Department of Chemistry – Page 3

May 27, 2016

UW researchers illuminate ways to heal defects in solar cells

Electrical energy fuels our modern lives, from the computer screen that keeps us up after sunset to the coffee maker that greets us at sunrise. But the electricity underlying our 21st century world, by and large, is generated at a cost — through the unsustainable expenditure of fossil fuels. For decades this demand for cheap, fast and non-renewable electricity has promoted pollution and global warming. The key to reversing this downward spiral is deleting the “non” in “non-renewable electricity.” In…

May 16, 2016

US-India collaboration finds molecular signatures of severe malaria

Malaria parasites infecting a red blood cell.

The malaria parasite can cause unusually severe cases of the eponymous disease in patients, leading to higher mortality and poorer health outcomes among survivors. But scientists have long struggled to understand why some patients develop severe malaria. The University of Washington’s International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research in South Asia — along with partners at the Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR) and Goa Medical College (GMC) of India — have discovered that specific types of parasite proteins, when…

February 18, 2016

Three UW professors win Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Three members of the UW faculty have received the 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the U.S. government to early-career scientists and engineers.

October 16, 2015

Chemistry’s Brandi Cossairt named a 2015 Packard Fellow

Brandi Cossairt, UW assistant professor of chemistry and 2015 Packard Fellow.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has named the University of Washington’s Brandi Cossairt, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, as one of 18 Packard Fellows for 2015.

August 3, 2015

Crystals form through a variety of paths, with implications for biological, materials and environmental research

Artist's rendition of calcium carbonate crystals.

Crystals play an important role in the formation of substances from skeletons and shells to soils and semiconductor materials. But many aspects of their formation are shrouded in mystery. Scientists have long worked to understand how crystals grow into complex shapes. Now, an international group of researchers has shown how nature uses a variety of pathways to grow crystals beyond the classical, one-piece-at-a-time route. “Because crystallization is a ubiquitous phenomenon across a wide range of scientific disciplines, a shift in…

July 15, 2015

UW chemists help develop a novel drug to fight malaria

An international team of scientists — led by researchers from the University of Washington and two other institutions — has announced that a new compound to fight malaria is ready for human trials.

April 30, 2015

Engineering a better solar cell: UW research pinpoints defects in popular perovskites

A new UW study demonstrates that perovskite materials — superefficient crystal structures that have recently taken the scientific community by storm — contain previously undiscovered flaws that can be engineered to improve solar cells and other devices even further.

February 9, 2015

3-D printing with custom molecules creates low-cost mechanical sensor

A UW chemistry lab teamed up with UW engineers studying 3-D printing to create 3-D printed objects with new capabilities.

July 28, 2014

New protein structure could help treat Alzheimer’s, related diseases

An abnormal protein, left, is intercepted by the UW’s compound that can bind to the toxic protein and neutralize it, as shown at right.

University of Washington bioengineers have a designed a peptide structure that can stop the harmful changes of the body’s normal proteins into a state that’s linked to widespread diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

February 18, 2014

Chemistry’s Matthew Bush named Sloan fellow

UW’s Matthew Bush has been selected as one of 126 Sloan Research Fellows for 2014.

December 12, 2013

New state-funded Clean Energy Institute will focus on solar, battery technologies

Gov. Jay Inslee (center) shakes hands with Dan Schwartz, director of the new Clean Energy Institute, with UW President Michael Young (left).

A new University of Washington institute to develop efficient, cost-effective solar power and better energy storage systems launched Dec. 12 with an event attended by UW President Michael K. Young, Gov. Jay Inslee and researchers, industry experts and policy leaders in renewable energy.

July 29, 2013

Natural affinities – unrecognized until now – may have set stage for life to ignite

Strands in blue and red, twisted together

It might not have been just happenstance that caused components of RNA and the earliest “cell” membranes to be in the right place at the right time to spark life.

February 22, 2013

News Digest: Flower and garden show winner, RecycleMania under way, Honor: Michael Gelb and František Tureček

Plants, stone walkway and face of stone in garden

Part-time UW gardener designs winning display garden || RecycleMania a chance to increase recycling, composting || Newborn screening test brings chemical society honor to Gelb, Tureček