FSU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

06/05/2026

Congrats to our 14 honors medallion awardees from the FSU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry — we're so proud of you!

Nearly half of the 548 Florida State University Spring 2026 graduates who earned honors medallions are from the FSU College of Arts & Sciences! 🏅

Honors medallion awardees completed the University Honors Program or Honors in the Major Program. Those who completed both programs with a 3.9 cumulative GPA or higher received the designation of Outstanding Senior Scholar.

To learn more about the Spring 2026 honorees and Florida State University Honors Program, visit: fla.st/PDZJN6KN.

📸 : Brittany Mobley

FSU Undergraduate Studies

06/04/2026

“It is sometimes easy to forget that academic research can change the world," said James Frederich, the Werner Herz Associate Professor in the FSU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. "Daraxonrasib, and the mechanism underlying its action, serves as an excellent reminder of the long-term return on investing in academic science.”

Daraxonrasib — a promising new pancreatic cancer drug that nearly doubled survival times in a recent clinical trial — is a prominent example of how breakthroughs found in university laboratories help lay the foundation for life-changing collaborations between university researchers and biotech companies.

With research specialties spanning chemical biology, synthesis and catalysis, Frederich is available for interviews on the role of universities in developing cancer-treating drugs. For more information, visit: fla.st/EEJ88RS3.

Florida State University, Florida State University Division of Research

06/03/2026

Next Tuesday, the FAMU FSU College of Engineering will host Suddhasatwa Basu for a seminar, titled "Biorefining in Electrochemical Reactors: Conversion of Biomass-Derived Compounds to Various Platform Chemicals."

Basu is the Fed Indian Petroleum Indus Chair Professor on Clean Energy at IIT Delhi, and at present, he is also a visiting professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He has vast experience in developing materials for energy conversion and storage devices — such as green hydrogen and fuel cell technologies as well as rechargeable battery materials.

🗓️ Tuesday, June 9
⏰ 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
📍 Aero-Propulsion, Mechatronics and Energy Building (Room 106)

For more event details, visit: fla.st/3NQCZP7W.

Florida State University

05/29/2026

Congratulations to Mike Shatruk, who is one of seven Florida State University faculty members elected to the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida this year!

Shatruk is a professor in the FSU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry specializing in solid-state and molecular magnetism and the discovery of new quantum materials. As the founding director of the FSU Quantum Science Initiative, Shatruk works at the boundary between materials chemistry and physics to uncover correlations between crystal structure and magnetic properties of quantum materials.

To check out the full story, visit: fla.st/XQQXQ10X.

Florida State University Division of Research, FSU Faculty Development

05/26/2026

Justin Kennemur (FSU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry) is the first from Florida State University to win the 2026 Distinguished Service Award from the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry!

His lab, the Kennemur Research Group, takes inspiration from organic chemistry concepts in the natural world, like complex polymers found naturally in starch or collagen, to develop synthetic techniques that advance polymer chemistry, especially in the development of sustainable plastics that can be reused and recycled more effectively.

To learn more, visit: fla.st/VU4S24EB.

Florida State University Division of Research, FSU Faculty Development

05/22/2026

Xiangpeng Li (FSU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry) is part of a research team searching Earth's soil for microbes that can be used to create new antibiotics to treat the growing threat of drug-resistant bacteria.

To learn more about this research led by Florida State University and National High Magnetic Field Laboratory scientists, visit: fla.st/WGTJA3HE.

📸 : Stephen Bilenky/National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

05/21/2026

Congratulations to Kristina Håkansson, who was recently named a fellow of the American Society of Mass Spectrometry!

Håkansson is a professor in the FSU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, and her research employs mass spectrometry techniques to better understand biological phenomena. This work is part of Florida State University's longstanding partnership with the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the largest and highest-powered magnet lab in the world.

To learn more about research conducted in the department, visit chem.fsu.edu.

Florida State University Division of Research, FSU College of Arts & Sciences

05/20/2026

05/13/2026

In 1989, Florida State University chemist Robert Holton developed a method to manufacture synthetic Taxol from 10-deacetylbaccatin III, a biosynthetic Taxol precursor extracted from the yew tree that can be mass produced, which has since been used to save the lives of more than a million ovarian, breast, lung and pancreatic cancer patients.

The FSU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry's legacy of molecular synthesis and drug development was recently featured in an American Council on Science and Health article, exploring the critical nature of semisynthetic molecules in medicine.

To check out the full article, visit: bit.ly/4djKk5r.

Florida State University Division of Research