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From the College of Natural Sciences
Freshman Research Initiative Spotlights: Crystals and Nanoparticles

Freshman Research Initiative Spotlights: Crystals and Nanoparticles

Experiential learning in the College of Natural Sciences includes the nation's largest effort to involve first-year students in meaningful research, the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI). In the spring, hundreds of first-year students join one of over 27 unique research streams for real, hands-on encounters with meaningful research questions that need answering.

When Sperm Meets Egg, Zinc 'Fireworks' on Display

When Sperm Meets Egg, Zinc 'Fireworks' on Display

Sparks literally fly when a sperm and an egg hit it off. Chemists helped detect how the fertilized mammalian egg releases from its surface billions of zinc atoms in "zinc sparks," one wave after another.

Synthetic Molecule Makes Cancer Self-Destruct

Synthetic Molecule Makes Cancer Self-Destruct

SyntheticIonTransporters.jpgResearchers from The University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions have created a molecule that can cause cancer cells to self-destruct by ferrying sodium and chloride ions into the cancer cells.

These synthetic ion transporters, described this week in the journal Nature Chemistry, confirm a two-decades-old hypothesis that could point the way to new anticancer drugs while also benefitting patients with cystic fibrosis.

New Type of Energy Storage Device Opens Possible Solutions to Energy Challenges

New Type of Energy Storage Device Opens Possible Solutions to Energy Challenges

While the sun and wind provide great alternative energies, the supplies can be highly variable when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Also consider the Achilles' heel of electric vehicles: it can take hours to recharge them.

Head Room: Department of Chemistry Glassblowing Shop

Head Room: Department of Chemistry Glassblowing Shop

Mike Ronalter and Adam Kennedy discuss the balance between art and craft in their experience as scientific glassblowers in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin. The glassblowing shop is critical for chemistry researchers, with their daily needs for various shapes and styles of glass for their projects.

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President Names Chemist Allen Bard a Recipient of the Enrico Fermi Award

President Names Chemist Allen Bard a Recipient of the Enrico Fermi Award

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President Barack Obama has named College of Natural Sciences chemist Allen Bard a recipient of the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the government’s oldest and most prestigious awards for scientific achievement. 

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3-D Printed Microscopic Cages Confine Bacteria in Tiny Zoos for the Study of Infections

3-D Printed Microscopic Cages Confine Bacteria in Tiny Zoos for the Study of Infections

By caging bacteria in microscopic houses, scientists at The University of Texas at Austin are studying how communities of bacteria, such as those found in the human gut and lungs, interact and develop infections.

Chemistry Department Aims to Improve Diversity with $2.7 Million Grant

Chemistry Department Aims to Improve Diversity with $2.7 Million Grant

The Department of Chemistry in the College of Natural Sciences has received two grants, totaling more than $2.5 million, to help recruit, retain and support graduate and post-doctoral students from groups that are under-represented in the sciences. 

Chemical Reaction Could Streamline Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals and Other Compounds

Chemical Reaction Could Streamline Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals and Other Compounds

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered a new chemical reaction that has the potential to lower the cost and streamline the manufacture of compounds ranging from agricultural chemicals to pharmaceutical drugs.

Chemists Work to Desalt the Ocean for Drinking Water, One Nanoliter at a Time

Chemists Work to Desalt the Ocean for Drinking Water, One Nanoliter at a Time

By creating a small electrical field that removes salts from seawater, chemists at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Marburg in Germany have introduced a new method for the desalination of seawater that consumes less energy and is dramatically simpler than conventional techniques. The new method requires so little energy that it can run on a store-bought battery.

Chemist Fights a Very Personal War on Cancer

Chemist Fights a Very Personal War on Cancer

Chemist Jonathan Sessler, a cancer survivor, joins with a colleague from MD Anderson to develop a better drug for ovarian cancer.

C. Grant Willson Wins Japan Prize

C. Grant Willson Wins Japan Prize

Chemist is recognized for development of a process that is now used to manufacture nearly all of the microprocessors and memory chips in the world.
Chemist Al Bard Receives National Medal of Science

Chemist Al Bard Receives National Medal of Science

Bard is one of 12 eminent researchers who will receive the award at a ceremony in early 2013, announced President Obama on December 21, 2012.

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Chemists Synthesize a New Breed of Anti-Aromatic Compounds

Chemists Synthesize a New Breed of Anti-Aromatic Compounds

The novel compounds can toggle between three states, which is a scientific first.
Chemist Named Inventor of the Year by UT Austin

Chemist Named Inventor of the Year by UT Austin

C. Grant Willson invented a nanolithography process used for manufacturing computer chips, hard drives and other electronic components.