Alexander Miller is one of Forbes Magazine's "30 Under 30"

Alexander Miller

CENTC alumnus and collaborator Alexander Miller has been featured by Forbes Magazine in their annual listing of "30 Under 30". The individuals in each of 15 categories are selected as each field's brightest stars under the age of 30 who represent the entrepreneurial, creative and intellectual best of their generation.

Alexander Miller, who was recognized by Forbes under the category of "Energy", is currently Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina. From 2011-2012 he was a Dreyfus Environmental Chemistry Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Washington working with CENTC.

Click here to read the Forbes "30 Under 30" article.
Click here to learn more about Prof. Miller's research.

Mike Heinekey Named AAAS Fellow

Prof. Mike Heinekey

CENTC investigator D. Michael Heinekey has been elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The 2013 Fellows will be recognized for their contributions to science and technology at the Fellows Forum to be held on Feb 16, 2013 during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston.

Mike Heinekey is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Washington. His AAAS citation is in recognition of contributions to the field of organometallic chemistry, particularly for pioneering studies of dihydrogen and polyhydride complexes. Prof. Heinekey's election brings to 11 the number of AAAS Fellows in CENTC.

Read the AAAS press release and full list of new AAAS Fellows here.

CENTC Undergraduate Summer Research Program Accepting Applications

Get practical experience in chemical sciences this summer. The Center for Enabling New Technologies Through Catalysis (CENTC) invites college students with an interest in chemistry to apply for a unique summer research program as part of our NSF-funded, distributed center. 

Undergraduate fellowships are available to conduct research at a choice of CENTC’s 14 locations during the summer of 2013. Research projects include investigating new ways to produce clean, efficient fuels and ways to convert renewable resources to fuels and useful chemicals. The program is 10 weeks long, running from June 17, 2013 through August 23, 2013. Fellows will receive a stipend and compensation for travel and housing. For more information and to complete an application, visit this website.

Undergraduate students at all levels with an interest in chemical sciences will be considered for the program, with preference given to rising juniors and seniors. CENTC strongly encourages applications from women and individuals from groups underrepresented in the sciences. Previous research experience is not required, and participants must be United States citizens or permanent residents.

Visit the CENTC website to learn more about our research, and click here for the online application for the CENTC Undergraduate Summer Research Program.

SACNAS National Conference Features CENTC Symposium This Friday

The 2012 National Conference of the Society for the Advancement of Chicano and Native American Scientists (SACNAS) runs October 11-14 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. CENTC has sponsored and organized a symposium on "Advances in Research in Sustainable Energy Technologies" that is scheduled for the morning of Friday, October 12. If you will be at the conference be sure to come to this symposium and hear presentations by CENTC investigators Karen Goldberg (University of Washington) and Levi Thompson (University of Michigan), and CENTC Advisory Board member Emilio Bunel (Argonne National Lab).

Visit the SACNAS National Conference website for the symposium schedule.

New Process to Make Para-Xylene from Ethylene

CENTC investigator Maurice Brookhart and co-workers at the University of North Carolina have reported a method to selectively prepare para-xylene from only ethylene. Para-xylene, which is currently mainly manufactured by catalytic reforming of petroleum, is used in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) that is used as polyester fibers, resins and films for numerous applications. This new method could be used to manufacture para-xylene from natural gas or biomass sources and thus reduce reliance on oil.

Read the paper from Journal of the American Chemical Society, and the C&E News Science Concentrate.

Copper-based Water Oxidation Catalyst Reported in Nature Chemistry, Highlighted in C&E News

Copper-based electrocatalyst.

CENTC investigators James Mayer, Karen Goldberg, and graduate student Shoshanna Barnett have prepared a homogeneous, water oxidation catalyst containing the earth abundant metal copper. In work reported in Nature Chemistry, copper salts and bipyridine mixed at high pH form a bipyridine hydroxo complex that promotes dioxygen production. This work is of interest because electrolytic water oxidation to give dioxygen is a key challenge in the conversion of electricity to chemical fuels.

Read the paper from Nature Chemistry, and the C&E News Science Concentrate.

John Hartwig Elected to National Academy of Sciences

Prof. John Hartwig

CENTC investigator John Hartwig has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Established in 1863, the National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furthering science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Academy membership is one of the highest honors given to a scientist or engineer in the United States.

John Hartwig is the Henry Rapoport Chair in Organic Chemistry and Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.

To learn more and see the entire list of new members read the Academy press release.

Travel Scholarships Available for 2012 Green Chemistry Gordon Research Seminar

There are travel scholarships available to support US-based graduate students and postdocs attending the 2012 Green Chemistry Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) and Gordon Research Conference (GRC). The GRS takes places July 21-22 in Lucca (Barga), Italy and the GRC follows on July 22-27.

All applicants from US institutions who are accepted to both meetings will be automatically considered for travel support. Please note that individuals who receive this funding must arrange their travel in accordance with the Fly America Act.

GRS applicants who are interested in giving a talk or serving as a discussion leader should apply as soon as possible since those roles will be filled in late April. Space permitting, applications for poster presentations at the GRS and GRC will be accepted until June 23.

Meeting details and applications:

GRS: http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2012&program=grs_green

GRC: http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2012&program=greenchem 

For more information, contact GRS Associate Chair Margaret Scheuermann.

Huimin Zhao Awarded 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship

Huimin Zhao
Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

CENTC investigator Huimin Zhao has received a 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship. These fellowships are awarded annually by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, with 181 fellowships awarded in 2012 to a diverse group of scholars, artists and scientists. Appointed on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise, the successful candidates were chosen from a group of almost 3,000 applicants.

Dr. Huimin Zhao is the Centennial Endowed Chair Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and professor of chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, and bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Read the full list of 2012 Guggenheim Fellows here.

CENTC Undergraduate Skye Rios Receives NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Skye Rios

Skye Rios, an alumnus of the 2010 CENTC Undergraduate Summer Research Program, has been awarded a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Skye is a student at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina, and will be starting graduate school at the University of Colorado, Boulder this fall with plans to focus on alternative fuels research. Skye spent his summer in CENTC working with Prof. Mike Heinkey and graduate student Joe Meredith. "My experience at CENTC jumpstarted my career in a meaningful and clearly lasting way," he wrote.

The NSF Fellowship will provide Skye with three years of support including a $30,000 annual stipend, a $12,000 annual education allowance for tuition and fees, international research and professional development opportunities, and TeraGrid Supercomputer access. He is the third CENTC undergraduate to receive a Graduate Research Fellowship, joining 2011 Fellows Michele Sarazen and Ricardo Alamillo.

To learn more about the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, visit the program website.

CENTC Participates in AAAS Family Science Days

CENTC faculty, staff and students are spreading the news of the importance of catalysis as part of the National Science Foundation exhibit at Family Science Days during the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Family Science Days takes place on Saturday and Sunday, 18-19 February at the Vancouver Convention Centre, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

This community science showcase—featuring hands-on demonstrations and other family and kid-friendly activities—shines a spotlight on a broad range of educators working to promote an interest in science among the general public. The AAAS Annual Meeting is one of the most widely recognized global science events, with broad global media coverage. The theme of the 2012 meeting is “Flattening the World: Building a Global Knowledge Society”. Visit the AAAS meeting website to learn more.

Rutgers graduate student David Laviska explains how to use catalysis
to make "Elephant's Toothpaste".

Alan Goldman Selected for Inaugural ACS Catalysis Lectureship

Prof. Alan Goldman.
Photograph by Leo Goldman.

CENTC investigator Alan Goldman has been selected as the inaugural winner of the ACS Catalysis Lectureship for the Advancement of Catalytic Science. This new annual lectureship honors contributions of groundbreaking research that strengthens connections between catalysis subdisciplines and has a profound impact on catalysis as a whole. The award is co-sponsored by the American Chemical Society journal, ACS Catalysis, and the Division of Catalysis Science and Technology of ACS.

The inaugural ACS Catalysis Lectureship for the Advancement of Catalytic Science will be presented at the Fall 2012 ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Division of Catalysis Science and Technology will organize a symposium at this meeting to honor Alan.

The Catalysis Lectureship will be awarded to Prof. Goldman in recognition of his work on the activation of hydrocarbons and other small molecules, and contributions to mechanistic understanding of oxidative addition and reductive elimination processes at late metal centers. In particular, Alan’s recent research on catalytic dehydrogenation and aromatization using Ir pincer catalysts has provided both novel catalytic methodologies for C-H activation as well as new insights into the elementary steps involved in such processes.

Alan Goldman is Professor of Chemistry at Rutgers University. Visit his group's website to learn more about their research.

Karen Goldberg Elected AAAS Fellow

Prof. Karen Goldberg

CENTC Director Karen Goldberg has been elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The 2012 Fellows will be recognized for their contributions to science and technology at the Fellows Forum to be held on Feb 18, 2012 during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Karen Goldberg is Nicole A. Board endowed professor of Chemistry at the University of Washington. Her AAAS citation is for distinguished contributions to the field of organometallic chemistry, particularly for comprehensive studies of bond-making and bond-breaking reactions. Prof. Goldberg's election brings to 10 the number of AAAS Fellows in CENTC.

Read the full list of new AAAS Fellows here.