. These early-career scholars represent the most promising scientific researchers working today. Their achievements and potential place them among the next generation of scientific leaders in the U.S. and Canada.
01/29/2020
Tezcan Group exploits selective metal coordination to build virus-like protein assemblies
In a paper published in Nature entitled “Constructing Protein Polyhedra through Orthogonal Chemical Interactions”, researchers in the Tezcan Lab led by postdoctoral scholar Eyal Golub and graduate student Rohit Subramanian report a new inorganic chemical strategy to construct artificial protein cages. These polyhedral architectures emerge through the self-assembly of a small protein upon selective binding of Fe3+ and Zn2+ ions, enabled by hydroxamic acid functionalities incorporated onto protein surfaces. Tezcan Lab’s assemblies provide the closest synthetic analogs to natural protein capsules like viruses in that their tightly-packed shells can assemble and disassemble in response to different stimuli, paving the path for novel cellular delivery agents.
01/28/2020
Kamil Godula named Associate Director of the Glycobiology Research and Training Center (GRTC)
The Glycobiology Research and Training Center (GRTC) is an internationally recognized Organized Research Unit (ORU) at UC San Diego with a 19-year track record of facilitating and enhancing research, training and collaboration among researchers who study the molecular and cellular biology of glycans and their roles in health and disease. The Core GRTC faculty actively manage research laboratories where graduate students and postdoctoral scholars explore questions about human health, evolution and energy in the search for potentially life-changing answers. While the headquarters and leadership of the GRTC are at UC San Diego, GRTC members include faculty from academic institutions throughout California, with a vast range of research interests, creating an unparalleled network of expertise and collaboration in the field. Prof. Godula's research program is aimed at developing chemical methods for engineering the composition and biophysical properties of the glycocalyx of living cells to control their interactions with biochemical cues, signaling and differentiation. As well, his research team has generated new analytical tools to study host glycan-pathogen interactions. Prof. Godula has been particularly active in developing new educational activities to more effectively introduce undergraduate and graduate students to glycans and the concepts of glycoscience. Through numerous research and training collaborations, he has been building bridges between physical sciences and the health sciences and engineering communities on campus. For his research and teaching, he has been recognized by a number of awards, including the NIH Pathway to Independence (K99) and NIH Director’s New Innovator (DP2) awards. He was named Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, Cottrell Scholar, Scialog Fellow, and a New Investigator by the Division of Organic Chemistry and Division Polymeric Materials, Science and Engineering of the American Chemical Society.