The University of Georgia dedicated its 122,500-square-foot Science Learning Center Aug. 17. An estimated 10,000-12,000 students will utilize the building each day for classes in chemistry, biology, physics, ecology, math, computer science and genetics.

Four graduate students in the Department of Chemistry have been recognized for their outstanding contributions as teaching assistants – Benjamin Cline, Rupa Gokal, Hunter Hickox, and Roshini Ramachandran. These awards are conferred annually by the UGA Center for Teaching and Learning, recognizing exemplary qualities as teaching assistants and contributions above and beyond normal expectations.

Jin Xie, an assistant professor in the department of chemistry in the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program.

CAREER awards are among the NSF's most prestigious. The five-year grant supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholar and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.

The University of Georgia is a partner in a new national public-private consortium to revolutionize the fiber and textiles industry through commercialization of highly functional, advanced fibers and textiles for the defense and commercial markets. The partnership, called Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, or AFFOA, was announced today by the Department of Defense.

Michael K. Johnson, an internationally recognized chemist at the University of Georgia whose work has implications for agriculture, energy and health, has been named a Regents Professor, effective July 1.

Regents Professorships are bestowed by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on faculty members whose scholarship or creative activity is recognized nationally and internationally as innovative and pace setting.

The American Chemical Society, in its Select Virtual Issue, featured the research of 17 emerging investigators in the field of bioinorganic chemistry, including UGA associate professor of chemistry Todd Harrop. The feature highlighted the group of early career researchers who have received their Ph.D. since 2004.

For the third year in a row, UGA’s Graduate School has honored an outstanding doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry with a Beverly Hirsh Frank Graduate Fellowship for Women in Science. Ellen Broering is the 2015 recipient of this award, which provides special recognition of her research.

Congratulations to Charles Stanton on being named the recipient of the Graduate Education Advancement Board Fellowship for the 2015-2016 academic year! Charles received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in organic chemistry from The University of Georgia. He then worked for six years in the Medicinal Chemistry Department at Wyeth Research (now Pfizer), contributing to five patents. Charles decided to return to The University of Georgia to pursue his doctorate degree. He now works with Drs.

Wesley D. Allen, associate professor in the department of chemistry, is conducting research as a Mercator-fellow at the Institute for Organic Chemistry at Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU). With the Mercator program the German Research Foundation (DFG) promotes the intensive and long-term exchange of researchers as “fellows” within the context of projects both nationally and internationally. Allen’s work supports the priority program “Control of London dispersion interactions in molecular chemistry,” promoted by the DFG.

Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed an inexpensive way to manufacture extraordinarily thin polymer strings commonly known as nanofibers. These polymers can be made from natural materials like proteins or from human-made substances to make plastic, rubber or fiber, including biodegradable materials.