Michael Bereman and coworkers demonstrate reversal of TDP-43 protein aggregation common in degenerative diseases

Dr. Michael Bereman, an Associate faculty member in the department, and coworkers have demonstrated that they can promote de-aggregation of a protein (TDP-43) in the muscles of mice. The clumping together of this protein is a hallmark of degenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). They hope to identify compounds that would be able to do the same in neurons of people with ALS. You can find their press release here, and their paper in Nature Communications. Posted July 24, 2017

Lucian Lucia named ACS Fellow

Dr. Lucian Lucia has been named an ACS Fellow by the American Chemical Society. This honor is bestowed upon ACS members who have demonstrated excellence in their contributions to science and in their volunteer activities to the ACS and broader community. Dr. Lucia's current research in soft materials chemistry focuses on studying the parameters that control the activity of biopolymers for drug delivery, self-healing, and tissue engineering.

His service includes a number of volunteer positions in ACS from secretary to chair that have lead to an increase in member participation, awards, external collaborations, and outreach. He co-founded an international journal, BioResources, that serves as a preeminent forum for biomass and bioenergy research. He currently serves as councilor for the ACS Cellulose & Renewable Materials Division, and is a new member of the ACS Chemists with Disabilities Committee.

Dr. Lucia is only the second chemistry faculty member to achieve Fellow status; the other is Dan Comins, Professor Emeritus, who was named Fellow in 2010.
Posted July 13, 2017

Kay Sandberg's distance education work featured by the Distance Education News at NC State

Dr. Kay Sandberg's distance education work has been featured by the Distance Education News at NC State. For the past 13 years, Kay has developed, delivered, and refined organic chemistry, distance-education courses. The article highlights her sometimes zany approach (screaming cats!?) to help students grasp and remember organic chemistry concepts. The article also highlights the impact on her students, many of whom are so inspired by her approach to teaching, they volunteer to TA for future classes. Posted June 23, 2017

Maria Gallardo-Williams featured in Inside Higher Ed article

Dr. Maria Gallardo-Williams was featured in a June 14 Inside Higher Ed article on the production of a set of videos for use in the organic chemistry laboratory program. This work was supported by the Alt-textbook project by DELTA and has led to improved lab completion times and a more uniform laboratory experience for students. You can find her videos on YouTube under her name. Posted June 23, 2017

NC State and UNC scientists attend CSD Enterprise Workshop

Scientists from NC State and UNC attended the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) Enterprise Workshop on June 15 hosted by NC State in Dabney Hall. The workshop consisted of an overview of the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) in addition to sessions using CSD software from the Materials suite, Discovery Suite, and an introduction to the CSD’s Python application programming interface (API). NC State’s Roger Sommer, Director of the X-ray Structure Facility, organized the event while speakers Amy Sarjeant, Paul Sanschagrin, and Sivakumar Sekharan led breakout sessions for CSD-Materials, CSD-Python API, and CSD-Discovery, respectively. Read more about the workshop here.
Posted June 23, 2017

ORaCEL hosts high school students from Triad Math and Science Academy

ORaCEL (Organic and Carbon Electronics Labs) hosted about 60 high school students from the Triad Math and Science Academy and presented several educational demonstrations aimed at attracting young students and minorities to STEM education and research. The students were exposed to a variety of topics including electrochemical detection methods, superconductivity, acids and bases, electrostatic forces, and fluorescence, among others. The Castellano group contributed to the effort by having the students make homemade glow sticks using perylene, divanillyl oxalate, and hydrogen peroxide. In addition, the Castellano group demonstrated how salts with metal ions can make rainbow colored flames and had the students make color-changing solutions using red cabbage extract and dry ice. Overall, faculty and students from the departments of physics, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, and chemistry (including James Yarnell, Nancy Awwad, Daniel Yonemoto, Chris Papa, Sofia Garakyaraghi, Antonio Lopez, and Chelsea Taliaferro) participated in this outreach project. Article by James Yarnell. Posted June 23, 2017