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From the College of Natural Sciences
Three Faculty Members Awarded Sloan Fellowships

Three Faculty Members Awarded Sloan Fellowships

​The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced today the early-career researchers across the U.S. and Canada who are recipients of the 2023 Sloan Research Fellowship, including three UT Austin faculty members in the College of Natural Sciences: Greg Durrett, Sam Raskin and Hang Ren.

Hang Ren (left), Greg Durrett (center) and Sam Raskin
More Charge Acceptors aren’t Necessarily Better for Solar Cells

More Charge Acceptors aren’t Necessarily Better for Solar Cells

Chemists from Rice University and The University of Texas at Austin discovered more isn't always better when it comes to packing charge-acceptor molecules on the surface of semiconducting nanocrystals, such as those in solar cells.

Solar panels. Photo credit: Flickr user zak zak. Used via Creative Commons license CC BY 2.0.
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Chemistry Professor Earns Humboldt Award

Chemistry Professor Earns Humboldt Award

Dmitrii Makarov, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, has won a Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany.

Nanoparticles Make it Easier to Turn Light into Solvated Electrons

Nanoparticles Make it Easier to Turn Light into Solvated Electrons

'Green' reducing agents could help tackle climate change and treat contaminated water.

When scientists shine low-intensity near-ultraviolet light on metal nanoparticles, electrons in the nanoparticles oscillate. This oscillation, referred to as a plasmon, can give the electrons enough energy to emit into the surrounding solution. Credit: Rice University.
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Chemistry Researcher Earns Prestigious Allen Distinguished Investigator Award

Chemistry Researcher Earns Prestigious Allen Distinguished Investigator Award

Yi Lu, a professor of chemistry and the Richard J. V. Johnson – Welch Regents Chair in Chemistry, has been honored with an Allen Distinguished Investigator award, it was announced today.

Ten Faculty Members Honored With College Teaching Excellence Award

Ten Faculty Members Honored With College Teaching Excellence Award

​The Teaching Excellence Award in the College of Natural Sciences seeks to promote and recognize outstanding teaching in the college by honoring faculty members who have had a positive influence on the educational experience of our students. 

‘Smart Plastic’ Material is Step Forward Toward Soft, Flexible Robotics and Electronics

‘Smart Plastic’ Material is Step Forward Toward Soft, Flexible Robotics and Electronics

Inspired by living things from trees to shellfish, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin set out to create a plastic much like many life forms that are hard and rigid in some places and soft and stretchy in others­. Their success — a first, using only light and a catalyst to change properties such as hardness and elasticity in molecules of the same type — has brought about a new material that is 10 times as tough as natural rubber and could lead to more flexible electronics and robotics.

Visualizing Science 2022: Illuminating the Intrinsic Beauty in Academic Research

Visualizing Science 2022: Illuminating the Intrinsic Beauty in Academic Research

This past spring, the College of Natural Sciences invited our University of Texas at Austin faculty, staff and students to send in the top images from their research for our Visualizing Science competition. The images they produced nourish both the mind and the soul, offering not only food for thought but a feast for the eyes as well.

Cancer Agency Awards Grant to Recruit New Faculty in Chemistry

Cancer Agency Awards Grant to Recruit New Faculty in Chemistry

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Oversight Committee recently awarded a recruitment grant for Ku-Lung "Ken" Hsu, a chemist joining The University of Texas at Austin. The CPRIT Scholar recruitment grant program attracts established and up-and-coming researchers to Texas institutions to advance their cancer-related research.

Baiz Earns Prestigious Research Fellowship

Baiz Earns Prestigious Research Fellowship

Carlos Baiz, associate professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, has been awarded the prestigious Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers from the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation.