Category: News


Prof. Dixon’s DOE funded research highlighted

A paper published by Prof. David A. Dixon, the Robert Ramsay Chair, and his collaborators Dr. John Gibson (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and Prof. Kirk Peterson (Washington State University) entitled “Activation of water by pentavalent actinide dioxide cations: Characteristic curium reveal by a reactivity turn after americium” Inorg. Chem. 58 (2019) 14005 was recently highlighted by the Department of Energy. The joint experimental and theoretical work was aimed at understanding the gas-phase reaction of the actinide dioxide cations with water. […]

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Biochemistry faculty receive funding

March 16, 2020 Dr. Patrick Frantom and his collaborators, Dr. Jack Dunkle and Dr. Wayne Outten (University of South Carolina), have received news that their National Institutes of Health R01 proposal entitled: “Conformational dynamics and allosteric regulation during stress-responsive metallocofactor assembly” has been renewed for another four years. Their work combines biochemical, structural, and genetic approaches to better understand how bacterial systems regulate the formation and trafficking of essential iron-sulfur cluster cofactors. March 18, 2020 Dr. Matt Thompson in collaboration […]

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Professor Shaughnessy in Poland

Kevin Shaughnessy is spending the spring semester in Łódź, Poland as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar.  The Fulbright program is supported by the State Department in collaboration with the Polish-US Fulbright Commission.  The goal of the Fulbright program is to promote cultural exchange between the US and foreign countries by students, researchers, and scholars.  Dr. Shaughnessy is being hosted by Dr. Piotr Kaszynski at the Center for Molecular and Macromolecular Studies (CMMS) of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Łódź.  Dr. […]

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UA GSE chapter recognized

The Delta Beta chapter of Gamma Sigma Epsilon (GSE) at UA was recognized as the longest continuously active chapter during the recent biennial national GSE meeting that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of GSE.  The UA GSE chapter was founded in 1924, only five years after the initial chapter was established at Davidson College in 1919.  GSE is a national honor society for chemistry and chemical engineering majors and minors that recognized students who have excelled in the […]

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UA to host 2020 SURC Conference

The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry will host the 52nd Southeastern Undergraduate Research Conference (SURC) on January 24-25, 2020.  The SURC is open to all undergraduate researchers in chemistry in the southeastern region.  Students can present oral or poster presentations, with prizes awarded for the best talks and posters.  Dr. Mark Griep from the University of Nebraska will give the keynote lecture entitled, “Everything I Know About Chemistry, I Learned at the Movies.”  Abstracts can be submitted at the SURC […]

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Congratulations August Graduates

Congratulations to the following students who received degrees at the August Commencement ceremony: PhD Dr. Silas E. Brown, The Determination of Cr(III)’s Mode of Binding DNA advisor: Dr. John Vincent Dr. Xiaoli Liang, Carbohydrate Sensing Using Boronic Acid Modified Polymers advisor: Dr. Marco Bonizzoni Dr. Molly Lockart, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Studies of Drug Binding in Cytochrome P450 Enzymes advisor: Dr. Michael Bowman Dr. Yanxiao Ma, Plasmonic Nanoparticles for Applications in Light Scattering Spectroelectrochemistry and Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting  advisor: Dr. Shanlin Pan Dr. […]

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Dr. Dixon receives President’s Faculty Research Award

Dr. David Dixon received the 2019 President’s Research Award in the senior investigator category.  The President’s research award is given to one faculty member at the emerging, mid-career, and senior investigator level in each of three areas of research each year.  Dr. Dixon is recognized for his significant contributions to computational and theoretical chemistry as a faculty member at the University.  Dr. Dixon has published over 700 peer-reviewed papers that have been cited over 25,000 times.  He has received over […]

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Dr. Dixon receives UA Blackmon-Moody award

Dr. David Dixon, Ramsay Professor of Chemistry, received the 2018 Frederick Moody Blackmon and Sarah McCorkle Moody Outstanding Professor Award.  The Blackmon-Moody award recognizes a faculty member for a singular, exceptional, or timely work that brings credit to the profession and The University of Alabama.  Dr. Dixon is recognized for his singular contributions to the field of computational chemistry.  In particular, the development of the Feller-Peterson-Dixon that allows highly accurate chemical calculations to be performed at a lower computational cost. […]

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