Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Prof. Fortenberry helps shed light on the origins of life in space

Posted on: March 14th, 2024 by nhammer

bright colored molecule diagram

A critical molecule for the metabolism of living organisms has been synthesized for the first time by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers at low temperatures (10 K) on ice coated nanoparticles mimicking conditions in deep space marking a “cool” step in advancing our understanding of the origins of life.

The UH Mānoa Department of Chemistry team of Professor Ralf I. Kaiser, and postdoctoral fellows Jia Wang and Joshua H. Marks worked with computational chemist Professor Ryan C. Fortenberry from the University of Mississippi to explore how glyceric acid can form in cold, carbon dioxide-rich icy environments of outer space. Glyceric acid is the simplest sugar acid that helps with a process called glycolysis, which is like the engine that helps break down the food we eat into energy that our bodies can use.

Using experiments with interstellar model ices and proxies of energetic Galactic Cosmic Rays at the UH Mānoa’s W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry, racemic glyceric acid was formed and detected with the help of photo ionization lasers in the gas phase. These molecules might play a role in the development of life on planets like Earth. Scientists now hope to detect these molecules in space using telescopes such as ALMA.

“The study suggests that molecules like glyceric acid could have been synthesized in molecular clouds and possibly in star forming regions prior to their delivery to Earth via comets or meteorites thus contributing to the building blocks of life,” Kaiser said. “Understanding how these molecules form in space is crucial for unraveling the mysteries of life’s origins.”

“The potential presence of such molecules in space shows how the chemistry in our bodies is connected to the chemistry of ‘the beyond,’” Fortenberry said. “Additionally, the interaction of experiment and computation also highlights how different perspectives on science work together to make the generation of new knowledge possible.”

The study was published in Sciences Advances on March 13.

Prof. Ritchie Named Stefani-Miller Chair for Teaching Excellence

Posted on: March 14th, 2024 by nhammer
A man points to equations on a chalkboard at the front of a classroom.
 

Lauded by students and peers as an inspiring teacher, University of Mississippi chemistry professor Jason Ritchie has been named the second faculty member to hold the Doctors Andrew Stefani and Eldon Miller Memorial Chair for STEM Teaching and Research.

Established in 2019 by Dr. Rhett Atkinson and his wife, Elaine, with a $1.5 million gift, the chair honors Stefani, former professor and chair of chemistry, and Miller, former professor and chair of mathematics.

Ritchie, an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, said he plans to use the chair’s resources to develop new teaching materials and activities to support active learning in his classroom. He also wants to help other faculty members stimulate the adoption of active learning techniques across campus.

“I’m really thrilled to be recognized by my colleagues for this position,” he said. “I’m also excited about the possibilities for sharing my techniques with others who are interested in incorporating active learning in their classrooms.”

An Ole Miss faculty member since 2000, Ritchie is a previous recipient of the Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award. He also ru

ucimg-2995-2.jpg

Jason Ritchie

ns a research laboratory that studies polymer electrolytes for fuel cells and batteries, with both graduate student and undergraduate researchers.

Ritchie’s colleagues said he is more than deserving of his recognition.

“Jason has been one of our department’s best-regarded teachers for over 20 years,” said Daniell Mattern, the inaugural recipient of the award in 2022. “He continually works to improve his teaching chops, and his students praise him while they are learning their chemistry. He well deserves this recognition.”

Mattern also said Ritchie’s strengths are his chemical demonstrations in his classes, embellishing his lectures with examples from current events and showing how old topics in general chemistry are relevant to present-day issues.

“His goal is to learn each student’s name, which is an impressive feat,” Mattern said. “Students appreciate his enthusiasm and cheerful attitude, and his accessibility.”

Joshua Eyler, director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, said Ritchie is one of the most dedicated educators he knows.

“He truly prioritizes students and their learning, and he does so through innovative uses of active learning techniques that have been specifically designed for helping STEM students to develop conceptual understanding,” Eyler said. “His commitment to and passion for education alone makes him incredibly deserving of this prestigious honor.”

The Doctors Andrew Stefani and Eldon Miller Memorial Chair for STEM Teaching and Research Endowment is open to gifts from individuals and organizations. Send a check, with the endowment noted in the memo line, to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655, or give online at http://give.olemiss.edu.

For more information on supporting STEM teaching and research at the university, contact Charlotte Parks, vice chancellor for development, at cpparks@olemiss.edu or 662-915-3120.

UM Chemistry Professor Studies Ways to Make Clean Energy

Posted on: February 26th, 2024 by nhammer

To create clean energy sources that are affordable and easy to replicate, researchers must first figure out how to efficiently create hydrogen. That is the process University of Mississippi professor Vignesh Sundaresan hopes to improve in his upcoming research.

A man stands behind a microscope in a laboratory.

University of Mississippi Professor Vignesh Sundaresan in his Lab

The National Science Foundation has awarded Sundaresan, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, $244,000 in an Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research grant for a partnership with Lane Baker, a Texas A&M electrochemist who specializes in scanning probe techniques.

The collaboration’s aim is to study electrocatalyst testing methods in hopes of creating more reliable hydrogen production for use in fuel cell-based vehicles and other clean energy-powered devices.

“To make clean hydrogen, we need the tools to determine what works best,” Sundaresan said. “We must be able to measure the efficiency and stability of hydrogen-producing catalysts. That’s the goal of this project.”

Fuel cell-based vehicles are similar to electric vehicles in that they do not use fossil fuels. However, they do not rely on lithium, a rare mineral that is a necessary component in the batteries for electric vehicles. Fuel cell-based vehicles emit only water vapor, making them a clean mode of transportation.

A man looks through a microscope in a laboratory while another man observes.

Chemistry professor Vignesh Sundaresan (left) and graduate student Shubhendra Shukla will work with Lane Baker, a Texas A&M electrochemist who specializes in scanning probe techniques, as a part of Sundaresan’s recent grant. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

The problem? Hydrogen production is costly and only California and Hawaii have hydrogen refueling stations, making widespread use of fuel cell vehicles difficult.

The creation of hydrogen relies largely on electrocatalysts, substances that speed up chemical reactions, Sundaresan said. The current testing method for electrocatalysts does not give a nuanced view of each particle’s reaction, making production of chemicals such as hydrogen less precise.

Sundaresan and his Ole Miss team hope to design an electrochemical-optical microscope that can test electrocatalysts at the particle level and give scientists a deeper understanding of which catalysts produce hydrogen best.

“We can see the need of moving from fossil fuel-based energy to clean energy sources,” said Shubhendra Shukla, a second-year doctoral chemistry student from Gonda, India. “We have to find other sources that are clean and environmentally friendly. Hydrogen is one of these.

“We need to focus on how to produce hydrogen so we can be less dependent on other forms of energy.”

Sundaresan and Shukla will live in College Station for roughly six months over two summers as they work with Baker, and the grant will also fund a summer research program for K-12 students, where Sundaresan said he hopes to encourage students’ interest in STEM.

“We’re going to be working with Coffeeville High School to boost STEM learning for students there,” he said. “We want to use this research as a bridge to encourage the K-12 students in our community, and we hope to see more Mississippi-based students here at Ole Miss in STEM.”

This research is supported by the National Science Foundation grant no. 2327025.

Dallas Couple’s Gift Recognized with Chemistry Lab in Their Honor

Posted on: January 31st, 2024 by nhammer

A gift from Waddell (left) and Sally Mashburn will support the teaching of chemistry in lab courses housed in the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation.

 

A major gift to the University of Mississippi from alumnus Waddell Mashburn and his wife, Sally, will support the teaching of chemistry in lab courses housed in the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation.

The Dallas, Texas, couple’s $250,000 gift adds to the funds available for the building, which will ensure that state-of-the-art equipment and instrumentation will be available to our students as they take courses and learn in the new, premier STEM building on the university’s Oxford campus.

“I feel privileged to be in a position to contribute to a school like Ole Miss, which I think a great deal of. Particularly in the competitive world of higher education, I continue to be impressed with how well Ole Miss can perform in a number of areas and that, as much as anything, inspires me to want to make a gift,” said Waddell Mashburn, a 1969 graduate of the UM College of Liberal Arts and the owner of Mashburn Commercial Realty in Dallas.

Artist’s rendering of the Jim & Thomas Duff Center.

In 2020, with eyes on increasing job opportunities and boosting the economy, business leaders and brothers Jim and Thomas Duff of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, committed $26 million to the construction of the 202,000-square-foot STEM building. It’s the largest single construction project in Oxford campus history and projected to be one of the nation’s leading student-centered learning environments for STEM education.

“I’d been thinking about doing something for the university for a couple of years. My first thought was to pursue a scholarship, but with guidance from personnel at the university, I was told about the STEM facility, who the Duffs are, and what it’s going to entail, and that excited me and spurred me on to want to do something right away,” Mashburn continued. “I’m interested in mathematics and science and thought it was appropriate to contribute there.”

The couple’s gift is being recognized with the naming of the Sally and Waddell Mashburn Chemistry Lab in the university’s new science building. Other naming opportunities remain available inside the Duff Center.

Mashburn said he’s honored by the naming; his wife agreed.

“I want to compliment Waddell because it was his decision and I think it’s excellent because it’s imperative for the future. If I were a student today, I would take advantage of all the Duff Center has to offer; we didn’t have that kind of facility when I was in school,” said Sally Mashburn, a graduate of Southern Methodist University. “It’s the future and it gives kids today so many more opportunities because it’s state-of-the-art with the newest technology out there.”

Construction began in 2020 on the STEM building that’s located with one side facing the Grove and another facing Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Upon completion in 2024, it will house lecture halls as well as chemistry, biology, physics, engineering and computer science labs. Lower student-instructor ratios will be in place, and various disciplines will be spread throughout the building to promote interdisciplinary teaching and learning.

“We are deeply grateful to Waddell and Sally for this significant investment which will enhance our world class faculty’s ability to educate and prepare our students in the natural sciences. Ultimately, this will make our students more competitive for the graduate programs and careers they will pursue after they graduate,” said Lee Cohen, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

“The additional space and educational opportunities afforded by the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation are not only critical in serving our growing student demand for these courses on our campus, but they also enable us to compete with other top universities across the country in attracting top faculty and students in the STEM disciplines,” he continued.

Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Waddell Mashburn has fond memories of his days at Ole Miss, where he made many lifelong friends on campus and through fraternity affiliation.

Upon graduation, Mashburn joined the Army and upon discharge, joined Merrill Lynch in Dallas where he settled.

Mashburn later became interested in the commercial real estate industry, discovering a career to which he would dedicate most of his professional life.

“I hope my gift will contribute to students being able to take advantage of a facility like that and encourage them to pursue careers in those areas,” Waddell Mashburn, adding, “The technological detail that is being implemented in the construction of the STEM facility is beyond anything I have seen.”

Other private support for the building includes a $25 million gift from the Gertrude C. Ford Foundation in Jackson, Mississippi, a longtime donor to Ole Miss. The university sought state and federal funding and additional private support to help fund the $175 million project.

The Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation Fund is open to gifts from organizations and individuals. To make a gift, click here or send a check with the fund name in the memo line to UM Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655.

For more information on providing support for the STEM facility, contact Delia Childers, director of development for the College of Liberal Arts, at dgchilde@olemiss.edu or 662-915-3086.

By Bill Dabney/UM Foundation

Microplastic Pollution From Tires Found in Air Near Roadways

Posted on: January 29th, 2024 by nhammer

Two University of Mississippi Chemistry researchers have been investigating what happens when the rubber meets the road, and their results have led to a published paper.

A researcher adjusts an air senors on a rooftop overlooking a football stadium.

A researcher adjusts an air senors on a rooftop overlooking a football stadium.

James Cizdziel, professor and interim chair of chemistry and biochemistry, and Boluwatife Olubusoye, a second-year doctoral chemistry student from Lagos, Nigeria, studied the increase and possible effects of the microscopic particles shed by tires near major roadways. Their research has been published in the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.

“Tire wear particles generally fall in the category of microplastic pollution,” Cizdziel said. “Think about when driving your car; every couple of years, you have to change the tires. Where does all that tread go?

Photo of James Cizdziel

James Cizdziel

“It breaks off into particles and gets into the environment.”

The smallest tire wear particles can pass through the lining of the lungs and into the bloodstream when inhaled, according to research conducted at the Imperial College of London. Tire wear particles have also been found in soil and in stormwater runoff from roadways.

Olubusoye and Cizdziel collected air samples at varying distances along state Highway 6 near Oxford for 10 days. At each of the sampling stations, they found tire wear particles containing toxic compounds, 6PPD-Q and 4-ADPA, with more particles closer to the road.

“We detected these two toxic compounds in the air at each of the locations,” Olubusoye said. “Mind you, this was for just 10 days.

“Humans can inhale these particles, and when they get into their system, these same toxic compounds may be leached from them, exposing people to these compounds as well.”

The chemical compound 6PPD is added to tires in the manufacturing process to prevent them from wearing down quickly. When the compound is exposed to ozone, it creates the toxic 6PPD-quinone, which has been proven deadly to certain fish and detrimental to the environment.

Likewise, 4-ADPA is commonly found in dyes and is used in the rubber manufacturing process. But researchers have found the compound causes difficulty breathing and other health issues in rats, according to a study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

A researcher samples water runoff near a road.

Doctoral student Boluwatife Olubusoye collects stormwater runoff in Oxford to determine whether toxic compounds from tire wear particles are present. Submitted photo

 

While no definitive study has been completed on the impact of these compounds on humans, Olubusoye said test results in mice indicate how the compounds may react in the human body.

“It causes pathological changes in the lungs, the liver, the kidney and in the testes, all of which can lead to adverse effects,” he said. “While humans are obviously different than mice, these findings are nevertheless concerning and deserve further scrutiny.”

People who live or work on or very near major roadways could be exposed to higher levels of tire wear particles, but the long-term effect of such exposure is not known, Cizdziel said.

“We have evidence that these particles are causing damage in the environment,” he said. “Studies show they are affecting fish, and that may be the tip of the iceberg.

“Certainly, some people that are exposed to these tire wear particles as well, and we don’t know the answer to how this may affect them.”

In the next phase of the study, the Ole Miss team will examine how much of these toxic compounds leach into bodies after being inhaled, as well as develop innovative ways to remove them in runoff from roads before they enter streams, rivers and lakes.

 

Groundbreaking Neuro-HIV Treatment in Development at UM Chemistry

Posted on: September 26th, 2023 by nhammer

UM researchers Jason Paris (left) and Eden Tanner are using an innovative approach to develop a treatment for neuro-HIV, neurological complications of HIV that can cause cognitive impairment, major depression and chronic pain. The team has gotten a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to support the work. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

 

University of Mississippi researchers are developing a novel treatment for the neurological complications of HIV, also known as neuro-HIV.

The National Institutes of Health awarded a five-year grant to Eden Tanner, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and Jason Paris, research associate professor of pharmacology, to support this work. The duo received $436,000 for the first year of the project.

Antiretroviral therapies, which are the only existing treatment for HIV, are unable to sufficiently accumulate in the brain to target infected cells there. This renders them largely useless against the neurological effects of HIV, which can be debilitating.

These effects, such as cognitive impairment, major depression and chronic pain, are intensified if the virus progresses to AIDS.

“Retroviral therapies can stop the virus from being replicated in the rest of the body, but we can’t get those drugs into the brain in therapeutic concentrations – essentially, this virus goes unimpeded into the brain,” Tanner said. “This causes worsening neurological deficits and affects a large percentage of the patient population. Currently, there’s nothing we can do for it.”

Tanner’s lab at Ole Miss uses a method that allows nanoparticles to “hitch a ride” on red blood cells. Once the red blood cells reach the brain, the nanoparticles are programmed to self-destruct and release a drug. Her research has proven the technique to be successful.

Paris has studied HIV since he was a postdoctoral researcher. After hearing Tanner give a presentation on her work, he approached her with an idea to use the technology developed in her lab for neuro-HIV treatment.

“Her talk was great, and she asked if anyone had a use for these ionic liquid-coated nanoparticles that could target certain immune cells found in blood,” Paris said. “I told her this could solve a major problem in HIV if we could load them with antiretrovirals and target them to the immune cells of the brain.”

Eden Tanner (right), a UM assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, studies ionic liquids and their potential uses. She is working with Jason Paris, research associate professor of pharmacology, to use ionic liquids to create an innovative drug-delivery system. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

 

Tanner said their innovative approach could have a significant impact on the delivery of these drugs to the brain.

“What’s really unique is that we’re kind of using the human body’s natural transport mechanisms rather than trying to fight with them to deliver these drugs,” Tanner said. “The material I develop is called ionic liquids. This is what sticks the nanoparticles to the red blood cells to make this possible.

“Fifty percent of the nanoparticles that we deliver in this manner make it into the brain. Normally we get 1% to 2%, so this is a really big increase in delivery efficacy. I like to think about our work as being a fancy FedEx where the parcel gets there half of the time.”

Promising early data led the university to invest in patent protection around the core technology as well as its use against HIV and other diseases.

“Now this support from NIH provides a critical step in garnering the data that will be necessary for the long-term plan of taking this technology to first in-human trials,” Paris said.

The planned studies, in collaboration with Tulane University and its National Primate Research Center, will fund the extensive safety and pharmacokinetic testing that aims to demonstrate the materials are not harmful.

“This is actually the most exciting thing I’ve done in my career so far,” Paris said. “If successful, it could be transformative. This grant, in particular, will take us all the way from cells in a dish up to rodent models all the way to nonhuman primates. It’s a completely translational grant.”

The possibilities that this project represents are exciting, Tanner said.

“The goal is to eventually begin human trials,” she said. “What I’m most excited about is the opportunity to provide help to this patient population who is often vulnerable in other ways as well.

“That’s something that me and the rest of the team really hope to accomplish – to develop technology that improves people’s quality of life.”

Research reported in this press release was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01DA056875.

Tenure Track Faculty Position in Chemical Education

Posted on: August 17th, 2023 by nhammer

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, invites applications for a tenure track faculty position at the ASSISTANT PROFESSOR level in the area of CHEMICAL EDUCATION to begin in August 2024. Areas of specialization could include but are not limited to pedagogy, inclusive teaching practices, STEM outreach, assessment and other themes related to inclusive pedagogy in chemistry. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in chemistry or a closely related field as well as relevant professional experience after obtaining the doctoral degree. 

The Department has 17 tenured and tenure-track faculty, 6 teaching faculty, and a vibrant graduate Ph.D. program. Construction of a new $175M STEM education facility on campus is underway that will foster interdisciplinary opportunities to fulfill our commitment to inclusive excellence in chemical education. The successful candidate is expected to establish a nationally recognized, externally funded research program; provide mentorship for graduate and undergraduate researchers; perform service to the department, college, and university; and demonstrate excellence in teaching. Review of applications will begin October 16, 2023 and will continue until an adequate applicant pool is established.

Applications must be submitted online (https://careers.olemiss.edu or here for the direct link) and should include a cover letter, a current CV, research plans, and a teaching philosophy statement. Because the University of Mississippi is committed to building an inclusive and diverse university community as outlined in its Pathways to Equity plan (https://chancellor.olemiss.edu/pathways-to-equity), applicants should specify within their application how their teaching, scholarship, and service will contribute to a diverse and inclusive community. During the online application process, applicants will be prompted to provide the names and email addresses of three professional references that will provide letters of recommendation. 

This tenure-track position is included in the University of Mississippi, College of Liberal Arts multi-year faculty cluster hire initiative. This initiative is designed to expand our understanding of multicultural competence in a number of areas including, among others to be named in future years: successful, effective, and ethical leadership; inclusive pedagogy in STEM; and Black intellectual thought in the Humanities. We seek scholars and scholarship with a focus on the experiences of African Americans and other underrepresented groups and attention to identities with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. The goal is to attract and support a diverse cohort of tenure-track scholars who will produce cutting-edge research, scholarship, and creative achievement around the theme of inclusive pedagogy in STEM. For more information and the list of the other positions included in this cluster hire, please visit the College of Liberal Arts website at https://libarts.olemiss.edu/cluster-hire/.

Tenure Track Faculty Position in Biochemistry

Posted on: August 17th, 2023 by nhammer

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, invites applications for a tenure track faculty position at the ASSISTANT PROFESSOR level in the area of BIOCHEMISTRY to begin in August 2024.

Individuals with expertise in any area of biochemistry, including those complementing active research programs in the Department, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. and relevant postdoctoral experience in biochemistry or a closely related field. The Department has 17 tenured and tenure-track faculty, 6 teaching faculty, and a vibrant graduate Ph.D. program. Construction of a new $175M STEM education facility on campus is underway that will foster interdisciplinary opportunities to fulfill our commitment to inclusive excellence in chemical education. In addition, the Department houses the new $2M Nano-Bio ImmunoEngineering Consortium (NIEC), which boasts two staffed biomaterials and biomolecular characterization laboratories. Details of these facilities can be found on the departmental website by clicking here.

The successful candidate is expected to establish a nationally recognized, externally funded research program; provide mentorship for graduate and undergraduate researchers; demonstrate excellence in teaching; and perform service to the department, college, university, and community (visitoxfordms.com) or here for the direct link.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until an adequate applicant pool is established. Applications must be submitted online (careers.olemiss.edu) and should include a cover letter, a current CV, research plans, and a teaching philosophy statement.

Because the University of Mississippi is committed to building an inclusive and diverse university community as outlined in its Pathways to Equity plan (https://chancellor.olemiss.edu/pathways-to-equity), applicants should specify within their application how their teaching, scholarship, and service will contribute to a diverse and inclusive community. During the online application process, applicants will be prompted to provide the names and email addresses of three professional references that will provide letters of recommendation.

The University of Mississippi has a Carnegie classification of R1 and is rated a “Great Colleges to Work For” by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The University of Mississippi is an EOE / AA / Minority / Female / Vet / Disability / Sexual Orientation / Gender Identity / Title VI / Title VII / Title IX / 504 / ADA / ADEA employer.                                                                                                                       

Prof. Clark Receives DOE Early Career Award

Posted on: August 15th, 2023 by nhammer

The U.S. Department of Energy is recognizing the work of University of Mississippi chemistry professor Kensha Clark with an Early Career Award for her research into converting waste gases into valuable products.

Clark’s goal is to create a cost-effective, clean process for converting greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide, into value-added offerings in a way that incentivizes industries and organizations to participate.

“As academics, we get a lot of interesting fundamental knowledge,” said Clark, an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “Often, the knowledge we gain does not translate directly to industrial change, because that change is not necessarily industrially viable.

Kensha Clark

“I am taking that industrial sensibility and applying it to a problem that affects us all: the reduction of greenhouse gases and chemical waste.”

Through her research, Clark is seeking ways to use inexpensive and sustainable metal ions to break apart the greenhouse gases and convert them to important commodity chemicals. For example, methane and carbon monoxide can be employed to make acetic acid, the major component of common household vinegar.

“The goal of the project is to find an industrially viable way or to develop an industrially viable pathway to change methane and carbon dioxide into value-added products,” she said. “Converting them into something useful will ultimately incentivize the capture and reuse of them.”

Researchers have been using expensive precious metals such as platinum to achieve the same effect. Clark believes the same can be achieved using earth-abundant – and much more affordable – metals such as copper, zinc and iron.

“Everything is chemistry,” she said. “I think it’s ultimately about doing it in a conscious way, like being cognizant of potential outcomes or the potential impact of what you’re doing will be.

“I think that there’s a way to address challenges that we have without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We can have technological scientific advances but also do them in a conscious way, thinking about the effects on our environment, the effects on society.”

The award program supports more than 80 early career researchers for five years at U.S. academic institutions, DOE national laboratories and Office of Science user facilities.

“The Department of Energy is committed to supporting rising stars in science – researchers who show great promise and a bright future,” said Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, director of the DOE Office of Science. “These individuals will be instrumental in meeting the big scientific challenges we face as a nation with innovation and passion.”

Clark joined the Ole Miss faculty in June 2022 after five years at the University of Memphis. She earned her bachelor’s from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her doctorate at the University of California at Irvine before receiving an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at Boston College in 2011.

“We want to make sure that this planet can sustain life for generations to come,” she said. “It is not just about now; it is about the impact on the future.”

Click here for the original press release.

Department Welcomes Prof. Penghao Li

Posted on: August 5th, 2023 by nhammer

Penghao Li, Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Dr. Penghao Li will joined the University of Mississippi Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry on August 1st. Dr. Li received his Bachelor of Science from Nankai University, China in 2011, a Masters of Science from Boston University in 2014, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from the University of Oregon in 2017. He then served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University before joining the faculty at UM. His interests center around the synthesis of carbon nanoarchitectures, organic electronics, molecular recognition, self-assembly, general organic synthesis, and physical organic chemistry.

Dr. Li’s research group aims to gain precise control over the spatial arrangement of π-conjugated molecules by means of covalent and non-covalent linkages to create functional entities with tailored physical properties. They rely on physical organic and supramolecular principles to guide the design of novel molecular, supramolecular, and macromolecular materials with unique optoelectronic, magnetic, and recognition behaviors for the development of enabling technologies related to energy, sustainability, and human health. Additionally, they seek to implement high-throughput and automated synthetic methods based on sustainable and green protocols. Major thrusts of his research group include (1) precise synthesis of graphene-based carbon nanoarchitectures, (2) molecular recognition of curved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and (3) discovery of porous materials though hierarchical self-assembly