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🎉 Mark your calendar for October 2! 🎉

We’re bringing together the UNC Chemistry community for a full day you won’t want to miss:

🔬 Linda L. Spremulli Trailblazer in Chemistry Symposium
Celebrate the groundbreaking work and legacy of UNC chemists with engaging talks, panels, and networking opportunities for all audiences.

🥂 Fall 2026 Alumni Social
After the symposium, join us for a fun evening at the Friday Center—reconnect with fellow Tar Heels, make new connections, and enjoy great food and drinks.

📍 Friday Conference Center, Chapel Hill
📅 October 2, 2026

💙 Whether you join us for one event or both, we hope you take part in this celebration of collaboration, mentorship, and discovery across generations of Carolina Chemists.

👉 Registration opens August 7—stay tuned!

Tag someone you want to see there 👇 by @uncchemistry

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2 months ago

Study Finds Water Can Break Down Key Materials in Next-Gen Solar Cells

A Carolina Chemistry study in Science Advances has uncovered a hidden weakness in key materials used in next-generation solar cells, showing that even ordinary water can break apart the molecules that are crucial to these devices. The findings reveal why some high-performing organic solar cells lose efficiency over time and point the way toward designing longer-lasting, more reliable materials for clean energy.

At the center of the mystery are tiny structures called small molecule acceptors, or SMAs. These molecules play a key role in generating energy through organic solar cells. They are carefully designed with two main parts: one that pushes electrons and one that pulls them. Connecting these two parts is a small but critical feature known as a double bond.

“We kept seeing that devices would perform well at first, but over time, their efficiency would drop,” said Xiaowei Zhong, the lead author of the study and a graduate research assistant in the Department of Chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill. “We wanted to understand what was happening at the molecular level—what exactly was breaking down and why.”

To investigate, the team built a simpler version of these molecules, called T4CN, so they could closely observe how it behaved. What they found was both surprising and important: water—something as common as moisture in the air—could attack the double bond and break the molecule apart.

Read about what they discovered at the link in the bio! by @uncchemistry

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2 months ago

Carolina Materials Consortium Launches Inaugural Magazine

"Materials shape our world in ways we often don’t notice. They enable the phones we carry, the water we drink, the energy we use and the medicines that keep us healthy. At UNC Chapel Hill, researchers across many departments are working on materials every day—studying how they form, how they behave and how they can be designed to solve real problems. The Carolina Materials Consortium was created to bring those efforts together."

The Carolina Materials Consortium is pleased to announce it has published the first issue of Carolina Matters, a new magazine showcasing the breadth and ambition of materials science research at UNC-Chapel Hill.

This debut issue highlights an emerging vision for how artificial intelligence, robotics and interdisciplinary collaboration are reshaping scientific discovery at Carolina. The cover story, “The Rise of Human-Centered Automation,” profiles a growing ecosystem in which researchers across chemistry, physics, computer science and pharmacy are combining robotic lab systems with AI-driven analysis — not to replace scientists, but to amplify their creativity and reach.

The issue also features research on spintronic polymers capable of transmitting quantum spin signals over long distances, an AI-assisted method for rapidly designing stronger and more flexible polymer materials, and a $1 million W. M. Keck Foundation award supporting UNC scientists studying the surprising behaviors of AI-designed proteins. Additional articles cover light-driven doping of organic semiconductors and optical advances in layered perovskite crystals.

In a letter from the leadership team, consortium co-leaders James Cahoon, Theo Dingemans, Wei You and Frank Tsui described the magazine as part of a broader effort to give materials science at Carolina “a clearer, more unified voice” — connecting researchers who have long worked in separate departmental silos.

Carolina Matters will be published twice per year and is available through the Department of Chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill website. Download the issue there. by @uncchemistry

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3 months ago

Samantha McDonald Awarded Prestigious Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chemical Sciences

Samantha McDonald, a postdoctoral research associate in chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill, has been awarded a 2026 Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chemical Sciences, one of the most prestigious awards for early-career scientists in chemistry who are opening new directions in research, from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.

As an Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow, McDonald will focus on designing new materials that could help solve a growing challenge in modern technology: how to make electronics faster and more energy efficient.

“I feel incredibly honored. This is one of the most prestigious recognitions for a postdoc and I am incredibly grateful to the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation for investing in our work,” said McDonald. “Professionally, it was very much a team effort. My advisor provided really helpful feedback. I think it also reflects the creative, intellectual atmosphere of our group that I was awarded this fellowship.”

Read more about her planned research at the link in the bio! by @uncchemistry

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4 months ago

We’re excited to share that Megan Jackson, Assistant Professor in the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Chemistry, has been named a 2026 Cottrell Scholar by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA).

The Cottrell Scholar Award recognizes early-career faculty who excel as both researchers and educators. With this support, Prof. Jackson will investigate how chemistry changes at gas–liquid interfaces, particularly in microdroplets, using confocal fluorescence microscopy and scanning electrochemical cell microscopy to determine how molecules localize, orient, and react at these boundaries. The insights could help enable better control of microdroplet reactions with applications spanning microfluidics, synthesis, environmental remediation, and targeted drug delivery.

The award also supports her education project to equip students with strategies that make research seminars more active learning experiences—boosting engagement, understanding, and confidence in working with scientific data.

🎉 Congratulations, Megan!🎉

#UNCChemistry #CottrellScholars #RCSA #STEMEducation #FacultyAchievement by @uncchemistry

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5 months ago

We are proud to share the promotion of two outstanding faculty members in the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as of January 1st, 2026. Their exemplary accomplishments in research, teaching, mentorship, and service to the University community have earned them this well-deserved recognition.

👏 Please join us in congratulating Dr. Erin Baker and Dr. Matthew Lockett for their promotions to Professor!

Their promotions reflect their excellence and leadership within our department and underscore the department's commitment to fostering academic growth and innovation. We are so proud of all of your hard work and dedication to our students and our University. Go Heels! 💙 by @uncchemistry

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7 months ago

Shubin Liu Appointed Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Quantum Chemistry

The UNC Department of Chemistry is pleased to share that Professor Shubin Liu, Professor of Practice in the department, has been appointed the next editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Quantum Chemistry (IJQC), a long-standing journal devoted to advancing quantum chemistry. Liu earned his Ph.D. under the late Professor Robert G. Parr at UNC and completed postdoctoral work with Professor Weitao Yang at Duke University. Since 2000 at UNC, he has worked at Research Computing as a senior computational scientist and holds a secondary appointment as a Professor of Practice in the Department of Chemistry.

Read more about his appointment at the link in the bio! by @uncchemistry

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7 months ago

Each December, the @uncchemistry Baker Lab trades data analysis for presents for local families 🎁

Together with Carolina students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, the Tar Heels raise money for Toys For Tots and Coats for the Children, a collaboration with @WRAL.

Erin Baker, @uncchapelhill associate professor of chemistry, started the tradition in 2018 when she worked at @ncstate. When she joined #UNC in 2022, she knew it was a tradition she’d continue.

“It is my favorite thing we do each year,” said Dr. Baker. “It is amazing to see everyone come together and make a difference in our community.”

This year, the Baker Lab raised about $2,000 and split the donations evenly, purchasing 76 coats and 46 toys. And on campus, a toy donation box brought in an extra eight gifts from anonymous donors.

A Toys for Tots representative said #UNC’s donation was the most toys he’d picked up this season.

“If we can help even a little to make a child warmer or have a happier holiday,” Dr. Baker said, “that is so important to me and the others who participate.”

#GDTBATH 🐏 Carolina students hold coats in a department store at a mall. taken in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by @uncchemistry

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7 months ago

Happy Holidays! We are pleased to present our Winter 2025 Alumni Magazine.

In this edition, we highlight major accomplishments of the department, including a list of 2025 faculty awards. We also feature articles that showcase the breadth and impact of Carolina Chemistry, such as a UNC chemist partnering with a startup to combat national drug trafficking, a fresh approach to chemistry education through an Atoms First textbook, students turning pigments into tools for art preservation, new insights into “forever chemicals” and more. Link is in bio.

From the Carolina Chemistry family to yours, we wish you a healthy and happy holiday season and a joyful 2026. by @uncchemistry

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7 months ago

Undergraduate Spotlight: A Chance Encounter Leads Yasmine Ackall to Big Discoveries in Tiny Worms

We know you just met Emmy Tang and her research into cancer drugs, but we thought Halloween was the perfect day to introduce you to Yasmine and her worms! Yasmine Ackall, as part of Robert Dowen's Lab, explores one of biology’s most intriguing mysteries: how living organisms decide when to store energy as fat and when to burn it. Using a simple worm called Caenorhabditis elegans — a transparent, millimeter-long organism that is one of biology’s most powerful tools — she and her colleagues have been testing different genes to see how they interact. Doing so may help teach us more about how the human metabolism works.

Read about her studies and how she ended up at Chapel Hill at the link in the bio.

And Happy Halloween from UNC Chemistry! by @uncchemistry

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9 months ago

Undergraduate Spotlight: Emmy Tang Studies Cancer Drugs That Could Also Treat Rare Blood Disorders

So, last week in honor of #UNCResearchWeek we shared with you the work that JR Cobb is doing with catalysts in the Miller Lab. Now we take you over to our friends in UNC Pharmacology to meet Emmy Tang. Emmy, a third year chemistry student, has been working with Lee Graves as part of his group studying cancer drugs. She credits him, along with her graduate student mentors Sabrina Daglish and Owen Canterbury, for helping shape her scientific journey.

Emmy has been studying how how specific cancer drugs affect porphyrias - rare metabolic diseases that affect the body’s ability to make heme, the molecule needed to produce hemoglobin in red blood cells.

Read about her research so far, and see where she hopes her UNC journey takes her on our site. Link is in the bio! by @uncchemistry

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9 months ago

#Chemistry Alum Helps Revive an Old Anesthetic for Modern #Emergencies

When earthquakes, wars or hurricanes devastate communities, hospitals can disappear overnight. Doctors may have no electricity, few medicines and no safe way to put patients to sleep for surgery. In those moments, something as routine as an appendectomy can become impossible.

That urgent problem led Katie Kitzinger, who holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from UNC-Chapel Hill, to join a team exploring an unexpected question: Could doctors make their own anesthetic in the field using simple materials? The answer, she and her colleagues found, might lie in a 19th-century chemical called diethyl ether, once the world’s most common anesthetic. Ether was replaced long ago by safer, less flammable drugs, but it has two big advantages in a crisis: it works and it’s easy to make.

“It’s one of the simplest anesthetics ever used,” said Kitzinger, now a senior scientist at AbbVie, a global pharmaceutical company. “Chemically, it’s made from alcohol. If you can produce it safely, it could be a lifesaver where modern anesthetics just can’t reach.”

Read more about her remarkable research at the link in the bio. by @uncchemistry

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9 months ago