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School News

Huimin Zhao was elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2009. Huimin was cited for "his pioneering contributions in the area of directed evolution for industrial and medical biotechnology applications." William Hammack was elected a Fellow of the Physical Society for 2009. Bill was cited for "enhancing public awareness about physics, science, and technology via his radio commentaries and for his governmental service at the State Department." Steve Granick and fellow researchers are exploring the chemical mechanics of cell membranes through the placement of charged nanoparticles in phospholipid membranes. UIUC News Bureau article. John Rogers and colleagues are developing flexible silicon solar cells, potentially increasing the efficiency of solar cells and making them adaptable for a greater variety of uses. Their research was published in the October online issue of Nature Materials (AOP). New York Times, iTnews New 'Center of the Physics of Living Cells', funded by the National Science Foundation will be co-directed by faculty members Klaus Schulten and Taekjip Ha. The Center will foster collaboration among teams of researchers with different areas of expertise to explore the biophysics of living organisms using a combination of computational modeling and experimentation. UIUC News Bureau article. The highest honor in the field of polymer physics will be awarded to Steve Granick. The 2009 Polymer Physics Prize consists of $10,000 and a certificate citing the contributions made by the recipient. Granick's citation reads, "For pathbreaking and elegant experiments that elucidate the structure and dynamics of polymers and liquids confined by surfaces." Paul Hergenrother and Brian Cunningham have developed a new high-throughput screening system based on photonic crystals that could quickly and cheaply detect molecules that disrupt binding between proteins and DNA, offering a new way to look for novel classes of drugs. RSC Chemistry World article, UIUC News Bureau article. Zaida Luthey-Schulten and graduate student Elijah Roberts worked with microbiology professor Carl Woese on a multi-dimensional analysis of ribosomal sequence, structure and function. Their research probed differences in ribosomal structures between archae and bacteria to explore the early evolution of protein synthesis. UIUC News Bureau article Chad Rienstra has developed unique capabilities for probing protein chemistry and structure through the use of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. UIUC News Bureau article. Martin Gruebele and colleagues conclude that water is 'designer fluid' that helps proteins change shape. Using a technique called terahertz absorption spectroscopy, the researchers have now shown that the motion of water molecules plays a vital role in protein folding. UIUC News Bureau article. John Rogers and other researchers have developed a high-performance, hemispherical "eye" camera using an array of single-crystalline silicon detectors and electronics, configured in a stretchable, interconnected mesh. Nature cover article, UIUC News Bureau article, BBC News. Dana Dlott has led his team of researchers in starting the development of better sensors for toxic gases and hidden explosives in baggage. They have devised a method to evaluate substrate surfaces using a series of killer laser pulses. Their findings were published in the July 18 issue of the journal Science. UIUC News Bureau article. Collaboration between researchers at University of Illinois and Purdue University lead to a fundamental advance in how nanotube circuits are made. John Rogers, et. al. published their results in the July 24 edition of Nature. Photonics article. Chad Rienstra received a NIH High End Instrumentation grant for $1,936,449 to obtain a state-of-the-art high field, wide-bore, solid-state NMR spectrometer that will support collaborative research on the structures of membrane proteins involved in diseases such as Parkinson's, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. More on the award. Nathan Price received a Howard Temin Pathway to Independence Award in Cancer Research from the NIH/National Cancer Institute. The award provides his research program approximately $850,000 over the next 3.5 years. The July 2008 issue of The Scientist has a profile of Martin Burke, describing his research, his unusual history of being a M.D./Ph.D. at Harvard, and why he does the work that he does. Martin Burke: The smart synthesizer. Daniel Pack and Paul Kenis were selected to participate in NAE's 2008 Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, Sept. 18-20. The 2½-day event will bring together engineers ages 30 to 45 who are performing exceptional engineering research and technical work in a variety of disciplines. Wilfred van der Donk has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. This will help fund his continuing search for compounds that have antibiotic properties as well as enable him to initiate other projects in the area of cell biology. UIUC News Bureau article. 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 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 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