Main navigation | Main content
Communiqué: The Department of Chemistry's 2013 Mid-Year Update
Welcome to the Department of Chemistry's electronic newsletter, Communiqué, with updates on recent happenings in the department.
We have many ways for you to keep in touch with what's happening in the Department of Chemistry. Check out our website home page. Join our Facebook group. Follow us on Twitter. Or join the chemistry group on LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed.
TFounded in 1904, the Department of Chemistry is one of the oldest and most prestigious departments at the University of Minnesota, and ranks among the nation's top 20 doctorate-granting programs. With the support of generous alumni and friends, chemistry faculty members annually provide more than 11,000 students with exceptional educational experiences and opportunities to conduct innovative and collaborative research with a global impact.
Gifts to the department ensure that we are training the next generation of scientists and continuing invaluable research to address and solve the most challenging problems that face our world. Now more than ever, private support for our students, faculty, and research is making a difference. Please check out our giving page and consider making a gift today.
We've had some changes in the Department of Chemistry over the past six months. We are pleased to welcome Renee Frontiera, James Johns, and Ian Tonks to the department as assistant professors. Our Joint Safety Team is making great strides to improve the culture of safety in our department thanks to the outstanding leadership of our graduate students and post doctorates and a partnership with Dow Chemical Company. Check out these stories and other Department of Chemistry news on our website. View all news articles.
The Department of Chemistry is proud of its graduates and the work that they do in the world. Alumni Arthur Coury and Darrel Untereker received the university's Outstanding Achievement Award this year. Alumnus Andrew Aspaas, a chemistry instructor, received the Educator of the Year Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Please send us news about your accomplishments and awards! Information can be sent to Communications Coordinator Eileen Harvala at harva015@umn.edu. Read more about our alumni.
Our undergraduate and graduate students received a number of honors and awards in 2012-13, testifying to the quality of education, teaching, and research in the Department of Chemistry. Read about our department, college and national fellowship award honorees, our top student researchers, and other scholarship and award recipients. We also have information on our 2012-13 bachelor's and doctorate degree recipients. In addition, photos from our undergraduate and graduate graduation receptions are available on our Facebook page. View all award articles for students, faculty, and staff.
Our faculty and staff members have received many prestigious awards and grants, including the announcement of Timothy Lodge as the Department's third Regents Professor, the top faculty honor at the U. Our faculty and students regularly publish their research in top journals, and have been noted for their distinguished service and research. Department of Chemistry faculty and staff members continue to be some of the most distinguished teachers and researchers at the University of Minnesota View all award articles for students, faculty, and staff. .
Our scientists continue as pioneers in breakthrough research in a number of areas, ranging from reaching the reactivity potential of metal-organic frameworks to discovering a close bond of iron and chromium, connecting protein dynamics with enzyme catalysis, and designing biofuel systems that burn more efficiently and effectively. Some of the research has been published in prestigious science journals. Read more about our research.
Outreach to young people, engaging them in chemistry through hands-on experiments, demonstrations, and interaction with professors and graduate students, is a priority for the Department of Chemistry. We offer a range of outreach activities such as demonstrations at area schools, special workshops, chemistry camps for middle school girls, and the popular Energy and U shows that literally exploded with 9,000 students coming to campus in 2012-13. Read more about our outreach efforts. Photos of this year's outreach activities are available on our Facebook page.
There are many ways for Department of Chemistry alumni to stay involved and help with programs that benefit students, ranging from becoming a mentor to supporting outreach efforts. We have additional information on our volunteer page.