Department of Chemistry – Catherine Murphy, the Larry Faulkner Endowed Chair in Chemistry, will receive the ACS Linus Pauling award. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in chemistry and is presented by the Portland, Puget Sound, and Oregon sections of the American Chemical Society. The award will be presented at the annual Linus Pauling Medal Award Symposium in October in Corvallis, Oregon. Murphy will give a talk after the symposium and banquet.

University of Illinois – The Molecule Maker Lab, led by chemistry professors Martin Burke and Chad Rienstra, is one of 18 campus projects to receive funding from the campus's new Investment for Growth initiative. The lab, to be located at the Beckman Institute, will empower researchers, physicians, and citizen scientists from around the world to create molecules on-demand. It could enable rapid new drug development and other technologies that rely on small molecules.
Many of the funded proposals have three-to-five year plans to be profitable, and all solidify Illinois’ commitment to excellence and transformative learning experiences.

Illinois News Bureau – A research team led by Taher Saif, a professor of mechanical science and engineering, has developed soft robotic devices driven by neuromuscular tissue that triggers when stimulated by light — bringing mechanical engineering one step closer to developing autonomous biobots. Rashid Bashir, dean of The Grainger College of Engineering, also was part of the team.