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 […]

On April 15, 2026, we held the annual Awards Ceremony to celebrate our students, faculty, and staff. It was a celebration of hard work and the outstanding contributions of the Department of Chemistry. Guest Speaker: Victor Gill, Founder & CEO of Trace Air Quality Victor Gill and his family established the Gurmail Gill Legacy Endowed Scholarship […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

David Hickey returned to the University of Utah’s Department of Chemistry this week to share new research at the forefront of molecular electrochemistry. Hickey, now an assistant professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University, completed his postdoctoral training at the U, and his seminar marked a homecoming that highlighted both scientific […]

Research Corporation for Science Advancement has awarded $800,000 to 11 Cottrell Scholars, including U Chemistry Professor Luisa Whittaker-Brooks, through its RCSA Bridge Awards. This emergency initiative will help stabilize strong research programs that have experienced disruptions due to abrupt changes to their federal funding. “The Bridge awards provide critical continuity to outstanding early-career scientists doing high-potential […]

On January 29th, the Chemistry Department hosted our first Facilities Open House, where we showcased nine of our state-of-the-art facilities, including: Mass Spectrometry Mass spectrometry services our research communities by providing mass spectrometry or LCMS analysis for synthetic organic molecules, biomolecules, and natural products. They are available for consultation on mass spectrometry experiment design, method […]