News Archive

UNC Chemist Receives Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Prestigious Matter-to-Life Award

The grant supports Dr. Zhiyue Lu's research into how life-like behaviors emerge from inanimate matter.

UNC Chemists Unveil Blueprint for Molecular-Scale Computers

UNC chemists introduced a novel principle: thermal-kinetic frustration, which allows a molecule to behave like a tiny, programmable computer.

UNC Scientists Design 3D Cathodes to Make CO2-to-Fuel Conversion More Efficient

A CHASE-supported UNC study represents a significant step forward in designing more efficient carbon dioxide reduction systems.

A Cleaner Future for Tires: Scientists Pioneer Chemical Process to Repurpose Rubber Waste

In a Nature study, a UNC chemist has introduced a novel chemical method for breaking down rubber waste.

UNC Researchers Pioneer Light-Powered Technique to Enhance PET Scan Disease Detection

Researchers have developed a promising method to make radiotracers faster, more efficiently and with less waste.

Startup’s Trojan Horse Therapy Attacks Aggressive Cancers, Spares Healthy Cells

In a pioneering approach to cancer treatment, a North Carolina startup—dGenThera—has developed a targeted radiotherapeutic based on astatine-211, an alpha-emitting isotope.

In Seminar, Chemistry Alum Explores How Protein Movements Shape Their Function

Arthur Palmer discussed how proteins shift their shapes and why that matters for their function as part of a Biochemistry & Biophysics seminar series.

Electrochemist tracks protons and electrons to improve alternative fuel production

UNC Chapel Hill graduate student Charlotte Montgomery investigates how molecular catalysts precisely move protons and electrons to drive chemical reactions and produce alternative fuels.

Scientists Develop Smart Polymers for Sustainable Rare Earth Recovery

The researchers' experiments found that increasing the hydrophobic component of their polymer improved its ability to extract lanthanides and that the polymer showed metal selectivity.

Study Finds Aged Biomass Emissions Could Pose Greater Risk to Lungs Than Fresh Wildfire Smoke

An Environmental Pollution study reveals how two key components of biomass smoke—levoglucosan and 4-nitrocatechol—affect human lung cells.

Unlocking the Secrets of Ancient Atmospheres: How Sulfur Compounds Shaped Early Earth

An ACS Earth and Space Chemistry study revealed that sulfur existed in the early atmospheres in multiple oxidation states.

Sloan Fellowship awarded to Carolina chemist

Alex Zhukhovitskiy, William R. Kenan Jr. Fellow and an assistant professor of chemistry, has been awarded a 2025 Sloan Research Fellowship, among the most prestigious awards given to early-career scientists.