Skip to content
Primary Menu

Connor Ambrose and Kenny Drbohlav NSF Recognition

Categories: Awards, Research, Students

Two rising researchers in the University of Utah’s Department of Chemistry—Connor Ambrose and Kenny Drbohlav, both students in the Luo Lab at the University of Utah Chemistry—have earned national recognition through the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP), one of the nation’s most competitive and respected awards for early-career scientists. The NSF […]

Read More

The 2026 Stang Burrows Sessler Lectureship hosts speaker Hanadi Sleiman of McGill University

Categories: Faculty, History, Research

The University of Utah Department of Chemistry hosted Professor Hanadi Sleiman of McGill University on March 19, 2026, as the 2026 Stang‑- Burrows‑- Sessler Lecturer. Sleiman, an internationally recognized leader in nucleic acid nanotechnology, brought her pioneering research to campus as part of the department’s most distinguished annual event. Her visit continues a tradition of […]

Read More

Gabe Nagy Receives the 2026 ACS Arthur F. Findeis Award for Achievements by a Young Analytical Scientist

Categories: Awards, Faculty, Research

The University of Utah Department of Chemistry is proud to announce that Professor Gabe Nagy has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry’s Arthur F. Findeis Award for Achievements by a Young Analytical Scientist, sponsored by Altria. This prestigious national award recognizes outstanding early‑career scientists who have already made […]

Read More

Unraveling how electrostatic gradients manifest in electrophsiological assays

Categories: Faculty, Research

The Journal of Physical Chemistry B published “From Flux to Function: Extracting Mechanistic Insights from Ion Channels via I–V and I–μ Analyses” by Hannah Weckel-Dahman, Ryan Carlsen, Alexander Daum, and Jessica M. J. Swanson The cover “Unraveling how electrostatic gradients manifest in electrophysiological assays” was created by the Swanson Group. About the Cover: From flux to function: Voltage-responsive […]

Read More

AI tool streamlines drug synthesis

Categories: Faculty, Research

Drug discovery is like molecular Tetris. Chemists snap atoms together, adjusting the pieces until everything fits and suddenly, a molecule makes a promising new medicine. Normally, creating better molecules consumes huge amounts of time and money. In a new study, researchers used machine learning to build a smarter prediction system that could speed up the […]

Read More

Breakthrough Biosensor Tracks Glycine in Living Cells

Categories: Research

Repost from the College of Science September 22, 2025 Above: The pop art-inspired illustration highlights a new light-up RNA aptamer called Golden Broccoli that was developed through structure-based design. Golden Broccoli: U biochemists create the world’s first single-dyed ratiometric biosensor for glycine imaging. “Glycine has many important roles. It’s an important neurotransmitter that regulates things […]

Read More

U Chemistry Researchers Uncover Enzyme Breakthrough That Could Revolutionize Peptide Drug Development

Categories: Alumni, Faculty, Research

University of Utah research associate Karsten Eastman, along with chemistry Professors Vahe Bandarian and Andrew Roberts, recently collaborated on a study that uncovered a powerful new way to build more stable and drug-like peptides, opening the door to medicines that could target diseases long considered “undruggable”. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences […]

Read More

A Molecule that Enables Microbes to Eat Methane

Categories: Faculty, Research

Because of its potent greenhouse properties, methane gas is a significant contributor to climate change. It also feeds microbes known as methanotrophs that convert the gas into carbon dioxide and biomass, but scientists have been unsure how these microbes get all the nutrients they need to accomplish this task. Now, a University of Utah chemistry lab has […]

Read More

Shape-shifting Hybrid Materials Offer Bright Future for Solar and LED Innovation

Categories: Research

New research by Bischak Lab shows how wafer-thin perovskites’ optical properties shift with temperature changes. In today’s energy-intensive environment, designing new devices for more efficient and renewable energy sources is at the forefront of scientific research. A particularly interesting approach utilizes Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites—a type of layered material made from alternating sheets of inorganic and organic components. […]

Read More

Instruments of the U: Center for High Performance Computing

Categories: Research

CHPC is the University of Utah’s premier computing institute and resource hub. It was founded on the principle of providing high-performance, large-scale, and cost-effective computing power for researchers across Utah. Over the years, it has grown into a vital infrastructure supporting interdisciplinary research across physics, engineering, chemistry, the humanities and other academic fields. Services that CHPC […]

Read More