Category Archives: Chemistry

SALT LAKE CITY University of Utah chemistry professor Peter Stang has been named as the 2013 receipient of the Priestley Medal, the highest honor given by the American Chemical Society.

In addition to receiving the medal, Stang and U. professor Henry White were inducted as fellows of the American Chemical Society the world's largest scientific group with 164,000 members.

"I am truly delighted and honored to receive this most prestigious American Chemical Society award," Stang said in a prepared statement. "It's humbling to be listed among the distinguished previous recipients."

Stang has served as a member of the U. faculty for more than 40 years, according to the university. For the past 20 years, he has pioneered the field of supramolecular chemistry.

Last year, Stang was ranked 69th on a list of the world's top 100 chemists by Times Higher Education in Britain. Also in 2011, Stang was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House as a winner of the National Medal of Science, the highest U.S. honor for a scientist or engineer.

Stang was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 2000 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002, according to U. officials.

"I am exceedingly proud of Peter and this is a fitting tribute to his lifelong dedication to chemistry," U. President David Pershing said in a prepared statement. "He is absolutely committed to the highest research standards and the best education for his students."

Benjamin Wood

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University of Utah chemist receives prestigious award

(Courtesy photo) University of Utah professor of chemistry Peter Stang, recipient of the 2013 Priestley Medal, the American Chemical Society's highest honor.

U. of Us Peter Stang garners nations top honor for chemistry

University of Utah chemistry professor Peter Stang has earned one of the nations highest honors for a scientist, with the American Chemical Society (ACS) awarding him the 2013 Priestley Medal in recognition of his lifetime achievements in organic chemistry.

The society, the worlds largest scientific group with 164,000 members, highlighted Stangs advances in "supramolecular chemistry," which involves the spontaneous formation of large, complex molecules from pre-designed, simple molecules that Stang compares with building blocks in a Lego toy set. A 43-year faculty member, Stang draws inspiration from Utahs Bryce Canyon in his efforts to understand how organic molecules assemble themselves.

"Nature uses self-assembly because its a very efficient way to build the molecules that are essential for living organisms," he said in a video about his research. "I make small molecules so the pieces recognize each other and come together the right way to make much more complex molecules."

These molecules could lead to targeted drug delivery and improved oil refining, among other technological advances.

"I am exceedingly proud of Peter, and this is a fitting tribute to his lifelong dedication to chemistry," said U. President David Pershing, a long-time chemical engineer at the university, in a statement. "He is absolutely committed to the highest research standards and the best education for his students."

Only a few months ago, President Barack Obama awarded Stang the National Medal of Science. The Priestley medal was established in 1922 in honor of 18th-century theologian Joseph Priestley, the scientist who discovered the element oxygen. It is regarded as the highest honor for U.S. chemists.

At least seven Priestley winners in the past 40 years have also won Nobel Prizes. The current Priestley honoree is MITs Robert Langer, a nanotechnology pioneer, while the U.s Henry Eyring won the honor in 1975.

This year, the ASC also inducted Stang and U. department chairman Henry White as fellows. Stang credited his students and post-doctorate students who actually carried out his experiments over the years.

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U. of Utah’s Peter Stang garners nation’s top honor for chemistry

(Courtesy photo) University of Utah professor of chemistry Peter Stang, recipient of the 2013 Priestley Medal, the American Chemical Society's highest honor.

U. of Us Peter Stang garners nations top honor for chemistry

University of Utah chemistry professor Peter Stang has earned one of the nations highest honors for a scientist, with the American Chemical Society (ACS) awarding him the 2013 Priestley Medal in recognition of his lifetime achievements in organic chemistry.

The society, the worlds largest scientific group with 164,000 members, highlighted Stangs advances in "supramolecular chemistry," which involves the spontaneous formation of large, complex molecules from pre-designed, simple molecules that Stang compares with building blocks in a Lego toy set. A 43-year faculty member, Stang draws inspiration from Utahs Bryce Canyon in his efforts to understand how organic molecules assemble themselves.

"Nature uses self-assembly because its a very efficient way to build the molecules that are essential for living organisms," he said in a video about his research. "I make small molecules so the pieces recognize each other and come together the right way to make much more complex molecules."

These molecules could lead to targeted drug delivery and improved oil refining, among other technological advances.

"I am exceedingly proud of Peter, and this is a fitting tribute to his lifelong dedication to chemistry," said U. President David Pershing, a long-time chemical engineer at the university, in a statement. "He is absolutely committed to the highest research standards and the best education for his students."

Only a few months ago, President Barack Obama awarded Stang the National Medal of Science. The Priestley medal was established in 1922 in honor of 18th-century theologian Joseph Priestley, the scientist who discovered the element oxygen. It is regarded as the highest honor for U.S. chemists.

At least seven Priestley winners in the past 40 years have also won Nobel Prizes. The current Priestley honoree is MITs Robert Langer, a nanotechnology pioneer, while the U.s Henry Eyring won the honor in 1975.

This year, the ASC also inducted Stang and U. department chairman Henry White as fellows. Stang credited his students and post-doctorate students who actually carried out his experiments over the years.

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U. of U’s Peter Stang garners nation’s top honor for chemistry

A building on Rice University's campus was evacuated Wednesday afternoon because of an ammonia leak, according to a campus alert.

The Rice University Police Department said that crews are repairing the leak that was on the fourth floor of Dell Butcher Hall that started this afternoon around 1 p.m.

Officials said that no one was injured, said Rice spokesman B.J. Almond.

He said that there was a valve on a tank of ammonia that did not close completely and a small amount went into the chemical exhaust.

Houston Fire department Chief Ruy Lozano said the leak was from a 200-pound cylinder that was in an organic chemistry lab in the building.

He said the firefighters could not determine a specific reason why it leaked.

Two Hazmat units and close to 80 firefighters responded to the scene. The building will reopen after investigators do a wide sweep of the area, Lozano said.

Several campus roads are closed. Campanile Road is closed between entrances 20 and 21 and Alumni Road has been closed between Lab Road and Entrance 20.

-- Chronicle photographer Cody Duty contributed to this report

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Rice University building evacuated after ammonia leak in chemistry lab

Space shuttle view of Earth's "gypsum belt," which likely changed seawater chemistry. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- An alteration of seawater chemistry caused by a continental collision 50 million years ago has been linked with past climate changes, researchers say.

"Seawater chemistry is characterized by long phases of stability, which are interrupted by short intervals of rapid change," geoscientist Ulrich Wortmann of the University of Toronto said.

Wortmann and co-author Adina Paytan of the University of California Santa Cruz cite the collision between India and Eurasia about 50 million years ago as one example of an interval of rapid change caused by a change in ocean chemistry.

The collision sped up the dissolution of the most extensive belt of water-soluble gypsum on Earth, stretching from Oman to Pakistan and well into western India, they said.

The dissolving of massive gypsum deposits changed the sulfate content of the ocean, the researchers said, affecting the amount of sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere and thus climate.

"We propose that times of high sulfate concentrations in ocean water correlate with global cooling, just as times of low concentrations correspond with greenhouse [warmer] periods," Paytan said

"Abrupt changes in seawater composition are a new twist in our understanding of the links among ocean chemistry, plate tectonics, climate and evolution," said Candace Major, program director in the Division of Ocean Sciences of the National Science Foundation, which supported the research.

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Colliding continents affected climate

ScienceDaily (July 23, 2012) Scientists have discovered a potential cause of Earth's "icehouse climate" cooling trend of the past 45 million years. It has everything to do with the chemistry of the world's oceans.

"Seawater chemistry is characterized by long phases of stability, which are interrupted by short intervals of rapid change," says geoscientist Ulrich Wortmann of the University of Toronto, lead author of a paper reporting the results and published this week in the journal Science.

"We've established a new framework that helps us better interpret evolutionary trends and climate change over long periods of time. The study focuses on the past 130 million years, but similar interactions have likely occurred through the past 500 million years."

Wortmann and co-author Adina Paytan of the University of California Santa Cruz point to the collision between India and Eurasia approximately 50 million years ago as one example of an interval of rapid change.

This collision enhanced dissolution of the most extensive belt of water-soluble gypsum on Earth, stretching from Oman to Pakistan and well into western India. Remnants of the collision are exposed in the Zagros Mountains in western Iran.

The dissolution or creation of such massive gypsum deposits changes the sulfate content of the ocean, say the scientists, affecting the amount of sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere and thus climate.

"We propose that times of high sulfate concentrations in ocean water correlate with global cooling, just as times of low concentrations correspond with greenhouse [warmer] periods," says Paytan.

"When India and Eurasia collided, it caused dissolution of ancient salt deposits, which resulted in drastic changes in seawater chemistry."

That may have led to the end of the Eocene epoch--the warmest period of the modern-day Cenozoic era--and the transition from a greenhouse to an icehouse climate. "It culminated in the beginning of the rapid expansion of the Antarctic ice sheet," says Paytan.

Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council supports Wortmann's research and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) supports Paytan research.

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Ancient alteration of seawater chemistry linked with past climate change