News and Research

May 16, 2023

Researcher wins $2.6M NIH grant for machine-learning tools aimed at molecular interactions

Steve Pressé was recently awarded a five-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to help develop the machine-learning tools needed to observe life’s events in their natural environment.

May 3, 2023

World-renowned researcher Peter Buseck retires after 60 years at ASU

After 60 years at Arizona State University, world-renowned Regents Professor Peter Buseck has announced his retirement.

April 27, 2023

ASU School of Molecular Sciences researchers provide expertise to Arizona’s semiconductor industry

Researchers John Kouvetakis and Ryan Trovitch in the School of Molecular Sciences are providing their expertise to develop reliable methods that will be applied to TSMC’s chip manufacturing processes.

April 25, 2023

Ultrafast Laser Facility director retires after stellar 32-year ASU career

Senior research professional Su Lin has spent 32 years in Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences as director of the Ultrafast Laser Facility, now part of ASU’s Core Facilities. 

April 5, 2023

ASU-led team defends molecular oxygen findings

When did molecular oxygen, the gas that all large and complex forms of life on Earth today require to function, first appear on Earth? For more than 15 years, work by a team of scientists led by Ariel Anbar has advanced the case that this biologically critical gas first appeared at least 2.5 billion years ago. Beginning with a pair of studies published in 2007, the team analyzed the chemistry of sedimentary rocks laid down on the ancient seafloor.

April 5, 2023

ASU honors student awarded Goldwater Scholarship for excellence in STEM

Chloe Leff, a junior in Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University, has been awarded the Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious award in the United States for undergraduate researchers in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.

March 31, 2023

Heavy water key to 'groundbreaking work' on electron transfer in proteins by ASU professor

Arizona State University’s Dmitry Matyushov, professor in the School of Molecular Sciences and the Department of Physics, has spent years studying how electrons make their way through some important protein molecules.

March 31, 2023

From 2 women in department to 35% of faculty: School of Molecular Sciences celebrates growth, impact

Regents Professor Ana Moore is the longest continuously serving female faculty member of Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences, starting in 1976.

March 27, 2023

ASU Biodesign researcher Hao Yan nets 2 prestigious awards

Hao Yan, director of the Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics at Arizona State University and the Milton D. Glick Distinguished Professor with ASU’s School of Molecular Sciences, has been inducted as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

March 15, 2023

ASU startup Precise Polymer wins grand prize in Skysong Innovations Startup Challenge

The Skysong Innovations Startup Challenge is an annual pitch event consisting of Arizona State University startups that compete for a chance to gain a total seed investment of $50,000 in convertible notes.

March 10, 2023

Celebrating the women of ASU Online who inspire, advance STEM education

Ara Austin's passion for student success outcomes stems from her PhD work, which analyzed the effects of socio-cognitive and socio-cultural factors on student performance in organic chemistry courses.

March 9, 2023

Nobel laureate to deliver distinguished Eyring Lecture Series at ASU

On March 16 and 17, Jack Szostak will be the featured School of Molecular Sciences’ Eyring Lecture Series speaker at Arizona State University's Tempe campus.

March 8, 2023

National Science Foundation awards $90.8M to ASU to advance X-ray science

The National Science Foundation today announced $90.8 million in funding to Arizona State University — the largest NSF research award in the university’s history — to advance groundbreaking research in X-ray science.

February 27, 2023

ASU’s first chemistry PhD receives Milton K. Curry education award

Intrepid, innovative and inspiring describe Jesse Jones, the first person to receive a PhD in chemistry from Arizona State University, in 1963.Following his own successful academic career, Jones became a dedicated professor, helping to increase the number of minority students who when on to graduate school and medical school.

February 27, 2023

Deciphering the mysterious relationship between coral and algae

Liza Roger, assistant professor in Arizona State University’s School of Molecular Sciences and an affiliate faculty in ASU’s School of Ocean Futures, is leading research to better understand coral bleaching and the phenomenon’s effect on the symbiotic relationship between coral and algae.

February 3, 2023

Navrotsky named Regents Professor for groundbreaking work in materials science

Alexandra Navrotsky has been described as the world’s leading scientist in the field of thermochemistry of minerals and solid-state materials. Her discoveries have been of fundamental importance in solid-state chemistry, geochemistry, materials science and engineering, exoplanetary chemistry and materials for space exploration.

February 3, 2023

Navrotsky named Regents Professor for groundbreaking work in materials science

Navrotsky started her independent career in 1969, in what was then ASU’s Department of Chemistry, left for Princeton in 1985, moved to UC Davis in 1997 and rejoined ASU in 2019.She has been described as the world’s leading scientist in the field of thermochemistry of minerals and solid-state materials. Her discoveries have been of fundamental importance in solid-state chemistry, geochemistry, materials science and engineering, exoplanetary chemistry and materials for space exploration.

February 2, 2023

School of Molecular Sciences welcomes eclectic new faculty

Arizona State University’s School of Molecular Sciences (SMS) recently welcomed two new faculty who exemplify this approach and use atomic- and molecular-level thinking to work on important problems that historically would not be considered mainstream chemistry or biochemistry.

January 27, 2023

Compounds found in plants offer new hope in the fight against prostate cancer

In a new study, Raimund Fromme at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute Center for Applied Structural Discovery joins researchers Eli Chapman and Leslie Gunatilaka from the University of Arizona to explore a potent plant compound that could inhibit prostate cancer.

January 25, 2023

ASU professor will develop new computer modeling framework for bio-nanotechnology with NSF CAREER award

Petr Šulc, an assistant professor at Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences and the Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, has recently earned a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation.

January 10, 2023

X-ray light reveals how virus responsible for COVID-19 covers its tracks, eluding the immune system

One aspect of the novel coronavirus that makes it so infectious and challenging to control is its ability to outwit the body’s innate immune defenses. A new study examines NendoU (pronounced nenn-doh-YOU), a viral protein responsible for the virus’s tactics of immune evasion.