Category: News


Saxon Endowed Chair search announced

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Alabama seeks an outstanding individual with expertise in chemistry or biochemistry to fill the John F. and Mary Sue Saxon Endowed Presidential Chair in Polymer Chemistry. Preferred candidates will be leaders at the national and international level in their field(s) of study, have vigorous externally funded research programs, and will be able to play a leadership role in the department. A PhD in chemistry, biochemistry, or chemical engineering and the […]

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Welcome Professor Si Wu

The department is pleased to announce that Professor Si Wu has accepted a position as professor of chemistry beginning in fall 2023. Dr. Wu received her BS degree at Anhui University in China and her PhD at Washington State University. After a post-doctoral associate stint at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Dr. Wu began her independent career at the University of Oklahoma, where she has established an active program in mass spectrometry research. Her research focuses on investigating the crucial role […]

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Dr. Gayan Wijeratne joins faculty

Gayan Wijeratne

The department is pleased to announce that Dr. Gayan Wijeratne has accepted a position as an assistant professor beginning in August 2023.  Dr. Wijeratne received his PhD from the University of Kansas under the direction of Dr. Timothy Jackson.  He then served as a post-doctoral associate with Dr. Kenneth Karlin at Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Wijeratne began his academic career at the University of Alabama Birmingham in 2018.  He has established an exciting research program in mechanistic bioinorganic chemistry.  His […]

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New Department Gifts Announced

The department gratefully acknowledges two major gifts from donors that will support chemistry and biochemistry faculty and students. Mary Virginia Jackson, who earned a BS in Chemistry in 1948 from UA, left a $715,000 gift in her estate to establish a scholarship fund for undergraduate and graduate chemistry students in financial need. Lowell and Doris Kispert have donated $200,000 to establish a lecture series in Physical Chemistry and provide an instrumentation support fund.  Dr. Lowell Kispert was a faculty member […]

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Dr. Liu receives community engagement award

Congratulations to Dr. Yinghui Liu who received the 2023 Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship Award for Engaged Teaching and Learning from the UA Division of Community Affairs Center for Community Based Partnerships. Dr. Liu’s project brought chemistry lab activities to K-12 schools in Tuscaloosa with support from the College of Ats & Sciences Community Engagement Academy.

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Students Inducted into GSE Honorary Society

Gamma Sigma Epsilon (GSE) held its 2023 induction ceremony on April 12, 2023.  A total of 53 students were inducted.  Membership in GSE is based on academic performance as a chemistry major or minor or chemical engineering major.  GSE is a national chemistry honorary society founded at Davidson College.  The Delta Beta chapter at UA was founded in 1924 and is the longest continuously active chapter in the country. Inducted members: Hadley Grace Abram, Amiyah M. Aldridge, Renee Antoinette Angerer, Maclaen Pierce Ashmead, Madison S. […]

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Dr. Allred Promotion Announced

Provost Dalton has announced that Dr. Jared Allred will be promoted to associate professor with tenure effective for the 2023-2024 academic year.  Dr. Allred’s research focuses on discovery and characterization of new inorganic materials with functional properties. These materials have applications in magnetics and as multiferroic materials.  Dr. Allred’s research has been supported by a prestigious Department of Energy CAREER award.

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