By Meranda M. Masse Department Communications & Graduate Student (Cavagnero) The Department of Chemistry has chosen two recipients for the James W. Taylor Excellence Teaching Award – Professor Timothy Bertram and senior instructional technology specialist …
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Prof. Susanna Widicus Weaver brings a love of chemistry and expertise in astronomy
Vozza Professor of Chemistry Susanna Widicus Weaver arrived at UW–Madison in May to conduct research in prebiotic astrochemistry and on how life may form with the evolution of stars and planets. Weaver received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Illinois Wesleyan University (2000) and her Ph.D. in chemistry at California Institute of Technology (2005). She most recently was a professor of chemistry at Emory University.
Chemistry students win numerous awards
It was a busy year for awards, despite the constraints of a pandemic. In May, the Department of Chemistry celebrated students, faculty and staff with an online awards and graduation event called Celebrating Student Success. Because of generous donors, the department was able to give almost $500,000 in student support. See the winners of department and other awards below.
Instructors, students find benefits in virtual learning
This year’s pandemic-induced online instruction did not stop students from enrolling in chemistry courses, but it did give instructors and teaching assistants (TAs) experience using a different instructional medium. “Teaching CHEM 344 online was definitely a unique experience,” said TA Maggie McEwan. “Teaching online requires a different set of skills compared to teaching in a classroom or lab, so I think I learned a lot this summer right along with the students.”
ACS Organic Division launches new data site
The American Chemical Society Organic Division released a new resource for organic chemists:
OrganicChemistryData.org The idea and majority of the current content (~1500 html pages + 650 PDF files) is from the late emeritus Prof. Hans J. Reich (see feature on page 34), a pioneer in distribution of educational content via the world wide web, who served his entire professional academic career at UW–Madison.
Collaboration goes viral tackling COVID-19
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a call to action for many within the scientific community. Long-time collaborators, Lloyd Smith, professor of chemistry, and Nathan Sherer, associate professor of molecular virology and oncology with the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research and Institute for Molecular Virology, set out, along with their students, to contribute to the global understanding of SARS-CoV-2 by adapting the Smith group’s Hybridization Purification of RNA-protein complexes followed by Mass Spectrometry (HyPR-MS) technology to the study of SARS-CoV-2.
Gellman lab works on ways to block SARS-CoV-2 from entering cells
Prof. Samuel Gellman and his group have been working on strategies to prevent infection by pathogenic viruses for several years. They are now using that work as a launching pad for research on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Atmospheric chemists join battle against COVID-19
When COVID-19 first hit, many people hastily adopted work-from-home protocols. Trips outside were limited to grocery runs; suddenly, fruits and vegetables became synonymous with ramen and ready-to-eat food choices. Social lives compressed to the six inches of mobile phone screens. Facetime Fridays with steaming cups of coffee, arguably with three too many shots of espresso, became routine. Today, even with the pandemic running rampant, things are very different. Slowly people are participating in more in-person activities; however, often without a complete understanding of the risks.
Postdoc starts world-wide literature discussions
Morgan Howe, a new addition to Sam Pazicni’s group at the UW–Madison chemistry department, began her postdoctoral fellowship with a bang! She initiated a popular online literature discussion group, filling a need for chemists across the world to connect and learn virtually.
Stuck at home under COVID-19 restrictions, undergraduate researchers find silver lining
In early March, I was sitting in the Union eating stir-fry, browsing through the multitude of COVID-19 articles. I spent the next hour concerned by something strange in my bowl when I really should have been concerned by the rising number of cases.