Congratulations again to our recent graduates and their families. We are immensely proud of your accomplishments at the UW. As new alumni of our department, we hope that you will stay connected with us and share your stories with the next generation of students in our program. These last few years have reminded us of the importance of scientific discovery, of sharing our discoveries with each other and the broader public, and the pursuit and preservation of scientific knowledge. Your journey does not end here, and I wish you all a lifetime of success and continued learning.
The designs for the new Chemical Sciences Building are nearly finalized and we look forward to sharing them with you soon. If you are on campus, you will see the new fencing around the Chemistry Library Building which will be demolished this summer to make way for the new four-story building. We received a $124M capital appropriation from the Washington State Legislature for this building, which underscores the importance of chemistry to the future Washington economy and workforce for biotech, healthcare, semiconductors, and quantum technologies.
With the close of the 2025-2026 academic year (and my first as chair), I am grateful for our department community. Dedicated faculty and staff, talented students, and engaged alumni and donors contribute to the success of our department. Among the long list of awards recognizing our faculty, Professor Matthew Golder was recognized this year as both a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar and Sloan Foundation Fellow, and Professor Stefan Stoll was recognized with the 2026 Ernst Prize in Magnetic Resonance. Four of our graduate students and three undergraduate students received NSF Graduate Research Fellowships to support their PhD studies, and an additional four students received honorable mentions.
The Chemistry Endowment stands at $43M, which we use to support student awards and fellowships, opportunities for undergraduate research, conference travel, departmental seminars, and community building events. A special thank you to our donors who have supported us through these tumultuous and challenging times. Thanks to you, we are investing in opportunities for our students to succeed. I look forward to our continued work together.
Best regards,
Alshakim Nelson
Professor & Chair, Department of Chemistry