Associate Professor Konstantinos Vogiatzis’ lab in the Department of Chemistry is leveraging computational chemistry to address excess carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. The presence of excess CO2 in the atmosphere is believed to have a number of far-reaching impacts on the environment. Over the last 60 years the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere […]

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Chemistry is frequently called the central science. Because it uncovers knowledge critical to the understanding of matter, it is important to a number of disciplines. Discoveries and innovation in chemistry can have far-reaching implications that last for decades. The great-grandson of alumnus Edgar Stanley Freed came face to face with this phenomenon when he began […]

A semiconducting blend of manganese, silicon, and tellurium has excited a team of UT-led collaborators with its unexpected behavior when exposed to a magnetic field. The material’s response could lead to an improved effect of colossal magnetoresistance for use in data storage and sensors.

Michael Best, professor and associate head of undergraduate education, recently published “Nuclear phosphoinositide signaling promotes YAP/TAZ-TEAD transcriptional activity in breast cancer” in The EMBO Journal. Best and then-postdoctoral researcher Jinchao Lou worked with a team including researchers from the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases and the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer […]

Currently, there are only invasive methods to monitor neurochemicals in the brain. Researchers in the Department of Chemistry are developing methods to change that.

It is with great sadness that the Department of Chemistry announces the passing of Professor George K. Schweitzer. The longest serving faculty member in the history of the University of Tennessee, Schweitzer will be remembered for his pioneering work in inorganic chemistry and radiochemistry, and by the thousands of students he mentored and taught. Born […]

Courtney Christopher started college as a pre-med major but realized chemistry could hold answers to complex human health questions. Now as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Chemistry, she’s uncovering novel links between a microbial derived metabolite, the gut microbiome, and conditions ranging from systemic inflammation to Alzheimer’s disease. Most of her postdoctoral […]

The Department of Chemistry is pleased to welcome to new faculty members in the 2024-2025 academic year. Their arrival brings us up to 26 faculty members. Their addition will expand our expertise and research capacity, providing even more opportunities for students to participate in cutting-edge research. Joseph Clark – Assistant Professor Joseph Clark was born […]

Miranda Limbach, graduate student in the Department of Chemistry, was chosen as one of four recipients of a 2024 American Chemical Society Analytical Graduate Research Fellowship. A member of Assistant Professor Thanh Do’s research group, Limbach is currently finishing a summer internship with Merck. When she returns, Limbach will begin her fifth year of graduate […]

Joshua Baccile, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, is leveraging a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to provide summer research opportunities to community college students. He hopes the program will encourage more students to pursue a four-year degree. The NSF requires all submissions to not only detail the proposed research, but to address the […]

Graduate student fellowships are financial gifts that provide support for graduate students and their research. These gifts can make it possible for students to give presentations at national conferences, purchase materials for lab work, and more. In 2024, the Department of Chemistry awarded a new graduate student endowed fellowship, thanks to the generosity of Robert […]

Candace Halbert, PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry, was recognized by People Magazine last year for her work bringing STEM education to underserved Knoxville youth through her nonprofit organization Youth Outreach in STEM (YO-STEM). As a nontraditional student, Halbert is building the skills and knowledge that will allow her to serve her community and […]

On Thursday, May 2nd the Department of Chemistry held its annual Honors Day event. Honors Day is an opportunity to recognize student, faculty, and staff excellence via awards and fellowships. This year the Dr. Robert A. and Phyllis F.J. Yokley Endowed Fellowship was awarded for the first time. Dr. and Mrs. Yokley traveled from their […]

On Saturday, April 27th the 3rd annual Undergraduate Research Symposium took place in Mossman Hall, with undergraduate students participating in poster and oral presentation competitions. Following the symposium, chemistry undergraduates, family and friends attended the accompanying awards dinner where symposium awards and undergraduate scholarships were distributed. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners! Undergraduate Research […]

It is with great sadness that we commemorate the passing of Michael J. Sepaniak, professor emeritus of chemistry. Sepaniak joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1981, where he spent nearly 40 years conducting research, teaching, and mentoring graduate students. During his time at UT, Sepaniak investigated microfluidics, optical spectroscopy, […]

During the 2023 UT College of Arts and Sciences faculty convocation, Nahla Abu Hatab, senior lecturer and director of general chemistry, received the Lorayne W. Lester Award, which recognizes a faculty member or an exempt staff member who has demonstrated outstanding service through research, outreach, and/or administrative, teaching, or advising services to the UT College […]

A group of researchers including Jan Musfeldt, Ziegler professor of chemistry at the University of Tennessee, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The article details the discovery that pressure can be used to create and control the phase and properties of hafnia. Hafnium oxide, or hafnia, is a material […]

The Department of Chemistry welcomed two new faculty members and one new lecturer for the academic year 2023-2024. The new additions bring our department up to 24 faculty members and 10 lecturers, and will expand both our research and teaching capacity. Yingwen Cheng – Assistant Professor, Analytical Chemistry Yingwen Cheng earned dual bachelor’s degrees in […]

This past spring, the Department of Chemistry co-hosted a lecture featuring Nobel Laureate Richard R. Schrock. Schrock was invited as part of the East Tennessee chapter of the American Chemical Society’s S.C. Lind Lecture Series, which is designed to bring exceptional scientists and researchers to East Tennessee.  Richard Schrock received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry […]

Two undergraduate chemistry students were named 2023 Volunteers of Distinction. Drake Robins and Clay West were nominated by faculty members and joined the ranks of students from across the university being honored. Drake Robins was a fourth-year senior studying analytical chemistry when he received the award. He is a member of the Air Force ROTC […]