Chalcogenides are compounds of the group-16 elements or chalcogens (Q), consisting of O, S, Se, and Te. Because O differs significantly in electronegativity (3.5 for O compared to 2.5 for S, 2.4 for Se, and 2.1 for Te), oxides are typically distinguished from the rest of the chalcogenides, which exhibit strongly covalent character. Metal chalcogenides have found applications in wide ranging areas as optical materials, magnetic materials, catalysis and as solid-state battery materials.

Audrey Conner, a junior in the UGA Department of Chemistry, has been named a 2023 Barry Goldwater Scholar, the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of mathematics, engineering and natural sciences. Ms. Conner, from Tifton, is a Foundation Fellow and Stamps Scholar who is conducting research under the mentorship of Dr.  Christopher Newton,  organic chemistry, and Dr. Steven Wheeler, computational chemistry. 

While significant progress has been made in classical quantum chemistry methods since Robert Mulliken's time, modeling molecular processes involving highly entangled electronic states remains a grand computational challenge. Quantum computers offer a promising solution, with their ability to efficiently represent and manipulate exponentially complex entangled quantum states using a linear number of qubits.

A doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry, Karen Ramirez Quintero, has won a 2023-2024 Dissertation Completion Award from the UGA Graduate School. These highly competitive awards provide funding from the graduate school to complete dissertation research and writing by the end of the spring, 2024 semester. Karen was the only student from chemistry to receive this award this year.

Jana Carpenter, a Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry, is among five University of Georgia doctoral students who were recently named 2022 ARCS Scholars by the Office of Research. Ms. Carpenter will receive $7,500 for the next three years to support their dissertation research. UGA hosted the 30th annual ARCS Awards Ceremony on November 17th. At the event, the scholars were able to meet donors and ARCS leadership, as well as connect with other scholars from across the state.

The Department of Chemistry congratulates Prof. Gregory H. Robinson for his selection for the Lothar Tresp Outstanding Honors Professor Award. Robinson joined the Department of Chemistry faculty in 1995.  He is also the recipient of the Lamar Dodd Research Award and was named a University Foundation Professor.  He is the lead faculty member coordinating UGA’s participation in the Aspire Alliance IChange Network, a comprehensive effort to increase faculty diversity and the use of inclusive teaching practices in STEM fields.

The Chemistry Department is now accepting applications for Chemistry Learning Assistants (CLAs) for the Fall 2023 semester. CLAs are the individuals who rotate during recitation sessions and help answer questions. In addition, they help out with exam review sessions, provide office hours, create supplementary study resources, etc. Overall, being a CLA is a 5-hour weekly commitment which includes 1 hour for recitation, 2 hours towards creating/contributing to a supplementary activity, 1 hour for prep (on your own time), and 1 hour for a weekly meeting.