Undergraduate Summer Research Program in Catalysis Accepting Applications

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.

Chemists and chemical engineers in CENTC collaborate on understanding, designing, and developing new catalysts that will allow for more efficient, economic and greener technologies in the chemical industry. Undergraduate fellowships are available to conduct research at a choice of CENTC’s 14 locations during the summer of 2014. The program is 10 weeks long, running June 16 - August 22, 2014. Fellows will receive a stipend and compensation for travel and housing. For more information and to complete an application visit www.nsfcentc.org.

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

Visit the CENTC website to learn more about our research.

CENTC Student William Ou is Regional Finalist in 2013 Siemens Competition

William Ou

William Ou from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas has been named a regional finalist in the 2013 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. William's research uses computations to model catalyst reactivity for an "aldehyde-water shift" reaction, with potential applications in biomass transformations, fine chemical synthesis, and renewable hydrogen production. This work with Tom Cundari at the University of North Texas is in collaboration with CENTC researchers at the University of Washington, University of California-Santa Barbara and Los Alamos National laboratory.

The Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology recognizes achievement in science research by high school students. William will be presenting a poster at the regional competition at the University of Texas at Austin November 8-9 for a chance to appear at the national finals in December in Washington, D.C.

Click here to learn more about the Siemens Competition.
Click here to read the University of North Texas press release.

CENTC Summer School "Enabling Sustainability and Innovation Through Catalysis"

July 22-26, 2013
University of Washington Campus
Seattle, Washington

The five-day program will feature pedagogical presentations by a diverse group of professionals focused on the process of innovation in catalysis and the chemical sciences from basic research to market. Activities will also include mini-workshops on proposal writing and intellectual property and patents. Advanced Ph.D. students, post-doctoral fellows, early-career researchers and faculty members from primarily undergraduate institutions who are interested in deepening their understanding of catalysis are encouraged to apply.

The summer school is being sponsored by the NSF Center for Enabling New Technologies through Catalysis (CENTC); expenses including transportation up to $700 (more if funding is available), housing and most meals will be covered for all accepted participants. Application deadline is April 15, 2013. For more information and to apply, visit the summer school website.

2013 CENTC Summer School Accepting Applications

CENTC is sponsoring a summer school to be held July 22 - 26, 2013 at the University of Washington in Seattle. The five-day program will feature pedegogical presentations by a diverse group of professionals focused on the process of innovation in catalysis and the chemical sciences from basic research to market. Activities will also include mini-workshops on proposal writing and intellectual property and patents. Advanced Ph.D. students, post-doctoral fellows, early-career researchers and faculty members from primarily undergraduate institutions who are interested in deepening their understanding of catalysis are encouraged to apply.

To learn more, visit the Summer School website.

John Hartwig Awarded 2013 ACS Catalysis Lectureship

Prof. John Hartwig

CENTC investigator John Hartwig has been selected as the winner of the 2013 ACS Catalysis Lectureship for the Advancement of Catalytic Science. The lectureship honors current groundbreaking research that enables better understanding of the links among the various subdisciplines of catalysis and also advances the field of catalysis as a whole. The lectureship is co-sponsored by the ACS Division of Catalysis Science & Technology and the ACS Publications journal ACS Catalysis.

The 2013 ACS Catalysis Lectureship for the Advancement of Catalytic Science will be presented at the Fall 2013 ACS National Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana and a symposium will be held in his honor.

The Catalysis Lectureship will be awarded to Prof. Hartwig in recognition of the important synthetic and mechanistic advances in a wide range of organic and catalytic reactions his group has made, including asymmetric allylic substitution, intermolecular hydroaminations of unactivated alkenes, and enantioselective as well as high-throughput methods for catalyst and reaction discovery. His achievements both in synthetic chemistry and mechanistic study, particularly those advances in catalytic amination and borylation, have proven highly influential on modern catalytic chemistry.

CENTC investigators are now two-for-two in winning this prestigious award. Prof. Alan Goldman was the winner of the inaugural 2012 ACS Catalysis Lectureship.

John Hartwig is the Henry Rapoport Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. Visit is group website to learn more about his research.
Read the entire 2013 ACS Catalysis Lectureship award announcement here.

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.