MIT Department of Chemistry

Highlights Researchers developed a single-molecule imaging technology that can track individual proteins in living cells over long periods of time. In the new study, they used the method to follow EGFR family receptors, which are implicated in several cancers, in human cells. They provide an unprecedented view of how the receptors pair and unpair over […]

Rick Kayser has been promoted from Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) Coordinator to Senior EHS Coordinator in the Department of Chemistry. “Rick has massively strengthened our ongoing, long-term commitment to safety,” said Department Head and Class of 1942 Professor Matthew D. Shoulders in an email announcing Kayser’s promotion to the community. “Chemistry’s expansive research areas […]

The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce that six of its students (a group consisting of current graduate students, an admitted graduate student, and an undergraduate student) have been named recipients of the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. 2026 Chemistry NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Recipients Samuel Charney (Admitted Graduate Student) C…

Oxygen is a cornerstone of chemistry, largely because it is so good at building the organic molecules that make up our world. Some oxygen-based compounds, called peroxides, are famous for being highly reactive—they act like “oxygen delivery trucks,” transferring atoms to other molecules. This process is essential for everything from creating new medicines to industrial […]

Originally from the DC metropolitan area, Jonah Horowitz is currently in his fourth year at MIT, where he is a member of Professor Moungi Bawendi‘s research group. Jonah’s work in the Bawendi Lab considers the properties of heavy-metal-free semiconductor nanocrystals that might be used in next-generation TVs. The team is trying to identify stable and […]

Six MIT affiliates — Denisse Córdova Carrizales SM ’26; Ria Das ’21, MNG ’22; Ronak Desai; Stacy Godfreey-Igwe ’22; Arya Rao; and Ananthan Sadagopan ’24 — have been named 2026 P.D. Soros Fellows. In addition, P.D. Soros Fellow Avinash Vadali will begin a PhD in condensed-matter physics at MIT this fall. The fellowship provides immigrants […]

Three MIT rising seniors have been selected to receive a 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, including Deeksha Kumaresh in the School of Engineering and Anna Liu and Charlotte Myersin the School of Science. An estimated 5,000 college sophomores and juniors from across the United States were nominated for the scholarships, of whom only 454 were selected. The Goldwater […]

Four MIT faculty members are among the roughly 250 leaders from academia, the arts, industry, public policy, and research elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the academy announced April 22. Thirteen additional MIT alumni were also honored. One of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies, the academy is also a leading center […]

The Department of Chemistry is pleased to welcome Dr. Danny Thach to the faculty, where he will launch his independent research career as an Assistant Professor effective January 16, 2027. Dr. Thach earned his BS in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin, where he conducted research in the lab of Professor Guangbin Dong. […]

Mitali Chowdhury ’24 and Christina Kim ’24 have been selected as 2026 Gates Cambridge Scholars. The highly competitive fellowship offers fully funded opportunities for postgraduate study in any field at Cambridge University in the U.K. Kim is a second-time Gates Cambridge Scholar. MIT students interested in the Gates Cambridge Scholar program should contact Kim Benard, […]

MIT Associate Professor Jacob Andreas of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science [EECS] and MIT Associate Professor Brett McGuire of the Department of Chemistry have been selected as the winners of the 2026 Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award. Established in 1982 as a permanent tribute to Institute Professor Emeritus Harold E. Edgerton’s great and enduring support f…

Often hailed as the most successful international environmental agreement of all time, the 1987 Montreal Protocol continues to successfully phase out the global production of chemicals that were creating a growing hole in the ozone layer, causing skin cancer and other adverse health effects. MIT-led studies have since shown the subsequent reduction in ozone-depleting substances […]

Cells are enveloped by a lipid membrane that gives them structure and provides a barrier between the cell and its environment. However, evidence has recently emerged suggesting that these membranes do more than simply provide protection — they also influence the behavior of the protein receptors embedded in them. A new study from MIT chemists […]

Andrea N. Marcano Delgado, a PhD candidate in the laboratory of John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Biochemistry Catherine Drennan, has been named a recipient of the 2026 Laya and Jerome B. Wiesner Student Art Award by the Council for the Arts at MIT. Presented annually, the Wiesner Student Art Awards honor individual students or […]

Chris Kriofske, a Senior Research Administrator on the Department of Chemistry’s Finance Team, has been selected as a recipient of a 2026 Infinite Mile Award from the School of Science. Infinite Mile Awards are given annually to staff members who go above and beyond to make MIT a better place. The winners are selected from […]

It’s amazing what a little light can do. Chemist Simon Friedman ’89 is using it in a system he hopes will help some of the 589 million people around the world who are living with diabetes. Friedman, a Curators Distinguished Professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, has led […]

This prestigious honor has been awarded annually for over 100 years by the Chicago Section of the American Chemical Society. Camille Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry Stephen L. Buchwald has been named the winner of the 2026 Willard Gibbs Award by the Chicago Section of the American Chemical Society. Considered one of the most prestigious honors in chemistry, the Willard Gibbs Award was founded in 1…

Given by the MIT School of Science, this fellowship recognizes extraordinary service contributions of graduate students in support of their community. Chemistry PhD candidate Ekua Beneman has been named the recipient of the MIT School of Science’s Community Service Fellowship. Awarded by the Office of the Dean in the School of Science, this fellowship recognizes the extraordinary service contribu…

Zhang will showcase his award-winning research at the American Chemical Society's Division of Inorganic Chemistry Young Investigator Symposium this fall. Chonghe Zhang, a PhD candidate in the research groups of Henry Dreyfus Professor Christopher C. Cummins and Novartis Professor Robert J. Gilliard, Jr., has been named a winner of the 2026 Young Investigator Award by the American Chemical Society…

The Institute also ranks second in seven subject areas. QS World University Rankings has placed MIT in the No. 1 spot in 12 subject areas for 2026, the organization announced today. The Institute received a No. 1 ranking in the following QS subject areas: Chemical Engineering; Chemistry; Civil and Structural Engineering; Computer Science and Information Systems; Data Science and Artificial Intell…