Professor Musfeldt Named 2017 APS Fellow

October 14, 2017 by chemweb

Janice Musfeldt, Ziegler Professor of Chemistry, was elected to the 2017 class of American Physical Society (APS) Fellows. The APS Fellowship is a distinct honor signifying recognition by one’s professional peers.

Musfeldt was nominated by APS Division of Materials Physics for her “contributions to the spectroscopy of quantum materials with an emphasis on high magnetic field effects in multiferroics, quantum magnets, and nanomaterials.”

The APS Fellowship Program recognizes members who have made exceptional contributions to the physics enterprise, including outstanding physics research, important applications of physics, leadership in or service to physics, or significant contributions to physics education. Each year, no more than one half of one percent of the Society’s membership is elected to the status of Fellow.

Musfeldt obtained her B.S. in chemical engineering from University of Illinois in 1984 and completed her Ph.D. study in physical chemistry at University of Florida in 1992.  She worked as a post doctoral research associate at the Departement de Physique, Universite de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada from 1993 to 1994, and joined the faculty at the Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Binghamton prior to coming to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2001.

Musfeldt has received multiple awards and recognitions throughout her career, including 1996 NSF CAREER Award, 2001 NSF Creativity Award, 2010 UT Chancellor’s Award for Research and Creative Achievement, and 2010 – 2014 and 2015 – 2019 Ziegler Professorship.

Musfeldt’s Group’s research focuses on studying the behavior of materials under extreme conditions. The group is well known for their spectroscopic work in high magnetic fields and pressures, under unusual chemical and photochemical activation, and at very small sizes where quantum confinement becomes apparent. Recently, the group along with other collaborators received $1.6 Million NSF-DMREF Award for Advanced Materials Research.

Two Graduate Students Received Shull Wollan Center Graduate Research Fellowship

September 11, 2017 by chemweb

Two Graduate Students Received Shull Wollan Center Graduate Research Fellowship

Shelby Stavretis, a 4th year graduate student in Dr. Ben Xue’s research group, and Fatema Wahida, a 3rd year graduate student in Dr. John Larese’s research group, were awarded Shull Wollan Center Graduate Research Fellowship for May 2017 through April 2018. The Fellowship includes a year of stipend in support of  the awardees’ research.

In 1998 Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee (UT) established the Joint Institute for Neutron Sciences, which had been reconstituted as the Shull Wollan Center: a Joint Institute for Neutron Science.

“(Clifford) Shull and (Ernest) Wollan were pioneering researchers of neutron diffraction in the 1940s, laying the groundwork for scientific breakthroughs that continue to this day in physics, energy science, materials science, and biological science,” stated on UT’s Office of Research & Engagement website.

“Dr. Xue forwarded an email announcement for the fellowship,” Stavretis said. “When I was notified I received the award I felt excited that my research in neutron scattering was being recognized. This fellowship will provide invaluable support for my neutron scattering research projects. It will help advance my research goals and provides opportunities for further collaboration with the scientists at the Spallation Neutron Source.”

Stavretis completed her undergraduate degree in chemistry at Butler University. In 2014, she joined Xue’s inorganic chemistry research group. Since then her work has focused on using neutron scattering techniques to probe molecular magnetism. Her research relies on the user facilities at the Spallation Neutron Source and the the NIST Center for Neutron Research at ORNL.

“I was very excited and pleased to receive this award.” Wahida said. “A great deal of my research requires neutron scattering to gain insight into the dynamics of the molecular systems under study. This fellowship is a great inspiration and recognition of my work. I believe it will help me contribute to neutron science by accomplishing my graduate school research goals. I sincerely thank the committee for selecting me as a recipient. I am also thankful to my advisor Professor J. Z. Larese for his endless support and guidance in my research.”

Wahida completed her undergraduate in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Dhaka. She joined Larese materials and neutron scattering group in fall 2014. Her current research focuses on studying the thermodynamics and molecular dynamics of the adsorption of cyclic hydrocarbons on surfaces with comparable symmetries. Neutron scattering is used in her research to probe the microscopic dynamics and the structure of the adsorbed molecular films. Most of the neutron experiments are conducted at the user facilities of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at ORNL.

Graduate Student Attended National School on X-Ray and Neutron Scattering

September 11, 2017 by chemweb

Zhiming Liu, a second year graduate student in Dr. Ben Xue’s Research Group, attended the 19^th National School on X-Ray and Neutron Scattering from August 5^th to 19^th held at Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The School aims to “educate graduate students on the utilization of major neutron and x-ray facilities.” The two-week program included lectures, presented by researchers from academia, industry, and national laboratories, and provided basic tutorials on the principles of scattering theory and the characteristics of the sources, as well as seminars on the application of scattering methods to a variety of scientific subjects.

“It was a very precious opportunity to learn first-hand experiments from the top scientists in each field.” Liu said. “Form the experiments, we had chance to work on 3 different instruments at both Argonne and ORNL. We spent every afternoon with different beamline scientists. They were very nice and patient. They answered our questions in depth and extended our knowledge further from different point of views.” Liu continued. “These really help me to know what kind science these state-of-art techniques can probe and how these can fit to my own research.”

Liu was born and grew up in Weihai, Shandong Province, northeast coast of China. He obtained his B.S. in Applied Chemistry from Jiangnan University in 2016, and came to UT the same year to start to work towards a Ph.D. degree in chemistry. He is currently working on probing molecular magnetism by neutron scattering.

“I want to thank ORNL and Argonne National Lab for offering this great opportunity to boost my knowledge and field of vision.” Liu expressed his gratitude towards mentors who have helped him along the way. “Thank you Dr. Ziling Xue and Shelby Stavretis for the help with my application. And the thank you Dr. Sheng Dai and Dr. Zhiguo Gu for the recommendation.”

Strong Hall Impacts Chemistry Education

September 8, 2017 by chemweb

The newly completed Strong Hall is a 268,000-square-foot academic science structure that houses Anthropology and Earth & Planetary Sciences departments, General Biology and Chemistry teaching labs, as well as state-of-the-art teaching spaces and lecture halls.

Construction at Strong Hall started in Spring 2014 and finished in Summer 2017. A dedication ceremony was held on Friday, September 8th.  The building maintained historic details from the 1926 Sophronia Strong Residence Hall and included a total restoration of the 19th-Century Queen Ann Style Cowan Cottage at the corner of the site.

Faculty and staff at the Department of Chemistry are quite excited about the impacts of this new building and the 14,000-square-foot new lab space could bring to chemistry education.

“I think that the new building enhances the student and faculty experience at UT.  The building looks great and has tons of natural light.” David Jenkins, Associate Professor of Chemistry, said. “All of the labs have much more space per student and are designed with technology in mind. In particular, the organic labs are excellent with a top-notch facility for instruction. Having an NMR in every lab is fantastic.”

Bhavya Sharma, Assistant Professor of Chemistry agrees. “I think the new labs are amazing. They’ve got so many new features. The set-up lets an instructor put instructions up on a screen instead of having to write them out on a board. They have new instruments, and the new design of the lab spaces let the Teaching Assistants be able to see all of the students at one time. It’s really exciting.”

Sharma is particularly interested in seeing how this could impact recruitment. “I taught the Governor’s Schools for Science and Engineering in Chemistry at Strong Hall this summer. They were high school students who had never had a college level chemistry class. They were impressed with the facilities at UT, so hopefully that will encourage them to come here in the future.”

UTRF Inventor Spotlight: Dr. Namgoo Kang

September 6, 2017 by chemweb

Dr. Nam-Goo Kang served as a Research Assistant Professor and Facilities Director of the Polymer Characterization Lab in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee (UT). Dr. Kang joined UT after completing a post-doctoral appointment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, bringing with him a rich background in polymer science research and experience in academia and industry. Specifically, his research focused on the synthesis of functional polymers via living anionic polymerization, and his knowledge in this area was an asset for his work on superelastomers at UT.

Read more on UTRF website.

Faculty and Students give talks at 2017 ACS meeting in DC

August 20, 2017 by chemweb

Chemistry BOV Member Buchanan named Deputy for Science and Technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

July 25, 2017 by chemweb

Press Release from ORNL

Media Contact

David Keim, Communications
keimdm@ornl.gov, 865.576.9122

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 20, 2017—Michelle Buchanan, an accomplished scientific leader and researcher, has been appointed Deputy for Science and Technology at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory by new Lab Director Thomas Zacharia. Her appointment is effective Oct. 1, 2017.

“Dr. Buchanan’s research accomplishments, programmatic expertise, and reputation for achievement support ORNL’s role as a premier research institution that provides scientific expertise and breakthroughs that are critical to national priorities in energy, industry, and national security,” said Zacharia, who served in the deputy’s position until becoming lab director on July 1.

Buchanan has been Associate Laboratory Director for Physical Sciences since 2004, with responsibilities including the lab’s Chemical Sciences, Physics, and Materials Science and Technology divisions, as well as its Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a DOE Office of Science user facility. The lab will conduct an international search for her replacement.

As Deputy for S&T, Buchanan’s responsibilities will cover the range of ORNL research—computing and computational sciences, neutron science, nuclear science and engineering, the physical sciences, energy and environmental science, and national security—as well as the lab’s leadership role in U.S. ITER, the Exascale Computing Project, and ORNL research centers and institutes.

“The scientific challenges and impact of Oak Ridge’s research has compelled me for many years,” said Buchanan, who came to the lab as a chemist in 1978. “It is a great privilege to be entrusted with shaping our future as a laboratory. My focus will be on strengthening collaborations across our diverse disciplines and promoting scientific achievement among ORNL staff, as well as the world-leading scientists who use ORNL facilities and benefit from our expertise.”

Buchanan is a fellow of the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has written or contributed to more than 100 scientific publications and reports, holds two patents, edited a book on Fourier transform mass spectrometry, and worked extensively at the national level helping shape research directions for DOE as well as the National Science Foundation. She has held multiple positions in the American Chemical Society and the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. She is currently a member of the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, National Academy of Sciences, and serves on advisory boards for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Chemistry, the University of Tennessee Department of Chemistry, the National Science Foundation Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education, and the Georgia Institute of Technology Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC). Her stature in the research community has made her an effective advocate for increased opportunities for women, girls, and other underrepresented groups in STEM-based careers.

Buchanan earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Kansas and her doctorate in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focused on the development of mass spectrometry for trace detection of materials related to energy, health, and the environment for multiple DOE offices and other federal agencies.

Professor Xue Named 2017 ACS Fellow

June 24, 2017 by chemweb

Ziling (Ben) Xue, Professor of Chemistry, has been named one of the 65 American Chemical Society Fellows in 2017, announced in the June 19 issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) and was honored at the fall ACS National Meeting in Washington, DC. ACS Fellows Program recognizes members for their “outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and the Society.”

Xue was honored for his “significant contributions to synthetic and physical inorganic chemistry. He discovered the pathway to the archetypical carbene that led a Nobel Prize and is cited in textbooks in the field, ” stated on the ACS website.

Also mentioned was Xue’s contribution to the ACS community. “As the Division of Inorganic Chemistry Membership Chair for eight years, Xue led successful recruitment activities, resulting in 300%, 20%, and 31% increases in undergraduate, student, and total new memberships, respectively, in 2015.”

Xue came to UT in 1992 after receiving his bachelor’s degree from Nanjing University-Nanjing University College of Pharmacy, completing his doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles, and doing postdoctoral research at Indiana University. He was previously named an National Science Foundation (NSF) Young Investigator. Xue is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has served as UT’s College of Arts and Sciences representative on university-wide committees. Xue has also been an associate editor of Science China Chemistry, a flagship publication of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Picture credit: American Chemical Society