Growing up in rural Grant Township, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Smith saw how fracking can affect a community firsthand. Now as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry, she wants to help other communities. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Thanks to our many Chemistry students who participated in this - including Tina from the Matyjaszewski lab & Natalie from the @carrieamcdphd.bsky.social lab featured in this cover photo!

Considering risks to both those inside the lab and people in the community can help minimize hazards—and make chemistry more sustainable: cen.acs.org/environment/... #chemsky 🧪

Chemistry Seminar: Michael Saliba, University of Stuttgart The Versatility of Perovskite Materials for Optoelectronics Host: Stefanie Sydlik Friday, December 5, 2025 12:30 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Chemistry apparel pop-up store closes tonight, Dec. 3, @ 11:59 p.m. - so do your holiday shopping here! undergroundshirts.com/groups/cmu-c...

Do you know outstanding undergraduate researchers who could use up to $1,000 in travel funding to present their work at the Spring @acs.org or @pittcon.bsky.social Meetings? Please encourage them to apply for a Kolthoff award! Deadline is Jan. 12, 2026. acsanalytical.org/undergraduat...

A bit late kicking off #ChemAdvent day 1, but here we are! This year I'm finding chemical connections between some previous ChemAdvent editions 🧪 First up, earthy pyrazines are the connection between the smells of chocolate and green bean casserole 🍫

On #GivingCMUDay, support current and future scientists. Your support drives discovery, learning and growth across disciplines. givenow.cmu.edu/schools/Carn...

Extended to December 3rd!

Very excited to be working on environmental contamination problems relevant to PA with new Ph.D. student Elizabeth Smith!!

We’re excited to announce the opening of a virtual pop-up store where you can purchase Chem Department swag. The store will be open until Nov. 30, so do your holiday shopping here! undergroundshirts.com/groups/cmu-c...

Our next Round of 16 matchup of the ChemPics Bracket Challenge sees the separation funnel of @rubialab.bsky.social facing off against Hailee Shin's light switch. Vote for your favorite and check out the full set of matchups here: cen.acs.org/education/sc... #CENChemPics #chemsky 🧪

📢 REMINDER: 2026 Lectureships 📢 We are still accepting nominations the 2026 ACS Macro Letters / Biomacromolecules / Macromolecules Young Early Career Award! 🗓️ Deadline: December 1, 2025 🙌 Self-nominations welcome Submit your nomination: buff.ly/hZKmC0K

Hey #chemsky - it's time to vote for your favorite molecule in @cenmag.bsky.social's Molecule of the Year contest (curated by the amazing @bribarbu.bsky.social). Some strong candidates in here. I'm excited to see which molecule will win. cen.acs.org/synthesis/Mo...

Chemistry Seminar: Aditi Krishnapriyan Berkeley Machine learning methods for atomistic modeling: navigating speed, accuracy, and scalability trade-offs in the age of (some) large-scale scientific data Host: Olexandr Isayev November 19, 2025 4:00 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Chemistry Seminar: Yi Tang, University of California Discovery and Characterization of Natural Product Biosynthetic Pathways Host: Alex Guo Friday, November 14, 2025 @ 12:30 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

CMU chemists are helping transform drug discovery through AI and automation as part of the NSF Center for Computer Assisted Synthesis. Their work is accelerating reaction design and reshaping how chemistry is done. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Congrats to Emma Bouchard from the @olexandr.bsky.social group and Ivan Levkovsky from the Matyjaszewski Group who are featured in this article :)

There’s a lot of historically and culturally significant stuff captured on audio (and video) tape. But tapes are mass-market items that weren’t made with long-term archiving in mind. My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social explores the chemistry involved in preserving them: cen.acs.org/analytical-c...

Every lab can be a greener lab. 🌱 We’ve reimagined the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry as a modern poster you can hang where sustainable ideas take shape — classrooms, offices, labs, and wherever else you’d like to hang it. [1/6]

PhD Candidate Leticia Madureira will join CMU Libraries for their signature open science event, during a day of virtual talks that will explore how open science is transforming the ways in which we do research. cmu-lib.github.io/OSS-2025/

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Applications Open Through Feb. 18, 2026 - open to undergraduates interested in research in any discipline. Awards are $4,500 for eight to 10 weeks of full-time summer research on campus with a faculty mentor. www.cmu.edu/uro/summer%2...

As an undergraduate student in the Department of Chemistry, Kevin Hunter benefited from professors who invested in his success. In his new role as the Mellon College of Science’s first director of core education, he wants to do the same for incoming and current students. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Join Carnegie Mellon researchers, including MCS Dean @barbsc.bsky.social and Head of @cmuchemistry.bsky.social Bruce Armitage for a faculty dialogue on Nov. 18. www.givecampus.com/schools/Carn...

Are you a Ph.D. student at @cmu.edu? Can you describe your research and its importance in under 3 minutes to a layperson? In 2025, 🥇 went to a @cmurobotics.bsky.social student. 🥈🥉 to @cmuengineering.bsky.social. Register to compete in the 2026 #3MTCMU competition by 2/4. cmu.is/2026-3MT-Compete

NEW #ChemSciCovers 'Mimicking sMMOH chemistry: trapping the Sc3+-bound nonheme FeIII–O–O–FeIII adduct prior to its conversion into an FeIV2(μ-O)2 core' by Yisong Guo, Marcel Swart, Lawrence Que et al. 🔗 doi.org/10.1039/D5SC...#ChemSciCovers @iqccudg.bsky.social @umnchemistry.bsky.social

Flashback Friday to MCS Pride day and a 'fire' performance from Professor Das

How much do you know about the chemistry of spices? Test your knowledge of what spice chemicals can do besides seasoning food. cen.acs.org/biological-c... #chemsky 🧪

Ph.D. student Abhrojyoti Mazumder is advancing quantum tech with gold nanoclusters — tiny, uniform materials that could enable faster, more secure communication and powerful quantum computing. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Great @cmuchemistry.bsky.social collaboration with @isaacgb9.bsky.social ML-Accelerated Screening of Hydroquinone Analogs for Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer. We present AIMNet2 MLIP calculations of average BDFE for the 2H+/2e− dehydrogenation chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr... #compchem #chemsky

Ph.D. student Tina Lin is designing new ways to customize polymers at the molecular level. Her research could enable faster, more sustainable production of materials with tailored properties for diverse applications. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

What my lab is up to currently...

Trick or treat success! Saw a lot of PI impersonators who did very good work :) Can you find Prof's Kowalewski, Guo, Isayev, Noonan, Sydlik, Sullivan?

Brains, spiders, (were)wolves, and slimy eyeballs — a collection of creepy research topics that Dr. Frankenstein would appreciate! But unlike the mad scientist’s work, these studies aim to improve human life. Check out four spooky science stories recently published in ACS journals:

Happy Halloween! Department trick or treat starts soon 🎃🍬🍭

📰C-CAS in the News 📰 This article highlights the work of C-CAS PIs @olexandr.bsky.social and @gabegomes.bsky.social as well as trainees Robert MacKnight, Nick Gao, and Liliana Gallegos. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve... #chemistry #computerscience #nsf #chemsky

Nominations for the ACS #HeroesOfChemistry Award are now open through February 1, 2026! The award, one of ACS’s highest honors for industry, celebrates companies that have successfully developed commercialized innovative products. Nominate today: buff.ly/zBeMWvq

Chemistry Seminar: Penny Beuning, Northeastern University Characterization of Cancer-Associated Variants of DNA Polymerase Kappa Host: Subha Das Wednesday, October 29, 2025 4:00 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

Polymers are everywhere. They give tires their toughness, make plasticware lightweight & durable & lend nylon clothes their stretch & strength. Tina Lin, a McWilliams Fellowship awardee, is designing new ways to build & customize these materials at the molecular level. www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Professor Maria Kurnikova will receive the 2025 WCC Award for Excellence in The Chemical Sciences next month at the ACS Pittsburgh Section Annual Award Banquet. Congratulations Dr. Kurnikova! 🎉🎊

From the Guo lab!

Congratulations to Whitney Ribnick on her early initiation into Phi Beta Kappa (PBK)! Whitney was also inducted into the Andrew Carnegie Society. (ACS) recognizes just 40 seniors each year who embody Carnegie Mellon’s highest standards of academic excellence, leadership, volunteerism, & engagement

Meet Jose Regio, a PhD student in the lab of @gabegomes.bsky.social at @cmuchemistry.bsky.social. Have a question for Jose? Let us know in the replies. #nsf #chemistry #ccas #meetascientist #computerscience #science #phd #stem #chemsky 1m

Avleen Chawla from the Kietrys Lab has been selected to receive this year's Kwolek Fellowship. Created in 2016 by a generous bequest from our alumna Stephanie Kwolek, this is the 10th year that we have awarded the fellowship. Congratulations Avleen!

In October 2025, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month #NDEAM. Meet the 2025 C&EN Trailblazers, chemists with disabilities who rethink how we do science: cen.acs.org/people/profi... #DisabledInSTEM #chemsky 🧪

Ever seen a spooky glow called a will-o'-the-wisp hovering in a swamp or bog? Wet places where organic things decay are gassy as hell, fueling these eerie lights. But what provides the spark? Microlightning that jumps between electrically charged bubbles of methane, according to a new study 🧪

Congratulations to the four MCS Graduate Student Funding Award recipients for fall conferences! Learn more about the students and the awards: www.cmu.edu/mcs/news-eve...

Chemistry Seminar Bryan Pivovar National Renewable Energy Laboratory The potential role of H2 in the global energy system Host: Kevin Noonan Wednesday, October 8, 2025 4:00 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348

New exciting things from @gabegomes.bsky.social 😍🥳🎉🥂

Chemistry Seminar: Janusz Dąbrowski Jagiellonian University, Krakow From Light to Cure: Nanoengineered Photosensitizers for Treating Resistant Cancers and Microbes Host: Krzysztof Matyjaszewski Wednesday, October 1, 2025 4:00 p.m. Mellon Institute Conference Room 348