Dear Friend of Chemistry,With my first year as chair completed, it is my pleasure to greet you in the first issue of our UW Chemistry Magazine. I hope this provides you with a look into the past year of our department—both from the bird’s eye view with our annual report of degrees awarded, fellowships, and honors, and from an insider’s perspective through... Read more
Zalatan Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure; Chatterjee and Stoll Promoted to Professor
The Department of Chemistry congratulates Jesse Zalatan, Champak Chatterjee, and Stefan Stoll on their promotions, effective September 16, 2021. Assistant Professor Zalatan was promoted to associate professor with tenure. Associate Professors Chatterjee and Stoll were promoted to professor.
Prof. Jesse Zalatan
The Zalatan research group seeks to understand how biochemical networks organize specific... Read more
We are delighted to announce that Dr. Lauren Rajakovich will join us as Assistant Professor of Chemistry.
Dr. Rajakovich received a B.S. in chemistry from Wake Forest University where she conducted research with Professor Patricia C. Dos Santos on the biosynthesis of thionucleosides. Dr. Rajakovich received her Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University in biochemistry, microbiology, and molecular biology. She trained in the joint laboratory of Professor J. Martin Bollinger, Jr. and Professor... Read more
Faculty in the Department of Chemistry reflect on teaching, learning, researching, and living amid a pandemic and beyond.
Colleen Craig, Charlie Barrows, Anne McCoy, Daniel Chiu, and Sarah KellerDianne XiaoAnne McCoyBrandi CossairtColleen Craig, Charlie Barrows, Anne McCoy, Daniel Chiu, and Sarah Keller; facultyWe collaborated on a massive project to record and... Read more
Undergraduate students in the Department of Chemistry reflect on teaching, learning, researching, and living amid a pandemic and beyond.
Meg Takezawa, undergraduate researcherMarium Raza, B.S. 2021Casey Chen, B.S. 2021Damielle Hieber, undergraduate researcherAndy Chia, B.S. 2021Meg Takezawa, undergraduate researcherAs a first-year student at UW, I could... Read more
Graduate students in the Department of Chemistry reflect on teaching, learning, researching, and living amid a pandemic and beyond.
Rachel Huchmala, graduate studentRiley Rogan, MS in Applied Chemical Science and Technology 2021Lizzy Canarie, graduate studentRachel Huchmala, graduate studentFinding your place and fitting in can be challenging in any new community, and I think for students... Read more
In the spring quarter, most 19-year-old undergraduate students find themselves signing up for fall courses, reveling in the completion of their second year. Instead, Kamil Saad is graduating from the University of Washington (UW) with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, reminiscing on his final year as an undergrad, and preparing for a new chapter in his career as an associate scientist.Irked by essay-writing, Saad knew he would avoid the humanities and pursue the natural sciences. He found... Read more
Story by Nancy Joseph, College of Arts & Sciences
Emily Rabe loves puzzles. In high school, she and her best friend happily spent their Friday nights with jigsaw puzzles and a half-gallon of ice cream. Rabe’s father built her a custom puzzle board to take to college in Minnesota, which she later brought to Seattle as a UW graduate student. Now Rabe is immersed in a puzzle of a different sort through her chemistry research.
“Instead of a thousand tangible puzzle pieces, I have... Read more
“Every day we were coming in, and people were asking me, ‘Is today the day that we stop coming in?’” Eric Camp remembered. By the end of March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had swiftly occupied every corner of our lives, halted our day-to-day routines, and placed us under lockdown. Despite the calamity, education in the chemistry department at the University of Washington (UW) trudged forward, overcoming obstacle after obstacle, thanks in large part to behind-the-scenes work done by the... Read more
A commercial version of software developed by the Synovec research group has been licensed and launched by LECO Corporation, a world leader in GC×GC-TOFMS technology, through CoMotion, UW's collaborative innovation hub.
Professor Robert Synovec’s research group pioneered the development of experimental design driven, discovery-based data analysis software for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC... Read more
Welcome to new staff in the Department of Chemistry!
Maddie Eakman, Budget/Fiscal AnalystMaddie, a UW alumna with a degrees in biochemistry and Germanics, joined our central administrative staff in May 2021, after spending a few years in our department as a biochem major, undergraduate researcher, purchasing & accounting and front office student employee, and teaching associate. Maddie's proven business acumen and stellar customer service skills allowed her to hit the ground running. Her... Read more
by Peter Stonebraker, Ph.D. ’73
In fall 1967, I entered the University of Washington as a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry. By the end of the winter quarter, fellow-student Parker Ashurst and I determined there were enough chemistry graduate students interested in playing softball to form a slow-pitch team. We named it the “Chem Grads” and signed up to play in both the 1968 spring quarter student and faculty/staff (F/S) intramural leagues. Our initial roster listed just... Read more
Content will be added on this page as alumni submit updates, so check back periodically! Last update: 12/7/2021. See also Alumni Updates from 2022.
1950s
No updates submitted from 1950s alumni yet! If you have an update, please let us know.
1960s
Bernard Malofsky (Ph.D. 1964) holds many patents, still works full time, and loves it. He worked on the development of Dermabond surgical adhesive.
1970s
No... Read more
1940s
LeRoy Dugan Jr. ‘41, East Lansing, MI, age 106, 9/7/2020
Park Gloyd‘46, Seattle, WA, 7/21/2020
Layton L. McCoy ‘48, ‘51 Kansas City, MO, age 93, 11/13/2020
Cecil Harsh ‘49, Bothell, WA, 2/16/2021
1950s
William Chin ‘50, Mercer Island, WA, age 97, 7/1/2020
Earl Davie ‘50, Clyde Hill, WA, 6/6/2020
Roger Meyer ‘51, Portland, OR, age 92, 12/1/2020
Jean Cummins ‘51, Kent, WA, age 91, 5/10/2020
Phillip Cruickshank ‘51, age 92, 12/4/2020
John Winters ‘52, Lakewood, WA, age 91, 8/31/2020
Warner... Read more
Recent honors and achievements by UW Chemistry faculty and postdoctoral scholars.
Jump to Postdoctoral Scholars
FACULTY
Andrea CarrollDistinguished Teaching Award, University of Washington (2021)
Charles CampbellExceptional Achievements in Catalysis, Catalysis Science & Technology Division of... Read more
Spring 2020 Merit AwardsAutumn 2020 Excellence in Chemistry Graduate AwardsUniversity and External Awards
Spring 2020 Merit Awards
Ryan Beck, Kwiram/CCR FellowshipSamuel (Sam) Berry, Howard J. Ringold Endowed Fellowship FundCaitlin Cornell, Irving and Mildred Shain Endowed Fund in ChemistryPeter Defnet, Chemistry Graduate Alumni FundJacob Finney, ... Read more
Tammi van Neel, a doctoral candidate in Assistant Professor Ashleigh Theberge’s group, was recently awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship. The 2021 class of Gilliam adviser-student pairs is the largest group of fellows selected in the... Read more
June 2021 Research Awards announced June 23, 2021
December 2020 Scholarship and Book Awards
University and External Awards
Noah Baker, Bonderman Travel FellowshipCasey Chen, Levinson Emerging Scholars;... Read more
This year’s recipients of the Distinguished Research in Chemistry award are:
My Do, Xiao groupFenris Lu, McCoy groupCable Warren, Synovec groupJon Zhang, Zalatan group
This year’s recipients of the Distinguished Research in Biochemistry award are:
Kenzee Hargett, Kollman groupGargi Kher, King groupSophie Nguyen, Ruohola-Baker groupChi Truong, Gu group
Congratulations to all our graduating seniors!
Note: Other recipients of these awards declined to have their names published.
... Read more
Autumn 2020 doctoral degreesWinter 2021 doctoral degreesSpring 2021 doctoral degreesMaster's Degrees in Applied Chemical Science and Technology
DOCTORAL DEGREES AWARDED
The total degrees awarded in each quarter is noted in parentheses. Totals may not match the number of listed names, as some students decline publishing their names.... 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