News

The CSN is featured in the cover article of the current issue of Badger Chemist, the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Chemistry alumni magazine. The article (starting on page 9) particularly highlights the work of graduate student Mimi Hang and the Center’s lab exchange program. CSN Director Bob Hamers is also discussed in the “faculty news” section on page 5, and Dr. Hamers and fellow faculty member Qiang Cui are also mentioned among the department’s award recipients, along with recent graduate Marco Torelli on pages 15/17. Update June 14: You can now read the story without downloading a PDF by going to the university’s Chemistry Department website here.

Dr. Mike Curry had the honor of presenting the keynote speech at the recent 6th grade graduation ceremony for Tuskegee Public School in Tuskegee, AL. “I had the chance to interact with a very driven bunch of 6th grade kids,” he said.  “This was the best outreach experience that I have had in my career so far…..simply awesome!” Congratulations to the graduates!

CSN Professor Joel Pedersen has been featured in an article for CALS News, the website of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The article highlights Dr. Pedersen’s research as part of the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology. He says, “Our intent is to get down to the molecular level… What are the rules that govern how these materials interact with biological systems? In particular, how do these particles interact with a cell membrane?” Update August 10, 2016: The article was reprinted in the summer 2016 issue of grow: Wisconsin’s Magazine for the Life Sciences, with the title “Safer Nanotech.”

CSN Director Bob Hamers was featured on WISC-TV Channel 3 news in Madison last night in a story about the startup company he co-founded, Silatronix. The story discussed the safety hazards of some Lithium-ion batteries, and how Silatronix has developed a compound with the potential to make the batteries much safer. As Bob says in the video, “We’ve generated a material that is safer, and by virtue of that we believe we can make Lithium-ion batteries safer as well.”

CSN Faculty member Erin Carlson got a shout-out in yesterday’s White House blog post. Dr. Carlson was visiting the White House as one of this year’s recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). As the blog entry about the event says, “…awardee Erin Carlson is working to slow the progress of bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics. On top of that, she shares her love of chemistry with students by creating hands-on laboratory activities to engage them in chemistry.” Congratulations, Erin!

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has announced that Professor Qiang Cui has won a Kellett Mid-Career Award, which recognizes outstanding faculty seven to 20 years after their first promotion to a tenured position.  Sponsored by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), “The awards are intended to honor those faculty who have made major contributions to the advancement of knowledge, primarily through their research endeavors, but also as a result of their teaching and service activities”.  Congratulations QC!

Silatronix, the startup company co-founded in 2007 by CSN Director Bob Hamers, is expanding its battery production in collaboration with a major manufacturer in Japan. For more information, read the University of Wisconsin-Madison News story, “Madison-made electrolyte going big at global battery manufacturer.”  

Congratulations to Margaret (Margy) Robinson, a graduate student in the Hamers group, in for being named the 2016 recipient of the Farrington Daniels Award for Ethical Leadership. This University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Department Award is given to one student annually who best exemplifies ethical leadership. Margy is being recognized for her leadership in improving the culture of safety within the department, and for her work organizing bicycling as a community-building activity. (Margy has written about bicycling and nanotechnology for the Sustainable Nano blog here and here.) The award is named for Farrington Daniels, a UW chemistry faculty member. Daniels worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II but after the war was an early champion of solar energy who worked… Read More »Student Margaret Robinson Wins Farrington Daniels Award for Ethical Leadership

Congratulations to Arielle Mensch and Lily Klapper, both students in the Hamers group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,  for their receipt of a Stephen Morton Award for Mentoring. The Morton award is given to a graduate student mentor and their undergraduate student mentee. Arielle has been mentoring Lily on the functionalization of AFM tips with molecules to enable direct measurement of molecular interaction forces at interfaces. Arielle is also being recognized with a PPG Industries Mentoring Award for 2015-16.

CSN faculty member Erin Carlson was recently interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio as part of host Kerri Miller’s “Friday Roundtable” program. Along with Grace Coggio from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Trey Williams from Carleton College, Dr. Carlson discussed “Six Things I Wish I’d Known Before Starting College.” You can hear the full interview here.