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Students in labChemistry is one of six departments that made all three top 10 lists for graduate enrollment.

Iowa Space Grant ConsortiumShannon Lee and Bryan Owens-Baird, two graduate students in Kirill Kovnir's Group have been awarded fellowships from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium.

Pat ThielCongratulations to Pat Thiel, who was elected to the board of the American Vacuum Society (AVS).

Javier VelaCongratulations to Javier Vela, who was recently invited to join the editorial board of ACS Energy Letters!

Students performing experimentsCongratulations to Robbyn Anand who was named as part of the Top 40 Under 40 List in the Analytical Scientist.


Anand also gave a great talk last week as part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Lecture Series.

Thomas HolmeCongratulations to Dr. Tom Holme, who has been named Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Chemical Education. Established in 1924, this high-impact chemical education publication is co-published by the ACS Division of Chemical Education and ACS Publications.

Mark GordonThe U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory is launching a four-year, $3.2 million project to develop software that will bring the power of exascale computers to the computational study and design of catalytic materials.

Klaus RuedenbergCongratulations to Klaus Ruedenberg, whose recent article titled “The Virial Theorem and Covalent Bonding” was just selected as an ACS Editors’ Choice publication. This is a pretty big deal!  

Student next to lab equipmentFaculty members in the Department of Chemistry were issued 20 patents in the 2018 fiscal year, making up half of the total patents issued within Iowa State University in that timeframe.

Michael Del ViscioMichael Del Viscio (pictured) received a Fall 2018 Dean's High Impact Award for Undergraduate Research. Del Viscio is being mentored by Dr. Theresa Windus in the group working on the Critical Materials Institute project.

Career BannerChemistry offers a course called Cutting Edge Chemistry: Research and Career Opportunities. Building upon the foundations of the learning community, this course is designed to get students to start to think about their post-graduation plans.

Theresa WindusThe College of Liberal Arts and Sciences launched a Dean's Professorship this year, and our very own Dr. Theresa Windus is named as one of the first three to be honored. Windus will hold this distinction for at least three years, with additional faculty to be named in a few years.

Student working in labIn the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 13 students received Dean's High Impact Undergraduate Research Awards to support their summer research with faculty. The Department of Chemistry touts three awardees, Katelyn Baumler, Zachary Robole, and Anthony Song.

Ann Lii-EosalesThe Material Research Society has published a nice summary/feature of some recent work of Ann Lii-Eosales (pictured) and Pat Thiel (published in J Phys Chem C), they have now determined the optimal formation conditions and characterized the mophology of copper islands beneath the topmost layers of graphene in bulk graphite. The results show that island formation is driven by kinetics, not thermodynamics.

AnandThe College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Lecture Series highlights faculty excellence in learning, discovery, and engagement in Iowa State’s largest college. The dean invites LAS faculty of international preeminence to present lectures from their own areas of expertise on topics of interest to the general public, designed to stimulate high-quality, intellectual discussion among faculty, staff, students, and community members.

Javier VelaJavier Vela, associate professor of chemistry, specializes in optical materials. His research group develops perovskite materials through soft chemistry— low-environmental impact processes that use room temperature and solution-phase reactions.

Science Bound LogoScience Bound is a program started by Iowa State University to empower Iowa students of color to pursue degrees and careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The program works with middle and high school students from Des Moines, Denison and Marshalltown.

Kirill KovnirWaste energy in the form of heat has big potential that Kirill Kovnir wants to see recaptured and used. “Normally as a country in general, we waste more than 60 percent of the energy we generate as heat, which we emit to the environment,” Kovnir said.

Brett VanVellerBrett VanVeller is passionate about helping students learn to apply their chemistry knowledge in a logical manner. He helps students connect very basic characteristics of atoms, such as their electronic properties, with how that relates to their structure, then how the structure relates to their activity and so on, building a framework for understanding how all the pieces fit together.

Joseph Burnett in classroomJoseph (Joe) Burnett, senior lecturer of chemistry, recently shared chemistry demonstrations with sixth-graders at Hillside Elementary School in Des Moines. The students had so many questions before he even started that he had to cut them short to have time to share the demonstrations.

HoukHouk devised, demonstrated and improved an experiment called inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). From searching for nuclear weapon activity to monitoring human health, ICP-MS detects what no other instrument can. Houk’s development of ICP-MS changed standards and methods in detecting and monitoring trace elements.

Close up of Graphite“Copper is a highly conductive material but susceptible to oxidation. Being able to successfully embed it just underneath the surface of graphite protects the copper, and suggests a number of potential applications, including battery technology,” said Research Assistant Ann Lii-Rosales.

Celebration BannerDepartment of Chemistry earned three Summer, 2018 Dean's High Impact Awards for Undergraduate Research. One went to Katelyn Baumler who is being mentored by Javier Vela, the second one was earned by Zachary Robole who will be guided by Brett VanVeller, and the third one went to Anthony Song who is in the lab of Jacob Petrich.

Trond ForreCongratulations to Trond Forre for receiving the P&S Excellence Award.

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