2016 News
18 December 2016 – Congratulations to the organizing committee of the symposium "Young Talent in Colorado and Beyond," held in August 2016! As a co-organizer, James is one of the four recipients of the 2016 COACS ACS Salute to Excellence Awards for work on this symposium. The committee members will each receive a plaque and be honored at a dinner on Feb. 16, 2017 at Colorado State University.
2 December 2016 - James was pleased to host Dr. Emmanuelle Despagnet-Ayoub (Chargé de recherche, CNRS and Visiting Associate, Caltech) for a seminar in the KU Department of Chemistry. Emmanuelle presented her research on polymer synthesis and photochemistry.
21 November 2016 - Our group's new collaborative SusChEM grant from the US National Science Foundation has been featured by the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis at KU! This project will examine a new approach to carbon dioxide conversion to useful chemicals, and is being carried out with Prof. Kevin Leonard and Prof. Bala Subramaniam.
10 November 2016 - James presents an invited talk at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Thanks to Prof. Josh Peng for the invitation and the chemistry department's hospitality!
25–29 October 2016 - James presents an invited talk on "Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution on a Platform Bearing Multiple Non-innocent Ligands" at the Electrocatalysis Symposium hosted by Prof. Aaron Vannucci at the Southeastern Regional ACS meeting in Columbia, South Carolina. Thanks to Aaron for the invitation and opportunity to visit South Carolina! The same week, James presents on hydrogen evolution chemistry at the Midwest Regional ACS meeting.
14 October 2016 - James presents an invited talk on "Development of Efficient Multielectron and Multiproton Electrode Processes" at Dow Electronic Materials in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Dow Electronic Materials is a global supplier of materials and technologies to the electronics industry. Such technologies include photolithography, electrodeposition technologies, and advanced packaging technology. Thanks to Dow for the invitation and opportunity to learn more about this exciting business! More info is here.
7–12 September 2016 - James presents two invited plenary talks and serves as a discussion panelist for "Advancing Energy Sustainability by Governance Leadership in Artificial Photosynthesis" organized by Prof. Tom Faunce of the Australian National University (ANU). The meeting took place in Canberra, Australia at ANU, with a satellite workshop on Lord Howe Island. James presented "Exploring H+ and e– Management in Fuel-Forming Catalysis." The abstract book is here. Tom launched a CD of AP-themed music at the Canberra meeting, and it can be found here.
4 August 2016 - James and Wade present group research at the symposium "New Talent in Colorado and Beyond 2016" at Colorado State University. The symposium was co-organized by CSU chemists Prof. Debbie Crans, Kelly Hassell, Carlos Olivo, and James, and was supported by the ACS Colorado Section and CSU. The meeting brought together young researchers from undergraduates to assistant professors from Colorado and neighboring states. The abstract book is here.
29 July 2016 - Congratulations to Julie Hopkins on a successful summer of research as an NSF REU participant!
11 July 2016 - High school student Jonah Stiel joins the group!
6 June 2016 - James presents "Sustaining the Earth: How New Chemistry Can Protect and Power the Planet" as part of the KU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Mini College Program. Around 25 enthusiastic KU alumni and friends learned about sustainable chemical technology and took a tour of our lab. Learn more here.
15 May 2016 - An exciting summer of research is off to a great start in Malott Hall! Welcome to Wade Henke, Tyler Kerr, and summer REU student Julie Hopkins! Congratulations to Tyler Kerr and Keaton Prather on graduation with their B.S. degrees in Chemistry from KU!
30 March 2016 - James travels to ICIQ in Tarragona, Spain to serve as an external examiner on a Ph.D. committee. Congratulations to Dr. Joaquín Sorriano-López on a successful defense!
15 March 2016 - James attends the ACS National Meeting in San Diego, California.
February 2016 - James serves as Discussion Leader at the Solar Fuels Gordon Research Seminar and presents a poster and talk on Rh-catalyzed hydrogen evolution at the Solar Fuels Gordon Research Conference. Both the Seminar and Conference take place in Lucca, Italy.
15 January 2016 - James travels to Newport Beach, California for the NSF CCI Solar Annual Meeting and presents an invited talk.
1 January 2016 - The Blakemore Laboratory is officially open! Welcome to Postdoc Davide Lionetti, graduate students Yun Peng and David Sconyers, and senior undergraduate Keaton Prather. Let the fun begin!