Past Seminars

Spring 2024 | Thursday, April 4th

Tom Truskett | Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering

Professor Truskett is the Dick Rothwell Endowed Chair in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering
The Truskett Group focuses on how interfaces and confinement impact the properties of molecular liquids and crystals, colloidal and nanoparticle suspensions, protein solutions, and glassy solids
Professor Truskett's research group is composed of chemists and chemical engineers

Spring 2024 | Monday, February 26th

Emanuel Tutuc | Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

"Si-Ge Nanowire Heterostructures and Devices"

Abstract: The combination of vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism with

epitaxial this film growth allows the realization of band-engineered core-shell nanowire heterostructures, where the shell content and thickness can be accurately controlled. Understanding the electronic and structural properties of such heterostructures is not only of fundamental importance, but can have direct implications for aggressively scaled, non-planar complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor device. In this presentation we will discuss the growth and structural characterization of a set of silicon and germanium-based core-shell nanowires, the characterization of in strain such heterostructures which stems from the lattice mismatch between the different materials, as well as the realization of high performance field-effect transistors.

Professor Tutuc holds the B.N. Gafford Professorship in Electrical Engineering in the Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The Tutuc Group is exploring the growth and electronic properties of quantum confined systems, such as semiconductor nanowires, 2D materials including transition metal di-chalcogenides and graphene, for novel high speed, low power electronic devices

Spring 2024 | Tuesday, February 20th

Emily Que | Professor, Department of Chemistry

"Fluorescent probes for monitoring metallo-beta-lactamase antibiotic resistance enzymes"

Abstract: Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) grant resistance to a broad spectrum of β-lactam antibiotics including last-resort carbapenems and is emerging as a global antibiotic resistance threat. Limited zinc availability adversely impacts the ability of MBLs to provide resistance, but many clinical variants have emerged that are more resistant to zinc scarcity. To provide novel tools to study metal ion sequestration in host-pathogen interactions and the dynamic metalation state of MBLs in these contexts, we are developing fluorescent probes that bind to the dizinc of active site. The development of reversible turn-on fluorescent probes for MBLs provides a means to monitor the impact of metal ion sequestration by host defense mechanisms and to detect inhibitor target engagement during the development of therapeutics to counter this resistance determinant. Recent developments in our lab along this research theme will be discussed.

The Que Group research lies at the intersection of bioinorganic chemistry and chemical biology, with an emphasis on the development of chemical tools and probes to gain a deeper understanding of biological systems
Professor Que's research group is composed of chemists, biologists, and biochemists

Spring 2024 | Tuesday, March 26th

Michael Aubrey | Professor, Department of Chemistry

"Electrochemistry at material interfaces: from energy storage to synthetic muscle"

Abstract: Through the synthesis of new material interfaces, the Aubrey group seeks to understand and design materials that move and shape their environments, displaying unusual electronic phenomena with potential applications in energy storage, soft robotics, and microelectronics. The drive toward ever smaller electronic devices and the advent of 2D materials like graphene have motivated the search for other ångström-scale 2D and 1D materials with a greater diversity of electronic, magnetic, and surface structures. The Aubrey group has recently developed a new material interface between redox-active 2D materials and metallic surfaces, featuring a diversity of surface chemistries and intermolecular forces at the interface. Through these interfacial interactions between materials, we seek to control the coupling of chemical potential in one material to an induced mechanical strain in another. Systems like these provide a straightforward means of applying large changes in mechanical pressure to a material under ambient conditions and a possible method for fabricating non-biological muscular systems at the absolute smallest of length scales.

At solid-electrolyte interfaces, the complex coordination chemistry of multivalent ions like Mg2+ and Al3+ in solution has slowed the development of their electrochemistry outside of high-temperature molten salt reactors operating at 800-1000 ºC. Nonetheless, the reversible deposition of these metals from solutions near room temperatures could potentially enable exceptionally low-cost electrochemical energy storage solutions, 10 times less expensive than conventional lithium-ion batteries. To this end, the Aubrey group has recently developed a new class of aluminum electrolytes using organic pseudo-halides. Our current progress toward the realization of a room-temperature Al battery and outstanding challenges stemming from the fundamental coordination chemistry and electrochemistry of Al3+ in solution will be discussed.

Professor Aubrey joined the UT chemistry faculty in March 2020
The Aubrey Group wants to use synthesis of new material interfaces to create active materials that can move and shape their environments, display emergent phenomena, and have applications in energy storage
The Aubrey Group researches chemistry at material interfaces, with focus in electrochemistry, inorganic chemistry, materials science, nanoscience/technology, surface chemistry, synthesis, and energy/environmental sustainability

Fall 2023 | Tuesday, November 14th

Delia Milliron | Professor | Department of Chemical Engineering

Professor Milliron is the Bill L. Stanley Endowed Leadership Chair in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering
The Milliron Group focuses on chemical synthesis and assembly of nanostructured electronic and electrochemical materials, processing-structure-property relationships, energy and electronic devices.
Professor Milliron's research group is composed of chemists, materials scientists, and engineers motivated by the challenges of next-generation electronic devices and energy technologies

Fall 2023 | Tuesday, October 17th

Edward Yu | Professor | Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

"Semiconductors for Sustainable Energy Applications"

Abstract: Semiconductors are the fundamental enabling material for
technologies ranging from computing and communications to solid-
state lighting to solar panels. In recent years there has also been a
resurgence of interest in re-establishing many semiconductor
manufacturing capabilities in the United States. In this presentation,
I will discuss some of my laboratory’s recent research on semiconductor-
based photoelectrode devices that enable splitting of water molecules
into hydrogen and oxygen using illumination by sunlight. These devices perform with high efficiency and excellent stability, and can be manufactured using nanoscale thin-film reactions and other processes drawn from the world of semiconductor chip manufacturing. They have the potential to enable cost-effective green hydrogen production, i.e., production of hydrogen without carbon dioxide emissions, thereby mitigating the ~830 million tons of carbon dioxide generated annually by current methods of commercial hydrogen production – a market of over $150 billion in 2022. I will also talk a bit about my own educational and career paths, and my perspective on STEM education and careers now and in the future.

Professor Yu is the Judson S. Swearingen Regents Chair in the Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Professor Yu is part of the Microelectronics Research Center (MRC) and the principal investigator (PI) for the Nanoscale Characterization and Devices Laboratory at UT Austin's Pickle Research Campus.
Professor Yu has a focus on Electronics, Photonics and Quantum Systems (EPQS)

Spring 2023 | Wednesday, March 22nd

Jonathan L Sessler | Professor | Biomedical Engineering

"Texas-Inspired Drug Discovery Efforts"

This lecture will present the development of expanded porphyrins as potential

drug leads. The presentation will begin with a personal story of a 3x cancer

survivor and how with the assistance of great coworkers and collaborators

an effort has been made to fight back against this disease by studying the

chemistry and anti-cancer biology of gadolinium(III) texaphyrins.

Texaphyrins were the first of the so-called expanded porphyrins--larger

analogues of heme pigments--to stabilize a 1:1 complex with a metal cation.

Subsequently, and continuing as a focus today, an effort has been made in our laboratories and those of many others to create additional expanded porphyrins. Hundreds are now known. Several from our laboratory have proved useful at stabilizing actinide cation complexes.

Recently, efforts have been made to create so-called immunogenic cell death promoters designed to prevent cancer recurrence based on redox-active gold(I) carbenes. An introduction to this new research direction will be included in this lecture, as well new work involving the development of expanded porphyrins and ExJade as

ligands for the lanthanides and actinides.

Spring 2023 | Thursday, March 9th

Huiliang (Evan) Wang | Assistant Professor |

Biomedical Engineering

"Ultrasound triggered liposome light source for

noninvasive optogenetics"

Optogenetics has revolutionized neuroscience understanding by allowing

spatiotemporal control over cell-type specific neurons in neural circuits.

However, visible light cannot be directly delivered to deep brain tissue, due to

the severe dissipation and scattering of photons. As a result, invasive

craniotomy is usually required to implant optical fibers in the brain for in vivo

optogenetic stimulation, resulting in permanent damage and chronic gliosis in brain tissue. To achieve non-invasive optogenetics with high temporal resolution and excellent biocompatibility, we have developed focused ultrasound triggered nanoscopic light sources (Lipo@IR780/L012) for deep brain photon delivery. Synchronized and stable blue light emission was generated under FUS irradiation due to the activation of chemiluminescent L012 via nearby reactive oxygen species generated by IR780. In vitro tests revealed that Lipo@IR780/L012 could be triggered by FUS for light emission at different frequencies and hence activate opsin-expressing spiking HEK cells under the FUS irradiation. In vivo optogenetic stimulation further demonstrated that motor cortex neurons could be

noninvasively and reversibly activated under the repetitive FUS stimulation after i.v. injection of lipid nanoparticles to achieve limb motions control.

Spring 2023 | Thursday, February 16th

Hang Ren | Assistant Professor | Department of Chemistry

"Revealing the heterogeneity in metal dissolution reaction via

colocalized electrochemical and structural imaging"

Electrochemical metal dissolution reactions are fundamentally important in

battery and corrosion processes. Their kinetics is highly dependent on surface

structures and the presence of passive films. In this talk, I will present the

study on the initiation of metal dissolution reactions on Ag and Ni,

representing model systems for oxide-free and oxide-covered metals,

respectively. The local dissolution kinetics is voltammetrically mapped via

scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM). Co-localized characterization of crystal orientation reveals slower dissolution on {111} close-packed planes. The local dissolution kinetics on grain boundaries can also be directly measured, which shows a faster dissolution rate on some but not all grain boundaries. The dependence of passive film breakdown on the thickness of the passive film is also revealed, which is obtained from colocalized TOF-SIMS mapping. We demonstrate that correlative electrochemical and structural imaging are powerful tools for studying heterogeneity at complex electrochemical interfaces.