Chemist discovers shellfish material that may help prevent algal blooms

Chemist discovers shellfish material may help prevent algal blooms 

Harmful algae blooms like the massive one that afflicted Lake Erie in 2011 are a serious threat to our waterways, but a chemistry researcher and his industrial partners are testing a new method of filtering agricultural wastewater with the help of an unexpected material: ground up shrimp and lobster shells.

Chitosan is a material made by treating crushed shellfish with sodium hydroxide, and professor Bulent Mutus is discovering that various forms are effective in lab tests at removing micronutrients, phosphates and metals like copper, zinc, and iron from greenhouse wastewater.

“There’s an inexpensive and plentiful supply of these materials, and we’ve been able to prove in concept that this can work,” said Dr. Mutus. “Now we’re just trying to scale it up in to an actual working filter that we can test in the field.”

Algal blooms are the result of an excess of nutrients, including nitrates and phosphates from household products and fertilizer used in agricultural and recreational settings, running off land into streams and rivers that drain in to warmer lakes. A large bloom could remove the water of oxygen fish and other aquatic wildlife need to survive.

To read more of this story, click here to see the full article on the Daily News.

Public lecture to shine light on x-ray crystallography

Public lecture to shine light on x-ray crystallography

X-ray crystallography can determine the arrangement of atoms in materials and make three-dimensional pictures of molecules— more than 25 Nobel prizes have been awarded on the basis of its use.

In honour of the centennial of the first Nobel prize awarded for this remarkable tool, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 2014 as the International Year of Crystallography.

UWindsor chemistry professor Charles Macdonald will explain how X-ray crystallography works and illustrate some highlights discovered using this method in a free public lecture entitled “X-Ray Crystallography: A Century of Exploring the World at the Atomic Scale,” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 19, at Canada South Science City.

This amazing avenue of discovery underpins major advances in physics, chemistry, material science, biology, medicine, engineering, and more. Dr. Macdonald’s lecture is sponsored by the Faculty of Science as part of the Science Café series, which offers discussion of important science research for the general public.

Click here to see the original story on the Daily News.

Red Hot Chili Peppers….

…are often added to the chilis found at the

The 2nd Annual Chili Cook Off takes place on Friday, February 14, 2014 in 273 Essex Hall, and is open to all students, staff and faculty!

See Marlene in the main office if you would like to register for this great event!

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.