Fall/Winter 2022 Alumni Magazine

FACULTY NEWS

Frank Leibfarth receives the Journal of Polymer Science Innovation award

By Laura Yurco

Assistant Professor Frank Leibfarth received the 2022 Journal of Polymer Science Innovation Award. This award recognizes significant research innovation and achievement in a polymer scientist under 40 years of age. The award consists of a symposium in honor of Dr. Leibfarth in association with the Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Division of the ACS and a dinner in recognition of the recipient at the ACS Fall meeting, a $5,000 prize, and travel expenses of up to $1,000 to the ACS Fall meeting for the award year.

Frank Leibfarth chosen for the Hettleman Prize

By UNC Chemistry Communication

Frank Leibfarth, Associate Professor of Chemistry, has been recognized as a recipient of the 2022 Ruth and Phillip Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement for his research contributions to the fields of polymer stereochemistry and polymer functionalization. Established in 1986 by the late Phillip Hettleman, a member of the Carolina class of 1921, and his wife Ruth, the primary aim of the award is to recognize the achievements of outstanding junior faculty. Recipients of the Hettleman Prize are recognized at a Fall Faculty Council meeting and invited to deliver a presentation on their research during the University’s annual University Research Week. The Hettleman Prize is considered one of Carolina’s most prestigious acknowledgements of faculty excellence.

Dr. Leibfarth’s research is focused on developing new methods for the synthesis of functional polymers with the goal of discovering and studying their emergent macromolecular behavior. His approach is rooted in the belief that convergence of organic, continuous-flow, and polymer chemistries holds the key to making materials smarter, more functional, and more sustainable for the future. Currently, his group’s focus centers around creating methods to control stereochemistry in ionic polymerizations, uncovering enhanced function in commodity polymers through selective C–H functionalization, and creating automated approaches for the synthesis of unique polymer architectures with novel functions.

Alex Miller wins the Laboratory Safety Institute Graduate Research Faculty Safety Award

By UNC Chemistry Communication

Alex Miller, professor of chemistry, has received the ACS Laboratory Safety Institute Graduate Research Faculty Safety Award. This award recognizes graduate-level academic research faculty who demonstrate outstanding commitment to chemical health and safety in their laboratories.

Dr. Miller is a standard bearer on lab safety for students and faculty. For example, in conjunction with Dr. Ian Tonks from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Miller developed The Safety Net, a comprehensive resource on lab safety that has been used and referenced in labs all around the country.

John Papanikolas retires after 25 years

By UNC Chemistry Communication

John Papanikolas, professor of chemistry, retired on July 1, 2022, and joined the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a full time program director.

Dr. Papanikolas joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1997. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2004 and to full Professor in 2013. In 2017, he joined the NSF as a part-time program director.

Dr. Papanikolas will also be remembered for having led the UNC-Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) as a Deputy Director starting in 2009. The EFRC still exists in Chemistry, but is now known as CHASE.

Dr. Papanikolas and his lab made contributions to the research of ultrafast spectroscopy and microscopy, along with molecular assemblies, electron transfer and energy transfer to explore semiconductor nanostructures in solar fuels applications.

A Circuitous Path: Brian Hogan shares about his mental health struggles

By John Roberts, University Communications

Brian Hogan's journey to becoming a teaching professor in the College of Arts and Science's chemistry department has been anything but a straight path. But through perseverance and an ask for help, the Tar Heel found a way to quiet the doubt that lingered in the

Brian Hogan (UNC-CH) back of his mind. To read more about his path and what he's doing now for students facing similar obstacles, visit https://www.unc.edu/discover/a-circuitouspath/ or scan the QR code above.

Alex Zhukhovitskiy receives DOE Early Career Award

By College of Arts and Sciences

Professor Alex Zhukhovitskiy has won an Early Career Award from the U.S. Department of Energy. The funding is part of DOE’s commitment to supporting the next generation of STEM leaders.

Zhukhovitskiy is an assistant professor of chemistry in UNC’s College of Arts & Sciences. The award is for $750,000 over five years. This is only the second time a UNC faculty member has won the award; the first recipient was Rene Lopez (department of physics and astronomy) in 2011.

DOE awarded $110 million for groundbreaking research by 83 early career scientists this year, representing 47 universities and 13 national labs in 29 states. Awardees were selected based on peer review by outside scientific experts.

Zhukhovitskiy’s winning project is “Upcycling of All-Carbon Polymer Backbones into Value- Added Amines via Skeletal Rearrangement.”

During the past century, development of polymers — large molecules formed by repeated linking of smaller units — has enabled unparalleled global technological progress. However, this progress has come at the cost of a global plastics pollution crisis. Among the most abundant polymers that contribute to this pollution are vinyl polymers and polyolefins. Zhukhovitskiy’s project focuses on diene polymers, which make up a large proportion of commodity rubber materials and plastics but whose recycling remains an unsolved challenge. If successful, the proposed research will transform rubber waste into building blocks for functional materials. More broadly, it will advance plastic sustainability by introducing a new strategy — namely, skeletal rearrangements — for the upcycling of waste polymers.

The awards are part of the DOE Office of Science’s Early Career Research Program, which bolsters the nation’s scientific workforce by supporting exceptional researchers at the outset of their careers, when many scientists do their most formative work.

Research topics are required to fall within one of the Office of Science’s eight major program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Isotope R&D and Production, and Accelerator R&D and Production.

“Supporting America’s scientists and researchers early in their careers will ensure the U.S. remains at the forefront of scientific discovery and develops the solutions to our most pressing challenges,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The funding announced June 7 will allow the recipients the freedom to find the answers to some of the most complex questions as they establish themselves as experts in their fields.”

Zhiyue Lu earns NSF CAREER award

By UNC Chemistry Communication

Zhiyue Lu, assistant professor of chemistry, is the recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award.

The award will be applied to his project, “Bioinspired Nonequilibrium Design Principles of Molecular Information Machines” The Lu Group seeks to find the general design principles of molecular information machines and nextgeneration responsive materials, and to lay the theoretical foundation toward predicting the physical limits of the performances and thermodynamics costs for operating such smart materials.

“Our group aims to develop a non-equilibrium theory to quantify and predict the molecule’s intelligent response to various external stimuli,” explains Lu. “By learning f from living organisms that intelligently respond to complex environmental information, our theory will reveal the design principles of next–generation smart molecules and intelligent materials that mimic life.”

The CAREER award is the NSF’s most prestigious early-career faculty award. It recognizes individuals who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department.

Sidney Wilkerson-Hill selected for the Herman Frasch Foundation Grant

By UNC Chemistry Communication

Sidney Wilkerson-Hill, assistant professor of chemistry, received the 2022 Herman Frasch Foundation Grant. This award will be used to further his research question, “How does the functional group pattern on the cyclopropane ring affect insecticidal activity of pyrethroids?” Professor Wilkerson-Hill’s research aims to develop new reactions to incorporate strained carbon rings into molecules using highthroughput approaches.

“We believe our studies will identify a totally new class of pyrethroids,” explained Wilkerson-Hill. “Our approach enables a greater structural diversity of products that can be obtained. This allows us to systematically identify what structural features of these compounds are important to combating mosquitoes.”

The Herman Frasch Foundation Grant aims to benefit the agricultural development of the United States by advancing research in the field of agricultural chemistry. Awarded to tenure-track faculty for a period of 5 years, Prof. Wilkerson-Hill will receive funding from the grant to work on this project until 2027.