Chemistry @ Carnegie Mellon University

Most chemistry students spend time thinking about molecules. Nolan Cynkar spends time thinking about how scientists think about molecules. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Seminar: Nathaniel Rosi, University of Pittsburgh Leveraging lability in MOFs: explorations in ligand exchange, interligand chemistry, and controlling compositional complexity Wednesday, October 21st, 2026 4:00 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Who do you think will win the #NobelPrize in Chemistry in 2026? Tell us why: cen.acs.org/people/nobel... #ChemNobel #chemsky 🧪

Congratulations to Carrie McDonough @carrieamcdphd.bsky.social - the recipient of 2 awards so far this year! The 2026 Ron Hites Prize in Environmental Science: Indiana University O’Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs & 2027 James J. Morgan Early Career Award (Americas region).

Join MCS and @cmuchemistry.bsky.social for the Pople Lecture in Theoretical & Computational Chemistry on Oct. 7. Martin Head-Gordon, professor at U.C. Berkeley, will present "Density Functional Theory in Chemistry: Past, Present and Future." Register: www.givecampus.com/schools/Carn... #ChemSky

Just out in Angewandte Chemie: "Oxygen-Tolerant, Controlled Synthesis of Degradable and Water-Soluble Poly(Vinyl Amide)s via Radical Ring-Opening Copolymerization of Cyclic Dithiothreitol" onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... Thanks to all who contributed! @cmuchemistry.bsky.social

Thesis Defense: Nicole Auvil, Bier Group Gas Phase Ion Production for Mass Spectrometry: Nanoelectrode Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization and Electronic Cigarette Atmospheric Pressure Thermospray Self-Ionization Friday September 25, 2026 1:30 p.m. Mellon Institute Social Room 328

The closing for this is about a week away!

Join the Mellon College of Science on Sept. 29 at 4:30 p.m. for a fireside chat with MIT Professor and Moderna Co-Founder Robert S. Langer, a renowned engineer, biomedical researcher and inventor. He is the most cited engineer in history. Learn more: events.cmu.edu/mcs/event/34...

Congrats to Elizabeth Smith who has received two honors recognizing the promise & impact of her research. Smith's proposal has been selected for the 26-27 Steinbrenner Doctoral Fellowship, and this year's Steinbrenner Institute and Heinz Presidential Fellow. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Chemistry Seminar: Autumn Qiu, Michigan State University Spatial Metabolomics and Toxicology Research with Mass Spectrometry Imaging Host: Carrie McDonough Friday, September 18, 2026 12:30 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Thesis Defense: Graham Thornhill, Sullivan Group Chemical and Kinetic Feedbacks Present in Gas-Aerosol Heterogeneous Reactions Measured with Raman Spectroscopy and Optical Levitation Friday September 18, 2026 9:30 a.m. Doherty Hall 4201

PPG Scholars Gain Research Experience While Creating Chemistry Solutions www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

A belated "Welcome!" to our newest PhD candidates who received their lab coats during our 2nd annual event to introduce new students to the department.

Final Public Oral Examination for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Tina Lin Matyjaszewski Group From Branched Polymer Structures to Networks Using Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization Tuesday September 15, 2026 3:00 p.m. Mellon Institute Social Room 328

Thesis Defense: Khidong Kim, Matyjaszewski Group Block Copolymer Synthesis via Mechanism Switching: Bridging Coordination-Insertion Polymerization and Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization Friday September 11, 2026 2:00 p.m. Mellon Institute Social Room 328

Join us for this weeks seminar as we welcome a PhD program alum of Prof Guy Berry! Mohan Srinivasarao, Georgia Institute of Technology Emergence of Chiral Structures in Achiral Lyotropic Liquid Crystals Host: Bruce Armitage Friday, September 11th, 2026 12:30 p.m. Mellon Institute 348

Nominate your ACS Au 2027 Rising Star today! We are seeking exceptional early-career researchers who are leading the way in chemistry research to feature in upcoming Special Issues. 📅 Deadline: Wednesday, September 30, 2026 Nominate your Rising Star (self-nominations welcome): buff.ly/sZkTFct

CMU chemistry Ph.D. student Elizabeth Smith is studying contaminants linked to fracking wastewater, advancing research that could improve drinking water monitoring and protect communities. 🧪 #ChemSky #GreenChemistry #WomenInSTEM www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Chemistry Seminar: Scott Horowitz, University of Denver RNA dictating protein folding, aggregation, and neurodegeneration Host: Bruce Armitage Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026 4:00 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Krzysztof Matyjaszewski has been selected to receive the American Chemical Society's Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis. Congratulations Kris! cen.acs.org/acs-news/acs...

Come work with us at CMU! Applications are being accepted for multiple tenure-track faculty positions with an expected Fall 2027 start. Applications should be submitted online through Interfolio apply.interfolio.com/191917 . Review of applications will begin September 30, 2026.

Chemistry GSA bowling with the new PhD students!

Thesis Defense: Xiaolei Hu, Matyjaszewski Group Photoinduced Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization Driven by Long-Wavelength Light and Its Applications Tuesday August 18, 2026 11:00 a.m. Mellon Institute Classroom 448

Thesis Defense: Savannah Talledo, Bernhard Group Illuminating Reaction Space: High-Throughput Discovery in Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Friday August 14, 2026 10:00 a.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Thesis Defense: Yitong Wang, Jin Group Atomically precise ligand‑protected metal nanoclusters (APNC): structure and photoluminescence Thursday July 30, 2026 3:20 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Thesis Defense: Muhammed Aktolun, Kurnikova Group From Structure to Function: Molecular Dynamics Studies of Ion Channel Gating and Modulation Tuesday July 28, 2026 12:00p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Matyjaszewski Named 2026 Blaise Pascal Medal Laureate in Chemistry The award recognizes (ATRP), a breakthrough method that transformed the controlled synthesis of polymers and enabled the creation of advanced materials with unprecedented precision. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Thesis Defense: Raahul Sriram, Armitage Group Peptide Nucleic Acids as Probes and Modulators of Higher-Order G-Quadruplex Structure Friday July 17, 2026 11:00a.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Thesis Defense: Mitch Baumer, Bernhard Group Design of High-Throughput Experimentation and Custom Instrumentation for Exploring Chemical Reactivity with Machine Learning Wednesday July 15th @ 10 a.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Hendrich Builds Tools as Well as Knowledge Michael Hendrich spent his career pushing the limits of magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Over 32 years, the chemistry professor transformed how scientists study metalloproteins. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Models, Iron and Insights: Visualizing Bominaar’s Legacy www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Congratulations to the Fall 2026 Graduate Conference Funding Award winners from Chemistry: Debojyoti Chakraborty: Collins lab and Natalie Colaizzo: @carrieamcdphd.bsky.social lab! www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Chemistry faculty member David Yaron has long term involvement with the exciting program explored in this article: usprogram.gatesfoundation.org/news-and-ins...

Associate Professor Carrie McDonough @carrieamcdphd.bsky.social has a piece on PFASs in the body that you should check out! theconversation.com/pfas-leave-f...

Please join us in congratulating the recipients of our 2026 Chemistry Graduate Student Mentorship Awards! These graduate students have made an incredible impact on undergraduate researchers through their mentorship, leadership, and dedication to helping students grow as scientists and scholars.

Congratulations to our spring Dean's list students! www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

PPG Scholar Teams Program Supports Mentored Research in Chemistry www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Congratulations to Leticia Pequeno Madureira, the 2026 Hugh D. Young Graduate Student Teaching Award! The award is one of the highest honors for graduate instructors. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

With evidence‑based teaching and cutting‑edge tech, @cmuchemistry.bsky.social Professors David Yaron and Gizelle Sherwood are helping more students thrive in STEM. 🧪 www.nytimes.com/paidpost/car...

Tartan on the Rise: Rebecca Alford, 2016 Chem alum, uses a careful process of observation and inference, to uncover promising directions for new medicines as a principal scientist specializing in structure-based drug design at Johnson & Johnson. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Seminar Series: Joshua Telser, Roosevelt University 187Os and 193Ir Mössbauer Investigation of Coordination Complexes Using Synchrotron Radiation Host: Alex Guo Wednesday, April 1, 2026 4:00 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Today's the day!

Many thanks to Tina, one of our GSA reps, for putting together another amazing Bob Ross painting night. Once again amazed by the multi-talented PhD students from our department!

What if drugs had the surgical precision to go straight to the source of a problem? Antonina “Tonia” Simakova, a 2015 PhD graduate of the Matyjaszewski group, believes such a vision is achievable through better targeting of pharmaceuticals enabled by polymer chemistry. www.cmu.edu/engage/event...

Register to attend the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Championship on March 25 in person or online and cheer on the Chris Blum, from the Das group, who is competing for cash and prizes. library.cmu.edu/about/news/2...

Last day to order!

Pierogi Therapeutics, a startup by chemistry Ph.D. students Ben Koby & Filipp Gusev, will present in the McGinnis Venture Competition. Support their pitch Tues, Mar 17 from 2-4:45 p.m. in McConomy Auditorium in the CUC. First place will receive $50,000 investment from Amazon Web Services.