High school students conduct their own chemistry magic show

About 35 students from the International Baccalaureate program at Assumption College Catholic High School participated in the chemistry and biochemistry department’sINteractive Chem ExperimentS, or INCHES program, an outreach and recruiting initiative which provides them the opportunity to conduct experiments in the University’s chemistry labs.

 “You can talk and talk, but if kids get the chance to do these things themselves, then they’re really going to remember it,” said chemistry professor Tricia Carmichael, who oversaw the students, along with colleague Rob Schurko and a group of graduate students.

If any high school chemistry teachers from Windsor or Essex County want to bring their class in for our INCHES (INteractive CHemsitry ExperimentS) laboratory program, please contact Tricia Carmichael or Rob Schurko.

Graduate students who are interested in volunteering in the INCHES project can contact Profs. Carmichael or Schurko as well!

Click here to see the Daily News article.

Outstanding chemists and biochemists receive research and infrastructure grants

Congratulations to Otis Vacratsis and Rob Schurko, who are recipients of the new Golden Jubilee Research Excellence Awards announced by VP Research Michael Siu and Dean of Science Marlys Koschinsky.  Made possible through the research stimulus fund, the two-year awards come with $40,000 a year in research funding and one course release per year.

Dr. Vacratsis said the funding will help him hire graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who will utilize a variety of analytical and biological techniques to better understand the cellular processes involved in CMT, a neuromuscular disorder characterized by loss of muscle mass and touch sensation across various parts of the body. Currently incurable, the disease is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders and affects about one in 2,500 people.
“We do very basic, fundamental science in my lab, but hopefully people will be able to use our findings in a clinical setting,” Vacratsis said.

Congratulations also to Michael Boffa and Jichang Wang, who received infrastructure grants in support of their research programs.

Click here to access the full story from the Daily News.

Holiday party!

Term is almost over! Come celebrate at the annual:

Chemistry and Biochemistry Holiday Party

Contact: Marlene, Gyllian, Corey or Zainab for tickets

Where: Rock Bottom Bar and Grill

When: Saturday, December 14th

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Cost: $10 - includes food and a drink!

All undergrads, graduate students, staff and faculty are welcome!

Chemists develop innovative method for making bendable electronics

A chemist and her team of researchers have made a major stride forward in the race to make cell phones, televisions and other electronics that can bend and stretch.

Tricia Carmichael, an associate professor in chemistry and biochemistry, and her PhD student Michael Miller, are two of five co-authors on a recently published paper describing a process that uses tiny silver nanowires as conductors and then arranging and mixing them right in to the adhesive that bonds them to surfaces like the plastic which could be used in bendable electronic devices.

“Glues are really durable material, so it made sense to do it that way,” Dr. Carmichael said of the never-before-used process described in the academic journal Applied Materials and Interfaces. “We wanted it to be general enough that it could be used by everyone in the industry. It’s just really practical.”

Until now, manufacturers have relied on indium tin oxide as a conductor in electronic light-emitting displays, but it’s completely unsuitable for flexible devices because it’s a brittle ceramic which cracks under relatively low bending strains and causes electrical failure.

Click here to read the whole story on the Daily News.

Hallowe'en Party and Costume Contest - Oct. 31 at 12:00 p.m.

Potluck Style! Please contact Zainab or Marlene if you want to bring a dish

ONLY $2 for all the spooky treats!!
Please join us for some creepy costumes and frightening food!
Prizes for best costumes will be announced at 1:00!

Thursday, October 31 
12:00-1:30 p.m
Room 273 Essex Hall (conference room)

50th anniversary celebrations this weekend for ChemBiochem Alumni

We are pleased to extend a warm invitation to our Alumni and Friends
to help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of the University of Windsor with
the ChemBiochem Alumni Symposium.

On the weekend of Oct. 25-26, 2013, you are welcome to join us for celebrations of our department history.

Oct. 25, 2013 - warm up party, 7-10 p.m.
Oct. 26, 2013 - ChemBiochem Alumni Symposium (morning and afternoon) 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Oct. 26, 2013 - gala anniversary dinner at "The Bank", 5-10 p.m.

For more information, please visit:
http://chembioalumni.cs.uwindsor.ca/index.html

Applications of nanoparticles topic of public lecture

UWindsor biochemistry professor Bulent Mutus will discuss the applications of nanoparticles— submicroscopic collections of atoms—in a free public lecture on Wednesday, October 16, at Canada South Science City.

Nanoparticles are roughly the size of molecules and too small to be seen in optical microscopes. They have properties that can differ significantly from the bulk material and that open new possibilities in analysis and therapeutic treatment.

Dr. Mutus will show how he and his research group use the properties of nanoparticles in a variety of applications, including:

• detecting sulfur-containing compounds in the atmosphere and in our bodies;
• identifying the location of sulfur-containing moieties in proteins that are susceptible to alteration in their structure and function by the gasotransmitters nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide; and
• making wound-healing bandages.

An award-winning Senior Research Chair and the head of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mutus is the founding director of the University of Windsor’s Health Research Group and has published widely in his area of chemistry for health sciences.

Wednesday’s lecture, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is part of the Science Cafés series, discussions of important science research for the general public. The series is sponsored by the Faculty of Science at the University of Windsor.

Canada South Science City is located at 930 Marion Avenue.

Click here to see this story on the Daily News.