FROM THECHAIR
Dear Alumni and Friends,
This is my last year as the Chairperson for our beloved department. In July 2024 I will return to my faculty role to focus on research and teaching – core activities that attracted me and others to UNC Chemistry. It’s been an awe inspiring and challenging four years. Together, we have overcome the impact of COVID-19 and the horrific events on August 28, 2023. I am heartened at how our community has come together, more driven and capable. As I reflect upon my tenure as Chairperson, I find myself continuously returning to the many reasons we also have to celebrate.
This year ’ s edition focuses on the strength of theoretical chemistry in our department, beginning with the foundations laid by Oscar Rice, Robert Parr, JJ Hermans, Lee Pedersen, Max Berkowitz, and Michael Rubinstein and showcasing the breadth of research currently underway in the groups of Kanai, Dobrynin, Lu, and Pieri. The rich, strong history in theory has been expanding and will be spotlighted in the upcoming year with the American Conference on Theoretical Chemistry in June 17-20, 2024 on UNC’s campus.
We also continue our year in celebration of women in chemistry, which will culminate with a day-long event on April 19, 2024 on our campus
It’s more important than ever in light and remembrance of our losses to acknowledge our successes and triumphs. We hope you will join us in 2024 for one (or all) of our stimulating events and urge you to give to the Say Yes fund so we can continue this impactful work.
“This is a very special department,” as former Chair and Chancellor Holden Thorp put it. Well, it is YOU – all of you, past and present members of UNC Chemistry – that have made this place special. Indeed, it is truly a privilege to serve this department in the capacity of Chairperson for four years. Thank you all for your continued support to UNC Chemistry.
Warmly,
WeiYou Department
Chairperson chemchair@unc.edu
Featuring:
Scientifictalksbywomen leadingthefieldinchemistry
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Savethedate:April19,2024
Located on UNC Carolina’s campus
QuestionsmaybedirectedtoJillianDempsey,RalphHouse,orMarceyWaters
TheAmericanConferenceon TheoreticalChemistry(ACTC)has beenheldeverythreeyearssince 1972.ACTCbringstogetherthe theoreticalchemistrycommunity todiscussthelatestcutting-edge research.
ElectronicStructure
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RudolphA. Marcus Roald Hoffmann
FEATURE ARTICLE Thriving
Ahistoricalperspectiveof theoreticalchemistryatthe UniversityofNorthCarolinaat ChapelHill
Theoretical chemistry became a recognizable field in the early 1900s, and its development was largely facilitated by the development of quantum mechanics, with Schrödinger’s publication of the theory of wave mechanics in 1926. Carolina Chemistry has been at the forefront of this research and education since the arrival of Professor Oscar K Rice to the department in 1936 as the first UNC Carolina professor of theoretical chemistry. Professor Rice was among the new generation of young American scientists who crossed the Atlantic Ocean to study in Germany and experienced the exciting new era of quantum theory firsthand.
InstitutingaTheoreticalFoundation THROUGH THEORY
Professor Rice’s contributions included new insights from his firsthand knowledge of the newly developed quantum theory into studies of molecular reaction rate theory and critical transition phenomena. He first attracted notice of his work with his pioneering 1929 paper “On the Quantum Mechanics of Chemistry Reactions” which describes one of the first uses
By UNC Chemistry Communication
of quantum theory in studying chemical reactions. In the seminal paper on the LandauZener formula in 1932*, Landau noted that Rice had already recognized the fundamental role of quantum-mechanical crossing between potential energy surfaces, marking Rice truly the first to posit such a connection and positioning UNC Chemistry to lead the field in research and education.
Within his early years at Carolina, Professor Rice enjoyed collaboration and close friendship with another great theorist, Professor Fritz London at Duke University, publishing important works on superfluidity† in 1940s and expanding Carolina’s influence within the field.
*L. Landau, Physikalische Zeitschrift der Sowjetunion 1(1932):88. †Physics Today 3 (5), 34 (1950); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3066887
with the expertise of Professors Kanai, Pedersen, Berkowitz, and Samulski
Old Venable Hall in 1957
Dr.Riceshapesthefuture ofUNCTheoretical Chemistryandbeyond
While Professor Rice continued to work on several theoretical topics throughout his long scientific career, his pioneering work on superfluidity, molecular reaction rates, and critical transitions played a pivotal role in shaping the future of two great theoretical chemists of the twentieth century, Professor Rudolph A. Marcus and Professor Benjamin Widom.
Both Marcus (winner of the Nobel Prize in 1992) and Widom worked as post-doctoral researchers with Rice at Carolina in the 1950s. While Marcus worked on reaction rate theory with Rice, Widom worked on phase transitions and critical phenomena. The seminal Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) theory was developed while Marcus was still a post-doctoral researcher, and the work led to his career-long passion for studies of reaction dynamics*. In his Nobel Prize interview with Sture Forsen, Marcus describes coming to Carolina to do theoretical work with Rice in 1948, recounting that Rice steered him in the direction of adding a quantum framework to the already established RRK theory. Before long, Marcus, with the help of his discussions with Rice, had successfully enhanced the RRK theory (thereafter becoming the RRKM theory) and applied it to real systems, forming the foundations for his future research. For Widom, Rice’s then-new interests in phase transition and critical phenomena were pivotal for his career-long study at Cornell University where Widom would become an influential theorist of his own.
Professor Rice also played other critical roles in the foundational era of theoretical chemistry, particularly as an Associate Editor in 1930s and 1940s for the Journal of Chemical Physics, which continues to be a central journal in the field of theoretical chemistry. Rice was elected in to the National Academy of Sciences in 1964. He worked on his research until the moment he passed away in 1978, with his last two papers published posthumously by Professor Widom.
*J. Chem. Phys. 20, 359–364 (1952) https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1700424
Oscar Rice (right) in conversation in 1960
Oscar Rice (front row, second from right) with speakers for symposium honoring his 65th birthday (1968)
Oscar Rice (center) and other chemistry faculty looking over documents (1968)
Oscar Rice steals a base in the Senior-Faculty softball game of 1939
ExpandingTheoryinUNCChemistry
By then, Professor Rice had ensured that the torch of Carolina’s theoretical chemistry research would pass to a new generation He had been instrumental in recruiting new faculty to Carolina and had succeeded by attracting noted theorists such as Professor Lee Pedersen in 1967, Professor J J Hermans in 1968, and Professor Robert Parr in 1974
Professor Pedersen joined UNC because Professor Rice was at UNC and in fact was helping Rice develop a computer program when Pedersen visited him in the hospital for the last time. Pedersen’s career benefited from and coincided with the time of rapid advances in computer technology, fostering the development of new quantum mechanical calculation programs, high-resolution graphics for 3-dimensional modeling, and the increasing availability of 3-dimensional structures of macromolecules from experiments.
With the exciting computational development for theoretical chemistry, Professor Pedersen contributed to the understanding of the hydrogen bond, rotational barriers, the unique metal binding properties of vitamin K-dependent proteins which occur in the blood coagulation cascade, to the properties of betaamyloid, thought by many, to be involved in the critical clumps in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. In 1993, with the collaboration of the mathematician Tom Darden and graduate student Darrin York, the celebrated Particle Mesh Ewald (PME) method for computing electrostatic forces was born. Pedersen has since retired from the department, but still returns regularly to share his knowledge and keep up to date with the goings on of the current faculty.
When Professor J. J. Hermans joined the department, he did so as a University Distinguished Professor with an established career already behind him. His background traced to Groningen and Leiden in the Netherlands, around late 1930s, but he emigrated to the US in 1958. The research he specialized in covered broad areas of theory of the behavior of natural and synthetic macromolecules in solution or in polymeric mixtures. With more than 20 productive years at the end of his career at UNC, he impacted a great number of the up-and-coming chemists at UNC-CH and can still be felt even after his passing. Hermans was a master of classical and mathematical physics which he shared liberally and used to great effect in his teaching, collaborations, and research. The department remembers him with a yearly seminar named in his honor.
Oscar Rice (left) and Robert Parr (right)
Lee Pedersen (1967)
Lee Pedersen (courtesy of Lee Pedersen) Rudolph Pariser (left) and Robert Parr (right)
J. J. Hermans (1970)
At the height of the UNC Chemistry department’s faculty expansion push of the 1960s and 1970s, the department was able to attract Professor Robert Parr from Johns Hopkins. Parr was already famous for his beautiful work with Dr. Rudy Pariser on how to compute the electronic spectra of unsaturated molecules by application of the Zero Differential Overlap approximation that he had rationalized. He had a large, international-based, group and the focus at UNC-CH became the development of density functional theory (DFT) as a predictive chemical tool.
PROFESSORPARRJOINSUNCCHEMISTRY
Professor Parr had many great students who went on to do a number of incredible things, with Weitao Yang being amongst the greatest and who now resides in the chemistry department at nearby Duke, where he is a prominent chaired professor. In 1989, Bob and Weitao wrote a treatise (Density Functional Theory, Oxford Press) which has become a central mainstay in the rapid development of this theory. Honoring the great contribution of both Parr and Dr Pariser and their friendship, the Pariser and Parr families donated
generously so that new generations of young scientists can learn from some of the best theoretical chemists through this annual colloquium series. The inaugural Pariser-Parr lecture was delivered by Professor Weitao Yang. The Pariser-Parr lecturers have since included some of the best theoretical chemists today, including several Nobel laureates and National Academy of Sciences members.
ADDINGATHEORETICIAN
Professor Max Berkowitz joined the department in 1983. Berkowitz has a background of studying physics and chemistry at Novosibirsk, the Weizmann Institute, Purdue (Adleman) and Houston (McCammon), which has led him to become a concept-driven scientist who works on problems at the boundary of chemistry and physics, such as ion solvation and molecular binding to lipid bilayers. In addition to collaborating with Professor Parr on two important papers, he worked tirelessly to improve molecular dynamics studies on condensed systems, in particular membranes. Like Professor Pedersen, he has since retired from the faculty, but still often returns to our halls to share his expertise and ideas.
Robert Parr teaching in front of a blackboard filled with equations (courtesy of Endeavors)
Max Berkowitz (1983)
Robert Parr (1999)
ROUNDINGOUTTHETHEORETICIANSOFTHE20THCENTURY
The last theoretician to join the department during the late 20th century was the brilliant polymer theoretician Professor Michael Rubinstein, who joined UNC in 1995 after leaving Eastman Kodak. Like Berkowitz, Rubinstein has a Russian background in the physical sciences, with training also in the US at Cal Tech and Harvard. His research focused on scaling and theory of polymers and soft matter. In 2003 he coauthored with Ralph Colby a textbook (Polymer Physics, Oxford) which become an acclaimed textbook on polymers. While Rubinstein transitioned into Professor Emeritus status at UNC in 2018 to help develop a new materials research program at Duke, he continues to collaborate regularly with his UNC colleagues.
ENTERING A NEW ERA
TIME-DEPENDENTELECTRONICSTRUCTURE
Professor Yosuke Kanai’s arrival to Carolina in 2011 marked the start of a new theoretical chemistry research program at UNC that focused on the emerging topic of non-equilibrium electron dynamics and excitation in complex heterogeneous systems. Kanai’s major research effort on the development of real-time time-dependent DFT is focused on venturing into this new area of scientific exploration.
His general interest in dynamical phenomena has also spurred collaboration with Professor Berkowitz, to explore how charge equilibration plays a significant role in understanding the dynamical behavior of ions in water
Another recent area of Professor Kanai’s research has focused on the development of computational methods from quantum field theory to overcome key shortcomings of DFT for studying electronic excitation. This new paradigm represents a growing trend of convergence between theoretical condensed matter physics and quantum chemistry at the frontiers of electronic structure theory. It also reflects how topics in quantum chemistry today have evolved from studies of small molecules in the gas phase to include increasingly complex heterogeneous systems in the condensed phase.
Michael Rubinstein (courtesy of Duke University)
Yosuke Kanai
THERMODYNAMICS ANDSTATISTICAL MECHANICS
The Department of Chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill welcomed Professor Zhiyue Lu in 2019 to bring expertise in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics
Lu's research group pioneers nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and stochastic thermodynamics, two fields recognized for their critical role in deciphering nonequilibrium processes in biological and chemical systems. Lu aims to understand the energy and information transduction between farfrom-equilibrium systems and their environments. This is crucial to understanding how complex abiotic molecular ensembles can exhibit life-like properties and intelligence. Harnessing energy from nonequilibrium environments to sustain their functionality is a key feature of living systems.
His group's primary focus is to illuminate the universal physical limits and practical design principles of life-like properties in complex nonequilibrium chemical systems. The ability to sense, recognize, and respond to environmental information (i.e. intelligence) is another important feature of living matter, and Lu and his group are currently working on a mathematical analysis of information transduction by molecular complexes for designing efficient biological sensors and smart molecules.
Lu group’s work on manipulating thermodynamics on non-equilibrium paths
POLYMERS AND SOFT MATTER
Professor Andrey Dobrynin brought expertise to polymer-focused theoretical chemistry as a well-recognized soft-matter/polymer theorist in his own right when he was recruited to UNC as Mackenzie Distinguished Professor in 2020, firmly placing an important cornerstone in the vibrant and exciting program in polymer chemistry at UNC.
His research is focused on development of computational and theoretical models of networks and gels, polyelectrolyte solutions and gels, charged polymers at surfaces and interfaces, electrostatic interactions in biological systems, wetting and adhesion, graphene based polymeric materials, nanocomposites, soft matter physics, and biophysics. New directions his research group is pursuing include the development of computer models for 3D printing and advanced additive manufacturing, computationally-driven and AI-based materials design. Together with the polymer and materials faculty in the department he continues development of a multidisciplinary materials research program at UNC-CH
Zhiyue Lu
Andrey Dobrynin
COMPUTATIONALCHEMISTRYTAKESTHESTAGE
As we look to the future, we are entering another age where computing technology is poised to make great advances in theoretical chemistry. Elisa Pieri’s arrival in the spring of 2023 signals this new era of exciting chemistry at UNC-CH. Pieri and her group aim to bring this new focus of computational chemistry to tackle the challenging multiscale problem of photochemistry. Uncovering how photochemical reactions work is a daunting task that involves understanding how different physical processes such as the electronic excitation, couplings between different electronic states or nonadiabatic dynamics, collectively impact each other.
Pieri embarks on an exciting journey at the new frontier in photochemistry with state-of-the-art computational chemistry on her side, to rationally designing new light-activated molecules and proteins that advance the fields of bio-imaging and optogenetics.
LOOKINGAHEAD
Theoretical chemistry has been a major component of the department since the development of the field. By advancing the concept of what is possible and why, these chemists open new questions for the rest of the department to consider. UNC Chemistry has been thriving in chemical theory for almost 100 years and will continue this tradition of
Elisa Pieri
Anabaena Sensory Rhodopsin modeled with Constant pH Molecular Dynamics to reproduce pH-dependent spectral shifts Authors: Elisa Pieri and Alessio Valentini
Artwork by Krishana Makwana
ASelectAppendix
TOPHISTORICALTHEORYPAPERSFROMUNCCHEMISTRY
T H E K I N E T I C S
O F T H E
R E C O M B I N A T I O N O F
M E T H Y L R A D I C A L S
A N D I O D I N E A T O M S
Marcus, R. A., & Rice, O. K. (1951). The kinetics of the recombination of methyl radicals and iodine atoms
The Journal of Physical Chemistry, 55(6), 894–908
Times Cited: 592 (from Web of Science) 933 (from Google Scholar) as of 10/24/23
This study treats the two main problems presented by radical recombinations: the magnitude of the steric effects tending to reduce the rate below that calculated by the kinetic theory of collisions (this effect gives rise to the so-called “steric” factor) and the effect of pressure on the rate of recombination
Lee, C., Yang, W., & Parr, R. G. (1988). Physical Review B, 37(2), 785–789
Times Cited: 38,860 (from Web of Science)
107,206 (from Google Scholar) as of 10/24/23
A correlation-energy formula due to Colle and Salvetti, in which the correlation energy density is expressed in terms of the electron density and a Laplacian of the second-order Hartree-Fock density matrix, is restated as a formula involving the density and local kinetic-energy density
A S M O O T H P A R T I C L E
M E S H E W A L D
M E T H O D
Essmann, U., Perera, L., Berkowitz, M. L., Darden, T., Lee, H., & Pedersen, L. G. (1995). The Journal of Chemical Physics, 103(19), 8577–8593
Times Cited: 4,307 (from Web of Science) 20,687 (from Google Scholar) as of 10/25/23
The previously developed particle mesh Ewald method is reformulated in terms of efficient Bspline interpolation of the structure factors.
Darden, T , York, D , & Pedersen, L (1993) The Journal of Chemical Physics, 98(12), 10089–10092.
Times Cited: 5,227 (from Web of Science) 27,819 (from Google Scholar) as of 10/24/2
An N log(N) method for evaluating electrostatic energies and forces of large periodic systems is presented. The method is based on interpolation of the reciprocal space Ewald sums and evaluation of the resulting convolutions using fast Fourier transforms
Graduate Awards
Caroline Mohler -
Charles Teeples -
Don Mctaggart -
NSFGraduateFellowship ResearchProgram
NSFGraduateFellowship ResearchProgram
NSFGraduateFellowship ResearchProgram
Emily Sherman -
Evan Stair -
NSFHonorableMention
NSFGraduateFellowship ResearchProgram
Jack SundburgEndeavorsArticleFeature Subject
Justine Drappeau -
Olivia Steiner -
Samantha Clouthier -
NSFGraduateFellowship ResearchProgram
NSFGraduateFellowship ResearchProgram
NSFGraduateFellowship ResearchProgram
Sydney Towell -
NSFGraduateFellowship ResearchProgram
AleighaKozlik-
Annika BridgeAnnaVu-
Undergraduate Awards
The Carrie Ann Largent Scholarship
The Tommie and Billie Hinton Undergraduate Research Fellowship & The Tanya R. Ellison Scholarship
The Rauch-King Undergraduate Student Research Award
Anthony Bello -
The Carrie Ann Largent Scholarship & The Jason D. Altom Memorial Award for Undergraduate Research
Benjamin Nguyen -
The Carrie Ann Largent Scholarship
Corey Lee DavisACS Pride-Merck Award
Daniel Obafemi -
Elias Arroyo -
Elliott Tucker -
Elsa Huebsch -
Emily Barkley -
Emily Jordan -
Emma Steude -
Jack Roche -
Jackson Sweet -
Kelly Yun -
The James H. Maguire Memorial Award
The David L. Stern Scholar Award
The Carrie Ann Largent Scholarship
The Jason D. Altom Memorial Award for Undergraduate Research
The Maurice Bursey Undergraduate Research Award & The James H. Maguire Memorial Award
The Emmett Gladstone Rand Premedical Scholarship
Thurman Freeze Scholarship Award
The James H. Maguire Memorial Award
The Rauch-King Undergraduate Student Research Award
The Carrie Ann Largent Scholarship & The David L. Stern Scholar Award
Madison Stewart -
Tommie and Billie Hinton Undergraduate Research Fellowship & The James H. Maguire Memorial Award
Maya Spencer - The Francis P. Venable Medal
Megan Hnilica -
The E.C. Markham Summer Research Award
Melissa Schroder -
The David L. Stern Scholar Award & The Emmett Gladstone Rand Premedical Scholarship
Meredith Daughtridge -
Michael Eng -
Nicholas Boyer -
Paola RosaroOwen Young -
The Jason D. Altom Memorial Award for Undergraduate Research
The James H. Maguire Memorial Award
The James H. Maguire Memorial Award
Chapel Family Undergraduate Research Award
Tommie and Billie Hinton Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Reilly Mellert -
The Emmett Gladstone Rand Premedical Scholarship
Ruta Petrikis -
The Jason D. Altom Memorial Award for Undergraduate Research
Samantha Machinski -
The David L. Stern Scholar Award
Savannah Gizzard -
Spencer Hurley -
Sydney Shapiro -
The Tanya R. Ellison Scholarship
Mia Pizzagalli and Ken Shelton Undergraduate Research Award
The Emmett Gladstone Rand Premedical Scholarship
Thomas Redvanly -
The James H. Maguire Memorial Award
Tien Phan -
The Francis P. Venable Medal
Trevor Du - The Jackson-Freeze Award
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
PETERDYKEMAN-BERMINGHAM
Year:4thyearintheKnightlab
Service Affiliation: VP and President-elect of the Joint Safety Team along with also the chair of the Student Colloquiumcommittee
“Iaminvolvedbecauseitisagreatopportunitytomeetpeoplein the department and to learn new skills The best part of being involved has been working with and getting to know the departmentstaff “
SARAHNAGY
CHARLOTTE MONTGOMERY
Year:4thyearintheDempseylab
Service Affiliation: Chair for Industry Recruiting for the Graduate CommitteeforProfessionalDevelopment
“In my role as the Chair for Industry Recruiting with the GCPD, I aim to foster meaningful connections between graduate students, postdocs, and industry representatives Oneofthebestfeelingsiswhenourplannedevents,ranging from our annual networking event (A2i) to company visits, come to fruition
The biggest highlight for me lies in seeing our students and postdocs secure remarkablepost-graduatepositionsbecauseofconnectionsforgedatGCPD events I encourage everyone in the department to take advantage of the networking and professional development opportunities that GCPD provides toprepareforlifeaftergraduation–it’snevertooearlytostartattendingour events!”
Year:4thyearintheSchoenfischlab
ServiceAffiliation:Co-chairoftheSustainability Committee
“I was a part of sustainability groups in college, so I am grateful for thisopportunitytocontinuemyvolunteerworkhere.Oneofthemost rewarding parts of serving is seeing change within such a large department firsthand. The appreciation and feedback that people givemotivatesme(andtherestofthecommittee)towardsourgoal ofever-improvingsustainablepracticeswithinchemistry!”
ANNMARIEMAY
OURTNEYJOHNSON
4thyearintheSchoenfischlab
ceAffiliation:AssociationofChemistryGraduate entsPresident,GraduateStudiesCommitteeuateStudentRepresentative,Graduate evementMentorshipmentor
erving the UNC chemistry community in a variety of different Ihavetheopportunityupholdexistingtraditionsandforgenew as well as build important relationships across the department ng graduate students, post docs, faculty, and staff together. I d in chemistry because I loved the science, but ultimately d because of the people, and participating in these izations has allowed me to give back to those who make me a scientist It has been so exciting to see collaboration extends beyondthebench!"
Year:5thyearintheDempseylab Service Affiliation: Joint Safety Team - Secretary & CommunicationsLead
“It's been an exciting year for the Joint Safety Team! This year, our committee implemented a variety of new initiatives, including industrypartnered safety seminars and hands-on lab safety officer workshops. Bringing these opportunities to UNC Chemistry has been extremely rewarding and I've greatly enjoyed working alongside our graduate students, faculty, and staff to build a strong safety culture within the d
JAKESIRLIN
Year:4thyearintheMeyerlab
ServiceAffiliation:Co-FounderoftheJointWellnessTeam (JWT) and Member of the Student and Postdoc Wellness (SWELL)Committee
“I would define an excellent chemist as a good chemist who can see beyond the bench An excellent chemist knows that their impact is not defined by their number of publication or prestige If your research is impactful, those will always come in due time But if you areanexcellentresearcher,anexcellentchemist,youknowthatyour impact stops with you if you don’t ensure the wellness and ability of thosewhofollowyou.
eonewhohaslostsightofwhatitmeanstobeexcellent,pleaseknowtheir lackofexcellencedoesnotdefineyouasachemistorasaperson.Youmatter,youcanandwillbeexcellent,andyou deserve the support, mentorship, wellness needed to achieve your maximum potential. That is why I serve in this department,sothatIandothersatUNCcanfindthosesupportsystems,evenwhenthosewethoughtwereexcellent letusdown”
Celebrate the Foundation of a Strong Chemistry Department
By Laura Yurco
This year we continue to hire and celebrate exceptional staff to support the research and teaching mission of the department of Chemistry. We hired five new staff this year and two of our staff members won awards for their exceptional service to the department, university, state and beyond.
The five new staff hired this year support all areas of the department and come from different walks of life. Katelyn Howe and Nicole Pifer, support the human resources operations to hire the best and brightest researchers and teachers. Katelyn left the classroom setting after nine years of teaching to join the human resources team and gain a better work/life balance. She shared that she “enjoys working as the HR (Human Resources) lead for graduate students because I can still help support students/faculty in a different way than just being in a classroom setting.” Nicole relocated to North Carolina after working in K-12 education in Nevada., When asked, she explained that she “felt that UNC would be a great place to work and continue my career growth...and is enjoying getting to know the faculty and staff.”
Innocent Shuro supports our electron microscopy and atomic force instrumentation in CHANL, as well as outreach and education efforts. He shared that what brought him to UNC was “the opportunity to be affiliated to a US public university ranked fourth in the country … [and that] he finds the research undertaken in the department to be innovative, applicable, challenging and fulfilling ”
Cristina Arciniega joined the department in the Mass Spectrometry core bringing her experience as a chemical engineer and analytical chemist. She expressed that this role is "where I could apply my current knowledge and learn new things.”
Mac McNamee is a UNC-Chapel Hill Chemistry alumni who has joined the Undergraduate Laboratory program. They “really enjoyed [the] experience as a teaching assistant and lab instructor during [their] graduate studies here... [the] role allows me opportunities to both teach and to develop, run, and supervise wet lab experiments ”
Julianne Hall joined UNC-Chapel Hill Chemistry as the pedagogical program coordinator last year and is a former UNC Chapel Hill Chemistry alum. Julianne returned to the department after being a high school chemistry teacher to focus more on her growing family, while still impacting chemistry education. She “loves being surrounded by colleagues who work hard to improve chemistry education and student learning for students from all backgrounds.” She received the Perfect Addition Staff Member of the Year Award, intended to recognize a staff member who has been with the university less than 2 years and consistently exemplifies the University's mission of integrity, collaboration, respect & highlevel customer service She “ was honored to be recognized by our teaching faculty for my work last year, as a new member of the department. It feels good to be valued by the teams I am a part of here.”
Ralph House is the Associate Chair for Research and UNC Chapel Hill Chemistry alumni, and this year he received the Governor’s Award for his outstanding work of going above the call of duty to serve the people of North Carolina and beyond. In his current role he “really enjoys the opportunity to learn about and work across a breadth of scientific disciplines…and the challenges of administration in a research active department.” He shared it was “ an honor to be recognized” and finds that “it’s a privilege to work with some of the smartest and most creative individuals in the country who push me to be the best version of myself every time I walk into our buildings.”
The department is lucky to have such capable staff, many of whom are UNC Chemistry alumni, to ensure UNC Chemistry remains one of the top Chemistry programs in the country It would not be possible without them
Photos from the Charles H. and Margaret M. Witten Chemistry Colloquium (A, B, H)
Photos from the J J Hermans Colloquium (C, I)
Photos from Pariser-Parr Colloquium (D,F, G)
Photos from Eastman Colloquium (E)
GIVING BACK: A Generous Supporter of UNC Chemistry
Theoretical chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has always been recognized, and rightfully so, for its leadership in the field. The research discoveries, born from numerous conversations and debates around blackboards, markerboards, and computers, have been an ever-present thread through my life and the multitudes of students who we ’ ve trained to carry our legacy forward Those students, and the preservation of the rigor that has come to define theoretical chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill, is the reason I support the Pariser-Parr lecture each year.
I whole-heartedly believe the future is built on conversations that occur when we gather together inperson to meet friends, colleagues, and new people to discuss, listen, and learn from each other. It is such a special and wonderful thing to watch over a hundred people - faculty, students, postdocs, and staff alike - gather in celebration of modern theoretical chemistry, to hear and learn from our world’s leading experts in the field. This issue of the newsletter has been dedicated, in part, to celebrate our legacy in theoretical chemistry. I see it every year during the lecture and know that our future is bright. Through our support, we can ensure the legacy continues for generations to come and hope you will join me in celebrating theoretical chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill through your giving.
GIVE THE GIFT OF EDUCATION
The Say Yes Funds allow the Chair to ‘Say Yes!’ to exceptional and urgent requests from Chemistry Faculty, Staff, Graduate Students and Postdocs for small yet valuable amounts of support, which contribute greatly to their research and education. By Saying “Yes!” many new and exciting ideas have ignited for Chemistry education and research. Not only did new ideas spark, collaborations formed that may have otherwise gone undiscovered. The funds provide necessary resources for the expansion of research education and
opportunities. This year, funds enabled undergraduate students to engage in summer research with our renowned faculty, supported the purchase of new instrumentation that increased research capabilities for student researchers and established a new student mentorship program.
Your gifts to the “Say Yes” fund have already provided so many wonderful opportunities for our students and faculty. With your help, we can bring in the new year with the support needed for an exciting future ahead. Say Yes to Chemistry by contributing today, even the smallest gift will make a tremendous difference.
DepartmentofChemistry
UniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill
125 South Rd. CB #3290 Chapel Hill, NC 27599 chemistry@unc.edu 919-843-7100
GivetheGiftofEducation!
Your gifts to the “Say Yes” fund provide so many wonderful opportunities to our students and faculty. With your help, we can bring in the new year with the support needed for an exciting future ahead. To make a gift today, you may use your phone or tablet camera to scan the QR code or visit chem.unc.edu/home/give/. We thank you in advance for saying “Yes” to chemistry!
chem.unc.edu/give
To learn more about gift options, please contact Colleen Sisneros, Associate Director of Development at csisnero@email.unc.edu or 919962-6182.
