🧪 We’re proud to announce Dr. Paul Buckley as Chemistry’s #CougsGive Ambassador for April 15, 2026. His leadership and teaching reflect our commitment to strengthening the student experience in Chemistry. Join us April 15 to help shape WSU Chemistry’s future. #CougsGive #WSUChemistry

5 people at a reception for a guest speaker

Euna Yoo, from the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute gave today’s seminar at #wsuchemistry. #chembio #chemSky

Phi Beta Kappa 2026 Members in Course from the Department of Chemistry

The following undergraduates from #wsuchemistry have been selected as members in course to receive an invitation to join Phi Beta Kappa Society:

Mustafa Al-ithawi 
Jorge Flores-Gonzalez 
Layan Ghali 
Bryce Heim 
Lindsay Israil 
Elyas Khan 
Vanesa Lleshi 
Mehreen Siddiqui 
Majd Suleiman

Congrats!

🎓 Thinking about a PhD in Chemistry? There’s still time to join us at Washington State University!

✅ WSU’s Chemistry PhD program is still considering applications for Fall enrollment 🌾

Ready to take the next step?
👉 chem.wsu.edu/graduate-stu...

#GoCougs #WSUChemistry #PhDlife

The latest issue of the Periodic Tabloid is now online! #wsuchemistry #ChemSky #chemistrynews

clas.wayne.edu/chemistry/do...

Advisor Tom Linz standing next to PhD Candidate Jessica Halter inside Schaap Lecture Hall

#NextStopPhD! Jessica Halter, of the Linz Lab, gave her 4th year talk on: "Protein Structure Characterization Using Microfluidic Thermal Gel Electrophoresis." Brava, Jessica! #wsuchemistry #AnaChem #ChemSky #phdlife

PhD candidate Solomon Effah meeting his mentor Dr. Michael A. Walter at the American Chemical Society Spring meeting

Solomon Yamoah Effah, of the Walker Lab, presented a 20-minute oral talk in the MEDI General Oral Session at the recent ACS Spring meeting and met his YMCC mentor, Michael A. Walters in person! #wsuchemistry #ChemSky #ACSSoring2026 #ACS150

Selective Sorbent Design: CaS Aerogel for Rapid Remediation of Aqueous Pb (II) Heavy metals are a persistent environmental problem due to their high toxicity, even at very low concentrations (parts per billion, ppb). The removal of such diluted heavy metals is challenging because of the competition the counterions (Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+, etc.) present in natural water bodies. The design of sorbents capable of removing ions below the action limit (15 ppb for Pb2+) requires a strong driving force for selective uptake and rapid removal. In this work, we report the synthesis of porous CaS aerogels (surface area = 143.6 m2/g) by oxidative assembly of CaS nanoparticles and describe their use in selective Pb2+ ion remediation from water. Despite the presence of amorphous CaCO3 (up to 50 wt %) in the gel network, the gels demonstrated a capacity of 17.1 mmol Pb/g aerogel (3543 mg/g), and this could be augmented to 22.5 mmol Pb/g aerogel (4593 mg/g) by modifying the synthesis to reduce CaCO3 content to ca. 15 wt %. Moreover, the selectivity of CaS aerogels toward Pb2+ ions is high, as evidenced by little-to-no change in the distribution constant (Kd ∼ 104) in the presence of competing ions (1 M) such as Na+, Mg2+, and Ca2+. During remediation with low concentrations (100 ppb) of Pb2+ with CaS aerogels, the level of Pb2+ dropped to 5.4 ppb (below the 15 ppb EPA limit) within 1 h with a 95.4% removal efficiency. In contrast to the CO2 supercritically dried aerogels, lower surface area ambient dried gels (xerogels) only remove 40% of the lead ions from a 100 ppb solution, saturating within 1 h. The efficiency and rapidity of selective Pb2+ uptake using CdS aerogels arise from a combination of a strong thermodynamic driving force for cation exchange (Keq = 2.5 × 1027) and chemisorption along with favorable kinetics associated with the high surface area porous architecture. These results show that formation of high surface area metal chalcogenide aerogels by oxidative assembly to form nanocrystalline architectures, as previously demonstrated for II–VI and IV–VI semiconductors, can be extended to the more highly ionic alkaline earth sulfides.

The latest research article from the Brock Lab — “Selective Sorbent Design: CaS Aerogel for Rapid Remediation of Aqueous Pb (II) has been published in Chemistry of Materials! #wsuchemistry #ChemSky #materialschemistry

doi.org/10.1021/acs....

2 people standing in Schaap Lecture Hall

Big thanks to Seth Cohen for today’s Frontiers in Chemistry Lecture- “Celebrating MOFs! From Surfaces to Self-Assembly.” We love the title, we hope you had a chance to hear Professor Cohen’s talk. #wsuchemistry #MOFs #chemtalk #ChemSky

Matt Dent recipient of the NSF CAREER Award

Matt Dent is receiving the NSF CAREER Award for his proposal: “Carbon monoxide sensing, selectivity, and signaling in microbes.” Congratulations! #wsuchemistry #ChemSky #CLASresearch #chembio

PhD candidate Kjersti Oberle standing next to advisor James Bour in Schaap Lecture Hall

Kjersti, of the Bour Lab, is one step closer to her PhD after giving her 4th year talk on: "Catalytic Synthesis of Highly Microporous Polymers via Olefin Metathesis" at #wsuchemistry. Congratulations, Kjersti! #ChemSky #NextStopPhD #chembio

High-Throughput Microscale MOF Catalysis via Solid Dispersion Reactor Dosing Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) exhibit exceptional structural diversity and tunable chemical environments, offering excellent opportunities for tuning the selectivity of catalytic centers confined to...

The latest paper from the Bour Lab: “High-Throughput Microscale MOF Catalysis via Solid Dispersion Reactor Dosing” is in Inorganic Chemistry!

All Authors: Shuxiao Li, John Izang, Jesse B. Duque, Garry Leonard, and James Bour

#wsuchemistry #ChemSky #MOFs

doi.org/10.1021/acs....

4 people standing in front of a photograph

Peyton McCarley passed her 2nd year oral exam yesterday and is officially a PhD candidate. Congratulations, Peyton! #wsuchemistry #phdlife #ChemSky

PhD candidate Folake Amoo in the atrium of the chemistry building with advisor Stephanie Brock

PhD candidate Folake Amoo on the stage in Schaap Hall

PhD candidate Folake Amoo standing next to advisor Stephanie Brock

Congratulations to Folake Amoo, of the Brock Group, on her successful fourth year talk: “Synthesis and Magnetic Properties of Nanoscale Transition- Metal Pnictides!” #wsuchemistry #ChemSky #materialschemistry #NextStopPhD

Oseni Kadiri at the ACS Spring Meeting

Oseni Kadiri presenting research at at the ACS Spring Meeting

Oseni Kadiri at the ACS Spring Meeting

We are always thrilled to see our students present research at conferences! Oseni Kadiri had a memorable time at #ACSSpring2026 where he presented his research in the ACS Division of Biological Chemistry. #wsuchemistry #ACSSpring2026 #acs150 #Chemsky

Advisor Wen Li standing next to PhD candidate Sulaiman Abubakar in Schaap Hall

Fantastic fourth year talk from Sulaiman Abubakar, of the Li Lab, on: Phase-Resolved Attoclock" at #wsuchemistry this afternoon. #NextStopPhD #ChemSky #pchem

Ultra-low field 13C MRI of hyperpolarized pyruvate - Communications Chemistry Hyperpolarized 13C-enriched pyruvate has demonstrated promise for imaging metabolism in cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders; however, broader clinical adoption is constrained by the ...

The collaborative research publication: “Ultra-low field 13C MRI of hyperpolarized pyruvate” shows a viable pathway towards accessible metabolic imaging with hyperpolarized 13C MRI at ultra-low field. #MRI #Sabre #NMR #wsuchemistry #ChemSky

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Excited to see our WSU ACS students at the #ACSSpring2026 poster session! #wsuchemistry #ACS150 #ChemSky

1 person holding an award certificate

#MondayMotivation! Dilini Kaushalya Wijepala is the recipient of an Excellence in Teaching Services award at #wsuchemistry. Congratulations! #Chemsky

Wayne State chemistry student recognized among eight early-career women chemists nationwide Chemistry Ph.D. candidate April Sweet Tapayan wins the 2026 WCC Merck Research Award for innovative chemistry research and contributions to Alzheimer’s studies.

Nice article about #wsuchemistry student April Sweet Tapayan, recipient of the prestigious 2026 ACS Women Chemists Committee (WCC) Merck Research Award! So nice we are mentioning it twice:) Go, April! #chembio #Chemsky

clas.wayne.edu/chemistry/ne...

UToledo Recognizes Distinguished Faculty Members with Highest Permanent Honor | UToledo News The prestigious title honors University faculty members for exemplary achievements in teaching, research and service.

Alumni Update!

Congratulations to #wsuchemistry alum, Dr. Peter Andreana, one of three University of Toledo faculty members to achieve the rank of Distinguished University Professor! #ChemSky

news.utoledo.edu/index.php/03...

Md Forhad Hossain standing in a research lab

It’s official! Md Forhad Hossain, of the Dent Lab, passed his 2nd year candidacy exam and is now a PhD candidate. Congratulations! #wsuchemistry #phdjourney #ChemSky

Transformation of tetranuclear [{MoO3(Lcat)Cu}2]2− into trinuclear [MoO2(Lcat)2Cu2] and possible implications for the formation of Bis(MPT)Mo by MobA Many molybdoenzymes contain two molybdopterin (MPT) ligands, but the mechanism for the transformation of mono(MPT)Mo into bis(MPT)Mo is lacking. Using a catecholate-based system, we demonstrate that [...

Publication Alert 🚨

The Groysman Lab, Lumigen Instrument Center and Grand Valley State University have a new paper in Chemical Communication! #wsuchemistry

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

PhD candidate Caleb Aboagye standing next to advisor Charlie Fehl in front of Schaap Hall

Go! Go! Glycotime! Caleb Aboagye, of the Fehl Lab, gave his 4th year talk today at #wsuchemistry on: “Developing inhibitors for O-GlcNAc: synthesis of inhibitors and assay development of OGT/TET1 interaction inhibitors.” Great research, Caleb! #wsuchemistry #NextStopPhD #ChemSky

1 person with a celebration cake

Chashitha from the Allen lab has passed her candidacy exam! Congratulations, Chashitha! #wsuchemistry #itsofficial #ChemSky

Collage of images of Detroit

Happy 313 Day, Detroit! #313day #wsuchemistry #chemistryindetroit #detroit

Sachini Sivirathne in Schaap Hall to deliver her fourth year talk

#NextStopPhD! Sachini Sivirathne gave a fantastic fourth year talk on: Pressure-Sensitive Luminescence of Lanthanide Fluoroacetates: The Role of Weak Interactions" today at #wsuchemistry. #ChemSky #materialschemistry

Flier for a professional development webinar

Join WSU NOBCChE for a Professional Development Webinar with alumni, Dr. Saheed Ayodeji, Research Scientist/Postdoctoral Fellow, Karmanos Cancer Institute this Saturday, March 14th, 11 am to 12 pm. #wsuchemistry #wsunobcche #ChemSky

*This event is virtual*

Rachael Tiamiyu and Valentine Nwanelo at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology conference

Rachael Tiamiyu discussing her research poster at a conference

Valentine Nwanelo standing next to his research poster

Rachael Tiamiyu and Valentine Nwanelo, Pflum Lab members, representing WSU at the @asbmb.bsky.social (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) conference! #wsuchemistry #ASBMB26 #ChemSky #chembio

Dr. Elizabeth O. Odewale holding a bouquet of flowers after successfully defending her thesis

A screenshot of Dr. Elizabeth O. Odewale’s PhD presentation

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Elizabeth O. Odewale! Elizabeth successfully defended her dissertation: "Controlling Cavity-Confined Light-Matter Interactions in Emerging Optoelectronic” at #wsuchemistry. #PhDdone #ChemSky #pchem