UTSA Chemistry

10/21/2026

Congratulations to UT San Antonio Chemistry’s Dr. Akanksha Matta on her collaborative published research article “Hydrological and anthropogenic associations with f***l contamination in coastal pore and surface waters: a one-year FIB and MST study of the Brazoria County, Texas coast” in Marine Environmental Research. Be sure to check it out!

10/20/2026

Exciting research happening at UT San Antonio! Our Department of Chemistry is collaborating with Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to study peptide catalysts that could help make chemical reactions more efficient and sustainable, with potential applications in pharmaceutical development.

Learn more about this innovative research from Dr. Jacquelyne Read and her team!

SwRI-developed Rhodium™ platform takes on new challenge in catalysis development.

10/19/2026

National Chemistry Week! 🧪

It’s time to celebrate National Chemistry Week 2026, happening October 18–24! This year’s theme, “Chemistry Under Construction,” highlights how chemistry helps build a stronger, safer, and more sustainable world. 💙 💚

Join the UT San Antonio Department of Chemistry for a week of fun, learning, and friendly competition! 🔬✨

🧩 ASBMB Escape Room Night
📅 Tuesday, October 20 | 5:30–6:30 PM
📍 BSE 2.102

🏆 ACS Jeopardy & Trivia Night
📅 Wednesday, October 21 | 5:45–7:00 PM
📍 FLN 2.02.06

🧪 National Chemistry Week Close Out
📅 Friday, October 23 | 11:00 AM–1:00 PM
📍 Flawn Outdoor Learning Environment

Whether you love solving puzzles, testing your chemistry knowledge, or checking out cool science demonstrations, there’s something for everyone. Bring your friends and celebrate the amazing role chemistry plays in our everyday lives!

10/08/2026

Exciting work happening right here with UT San Antonio Chemistry!

See the innovative research being done by Dr. Syed Muhammad Usama and his team to develop technology that could help surgeons detect and remove cancer cells more precisely in real time.

This is a great example of how cutting-edge chemistry and chemical biology research can have a meaningful impact on patient care while also providing valuable opportunities for the next generation of STEM leaders in South Texas.

An innovative molecular probe could one day help surgeons distinguish aggressive tumors from healthy tissue

10/07/2026

Congratulations to UT San Antonio Chemistry’s Jacob Sanchez, Ramon Trevino, Babu Dhungana, Bethanie Avila, Kai Shoemaker, Toby Skaria, Ramy Elerian, and Dr. Oleg Larionov on their collaborative published research article “Enantioconvergent Deoxygenative Amination via Xanthate Esters by a Decarboxylative Relay” in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Be sure to check it out!

Abstract. The direct conversion of alcohols to amines through deoxygenative radical pathways can provide a versatile strategy for constructing C(sp3)–N bon

10/07/2026

Congratulations to UT San Antonio Chemistry’s Nathan McLane, Anastasiia Gordeeva, Dr. Fang Xu on their collaborative published research article “A simple setup for producing sharp tungsten STM tips using AC and DC power” in Surface Science. Be sure to check it out!

10/07/2026

Congratulations to UT San Antonio Chemistry’s Dr. Akanksha Matta on her collaborative published research article “The influence of precipitation and vessel traffic on the distribution of f***l indicator bacteria and qPCR source tracking markers across coastal groundwater and surface water in Brazoria County, Texas” in the Journal of Applied Microbiology. Be sure to check it out!

AbstractAims. This study aimed to assess the spatial and categorical variability of f***l contamination across well, pore, and surface waters along the Bra

10/07/2026

Congratulations to UT San Antonio Chemistry’s Kanyashree Jana, Naresh Duvva, and Dr. Kirk Schanze on their collaborative published research article “Conformationally-Gated Interligand Charge Transfer in a Ru-Polypyridine Complex” in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. Be sure to check it out!

Abstract. This study investigated the ultrafast excited-state dynamics in two ruthenium polypyridyl complexes, namely (bpy)2Ru(MQ)24+ and (bpy)2Ru(MQ′)24+

09/29/2026

Read the College of Science Alumni Spotlight featuring Oscar Reyes Parker, a UT San Antonio Biochemistry graduate, highlighted on Awesome Alum!

Oscar has begun his graduate studies at The University of Michigan where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology! We’re excited to see all that Oscar will accomplish during his next chapter!

UT San Antonio College of Sciences alumni spotlight: Meet Oscar Reyes Parker, BS in Biochemistry

09/21/2026

Last week, the Department of Chemistry hosted our annual event Clash of the Cryogens! Students, faculty, and staff came together for a sweet (and very cold!) showdown between Liquid Nitrogen and Dry Ice to see which could make the best ice cream. 🍦

And this year’s winner? For the second year in a row: DRY ICE! 🏆

A huge thank you to our amazing faculty, staff, ACS & ASBMB student organizations for helping make this event such a success. We loved seeing our Roadrunners come together and connect while learning about the chemistry of cooking! 🧪