David Johnson, Rosaria P. Haugland Foundation Chair in Pure and Applied Chemistry at the University of Oregon, has been named as a recipient of the prestigious Humboldt Research Award.

The award is granted in recognition of a researcher’s overall achievements and whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had and will continue to have a significant impact on their discipline.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation promotes academic cooperation between German scientists and scholars with their counterparts from around the world. Award recipients are encouraged to collaborate on research projects with colleagues in Germany. Professor Johnson will be working with Prof. Dr. med. Wolfgang Bensch of Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel in Germany on projects involving solid state and surface chemistry, and material synthesis.

Four Chemistry and Biochemistry majors are among the 2018 recipients of the UO’s Vice President for Research and Innovation summer research fellowships. The awards are designed to support the university’s undergraduate scholars as they pursue their research interests during the summer. Read more in AroundtheO

Casey Bisted

Major: Chemistry
Faculty Mentor: James Hutchison
Project Title: The Study of sub 10nm indium oxide nanocrystals as carbon dioxide reduction catalysts

Anson Dang

Major: Biochemistry
Faculty Mentor: Andy Marcus
Project Title: Investigating the single-stranded (ss)DNA binding protein (gp32) dimer formation on a 15-nucleotide ssDNA lattice using microsecond resolution single-molecule florescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET)r

Patrick Connor

Major: Biochemistry
Faculty Mentor: Michael Harms
Project Title: Evolution in the Protein Calprotectin

Nikki Szczepanski

Major: Biochemistry
Faculty Mentor: Diana Libuda
Project Title: Determining the Early DNA Break Repair Dynamics Specific to Crossovers

Beginning in 2015, the University of Oregon launched the Sustainability Award Program to recognize individuals whose contributions deepen our culture of sustainability across a range of institutional activities.

The 2018 Sustainability Award recipients were announced at an awards ceremony on May 30th, 2018. Two Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty members were among the award recipients.

Julie Haack was presented with the Excellence in Teaching Award. Sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Teaching Engagement Program, this award recognizes faculty who have developed pedagogy and curriculum which reinforce and advance principles of sustainability through course design and instruction. Dr. Haack was selected for her national leadership in the teaching of green chemistry, her multidisciplinary partnerships across UO’s schools and colleges, and for developing courses and workshops with a focus on green chemistry and life cycle thinking, including the UO’s Sustainable Invention Immersion Week

Jim Hutchison received the Research Innovation Award, which is sponsored by the Associate Vice President for Innovation.  This award recognizes University of Oregon projects whose innovations were developed in the course of UO research and are now offered as commercially available products or services that improve sustainability. DeFUNKify laundry products, which were developed as a result of research discoveries made in the Hutchison Lab, exemplify this type of innovation. Professor Hutchison also founded the first center for green nanoscience, the Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Initiative (SNNI). The goals of  SNNI are to develop new nanomaterials and nanomanufacturing approaches that offer a high level of performance, yet pose minimal harm to human health or the environment.

To learn more about the UO Sustainability Award Program, visit bit.ly/2K3habY or read about the 2018 awards in AroundtheO

Chemistry and Biochemistry’s Ramesh Jasti and Ken Prehoda are among fifteen faculty members selected for the prestigious University of Oregon Fund for Faculty Excellence Awards.

The Fund for Faculty Excellence Awards was established in 2006 through the support of Lorry Lokey and is designed to recognize, reward and retain nationally competitive faculty members who have a record of excellence in research, scholarship, creative accomplishment and education. The awards provide faculty members with a $20,000 salary supplement or $30,000 for research support.

Read more in AroundtheO

UO Chemistry and Biochemistry Senior Instructor Deborah Exton is among three faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences that have been recognized for excellence in teaching as recipients of this year’s Tykeson Teaching Awards.

Read more in AroundtheO.

Faculty members in the Chemical Synthesis Group – professors Michael Haley, David Johnson, Vickie DeRose, Michael Pluth, Ramesh Jasti, Darren Johnson, Ken Doxsee, and David Tyler – were recently named as recipients of the inaugural UO CURE award for their exceptional work with undergraduates.

Read more in AroundtheO

UO Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty Darren Johnson is the first recipient of the Bradshaw and Holzapfel Research Professorship in Transformational Science and Mathematics. The endowed professorship was established by UO biology professor William Bradshaw and researcher Christina Holzapfel in the UO Institute of Ecology and Evolution.

Read more in AroundtheO

UO Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty James Prell has been chosen for a 2018 American Society for Mass Spectrometry Research Award. The $35,000 awards are presented annually to promote academic research by young scientists in mass spectrometry. (more…)