News Archive

2022

December 27, 2022

Ahead of the curve: New techniques advance DNA nanotech

In a new study, Professor Hao Yan from Arizona State University, Professor John Reif from Duke University and their colleagues describe a technique for considerably expanding the versatility and range of DNA nano-objects.

December 20, 2022

Being a good ally in Indigenous research

Indigenous research isn’t just about the collection of data or the academic study of a subject. It’s also about how to show proper respect and reciprocal relations to tribal nations and communities.  

December 8, 2022

ASU Regents Professor honored with materials science award

ASU’s Alexandra Navrotsky has been awarded the Czochralski Medal from the European Materials Research Society, their highest honor for lifetime research achievement in materials science.

December 1, 2022

Illuminating the answers to life’s mysteries

Petra Fromme, a pioneer in using X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) for structural biology, is helping to bring the world’s first compact XFEL to ASU. 

November 30, 2022

ASU recycles research-supporting helium amid global shortage

ASU’s Magnetic Resonance Research Center has installed a helium recovery system to support sustainable research on subjects including cancer, pain perception and degradable plastics.

November 21, 2022

Alexandra Navrotsky among top female scientists in the world

For the first time, Research.com has published a list of the top 1,000 female scientists in the world including Alexandra Navrotsky.

November 17, 2022

Navrotsky awarded a Regents Professorship

Alex Navrotsky has just been named an ASU Regents Professor. Regents Professor is the most prestigious faculty award at ASU.

November 15, 2022

Fuel for thought: Advancing solar-to-fuel technology

In new research, Gary Moore and his research group describe technology engineered to convert radiant energy from the sun into so-called solar fuels, which can be stored or used as carbon-neutral or carbon-free sources of energy to help power the modern world.

November 8, 2022

ASU professor receives federal funding for technology to grow domestic critical minerals supply chain

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has just announced $39 million in funding for 16 projects across 12 states to develop market-ready technologies that will increase domestic supplies of critical elements required for the clean energy transition.

November 2, 2022

The edge of habitability: Tracking water in the world’s driest desert

Graduate Research Associate Donald Glaser found that water-vapor adsorption, the adhesion of water molecules to soil grains, adds as much or more water into the Atacama’s hyper-arid soils as annual rainfall — and is likely a key contributor to the desert’s ability to support life. This finding was detailed in the October issue of the journal Astrobiology and featured on its cover. 

October 24, 2022

David Tirrell to deliver distinguished Eyring Lecture Series at ASU

Leading American chemist David A. Tirrell will be the featured School of Molecular Sciences’ Eyring Lecture Series speaker Nov. 3–4 at Arizona State University's Tempe campus.

October 17, 2022

ASU School of Molecular Sciences professor wins photochemistry award

An associate professor in Arizona State University’s School of Molecular Sciences and a researcher in the Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and Center for Negative Carbon Emissions, Moore was recently awarded the 2023 Inter-American Photochemical Society (I-APS) Young Investigator Award, which will be presented at the 2023 annual meeting at Sandestin Beach, Florida.

October 5, 2022

ASU researchers solve a Lyme disease mystery

A recent doctoral graduate from the School of Molecular Sciences and the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, Behm has devoted her energies to unlocking some of the secrets of Lyme disease, a tenacious ailment affecting some 500,000 Americans every year.

October 4, 2022

Audrey Lapinaite receives NIH Innovator Award

Assistant Professor Audrey Lapinaite is working on new genome editing tools and has just been awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award.

October 3, 2022

ASU scientists discover dual-function messenger RNA

For the very first time, a study — led by Julian Chen and his group in Arizona State University’s School of Molecular Sciences and the Biodesign Institute’s Center for the Mechanism of Evolution — has discovered an unprecedented pathway producing telomerase RNA from a protein-coding messenger RNA (mRNA). 

September 16, 2022

AI spurs scientists to advance materials research

Arizona State University researchers Qi-Jun Hong, Alexandra Navrotsky and Sergey Ushakov, together with Axel van de Walle at Brown University, have harnessed the power of artificial intelligence (AI), or machine learning (ML), to demonstrate an easier way to predict melting temperatures for potentially any compound or chemical formula. 

September 15, 2022

ASU celebrates opening of Navrotsky Eyring Center for Materials of the Universe with presentations, lab tour

The study of materials continues to change lives — from making cars more efficient, to reducing the greenhouse effect, to allowing rockets to soar in a safer way. And maybe one day, it will help us find another planet to inhabit. 

August 29, 2022

Acquisition of mass spectrometry instrument positions ASU at leading edge of technology globally

Professor Alexandra Ros, principal investigator in ASU’s School of Molecular Sciences and faculty member in the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Applied Structural Discovery, was awarded a Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) instrument by the National Institutes of Health.

August 19, 2022

These women are leading the charge for more diversity in STEM

SMS Director Tijana Rajh, one of four women leaders ASU hired over the last 18 months to head units in STEM-related areas.

August 1, 2022

Summer academy provides hands-on STEM experiences for children of migrant farmworkers

Faculty and staff from the School of Molecular Sciences provided hands-on laboratory activities and interacted with high school students in Arizona State University's Migratory Student Summer Academy, hosted by the School of Transborder Studies.

July 29, 2022

ASU researchers to address local air-quality concerns

Air quality is acknowledged as a critically important influence on public health. In the Valley of the Sun, air-quality issues related to dust, ozone and microorganisms are of particular concern.

July 29, 2022

8 students from across the country contribute to sustainability research at ASU

Faculty in Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences welcomed first-year students, sophomores and juniors to the Tempe campus this summer for a 10-week opportunity to perform sustainable chemistry and catalysis research, as part of the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.

July 27, 2022

ASU Online students' startup organization grows to become one of largest university clubs

In 2018, three online School of Molecular Sciences biochemistry students, Ellen Streitwieser, Nicola Osgood and Sam Bakotich, recognized the need for a platform to allow ASU Online students majoring in STEM degrees to connect with one another in a safe, inclusive community environment. 

July 26, 2022

ASU scientists find molecular clues behind traumatic brain injury

New research led by scientists at Arizona State University has revealed some of the first detailed molecular clues associated with one of the leading causes of death and disability, a condition known as traumatic brain injury (TBI). 

July 22, 2022

ASU provides hands-on laboratory experiences for online students at scale

This summer, Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences provided in-person instruction to a record number of 540 enrolled online students, who took laboratory courses in organic chemistry, biochemistry and analytical chemistry in a specially designed, condensed and immersive format.

July 22, 2022

Glaunsinger Innovation Award recognizes School of Molecular Science graduate students for entrepreneurship

Arizona State University has become widely recognized as one of the most innovative universities in the nation, and the establishment of the Glaunsinger Innovation Award by William and Lorna Glaunsinger in 2019 further reinforced that reputation. The award is given to a graduate student, or a team of graduate students, in the School of Molecular Sciences for excellence in achieving the school's mission of discovering molecular-level solutions to real-world challenges through the development of research ideas, methodologies or inventions and entrepreneurship.

July 22, 2022

ASU professor, students advance ecologically responsible chemistry

Associate Professor Ryan Trovitch and his students are taking this approach to improve chemical reactions by minimizing the use of toxic solvents and designing sustainable catalysts that offer enhanced energy efficiency.

July 6, 2022

ASU researchers patent a new industrial-scale chemical method using geomimicry

A team from the School of Molecular Sciences and the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University has now developed a method for the production of isooctane from common feedstock molecules that uses just water, heat, and the inexpensive, Earth-abundant metals iron and nickel.

June 30, 2022

The emergence of form: Study expands horizons for DNA nanotechnology

In a new study, Hao Yan and his colleagues Nicholas Stephanopoulos and Petr Sulc, explore a basic building block used in the fabrication of many DNA nanoforms.

June 8, 2022

Universities partner to make chemistry more equitable

ASU, Carnegie Mellon University partner to develop more equitable general chemistry courseware with grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

June 1, 2022

Immune recognition of self and non-self explored in new study

Arizona State University researcher Joshua LaBaer and his colleagues explore components of the immune system known as autoantibodies. While they have been implicated as central players in a range of serious autoimmune diseases, the study observes that autoantibodies are also found in healthy individuals.

May 27, 2022

School of Molecular Sciences celebrates 45 'Moore' years

Arizona State University has a long-standing reputation in natural and artificial photosynthesis research, thanks in part to Ana and Tom Moore, who have been important members of the School of Molecular Sciences (formerly known as the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) since late 1976. 

May 27, 2022

School of Molecular Sciences inaugural director retires after exemplary ASU career

Professor Daniel Buttry, inaugural director of Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences (SMS) and an expert in the fields of electrochemistry and materials science, is retiring after 40 years (14 at ASU) of exemplary teaching, research and leadership roles.

May 11, 2022

raphic shows the bilayer structure of a living cell membrane, composed of phospholipid. A phospholipid consists of a hydrophilic, or water-loving, head and hydrophobic, or water-fearing, tail. The hydrophobic tails are sandwiched between two layers of hydrophilic heads. At the center, a channel is shown, permitting the transport of biomolecules.

Artificial cell membrane channels composed of DNA can be opened and locked with a key

A new study shows how artificial cell channels can be engineered out of DNA, an innovation with implications for biosensing and drug.

May 11, 2022

Ray Carpenter retires

The past four decades have seen many advances in electron microscopy at Arizona State University, and Ray Carpenter has been instrumental in many of them.

May 4, 2022

Petuskey retires after distinguished four-decade career at ASU

Professor William (Bill) Petuskey is retiring after an extremely successful 39 years at Arizona State University and the School of Molecular Sciences. His extensive teaching, research and leadership roles at ASU have been immeasurable.

April 28, 2022

Next-generation laboratory course developed for online chemistry students

School of Molecular Sciences Professor Jeff Yarger pioneers an innovative approach to a laboratory course.

April 27, 2022

Lecturer and ASU alum Gary Cabirac to retire in June

While wandering Arizona State University’s campus in the late 1970s as a self-professed chemistry nerd, the young Gary Cabirac had no idea he would return and become a beloved lecturer in the School of Molecular Sciences. 

April 25, 2022

Scientists study microorganisms on Earth to gain insight into life on other planets

To find these clues, a team of scientists from Arizona State University, who are members of the Group Exploring Organic Processes in Geochemistry led by Everett Shock of ASU SESE and SMS, traveled to Oman to investigate a geological process unique to these rocks, where water reacts with them to create hydrogen gas. 

April 22, 2022

SMS graduate student wins NSF award

Shundene Key awarded a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program on surface proteins in the immune system.

April 20, 2022

School of Molecular Sciences Dean's Medalist is an inspiration to all

Next month, Phoenix native and School of Molecular Sciences Dean’s medalist Aaron Jafar Hernandez Flores will graduate with a bachelor's degree in chemistry.

April 13, 2022

ABOR funds to support Valley fever research

Pierre Herckes and Matthew Fraser to lead a newly funded study on environmental detection and modeling of Valley fever in Arizona.

April 13, 2022

ASU School of Molecular Sciences professor receives teaching award

The 2022 Distinction of Merit and Scholastic Occupation (DMSO) teacher award was presented to Laura Ackerman-Biegasiewicz, who teaches in Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences. The award is given by the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS).

April 12, 2022

ASU student awarded inaugural carbon capture scholarship

The first recipient of the Martin Hudson Scholarship for Carbon Capture and Sustainable Energy, Riley Seminara, is a sophomore majoring in biochemistry and chemical engineering.

March 31, 2022

ASU undergrad Lauren Harstad awarded Goldwater Scholarship

ASU School of Molecular Sciences student Lauren Harstad is the recipient of a 2022 Goldwater Scholarship. The Goldwater Scholarship, established by Congress in 1986, is the most prestigious award for undergraduate STEM majors.

March 30, 2022

Tim Long honored with American Chemical Society's Paul J. Flory Award

At the American Chemical Society’s national spring meeting in San Diego, Arizona State University Professor Tim Long was honored by the society's Division of Polymer Chemistry with the Paul J. Flory Award for Polymer Education.

March 18, 2022

Keck award will help scientists take quantum leap to explore the mysteries of life

Professor Mujica will lead a three-year, $1 million award from the prestigious Keck Foundation for quantum research.

March 11, 2022

Paul Weiss to deliver distinguished Eyring Lecture Series at ASU

Paul Weiss, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences with many international awards, will be the featured School of Molecular Sciences’ Eyring Lecture Series speaker.

February 25, 2022

Learn, earn and return: School of Molecular Sciences supports military students

Cory Smith, an online biochemistry major, currently serving in the Air Force as a U-28A mission pilot, recently completing his 7th deployment in the Middle East. Smith has his sights set on earning entry into medical school, and then returning to active duty as a military physician.

February 25, 2022

Study shows that proteins can act as electrical conductors

In new research appearing in the journal ACS Nano, Stuart Lindsay and his colleagues show that certain proteins can act as efficient electrical conductors.

February 25, 2022

Lost in the moss: ASU scientists answer key questions regarding photosynthesis evolution

A team of scientists from Arizona State University has taken a significant step closer to unlocking the secrets of photosynthesis, by determining the structure of a very large photosynthetic supercomplex in mosses.  Yuval Mazor is the paper’s senior author and an assistant professor in the School of Molecular Sciences.

February 21, 2022

New technology fused with photosynthetic life offers path to green energy

Research appearing in the current issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, lead author Christine Lewis and her ASU colleagues describe a patented hybrid device — part living organism, part bio battery, capable of producing stored energy by increasing energy flow under light conditions where natural photosynthesis is normally inhibited.

February 10, 2022

ASU professor accepts international award for research in marine, aquatic sciences

Research led by Arizona State University Professor Hilairy Hartnett is being honored with the 2022 John Martin Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO).

February 8, 2022

Mentorship program to address graduate student inclusion

The mentorship will help faculty to understand differences in student experiences and perceptions, and how their goals might be different from what the faculty members’ goals were when they were graduate students. 

February 1, 2022

The dynamic duo who sparked a worldwide chemistry revolution

And no one was more fitting to kick off the lecture series than former ASU faculty member Professor Omar Yaghi, who together with ASU Professor Emeritus Michael O’Keeffe made their 1990s breakthrough discoveries on reticular chemistry.

January 28, 2022

New program creates pathways for Native American student success

ASU-Berkeley Lab program seeks to increase number of Native students pursuing STEM graduate studies.

January 26, 2022

Marcia Levitus aids in DIY air filters to help Valley schools fight COVID-19

Levitus has used carbon dioxide monitors to spot check the effectiveness of some of the filter boxes inside classrooms.

January 24, 2022

Yuval Mazor receives NSF CAREER award

SMS Assistant Professor, Yuval Mazor, will study the structural biology of photosynthetic supercomplexes with NSF CAREER Award.

2021

December 10, 2021

Christina Birkel receives NSF CAREER award

Christina Birkel and her group are diligently working to create new materials that can be used for renewable energy, catalysts and permanent magnets.

December 2, 2021

Rare blood clots linked to adenovirus COVID-19 vaccines

Scientists led by a team from ASU, Cardiff University and others worked with AstraZeneca to investigate vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).

November 22, 2021

New possibilities for life at the bottom of Earth's ocean

In a newly published study, biogeoscientists Jeffrey Dick and Everett Shock have determined that specific hydrothermal seafloor environments provide a unique habitat where certain organisms can thrive. 

November 17, 2021

ASU's SMS Jacob Garcia awarded prestigious NRC postdoc

Garcia recently successfully defended his doctoral thesis, titled “The ultrafast excited — state dynamics of first-row transition metal oxide clusters.” His laser studies on uncharged transition metal oxide clusters could ultimately lead to the development of new and less expensive industrial catalysts.

November 17, 2021

Center for Meteorite Studies named in honor of Peter Buseck

Regents Professor Peter Buseck has an enduring and productive relationship with Arizona State University’s Center for Meteorite Studies.

November 1, 2021

SMS Alum Josh Vermaas returns for lecture

ASU alumnus Josh Vermaas came full circle, delivering the School of Molecular Sciences’ weekly seminar in the Biodesign auditorium. Vermaas graduated with degrees in biochemistry, physics and computational math from Arizona State University in 2010.

October 29, 2021

In memoriam: Emeritus Professor Sandra Pizzarello

Emeritus Professor Sandra Pizzarello is remembered by friends and colleagues in Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences for her kindness, achievements and integrity. She passed away on Sunday, Oct. 24. Pizzarello, a native of Italy, earned her doctorate in biological sciences in Padua. In 1977, she joined the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department (now the School of Molecular Sciences), working with John Cronin and studying organic compounds associated with meteorites.

October 27, 2021

Nobel laureate Mario Capecchi to deliver distinguished Eyring lectures

Mario Capecchi is an Italian-born molecular geneticist known for his pioneering work on the development of gene targeting in mice. This technology allows creation of mutations in any desired gene, giving virtually complete freedom to manipulate the genome of living mice.

October 21, 2021

ASU Regents Professor receives award for excellence in aerosol research

Regents Professor Peter Buseck is the 2021 recipient of the David Sinclair Award from the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR), the leading international scientific research organization for the study of aerosols, with emphasis on atmospheric chemistry. This significant honor recognizes the sustained excellence of an active, established scientist who has made a lasting impact in aerosol research and technology throughout their career.

October 14, 2021

Circular economy research makes plastic more sustainable

Developing a viable plan for a circular plastics economy is the key focus of a National Science Foundation Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation, or EFRI, project Long is leading with an interdisciplinary team of researchers. 

October 14, 2021

New theories and materials aid the transition to clean energy

In a new study, Gary Moore and his research group explore different approaches to catalysis, a chemical process that plays an essential role in biological reactions, as well as many industrial applications.

October 14, 2021

Improvements in microscopy home in on biology's elusive details

Researchers at Arizona State University's Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and School of Molecular Sciences, as part of a multi-institutional research collaboration, are carrying the field of microscopy a step further, refining a technique known as cryogenic electron microscopy, or cryo-EM.

October 12, 2021

Miriam Goras combines passion for ethics and science

Lincoln Scholar Miriam Goras exemplifies this commitment while studying abroad in Germany with the department of molecular neurobiology at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, conducting research on sphingomyelin synthase inhibitors and their ability to induce controlled autophagy in vitro. 

October 6, 2021

Carleton Moore: meteorites and moon rocks

In recognition of Moore’s many notable achievements, Asteroid 5046 Carletonmoore was named in his honor in 1981. In 2021, a new mineral found in a large, rare meteorite was named “carletonmooreite,” also in recognition of Moore’s importance to meteorite research throughout his career.

October 6, 2021

ASU research on protein responsible for detection, marking Nobel Prize

Included in the collection is a paper published by scientists from ASU's SMS and the Biodesign Institute in Nature Communications that helps clarify the contributions to an ion channel’s temperature-dependent activation.

September 29, 2021

The 'FORCE' is with ASU, thanks to a $13.7M NSF grant

The National Science Foundation has just announced the award of $13.7 million to Arizona State University to build a one-of-a-kind high-pressure research facility, the FORCE (Facility for Open Research in a Compressed Environment).

September 29, 2021

Study seeks to settle debate about oxygen in Earth's early atmosphere

A team of scientists, led by former Arizona State University doctoral student Aleisha Johnson, has been working to unravel the mystery of how the stage was set for the Great Oxidation Event.

September 28, 2021

ASU President's Professor Ariel Anbar elected as an AGU fellow

Arizona State University Professor Ariel Anbar has been elected as an American Geophysical Union (AGU) fellow. He joins 59 other individuals in the 2021 Class of Fellows.

September 24, 2021

SMS graduate student Gafaru Adam dies in accident

Gafaru Adam, who arrived from Ghana at the end of July to begin a PhD in biochemistry in the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University, died in a tragic accident off campus on Sept. 13.

September 24, 2021

In memoriam: Regents Professor George 'Bob' Pettit

It is with sadness that the ASU School of Molecular Sciences announces the death of Regents Professor George “Bob” Pettit, who died on Tuesday, Sept. 21. Pettit was a giant in the field of natural products and anti-cancer research, holding nearly 70 patents on anti-cancer compounds. 

September 14, 2021

Study explores a unique material with tunable properties

In a new study, Scott Sayres and Jacob Garcia, use mass spectroscopy and ultrafast laser pulses to interrogate chromium oxides in unprecedented detail.

September 14, 2021

Alexandra Navrotsky increases ASU donation to $10M

In addition to the leadership and internationally recognized scholarship that Alex brings to ASU, she has made a personal $10 million investment which will ensure the long-term growth of materials science in this area at ASU.

September 8, 2021

Inspired by photosynthesis, scientists double reaction quantum efficiency

Regents Professors Tom Moore and Ana Moore and their groups have introduced a bioinspired catalyst that lengthens the productive state of some chemical reactions.

September 8, 2021

Computational protein design utilizes unnatural amino acids

Assistant Professor Jeremy Mills and his group have just published their research in the journal Biochemistry and present a novel solution to this problem.

September 7, 2021

Tim Long's work on polymers recognized through NSF grant and ACS Award

To tackle this and other challenges, Arizona State University's Tim Long, brings together research in chemistry, chemical engineering, health sciences and mechanical engineering.

September 3, 2021

SMS alum receives prestigious NIH early-career award

Arizona State University alumnus Chris Gisriel, currently a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Chemistry at Yale University, was recently awarded a Pathway to Independence Award by the National Institutes of Health.

September 3, 2021

New research advances clean energy solutions

Gary Moore, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery, thinks chemistry will play a vital role in the development of clean solutions to the world’s mounting energy dilemma.

August 19, 2021

ASU researchers develop artificial enzyme to harness light for renewable energy systems

Using an artificial enzyme embedded in a transparent, conductive material, researchers at Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences report in Catalysts their success in developing a highly efficient system to convert light energy into chemical energy.

July 28, 2021

Researchers at ASU's SMS, Biodesign Institute, Mayo Clinic unravel DNA repair mechanism

Chloe Truong and Po-Lin Chiu of ASU's School of Molecular Sciences and The Biodesign Institute, along with Mayo Clinic biochemically characterize the protein-protein interactions of a huge DNA repair enzyme, DNA polymerase zeta, which is responsible for repair across damaged DNA, known as DNA translesion synthesis (TLS).

July 23, 2021

ASU student first author on dynamic water-protein interactions research article

ASU online School of Molecular Sciences alumna Tawny Fajardo and School of Molecular Sciences Assistant Professor Matthias Heyden, through computer simulations of a small peptide, studied the underlying components of the potential energy and entropy that determine the peptide’s structural and dynamical properties.

July 21, 2021

Seed grants bring ASU, Mayo Clinic researchers together to advance patient care

Two researchers are trying to find a way to identify biomarkers for specific diseases by studying the differences between patients who lose their sense of smell from either infectious diseases or neurodegenerative ones. The project is one of seven pilot studies that will be explored through the 2021 Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University seed grant program.

July 16, 2021

ASU researchers collaborate to develop innovative manufacturing for modern industries

Alternative diluents that are more environmentally friendly and can be used in manufacturing are a focus of research in Timothy Long’s laboratory in Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences.

July 15, 2021

New study targets molecular culprit of liver disease

In a new study, the research team, under the directorship of co-author Petra Fromme, at Arizona State University's Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and colleagues from the Biodesign Center for Innovations in Medicine, ASU’s School of Molecular Sciences and researchers at Mayo Clinic use nuclear magnetic resonance technology to probe a protein known as G0S2. By understanding the molecular structure in minute detail, researchers hope to develop drugs capable of targeting this protein and alleviating symptoms of NAFLD, or perhaps preventing the disease altogether.

July 15, 2021

SMS announces Tijana Rajh as new director

Tijana Rajh has been announced as the new director of Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences. She comes to ASU from a 25-year career at Argonne National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary science and engineering research center of the U.S. Department of Energy.

June 30, 2021

Hope for more effective antibiotics comes from ASU research of protein structure, folding and dynamics

Arizona State University researchers Tushar Modi and Banu Ozkan of the Department of Physics, and Wade Van Horn and Mubark Mebrat, both of the School of Molecular Sciences, along with colleagues from other institutions, report on a breakthrough that improves understanding of the relationship between protein structure, dynamics and function.

June 25, 2021

ASU researchers aim to expand possibilities for restoring human health

Effective diagnostics, therapies and treatments for diseases and infections could increasingly involve reengineering the body’s internal biomechanisms at their most basic chemical and molecular foundations.

June 25, 2021

Earth's oldest photosynthetic organisms provide insight into clean energy solutions

ASU scientists, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Michigan, studied the reaction center from heliobacteria — the simplest, and most similar to the earliest photosynthetic reaction centers that first appeared on Earth over 3 billion years ago.

June 16, 2021

2 recent promotions in ASU's School of Molecular Sciences poised to have positive impact on growing number of students

Congratulations to Ara Austin and Orenda Griffin on their recent promotions. 

May 28, 2021
Inclusion, diversity focus of School of Molecular Sciences JEDI Grant Award

The College established JEDI seed grants to promote an environment of equity and inclusion. The School of Molecular Sciences partners with the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Life Sciences on the award and the grant’s fulfillment.

May 28, 2021
Faculty promotions announced in the School of Molecular Sciences

Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences recognizes and congratulates its faculty member promotions, as announced by The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. These promotions will take effect in August of this year.

May 20, 2021
ASU professor Tim Steimle retires after fulfilling career of nearly four decades

Professor Timothy Steimle has enjoyed a productive career at Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences for nearly 40 years.

May 19, 2021
ASU alumnus Spencer Silver lived life as an inventor

ASU chemistry and biochemistry alumnus Spencer Silver died May 8 at age 80. Silver was a research organic and polymer chemist at the 3M corporation who invented the adhesive used in Post-it Notes.

May 17, 2021
American Chemical Society awards bridge program to ASU's School of Molecular Sciences

Arizona State University’s School of Molecular Sciences is one of three institutions nationwide selected this year to join the American Chemical Society’s Bridge Program.

May 4, 2021
Graduates fueled by ASU Biodesign research experiences credit opportunity, mentor trust

SMS PhD graduate Swarup Dey was recently offered a position as a postdoctoral candidate at Harvard Medical School. “I want to solve real-world problems, and I see this field as a very apt way to make a difference in human life."

April 30, 2021
Clinical Assistant Professor Ara Austin receives outstanding educator award

Austin’s passion and skill for teaching and her tireless efforts were recognized by The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, awarding her with this year’s Outstanding Lecturer/Clinical Professor Award.

April 22, 2021
Study paves the way for new photosensitive materials

In new research appearing in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Arizona State University Assistant Professor Scott Sayres and his research group describe their investigations into the molecular dynamics of titania clusters.

April 22, 2021
Beating detectors at their own game: How to catch a fast molecule in action

Arizona State University researcher Steve Pressé and co-authors report a new mathematical method to extract changes in biomolecular shapes that occur on timescales that exceed detector exposure times.

April 13, 2021
In memoriam: Associate Research Professional Paul Liddell

Arizona State University employs many unsung heroes, like Paul Liddell, who devote their lives and careers not only to research, but to helping others. Liddell, an associate research professional in the School of Molecular Sciences, died in late February.

April 12, 2021
Fromme's pioneering efforts in X-ray crystallography honored with prestigious Anfinsen Award

Arizona State University researcher Petra Fromme has received the 2021 Christian B. Anfinsen Award. The honor is bestowed by the Protein Society, the premier international association dedicated to supporting protein research.

March 22, 2021
Variances in critical protein may guide fate of those infected with SARS CoV-2

A new study by Karen Anderson, Abhishek Singharoy and their colleagues at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, may offer some tentative clues. Their research explores MHC-I, a critical protein component of the human adaptive immune system.

March 19, 2021
Austen Angell left legacy of exploration

Austen Angell, a world-renowned Regents Professor of chemistry who plumbed into the behaviors and physical properties of glass-forming liquids, died on March 12 after fighting cancer for the past 17 years.

March 17, 2021
ASU researcher Gary Moore exemplifies scientific leadership through energy research

SMS Associate Professor Gary Moore and his research team seek to understand and advance the science of molecular materials for applications in transducing solar energy.

March 11, 2021
Double-masking the right way

ASU aerosol expert Pierre Herckes provides advice on the practice of wearing two face masks simultaneously.

February 22, 2021
ASU academic advisers excel during pandemic

Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences academic advisers are excelling and helping a record number of students.

February 18, 2021
School of Molecular Sciences faculty bring attention to diversity, equity, inclusion in academia

School of Molecular Sciences assistant professors Laura Ackerman-Biegasiewicz and Kyle Biegasiewicz to look inward at their own spheres of influence and examine sources of injustice and inequity in academia.

February 15, 2021
Mineral 'carletonmooreite' named for founder of ASU Center for Meteorite Studies

A new mineral has been named for Arizona State University Emeritus Regents Professor Carleton Moore, the founding director of ASU’s Center for Meteorite Studies.

February 12, 2021
ASU researchers unraveling protein structure to understand and fight disease

Abhishek Singharoy, assistant professor with ASU’s School of Molecular Sciences, led the CryoFold team.

February 8, 2021
ASU alumna designing vaccines at Moderna

Ana Julia Narvaez, a 2003 biochemistry PhD graduate from the School of Molecular Sciences is designing vaccines at ModernaTx. 

2020

December 21, 2020
ASU's natural sciences division welcomes 3 new leaders

Tijana Rajh joins ASU from the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory.

December 15, 2020
ASU professor receives 2020 Foresight Institute Feynman Prize

Hao Yan, director of the Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics at Arizona State University has been awarded the 2020 Foresight Institute Feynman Prize.

December 7, 2020
New and unexplored dimension in the study of protein-protein interactions

Associate Professor Marcia Levitus from Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences and co-workers have now found that these protein doughnuts assemble in previously unknown ways.

November 12, 2020
Arizona recognizes Biodesign Institute’s response to COVID-19 with Innovator of the Year award

The Biodesign Institute has been unrelenting in its efforts to track and mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in Arizona since last spring. 

November 9, 2020
NASA selects ASU science teams for astrobiology research

The NASA Astrobiology Program has announced the selection of eight new interdisciplinary research teams to inaugurate its Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) program. 

November 9, 2020
Ultrafast laser experiments pave way to better industrial catalysts

Arizona State University's Scott Sayres and his team have recently published an ultrafast laser study on uncharged iron oxide clusters.

October 21, 2020
ASU School of Molecular Sciences professor recognized with midcareer achievement award

Arizona State University's Alexandra Ros has just received the Advancing Electrokinetic Science Electrophoresis Society Mid-Career Achievement Award.

October 21, 2020
School of Molecular Sciences researchers lead rapid COVID-19 test development

The effort to develop a rapid COVID-19 saliva test is being spearheaded by two School of Molecular Sciences researchers at Arizona State University.

October 12, 2020
Tiny pumping stations play outsize role in cellular health and disease

ASU's Abhishek Singharoy and his colleagues combine high-resolution cryo-EM images made at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

October 6, 2020
New techniques probe vital and elusive proteins

Wei Liu and his group investigate a critically important class of proteins, which adorn the outer membranes of cells.

September 24, 2020
ASU researchers receive $6 million state contract to develop rapid, 20-minute COVID-19 saliva test

In May, researchers at ASU’s Biodesign Institute produced the Western United States’ first FDA-approved saliva-based COVID-19 test 

September 16, 2020
Scientists search for stellar phosphorus to find potentially habitable exoplanets

Scientists at ASU and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) have identified stellar phosphorus as a probable marker in narrowing the search for life in the cosmos.

September 15, 2020
Storing information and designing uncrackable codes with DNA

Researchers at SMS and the Biodesign Institute are exploring the unique information-carrying capacities of DNA.

September 14, 2020
New method to design diamond lattices, other crystals from microscopic building blocks

Petr Sulc, corresponding author of the new study, to design DNA nanostructures that can take shape in a test tube, as if on autopilot.

September 10, 2020
AZBio awards ASU researchers for exceptional work in biosciences

This month, AZBio announced that two of their annual awards will go to outstanding Arizona State University researchers — Joshua LaBaer and Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown.

September 9, 2020
New microfluidic device minimizes loss of high value samples

A major collaborative effort that has been developing over the last three years between ASU and European scientists has resulted in a significant technical advance in X-ray crystallographic sample strategies.

September 7, 2020
A new twist on DNA origami

A team of scientists from ASU and Shanghai Jiao Tong University has just announced the creation of a new type of meta-DNA structures.

August 27, 2020
New study takes aim at advanced types of nonaddictive pain therapies

Wade Van Horn and Marcia Levitus recently published a study in Nature Communications that helps clarify the contributions to an ion channel’s.

August 24, 2020
ASU President’s Professor Ariel Anbar awarded medal from the Geological Society of America

President’s Professor Ariel Anbar has been awarded the Arthur L. Day Medal from the Geological Society of America.

August 24, 2020
Study offers new insights for sun-gathering technologies

Researchers at the Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery and SMS take a page from nature’s lesson book.

August 19, 2020
SMS launches wide range of new programs for fall 2020 semester

ASU offers more than 800 fully accredited undergraduate and graduate degree programs — not to mention more than 270 minors and certificates — and that number is growing this fall...

August 19, 2020
ASU professor receives Department of Energy Career Award

A team including Wei Liu, assistant professor in SMS and the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Applied Structural Discovery, published a paper on Aug.19th.

August 7, 2020
ASU professor receives Department of Energy Career Award

Award-winning ASU researcher uses nature-inspired chemistry to develop clean energy

July 21, 2020
ASU student receives 2020 School of Molecular Sciences Innovation Award for medical device

Graduate student Swarup Dey has been awarded the 2020 SMS Innovation Award for his invention, which creates a DNA nanosensor that mimics transmembrane proteins.

July 21, 2020
Woodbury named CEO of Science Foundation Arizona

ASU's chief science and technology officer will lead the nonprofit, which connects researchers & businesses.

June 16, 2020
ASU researcher tests face mask efficiency before and after sterilization

Professor Pierre Herckes tests the reliability of masks after they have been sterilized and offers insight into wearing masks properly.

June 15, 2020
ASU rapidly engineers solution for medical staff battling COVID-19

ASU researchers have created a practical face-mask decontamination solution to help combat COVID-19.

June 12, 2020
ASU students benefit from teaching initiative grant

This spring, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU awarded a faculty fund for a teaching initiative grant to the School of Molecular Sciences

June 11, 2020
Paramedic credits ASU Online for success

David Jacobson, a student in the ASU School of Molecular Sciences, reflects on the journey after being accepted into medical school.

May 14, 2020
Cloth masks a worthy line of defense to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic

ASU professor tests homemade cloth mask to see how effective it can be at stopping aerosolized microparticles.

May 10, 2020
ASU grad student earns fellowship from National Science Foundation

John Vant was recently awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the LeRoy Eyring Memorial Fellowship.

May 7, 2020
ASU scientists rewire photosynthesis to fuel our future

Hydrogen is an essential commodity with over 60 million tons produced globally every year. However, more than 95% of it is made by steam reformation of fossil fuels.

May 7, 2020
ASU professor recognized nationally with Teacher-Scholar Award

Gary Moore, an assistant professor in ASU’s School of Molecular Sciences and the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Applied Structural Discovery, has just been named one of 14 young faculty nationwide.

April 28, 2020
Pioneering ASU Regents Professor reflects on legacy after 57 years at university

Regents Professor Peter Buseck is a pioneering researcher who continues to inspire, even after almost 60 years of service at Arizona State University.

April 20, 2020
ASU scientists lead study of galaxy's 'water worlds'

Astrophysical observations have shown that Neptune-like water-rich exoplanets are common in our galaxy.  An international team of researchers, led by ASU, has provided one of the first mineralogy lab studies for water-rich exoplanets.

April 17, 2020
ASU Dean’s Medalist heads to Harvard

Madeleine Howell is the spring 2020 School of Molecular Sciences Dean’s Medalist, and also the University Outstanding Undergraduate student for the Natural Sciences Division in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

April 3, 2020
3 ASU juniors win top national awards

Three Arizona State University juniors who already are doing sophisticated research and presenting their work to national audiences have won Goldwater Scholarships.

March 10, 2020
ASU professor honored with materials science award
Alexandra Navrotsky to receive the 2020 Jan Czochralski Award from the European Materials Research Society.

March 5, 2020
X-ray eyes peer deeper into deadly pathogen

Researchers at SMS and Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery examine a key membrane protein responsible for the bacterium’s prodigious ability to infect the body and cause illness.

February 27, 2020
SNIPRs take aim at disease-related mutations

Alex Green, Assistant Professor in the SMS and Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics and his colleagues describe a new method for detecting point mutations.

February 20, 2020
Neal Woodbury named senior member of National Academy of Inventors

The National Academy of Inventors has named Arizona State University professors Neal Woodbury and Sarma Vrudhula to the February 2020 class of NAI senior members.

February 20, 2020
ASU scientists utilize nonconventional techniques to make new materials

Christina Birkel is working to create new materials that can be used for renewable energy, catalysts and permanent magnets.

February 17, 2020
The art of letting go: Researchers track progress of separations field in spearheading diagnostics

In a review paper published in Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry, Alexandra Ros and Mukul Sonker— highlight recent progress of separations field in spearheading diagnostics.

February 4, 2020
A new way to separate proteins?
A theoretical study opens up exciting possibilities on how proteins are affected by an electric field. In an article recently published in Biomicrofluidics, Dmitry Matyushov suggests that the mobility of proteins in the field gradient is 10,000 times greater than previously thought.

January 31, 2020
Collecting light: ASU researchers publish faster methods for observing molecular behavior
Steve Pressé and IUPUI graduate student Meysam Tavakoli, as well as other collaborators, draw on mathematical methods not typically seen in the natural sciences to create a faster modeling system to learn about the motion of molecules.

January 27, 2020
Science at the interface: Bioinspired materials reveal useful properties

Researchers at ASU explore new materials with physical properties that can be custom-tailored. The work is inspired by mechanisms in nature, where the complex three-dimensional structure of surrounding proteins influences the electrochemical properties of metals at their core.

January 9, 2020
Breathing with rocks as an energy source

ASU researchers describe key link for using microbial metabolic energy to power electrical applications. Postdoctoral researcher Miyuki Thirumurthy and Professor Anne Jones' work was recently published in the journal Nanotechnology.

2019

December 20, 2019
Mapping the motion of molecules: NIH awards ASU biophysics professor more than $2.5M

Steve Pressé was recently awarded more than $2.5 million from the NIH. Pressé is an associate professor in both the Department of Physics and SMS and a member of the Center for Biological Physics initiative, which seeks to apply a computational physics approach to understanding biological phenomena.

November 26, 2019
Julian Chen and Hao Yan named AAAS fellows

Seven outstanding faculty from Arizona State University have been named as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

November 25, 2019
New electrochemical platform paves the way for advanced portable diagnostic tools

Scientists at ASU and the University of Toronto have developed the first direct gene-circuit-to-electrode interface by combining cell-free synthetic biology with state-of-the-art nanostructured electrodes.

November 20, 2019
'Organic' glass is in tech's future

ASU SMS professor embarks on two projects to study the mobility of molecules in glassy materials, with applications for cell phone screens and pharmaceuticals.

November 18, 2019
Can plants tell us something about longevity?

A study led by Julian Chen and Dorothy Shippen from Texas A&M University has unraveled the detailed structure and function of the RNA component of telomerase enzyme from land plants.

November 18, 2019
Imaging at the speed of life

ASU researchers join a team of physicists from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and their international collaborators to present EuXFEL’s first molecular movie, or “mapping,” of the ultrafast movement of proteins.

November 13, 2019
ASU professor tackles life at the atomic level with NSF CAREER award

Abhishek Singharoy of SMS and the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Applied Structural Discovery has recently earned a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

November 8, 2019
Photosynthesis seen in a new light by rapid X-ray pulses

In a study led by Petra Fromme and Nadia Zatsepin of the Center for Applied Structural Discovery, SMS and the Department of Physics, the structure of Photosystem I was studied with X-ray pulses at the European X-ray Free Electron Laser in Hamburg, Germany.

November 7, 2019
Microfluidics aid membrane protein structure studies

Alexandra Ros and her group publish a new paper about injection devices that are used for membrane protein structure visualization with x-Ray free electron lasers (XFELs).

November 6, 2019
ASU team accepts the NSF Quantum Leap challenge

A team from Arizona State University has been awarded a Conceptualization Grant from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Quantum Leap Challenge Institute (QLCI) program to study spin as a medium for information storage and sensing.

November 5, 2019
Stanford professor to deliver Eyring lectures at ASU

Camille Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University Steven G. Boxer will be the featured Eyring Lecture Series speaker Nov. 14 and 15 at ASU's Tempe campus, speaking about GFP and its possibilities.

November 1, 2019
That’s a switch! Synthetic circuits regulate gene expression

Alex Green and his group and scientists from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Northwestern University, along with a group of international colleagues are carrying RNA’s startling capacities a step further.

October 31, 2019
Electrifying science: New study describes conduction through proteins

Stuart Lindsay and his colleagues investigate a recently discovered feat carried out by enzymes and, most likely, all proteins.

October 15, 2019
Navrotsky comes full circle with opening of new ASU center

Alexandra Navrotsky is back at ASU and the ribbon has been cut to open the center where she will do her next great work.

October 7, 2019
ASU researcher takes on challenge to build a synthetic cell

The challenge of designing a synthetic artificial cell has been accepted by a team of researchers from institutions across the country, including Giovanna Ghirlanda. Ghirlanda will lead the protein design, engineering and catalysis aspects of the project.

October 2, 2019
ASU oceanographer and biogeochemist explores the ocean floor for the history and future of Earth’s climate

Last November, Arizona State University oceanographer, biogeochemist and astrobiologist Hilairy Hartnett joined a research cruise called Coring to Reconstruct Ocean Circulation and Carbon Dioxide Across 2 Seas.

October 2, 2019
ASU research group uncovers a greener alternative in sustainable chemistry

Ryan Trovitch's group in the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University is leading the way in the development of new cost-effective and environmentally friendly catalysts for chemical reaction.