School News

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Optical (blue) and atomic force (purple) micrographs of a monolayer sheet of crosslinked, conjugated carbon formed using chemical synthesis and physical transfer techniques. This unusual type of material has thicknesses in the 1-2 nm range, and can be structured into patterned films, balloons, tubes, pleated sheets and other two and three dimensional shapes

The research teams of Jeffrey Moore and John Rogers are using new chemical processes to produce tough nanomembranes for possible use in molecular sieves and flexible displays. Their methods provide greater control over the composition of the membranes. RSC Chemistry World article — Nanowerk article.

Jeffrey Moore was elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Moore is known for developing self-healing plastics and most recently using mechanical force to alter the course of chemical reactions. UIUC News Bureau article.

Richard Braatz has been elected a Fellow of the International Federation on Automatic Control (IFAC) for 2008. He was recognized for his "contributions to the robust control of industrial systems".

John Rogers and Yonggang Huang have brought the possibility of stretchable, flexible sensors much closer to reality through their research in flexible silicon-based circuits. C&EN article — UIUC News article

Huimin Zhao is the recipient of the 2008 Young Investigator Award from the Division of Biochemical Technology of the American Chemical Society, sponsored by Genetech, Inc. He was cited for "pioneering contributions in the area of directed evolution for industrial and medical biotechnology applications".

Daniel Pack was one of 4 faculty to receive a 2008 Xerox Award for Faculty Research in the College of Engineering. He was cited for "outstanding research contributions on controlled-release drug delivery and the design of polymeric materials for human gene therapy", and for his extensive publication record.

Huimin Zhao was selected as one of six University of Illinois professors to win the University Scholars Award. UIUC News Bureau article

Kenneth Suslick is involved with the startup company Evolved Machines which is trying to build a device that is able to detect toxic materials, spoiling food, disease and degree of illness. San Francisco Chronicle article

Eric Oldfield and colleagues have developed a completely new method of treating serious Sthaphylococcus aureus infections. The compound BPH-652 is used to block the production of carotenoid in the bacteria allowing the infected person's immune system to fight the disease. UIUC News Bureau article

The imidazole ligated haem dimer has potential uses in low-temperature fuel cells

A simple iron complex made by Roman Boulatov's research team could pave the way for new oxygen reduction catalysts with potential uses in low-temperature fuel cells and may offer an alternative to expensive platinum catalysts currently used. RSC Science News article

The innovative course "The Chemistry and Biology of Everyday Life" developed by Yi Lu, Brandy Russell, and Lauren Denofrio is spiking interest. Lu has a recently published article in Science discussing the class. C&EN article

Martin Gruebele and collaborators have proven that protein folding modifies water molecules in the environment. Gruebele is presently at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany as a result of receiving the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Prize. Innovations Report article

Jeffrey Moore and colleagues at Illinois are working to develop composite materials such as reinforced plastics that will mend themselves if they get cracked, in much the same way as an animal's broken bone will heal. Economist Technology Monitor article (2/5/2008), Economist Technology Quarterly article (3/6/2008)
He also was named one of this year's Scientific American awardees. Department of Chemistry article

Todd Martinez and Ivan Ufimtsev demonstrated that quantum chemistry calculations on graphics cards can be completed over 100 times faster than on conventional CPUs. J. Chem. Theory Comput., ASAP Article

Optical micrograph of an array of devices on a quartz wafer. The inset provides a magnified view.

John Rogers and collaborating engineers at Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems have developed an all-nanotube transistor radio. UIUC News Bureau article

John Hartwig and Zhijian Liu were cited in Chemical & Engineering News for developing a rhodium catalyst system that can catalyze intramolecular cyclizations of aminoalkenes under mild conditions. C&EN article

Yi Lu and colleagues have designed the first buffer system that maintains the pH independently of temperature.
RSC Chemical Biology article
Department of Chemistry article

Paul Hergenrother is recipient of the 2008 Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry. He was cited for "outstanding research in biological chemistry of unusual merit and independence of thought and originality". More on the award...

SCS News — 2007