Department of Chemistry

Marsha I. Lester, chair of the Chemistry Department at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named editor of The Journal of Chemical Physics, effective Jan. 1, 2009.

Department Chair Marsha I. Lester has been named to an endowed chair, the Edmund J. Kahn Distinguished Professorship. School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rebecca Bushnell says, "This appointment recognizes Marsha's scholarly achievements in physical chemistry as well as the leadership she has demonstrated in the scientific communities both at Penn and beyond."

Virgil Percec receives the 2008 International Award of the Society of Polymer Science of Japan and the 2008 Herman F. Mark Medal from the Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology.

Our Chair, Marsha I. Lester, is one of 9 University of Pennsylvania faculty to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Title: "NSF Chemistry Division: Facts and Figures"

April 14, 2008 @ 4 PM 

Dr. Robin M. Hochstrasser, Donner Professor of Physical Sciences, has been elected to the Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE). He was recognized for being a "pioneer in the innovative use of lasers."

Fellows are elected in recognition of outstanding achievement in their fields and contribution to public service.

Congratulations to Prof. Tobias Baumgart. He has been selected to receive a 2008 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship. 

• For more information seehttp://www.sloan.org/programs/scitech_fellowships.shtml

Congratulations to Patrick Walsh. He has been named the Alan G. MacDiarmid Term Chair effective January 1, 2008. 

E. James Petersson, NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University, has been appointed Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. He aims to develop and utilize chemical biology approaches toward the study of protein conformational changes, with an emphasis on neuroscience.

2008 American Chemical Society Awards to Penn Faculty: Jeff Bode will receive an Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, William DeGrado will receive the Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry, and Michael Klein will receive the Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry.