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Dear Friend of Chemistry,
I hope this finds you well. We are at the cusp of a new school year and have enjoyed a beautiful Seattle summer. Looking through this magazine provides me with a moment to pause and reflect on the year that has just passed.
This past year the department went through an academic program review which occurs every ten years. It involves a self-study written by the department and a site visit from a review committee.… Read more
Dr. Reed joined us in July 2022; we’re pleased to acquaint you with him and his research
Doug Reed grew up in Horseheads, NY. Throughout his scientific career, he has focused on using novel atomic and molecular interactions to make materials with new functions. He also enjoys connecting with many types of scientists through large collaborative projects. He attended college at Harvard University, where he was introduced to synthetic inorganic chemistry in the lab of Prof. Ted Betley. There, he… Read more
Robinson Promoted to Associate Teaching Professor; Michael Promoted to Professor
We are pleased to announce that Assistant Teaching Professor Samantha Robinson has been promoted to associate teaching professor and Associate Professor Forrest Michael has been promoted to professor. These promotions are effective September 16, 2023.
Samantha RobinsonAssociate Teaching Professor
Samantha Robinson received a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Iowa and the Ph.D.… Read more
On November 10, 2022, under the recommendation of the Academic Personnel committee, the faculty of the Department of Chemistry met in an executive session and voted unanimously to recommend the appointment of Professor Charles Campbell as Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and the appointment of Teaching Professor Deborah Wiegand as Emeritus Teaching Professor of Chemistry. We congratulate Professors Wiegand and Campbell on their retirements in autumn quarter 2022!
Deborah WiegandTeaching… Read more
Six years ago, in 2017, UW’s Molecular Engineering Materials Center was awarded $16 million to forge “new materials-research frontiers through team-based development of novel electronic and photonic materials relevant to future high-tech applications.” MEM-C is one of only nineteen Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) nationwide and is funded by the National Science Foundation (DMR-1719797).
Led by UW Chemistry Professors Daniel Gamelin and Xiaosong Li, MEM-C is driven by… Read more
The passage of Senate Bill 5048 opens the door to higher education for thousands of high school students in Washington state.
The Continuum College at the University shared the news that "Senate Bill 5048 passed the Senate and House unanimously during the most recent legislative session and was signed into law on May 4 by Governor Jay Inslee. The new legislation eliminates College in the High School… Read more
Featured Student Organization: Inclusion in the Chemical Sciences
by Michaela Gustaitis, graduate student
Inclusion in Chemical Sciences (InCS) had an exciting and eventful Academic Year 2022-23! As an organization, we hosted and attended numerous outreach and social events and had a great time engaging with different members of the community.Every summer, InCS organizes a mentorship network where incoming first-year PhD students are paired… Read more
Twenty-one undergraduate researchers working with Chemistry faculty received a $2,000 stipend from donor supported departmental scholarship funds to continue their research during summer 2022. In summer 2023, eighteen undergraduate students received a total of $53,100 from donor supported departmental scholarship funds to begin or continue research in chemistry.
The disbursement of these funds over the past two summers is the beginning steps to create research opportunities for more… Read more
An article in Science tells the story of the work published on November 9 in the New England Journal of Medicine in which a toddler who, before birth, received successful in utero treatment for Pompe’s disease, a rare genetic disorder. Babies with infantile-onset Pompe’s disease… Read more
An interdisciplinary research team led by University of Washington Professor of Chemistry Alshakim Nelson received $2 million in funding from the National Science Foundation’s Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program. The funding will be used to combine engineered microorganisms with 3D printing to create materials for sustainable built environments. This grant will provide funding to… Read more
Welcome to the new staff in the Department of Chemistry!
Andrea Gallagher, Grants SpecialistStarted February 2023 Andrea has been with UW for five years at UW Bothell, UW Tacoma, and most recently in the Department of Medicine, Allergy and Infectious Diseases (AID). Andrea has extensive experience with both pre-award and post-award grant management of NIH and NSF awards, and has worked on a variety of other government awards; she really enjoys the pre-award process. Andrea is from Ohio… Read more
Content will be added on this page as alumni submit updates, so check back periodically! If you have an update, please let us know. Last update: 12/08/2023
1960s
Karen Timberlake (B.S. 1962) and her spouse Bill Timberlake were presented the 2023 Alumni Legacy Award from the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at their departmental awards ceremony on May… Read more
What will our recent graduates be doing when they leave the UW? We look forward to expanding this page quarter by quarter!
Content will be added on this page as students graduate, so check back periodically! Last update: 12/8/2023
James E. Baumann (Ph.D. 2023) accepted a position with the Medicinal Chemistry Knowledge Center at Stanford University as a medicinal chemistry postdoctoral fellow, where he will work closely with the group of Professor Rogala in order to develop novel small molecule… Read more
Heinz G. Floss, a world-renowned biosynthetic chemist and emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Washington, passed away at his home in Bellevue, Washington, on December 19, 2022. He was a highly recognized and esteemed scientist, an eminent personality and an outstanding educator.
Floss’s work ingeniously illuminated how plants and microbes construct natural chemicals--many of which are important for human health. Eventually this work helped pave the way to the genetic… Read more
1940s
George Martin‘49, ‘53, San Diego, CA, age 95, 12/17/2022
1950s
Robert McKay‘53, University City, MO, age 95, 10/17/2022
William Sweeney‘54, San Rafael, CA, age 95, 7/20/2022
Jerry Kent‘56, Seattle, WA, age 88, 7/29/2022
James Brathovde‘55, ‘56, Camp Verde, AZ, 8/24/2022
Donald Sperry‘55, ‘59, Vancouver, WA, age 90, 11/20/2022
1960s
Edward Zahnow‘61, Wilmington, DE, age 87… Read more
A year in review of honors and achievements by UW Chemistry faculty, staff, and postdoctoral scholars.
Jump to StaffJump to Postdoctoral Scholars
FACULTY
Charles CampbellGabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis, American Chemical Society
Michael GelbRobert Guthrie… Read more
A year in review of honors and achievements by UW Chemistry graduate students.
Jump to Prizes for Best Ph.D. ThesisJump to Prizes for M.S. Research and ThesisJump to Merit AwardsJump to University and External Awards
Excellence in Chemistry Graduate Awards
These fellowships were awarded in Autumn 2022 and are funded by various donor-supported gift funds as indicated below each awardee’s name.… Read more
A year in review of honors and achievements by UW Chemistry an Biochemistry undergraduate students.
2022-2023 Chemistry Scholarship and Book Award Recipients
Jump to Top Scholars in Chemistry for the 2022-23 Academic Year
Undergraduate Research Awards
Rueben AllenDistinguished Research in Chemistry
Donovan BahallDistinguished Research in Biochemistry
Nathan BallingerDistinguished… Read more
Jump to MSACST Degrees
DOCTORAL DEGREES AWARDED
Summer 2022, Autumn 2022, Winter 2023, and Spring 2023
Mark Boyer, PhD ChemistryMethodologies for Solving the Vibrational Schroedinger Equation(Professor Anne McCoy)
Emily Cliff, PhD ChemistryCRISPR-Cas Tools for Engineering Genome Structure and Gene Expression(Associate Professor Jesse Zalatan)
Zachary R. Cohen, PhD Chemistry and… Read more
Our capacity for excellence in research and teaching is a direct result of hundreds of friends and alumni coming together to support the department’s work each year. With your help, we are educating the next generation of leading scientists, advancing the field of chemistry, and accelerating vital scientific discoveries.
In the past year, your gifts have made a tangible impact on:
Recruiting the top graduate student applicants by providing generous fellowship support
Strengthening research… Read more