Imagine a world where cars run on fuel derived from water instead of gasoline. Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin and elsewhere are developing methods for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen that could someday power hydrogen fuel cells. One key challenge has been the high cost of catalysts, chemicals that shepherd the electrolytic reaction.
A chemistry professor whose research has ramifications for energy and fuel generation and who leads outreach with undergraduate students was selected today for a prestigious early career award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.
The extant blood vessels of a duck billed dinosaur have been discovered and analyzed after 80 million years, in an effort led by Tim Cleland, a postdoctoral Collaborative Opportunities for Research Educators (CORE) fellow at the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Chemistry.
The Department of Chemistry's new chair, Professor Dave Thirumalai, has been selected to receive the 2016 Award in Theoretical Chemistry by a division of the largest scientific society in the world.
Wine analysis research in the lab of Eric Anslyn can help prevent counterfeits and improve winemaking. Best of all, it's helping students learn the value of scientific research. As our Freshman Research Initiative celebrates its 10th anniversary, we visit the "SupraSensors" research stream.
Chemists from The University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University have developed an environmentally friendly method for creating chemical structures with complex shapes like those found in living things. The results have implications for reducing toxic waste in chemical manufacturing and research, understanding basic biological processes and developing more effective medical therapies.
Science, once cloistered away in distant labs and rarefied academic journals, these days is connecting with the masses. One important way is through new crowdfunding initiatives that allow UT Austin community members to invest in facilities and research in new ways.
The Department of Chemistry will soon have a new department chair. Theoretical chemist Dave Thirumalai, whose research focuses on biophysics, chemical physics, soft matter, and system biology, will assume the role in early January 2016.
As part of a continuing tradition, we invited faculty, staff and students in the College of Natural Sciences community to send us images this past spring that celebrated the magnificent beauty of science and the scientific process. Our goal was to find those moments where science and art become one and the same.
Read our publication, The Texas Scientist, a digest covering the people and groundbreaking discoveries that make the College of Natural Sciences one of the most amazing and significant places on Earth.
