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Tag: Department of Chemistry

October 13, 2025

ArtSci Roundup: November

Come curious. Leave inspired. We invite you to connect with us this November through a rich and varied schedule of more than 30 events, exhibitions, podcasts, and more. From chamber opera premieres and public lectures to Indigenous storytelling and poetry celebrations, there’s something to spark every curiosity. Expect boundary-pushing performances, thought-provoking dialogues on memory and identity, and cross-disciplinary collaborations—November is a celebration of bold ideas and creative energy. As you plan for the end of the year, take a look…

October 10, 2025

Q&A: UW chemistry professors explain MOFs, the materials behind the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

A chemical drawing that shows a crystalline structure with a large hole in the middle

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Oct. 8 awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal-organic frameworks,” or MOFs. Both Dianne Xiao, a UW associate professor of chemistry, and Douglas Reed, a UW assistant professor of chemistry, use MOFs in their research at the UW. UW News reached out to them to learn more about the significance of these structures and how researchers use them.

September 16, 2025

Q&A: From TVs to the future of computing, UW professor explains what makes quantum dots shine

Two white diamond shapes on a black background

Quantum dots, which are 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, are unique materials that generate very specific colors of light. Researchers, including Brandi Cossairt, UW professor of chemistry, hope that quantum dots can one day be useful for more than just illuminating TV screens. UW News asked her to compare the quantum dots in QLED TVs with the ones her lab makes.

September 15, 2025

ArtSci Roundup: September and October

Come curious. Leave inspired. We welcome you to connect with us this autumn quarter through an incredible lineup of more than 30 events, exhibitions, podcasts, and more. From thought-provoking talks on monsters to boundary-pushing performances by Grammy-nominated Mariachi ensembles, it’s a celebration of bold ideas and creative energy. ArtSci On Your Own Time Exhibition: Woven in Wool: Resilience in Coast Salish Weaving (Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture) Journey through the seasonal cycle of weaving, from gathering materials and…

June 11, 2025

ArtSci Roundup: Summer 2025

From campus to wherever you call home, we welcome you to learn from and connect with the College of Arts & Sciences community through public events spanning the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. We hope to see you this Summer. ArtSci on the Go Looking for more ways to get more out of Arts & Sciences? Check out these resources to take ArtSci wherever you go! Zev J. Handel, “Chinese Characters Across Asia: How the Chinese Script Came…

April 15, 2025

ArtSci Roundup: May 2025

From campus to wherever you call home, we welcome you to learn from and connect with the College of Arts & Sciences community through public events spanning the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. We hope to see you this May. Innovation Month April 30 | An Evening with Christine Sun Kim (Public Lecture) May 1 | John Jennings: The AfroFuture Now (Public Lecture) May 3 | Third Coast Percussion and Jessie Montgomery: Strum, Strike, Bend (Meany Center) May…

February 18, 2025

Three UW scientists named Sloan Fellows

Three professors

Three University of Washington faculty members have been awarded early-career fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new Sloan Fellows, announced Feb. 18, are Amy L. Orsborn, the Clare Boothe Luce assistant professor of electrical & computer engineering and bioengineering, Dianne J. Xiao, an assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Amy X. Zhang, an assistant professor of computer science in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. 

January 23, 2025

ArtSci Roundup: February 2025

From campus to wherever you call home, we welcome you to learn from and connect with the College of Arts & Sciences community through public events spanning the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. We hope to see you this February. Featured Events: Topics in Social Change February 4 | A Shattered Country: Burma/Myanmar Four Years After the 2021 Military Coup d’Etat (Center for Southeast Asia and its Diasporas) February 5 | The Social Shift: Content Creators, New Voices,…

September 25, 2024

To make fluid flow in one direction down a pipe, it helps to be a shark

Researchers from the University of Washington have discovered a new way to help liquid flow in only one direction, but without using the flaps that engines and our circulatory system rely upon to prevent fluid backup. The team built a flexible pipe with an interior helical structure inspired by the anatomy of shark intestines — creating a prototype inspired by biology but with applications in engineering and medicine.

September 12, 2024

UW’s Ashleigh Theberge receives Schmidt Sciences Polymath honors for ‘boundary-pushing work’ in cell signaling, communication

Ashleigh Theberge, associate professor of chemistry at the University of Washington, has been named to the Schmidt Sciences Polymath Program, entitling her to grants of up to $2.5 million over five years to “pursue risky, novel theories that would otherwise be difficult to fund,” according to a Sept. 10 announcement from Schmidt Sciences. Theberge — one of six awardees this year — was selected from an applicant pool of 117, and is the first UW faculty member selected for the program, which is in its third year.

August 1, 2024

15 UW professors among new class of members to the Washington State Academy of Sciences

Fifteen faculty members at the University of Washington have been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2024. They are among 36 scientists and educators from across the state announced Aug. 1 as new members. Selection recognizes the new members’ “outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.”

February 29, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: First Wednesday Concert Series, Book Talks, Ethnomusicology Visiting Artist Concert and more

This week, enjoy the First Wednesday Concert Series in Allen Library, be awed by Ethnomusicology Visiting Artist Concert with Shoji Kameda, attend book talks, and more. March 4, 2:30 – 4:30 pm | Annual Graduate Student Invited Lecturer | Know Your Place, Know Your Calling: Geography, Race, and Kant’s ‘World-Citizen’, Denny Hall Graduate students in the Department of German Studies have invited Georgetown University Professor, Huaping Lu-Adler, author of Kant, Race, and Racism: Views from Somewhere (Oxford, 2023) to give a…

February 22, 2024

ArtSci Roundup: War in the Middle East Lecture Series, Dance Majors Concert, Borden Lecture in Theoretical Chemistry, and more

This week, attend the War in the Middle East Lecture Series, check out the Dance Majors Concert, listen to the Weston and Sheila Borden Endowed Lecture in Theoretical Chemistry, and more. February 26, 7:30 pm | Baroque Ensemble: Telemannia, Brechemin Auditorium The UW Baroque Ensemble, led by director Tekla Cunningham, will perform works by Telemann and Couperin, including two of Telemann’s Paris quartets, the orchestral suite La Bizarre and François Couperin’s L’apothéose de Corelli. Free | More info February 27, 2:00…

February 16, 2023

ArtSci Roundup | On stage: The Oresteia, DXARTS Winter Concert, Jazz Innovations, and more

Attend lectures, performances, and more!   February 22, 7:30 PM | DXARTS Winter Concert, Meany Hall 2023 marks the 75th year of musique concrète with the premiere of Pierre Schaeffer’s Cinq études de bruits (Five Studies of Noises), composed and premiered in 1948. In celebration, the Department of Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS) is pleased to host Annette Vande Gorne, who will present a program of recent work from the pioneers of this art of spatial sound crafted for…

October 21, 2022

UW’s Dianne Xiao receives Packard Fellowship for research on new materials for sustainable chemical synthesis

Headshot of smiling woman

Dianne Xiao, a University of Washington assistant professor of chemistry, has been awarded a 2022 Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering for her research on creating new materials to make chemical reactions that are compatible with renewable energy sources and raw materials.

February 17, 2022

ArtSci Roundup: DXARTS Winter Concert: Movement Actuation, Jazz Innovations: Part 1 and 2, and More

Through public events and exhibitions, connect with the UW community every week! Many of these opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  Voice Division Recital February 22, 4:00 PM | Brechemin Auditorium Students of Thomas Harper and Carrie Shaw perform works from the vocal repertoire. Free | More info Borden Lecture in Theoretical Chemistry: Dr. Martin Head-Gordon February 23, 4:00 PM | Johnson 102 and Online via Zoom For the Borden…

January 26, 2022

Four UW faculty members, incoming Burke Museum leader named 2021 AAAS Fellows

Four current faculty members and the incoming executive director of the UW’s Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture have been named AAAS Fellows, according to a Jan. 26 announcement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among 564 new fellows from around the world elected in 2021, who are recognized for “their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements” in science and engineering.

January 25, 2022

Hungry yeast are tiny, living thermometers

University of Washington researchers report that yeast cells can actively regulate a process called phase separation in one of their membranes. During phase separation, the membrane remains intact but partitions into multiple, distinct zones or domains that segregate lipids and proteins. The new findings show for the first time that, in response to environmental conditions, yeast cells precisely regulate the temperature at which their membrane undergoes phase separation.

September 9, 2021

NSF to fund revolutionary center for optoelectronic, quantum technologies

Aerial shot of the University of Washington campus in Seattle

The National Science Foundation has announced it will fund a new endeavor to bring atomic-level precision to the devices and technologies that underpin much of modern life, and will transform fields like information technology in the decades to come. The five-year, $25 million Science and Technology Center grant will found the Center for Integration of Modern Optoelectronic Materials on Demand — or IMOD — a collaboration of scientists and engineers at 11 universities led by the University of Washington.

July 16, 2021

20 UW researchers elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2021

Twenty scientists and engineers at the University of Washington are among the 38 new members elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for 2021, according to a July 15 announcement. New members were chosen for “their outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the Academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.”

March 12, 2021

Role of solvent molecules in light-driven electron transfer revealed

An artistic depiction of small molecules moving within a solvent

In a study published Feb. 15 in Nature Chemistry, a research team led by Munira Khalil, professor and chair of chemistry at the University of Washington, has captured the rapid motions of solvent molecules that impact light-driven electron transfer in a molecular complex for the first time. This  information could help researchers learn how to control energy flow in molecules, potentially leading to more efficient clean energy sources.

August 31, 2020

UW receives NSF funds for investment in an interdisciplinary quantum future

A person standing smiling at the camera

The National Science Foundation has awarded $3 million to establish a NSF Research Traineeship at the University of Washington for graduate students in quantum information science and technology. The new traineeship — known as Accelerating Quantum-Enabled Technologies, or AQET — will make the UW one of just “a handful” of universities with a formal, interdisciplinary QIST curriculum.

June 10, 2020

Passing crucial, challenging introductory chemistry course gives biggest boost to underrepresented students

A person at a chalkboard delivering a chemistry lecture

Researchers examined 15 years of records of student performance, education and demographics for chemistry courses at the University of Washington. They found that underrepresented students received lower grades in the general chemistry series compared to their peers and, if the grade was sufficiently low, were less likely to continue in the series and more likely to leave STEM. But if underrepresented students completed the first general chemistry course with at least the minimum grade needed to continue in the series, they were more likely than their peers to continue the general chemistry series and complete this major step toward a STEM degree.

February 4, 2020

First-of-its-kind hydrogel platform enables on-demand production of medicines and chemicals

a water-based gel that is used in molecular biology research

A team of chemical engineers has developed a new way to produce medicines and chemicals and preserve them using portable “biofactories” embedded in water-based gels known as hydrogels. The approach could help people in remote villages or on military missions, where the absence of pharmacies, doctor’s offices or even basic refrigeration makes it hard to access critical medicines and other small-molecule compounds. The team — led by Hal Alper, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Texas, and…