Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Chemistry graduate students from the Dunkle, Thompson, Pierce and Frantom labs presented posters at the 2026 Southeast Enzymes Conference in Atlanta. Out of 89 poster presentations, UA students earned two of the top three awards in the poster competition. Fred Motari, a researcher in the Frantom group, received second place for his work on iron-sulfur cluster assembly in Gram-positive bacter…

Luqman Ajisafe, was a recipient of the NSF Innovation Tank award at the National Organization for the Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) conference in Atlanta, Fall 2025. The award recognizes students and early researchers with ground-breaking ideas. His research on the engineering of the CRISPR-Cas system for point-of-care sickle cell anemia diagnostics won secon…

Congratulations to Dr. Igor Fedin who has been awarded a prestigious NSF CAREER award for his project entitled, “In Situ Monitoring of Synthesis of Nanoscale Materials with Electrochemistry.” The CAREER awards are the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and ed…

On November 4, 2025, Dr. Frantom (right) received the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award from the University of Alabama National Alumni Association. A committee of students, faculty, and alumni select the award recipients based on their dedication to the teaching profession and significant contribution to the Capstone. Dr. Frantom joins a group of other faculty members from the departm…

Senior chemistry major Elena Kuehner has been awarded an American Chemical Society Scholarship for Undergraduates in Chemistry.  The ACS scholarship supports students – the scientists of tomorrow who will use the transforming power of chemistry to address global challenges.

Congratulations to the recipients of departmental honors presented at the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry honors convocation. Outstanding General Chemistry Student Award:  Benjamin Bradshaw, Dustin Cornelius, Charlee Jones, Calli Reynolds, Rebecca Schock, Jack Simmons, Parker Zaffarese, Dylan Wood Outstanding Performance by a Nursing Major Award: Natasha Riemer Outstanding Organic Chem…

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation selected four University of Alabama students as Goldwater Scholars for 2025-2026. UA led all Southeastern Conference universities with the most students selected for awards and was the only SEC university to have all four of its nominees selected this year. The latest selections bring UA’s number o…

The department is pleased to announce the following faculty have been approved for promotion by the Provost effective for the fall 2025 semester. Dr. Diana Leung: promoted to full professor. Dr. Brad Pierce: promoted to full professor. Dr. Greg Szulczewski: promoted to full professor. Dr. Gayan Wijeratne: promoted to associate professor with tenure.

A group of enthusiastic students and faculties from Stillman College visited the UA research facility this week. This tour included visits to the shared research facilities in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Alabama Materials Institute, showcasing the potential for academic and professional growth of students through the UA-Stillman College partnership program. Students engaged i…

The department is pleased to welcome Dr. Małgorzata Makoś on January 1, 2025. Dr. Makoś earned her Ph.D. degree at Southern Methodist University where her research focused on the development and application of quantum chemical methods for transition metal and actinide catalysis. Dr. Makoś’s research also contributed to the development of machine learning models for predicting reaction netwo…

Assistant Professor Gayan Wijeratne has been awarded a $1.8 million NIH R35 MIRA ESI Outstanding Investigator award. This grant will fund Dr. Wijeratne’s research into the mechanism of nitric oxide interconversion by heme enzymes using synthetic mimics.