USU Chemistry News
USU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Announces Alumni Achievement Awards
After a hiatus, Utah State University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry announces the resumption of its Alumni Achievement Award program, with a new development.
Alexander Boldyrev Named USU's Inaugural R. Gaurth Hansen Professor
Utah State University professor Alexander Boldyrev has been selected as the USU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry’s first R. Gaurth Hansen Professor...
Clean Hands: USU Chemists Make Hand Sanitizer in Effort to Stop COVID-19 Spread
Keeping hands clean is among deterrents to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens. Washing with soap and water helps to quash spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, as soap breaks down each virion’s (virus particle’s) surrounding lipid bilayer......
Research on Remote: USU Chemistry Grad Students Awarded Prestigious Internships
An unprecedented three Utah State University doctoral scholars were selected last spring for highly competitive internships, for summer 2020...
We're Resilient: Hansen Life Sciences Retreat Marks 10th Year with Online Event
While planning the 10th annual Hansen Life Sciences Retreat, Lance Seefeldt, head of Utah State University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, envisioned gathering...
USU Science Council's Mentorship Program Gains Momentum During Pandemic
As a freshman joining Utah State University’s Track and Field Team in fall 2017, Alex Lyons wasn’t keen on having an upperclassman mentor...
College of Science Graduate Scholars Among USU GRCO Recipients
Five Utah State University College of Science graduate students are among 12 recipients of the USU School of Graduate Studies’ and the Office of Research’s most recent cycle of Graduate Research and Creative Opportunities (GRCO) grants.
Registration Open for USU's 10th Annual Hansen Life Sciences Virtual Retreat
Registration is open for Utah State University’s 2020 Hansen Life Sciences Retreat, which will be held online Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18-19. Celebrating its 10th year, the annual gathering is open to all USU...
USU Chemists Advance Solar Energy Storage and Sea Water Desalination Technology
Increasing demand for electrification in rural areas poses challenges, but also creates opportunities for development of decentralized electrification systems. Compared with conventional electrical grids based on large
Undergrad Researchers Awarded USU College of Science Minigrants
Eleven Utah State University science majors are recipients of College of Science Undergraduate Research Minigrants for the 2020-2021 academic year...
Lisa Berreau Named Vice President for Research
Utah State University Noelle Cockett has named Lisa Berreau as vice president for research. Berreau has been serving as interim vice president for research since July 2019...
2019-2020 Science Senator Alex Lyons Honored for Service
Alex Lyons has always shown courage and determination in everything he did, and applying for Science Senator at Utah State University was no different. Even now, at the end of his term, Lyons has taken
Graduate Student Spotlight - Gordon Fjeldsted
Gordon Fjeldsted is a Computer Science MS student at Utah State University.
Graduate Student Spotlight - Justin Pinkston
Justin Pinkston is a Biochemistry PhD student in Prof. Hengge’s laboratory at Utah State University.
Science Alumna Julie Robinson to Speak at USU Commencement
Julie A. Robinson, chief scientist of the International Space Station Division at NASA, and Utah State University alum, will serve as USU’s commencement speaker for its 133rd graduation ceremony as the university celebrates the accomplishments of Aggie wo...
USU Scientist Named UCAIR Person of the Year for His Work to Combat Air Pollution in Uintah Basin
Utah State University’s air quality expert Seth Lyman was awarded the Clean Air Person of the Year by the Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR) for his continued work into developing solutions to fight Utah’s air pollution problems in the Uintah Basin...
Polarons, Belgian Waffles, Semiconductors Topic for Oct. 16 Talk
“Ferroelectric Polarons, Belgian Waffles and Principles for ‘Perfect’ Semiconductors” is the title of Utah State University’s 2019-2020 Richard Olsen Lecture Series talk, featuring Columbia University chemist Xiaoyang Zhu. All are invited to the lecture W...
USU Researchers Share Perspectives at 2019 Hansen Life Sciences Retreat
“When you talk only with researchers in your field, it can become a bit of an echo chamber,” says Utah State University neuroscientist Max McDermott. The first-time presenter at USU’s interdisciplinary Hansen Life Sciences Retreat says questions he receiv...
USU's Science Unwrapped Explores 'Food on Mars' Friday, Sept. 20
Can earthlings live on Mars? They can if they develop self-sufficiency, say Utah State University scientists Bruce Bugbee and Lance Seefeldt. The two researchers are part of the NASA-funded Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering
Gates Foundation Taps USU Expertise to Tackle Global Food Supply Challenges
From fridge to microwave to table, preparing a daily meal may not seem like much of a challenge. But back up and dissect that process – molecule by molecule – from air to soil to table, and you’ll uncover one of the most vexing puzzles known to humankind....
Registration Open for USU's 9th Annual Hansen Life Sciences Retreat
Registration for Utah State University’s 2019 Hansen Life Sciences Retreat, which will be held Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, at the Riverwoods Conference Center in Logan, is open until Sept. 3. In its ninth year, the annual gathering is open to all USU studen...
USU Chemist Lisa Berreau Named American Chemical Society Fellow
Utah State University professor Lisa Berreau, who serves as interim vice president for research, has been elected a Fellow of the American Chemical Society. Berreau is one of 70 scientists selected from an international pool of nominees for the 2019 class...
Lance Seefeldt to Lead USU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Utah State University professor Lance Seefeldt will head the university’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, announced Science Dean Maura Hagan April 15. Seefeldt assumes his new post July 1. Seefeldt succeeds Professor Alvan Hengge, who has served...
Seefeldt and Berke Honored as Research Mentors of the Year
Utah State University’s Office of Research has named Lance Seefeldt as the 2019 recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Mentor of the Year Award, one of Utah State’s most prestigious honors. The award is given annually as a...
USU Chemist Receives Grant to Study Contaminants in Wasatch Snowpack
Utah State University chemist Jeffrey Perala-Dewey is concerned about particulate pollution blowing across Utah’s Wasatch Front, including dust from...
Aggie Chemist Tianbiao 'Leo' Liu Receives Prestigious NSF CAREER Award
Tianbiao 'Leo' Liu, assistant professor in USU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is a 2019 recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development ‘CAREER’ Award.
Heather C. Allen Speaker for USU's Olsen Chemistry Lecture April 3
Utah State University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry welcomes renowned chemist Heather C. Allen to campus Wednesday, April 3, as guest speaker for the 2019 Richard Olsen Lecture Series. Allen, professor of chemistry and biochemistry...
USU's Science Unwrapped Explores the Ångström Scale Friday, March 22
Born in Sweden in 1814, Anders Ångström was a physicist, solar astronomer and a pioneer in the field of spectroscopy. He was among the first scientists to identify hydrogen in the Sun’s atmosphere and to examine the spectrum of the Aurora Borealis. To ex...
National Guard Recognizes USU Chemistry Professor's Teaching Efforts
Like many Utah State University undergraduates preparing for medical school, Jayme Warner is keeping a close eye on her degree requirements and prerequisites for further study. Knowing classes in organic chemistry and biochemistry are on the horizon, she ...
USU Undergrad Researcher Explores Emerging 'CRISPR' Technology
Emerging CRISPR (pronounced “crisper”) technology is “all over the news,” says Utah State University Undergraduate Research Fellow Matt Armbrust. “Many think of it as a tool for editing DNA and correctly see its potential for curing diseases,” he says. “...
All Aggies Invited to Enjoy USU Science Week Nov. 2-9
The Utah State University community is invited to enjoy brain-energizing fun as USU’s College of Science Student Council hosts ‘Science Week’ Nov. 2-9. “We invite all Aggies to channel their ‘inner geek’ and join us in some great activities,” says...
Simple Change, Big Impact: USU Chemists Boost Green Battery Capability
Members of USU Chemistry and Biochemistry's Liu Lab report advances in sustainable battery design in the journal 'Joule.’ Their research is supported by a USTAR University Technology Acceleration Grant.
Track, Target, Trigger: USU Scientists Harness Carbon Monoxide
About four years ago, Utah State University chemist Lisa Berreau posed a question to USU colleague and toxicologist Abby Benninghoff...
A yoph ptp1b chimera shows the importance of the wpd-loop sequence to the activity, structure, and dynamics of protein tyrosine phosphatases
Gwendolyn Moise, Yalemi Morales, Victor Beaumont, Timothy Caradonna, J. Patrick Loria, Sean J. Johnson, and Alvan C. Hengge ABSTRACT: To study factors that affect WPD-loop motion in protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), a chimera of PTP1B and YopH was cre...
In situ chemical analysis of the gas-aerosol particle interface
Yuqin Qian, Gang-hua Deng, and Yi Rao The gas–aerosol particle interface is believed to contribute to the growth of secondary organic aerosols in the atmosphere. Despite its importance, the chemical composition of the interface has not been probed directl...
Undergrads Participate in USU Chem/Biochem Summer Internships
In the lab of Utah State University biochemist Sean Johnson, undergraduate Scott Adair discovered making mistakes, and developing the tenacity to keep trying, is a critical part of research...
USU-Uintah Basin Scientists' Research Improves Regulatory Outlook
Research conducted by Utah State University’s Bingham Research Center led to a marginal, rather than moderate, ozone nonattainment designation for the Uintah Basin by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA). Marginal is the lowest and least...
In 'Science': USU Biochemist and Colleagues Imagine World Beyond Fossil Fuel
Freeways choked with traffic, supermarkets laden with fertilizer-grown stock from distance fields and virtually everything we touch derived from petroleum-based plastics. It’s hard to imagine life beyond our fossil-fueled world. Black gold has brought......
Lisa Berreau Named Assoc. VP for Research and Assoc. Dean of Grad Studies
Lisa Berreau has been named associate vice president for research and associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Utah State University. Berreau will transition from her current position as...
Thermodynamic measures of binding strength in pnicogen, chalcogen, halogen, and hydrogen bonds
Jared B. Moss, Upendra Adhikari, and Steve Scheiner: Thermodynamic quantities ΔEelec, ΔH, and ΔG are computed by various different levels of ab initio quantum theory. The values obtained are searched for any reversals in order of stability between differe...
Two Better Than One: USU Chemists Advance Sustainable Battery Technology
Utah State University chemists’ efforts to develop alternative battery technology solutions are advancing and recent findings are highlighted in a renowned, international chemistry journal.
Electrolyzer design for flexible decoupled water splitting and organic upgrading with electron reservoirs
Wei Li, Nan Jiang, Bo Hu, Xuan Liu, Fuzhan Song, Guanqun Han, Taylor J. Jordan, Tanner B. Hanson, T. Leo Liu, Yujie Sun: Conventional water-splitting electrolysis drives the H2 and O2 evolution reactions (HER and OER, respectively) simultaneously with lar...
Two electron utilization of methyl viologen anolyte in nonaqueous organic redox flow battery
Methyl viologen (MV) as a bench-mark anolyte material has been frequently applied in aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFBs) towards large-scale renewable energy storage. However, only the first reduction of MV was utilized in aqueous electrolytes b...
Raising a Stink: USU Undergrad Rears Invasive Crop Pests for Research
The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, an invasive species from eastern Asia, is causing headaches for Utah growers and property owners. “These insects are polyphagous, meaning they eat many kinds of food and cause extensive crop damage,” says Utah State...
A sulfonate-functionalized viologen enabling neutral cation exchange, aqueous organic redox flow batteries toward renewable energy storage
Camden DeBruler, Bo Hu, Jared Moss, Jian Luo, and T. Leo Liu: Redox flow batteries using synthetically tunable and resource abundant organic molecules have gained increasing attention for large-scale energy storage. Herein we report a sulfonate-functional...
Targeting Disease: USU Undergrads Explore Emerging 'CRISPR' Technology
Mention emerging CRISPR (pronounced “crisper”) technology and many people think of “designer babies.” “When people hear ‘CRISPR,’ they think of a tool for editing DNA,” says Utah State University biochemist Ryan Jackson. “It’s actually
One-step synthesis of carbohydrate esters as antibacterial and antifungal agents
Madher N. AlFindee, Qian Zhang, Yagya Prasad Subedi, Jaya P. Shrestha, Yukie Kawasaki, Michelle Grilley, Jon Y. Takemoto, Cheng-Wei Tom Chang: Carbohydrate esters are biodegradable, and the degraded adducts are naturally occurring carbohydrates and fatty ...
Aerogen bonds formed between AeOF2 (Ae = Kr, Xe) and diazines: comparisons between r-hole and p-hole complexes†
Wiktor Zierkiewicz, Mariusz Michalczyka and Steve Scheiner: The interaction between KrOF2 or XeOF2 and the 1,2, 1,3, and 1,4 diazines is characterized chiefly by a Kr/XeN aerogen bond, as deduced from ab initio calculations. The most stable dimers take ad...
A π-conjugation extended viologen as a two-electron storage anolyte for total organic aqueous redox flow batteries
Extending the conjugation of viologen by a planar thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (TTz) framework and functionalizing the pyridinium with hydrophilic ammonium groups yielded a highly water-soluble π-conjugation extended viologen, 4,4′-(thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole-2,5...
Designer two-electron storage viologen anolyte materials for neutral aqueous organic redox flow batteries
Aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFBs) are highly attractive for large-scale energy storage because redox-active organic molecules are synthetically tunable, sustainable, and potentially low cost. Here, we show that rational molecular engineering y...
An H2S-sensing/CO-releasing flavonol that operates via logic gates
Tatiana Soboleva, Abby D. Benninghoff, and Lisa M. Berreau: Signaling molecules, including H2S and CO, are involved in a complex interplay within cells to maintain cellular homeostasis. In order to investigate the intracellular interplay of different gaso...
Suppression of wheat Fusarium head blight by novel amphiphilic aminoglycoside fungicide K20
Jon Y. Takemoto, Stephen N. Wegulo, Gary Y. Yuen, Julie A. Stevens, Charlene C. Jochum, Cheng-Wei T. Chang, Yukie Kawasaki, Gene W. Miller: K20 is a novel amphiphilic aminoglycoside capable of inhibiting many fungal species. K20's capabilities to inhibit ...
Dirac cones in two-dimensional borane
Miguel Martinez-Canales, Timur R. Galeev, Alexander I. Boldyrev, and Chris J. Pickard: We introduce two-dimensional borane, a single-layered material of BH stoichiometry, with promising electronic properties. We show that, according to Density Functional ...
Deoxycholate-enhanced shigella virulence Is regulated by a rare π-Helix in the type three secretion system tip protein IpaD
Abram R. Bernard, T. Carson Jessop, Prashant Kumar, and Nicholas E. Dickenson: Type three secretion systems (T3SS) are specialized nanomachines that support infection by injecting bacterial proteins directly into host cells. The Shigella T3SS has uniquely...
A bipyridine-ligated zinc(II) complex with bridging flavonolate ligation: synthesis, characterization, and visible-light-induced CO release reactivity
Shayne Sorenson, Marina Popova, Atta M. Arifb and Lisa M. Berreau: Metal–flavonolate compounds are of significant current interest as synthetic models for quercetinase enzymes and as bioactive compounds of importance to human health. Zinc–3-hydroxyfla...
Universal interrelation between measures of particle and polymer size
F. Vargas-Lara, M.L. Mansfield, J.F. Douglas: This paper explores interrelationships between the intrinsic viscosity, the hydrodynamic (or Stokes) radius, and the radius of gyration of polymers and particles.
Transition states and control of substrate preference in the promiscuous phosphatase PP1
Yuan Chu, Nicholas H. Williams, and Alvan C. Hengge
Effects of molecular structure and solvent polarity on adsorption of carboxylic anchoring dyes onto TiO2 particles in aprotic solvents
Hui Fang, Bolei Xu, Xia Li, Danielle L. Kuhn, Zander Zachary, Guocai Tian, Victoria Chen, Rosa Chu∥, Brendan G. DeLacy, Yi Rao , and Hai-Lung Dai: Interactions of molecules with the surface of TiO2 particles are of fundamental and technological importance...
Detection and quantification of gas-phase oxidized mercury compounds by GC/MS
Jones C.P., Lyman S.N., Jaffe D.A., Allen T., O’Neil T.L.: Most mercury pollution is emitted to the atmosphere, and the location and bioavailability of deposited mercury largely depends on poorly understood atmospheric chemical reactions that convert elem...
Quantification of low molecular weight n-alkanes in lake sediment cores for paleoclimate studies
Aebig, C.H.F., Curtin, L., Hageman, K.J., Moy, C.M., Beltran, C.: Organic biomarkers, such as n-alkanes, can be used as proxies in a range of paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental investigations. n-Alkanes accumulate in lacustrine sediments and can therefor...
A stable compound of helium and sodium at high pressure
Xiao Dong, Artem R. Oganov, Alexander F. Goncharov, Elissaios Stavrou, Sergey Lobanov, Gabriele Saleh, Guang-Rui Qian, Qiang Zhu, Carlo Gatti, Volker L. Deringer, Richard Dronskowski, Xiang-Feng Zhou, Vitali B. Prakapenka, Zuzana Konôpková, Ivan A. Popov,...
Thermal and elastic characterization of glassy carbon thin films by photoacoustic measurements
D.D. Markushev, J. Ordonez-Miranda, M.D. Rabasovi´c, M. Chirtoc, D.M. Todorovi´c, S.E. Bialkowski, D. Korte, and M. Franko: A portable photoacoustic device is designed and applied to measure thermal diffusivity and linear thermal expansion coefficient of ...
External stimuli responsive 2D charge transfer polymers
Zhuolei Zhang, Beibei Xu, Bolei Xu, Lei Jin, Hai-Lung Dai, Yi Rao, Shenqiang Ren: 2D conjugated charge-transfer polymers hold the fundamental importance of both atomically defined molecular structures and unique spatial confinement for distinctive and exo...
Melissa Kofoed
Faculty member in the College of Science, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
