Foster Colloquium Series
This ongoing series features international experts from across the chemical sciences, showcasing cutting-edge research and emerging ideas that shape the future of chemistry.
Spring 2026 - Fridays at 2:30 pm in 101 Baldy Hall
Friday, February 13, 2026
Leveraging Precursors in the Synthesis of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles for Electrocatalytic Applications
Presented by: Emil Hernandez-Pagan, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Delaware
2:30 p.m. in 101 Baldy Hall, UB North Campus
Friday, February 20, 2026
Protein Lipid Modification: Natural and Non-Natural Applications
Presented by: Mark D. Distefano, Departments of Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota
2:30 p.m. in 101 Baldy Hall, UB North Campus
Friday, March 6, 2026
Chemical Innovation in Probe Design and Synthesis to Enhance Clinical Diagnostic Capabilities of PET and MRI
Presented by: Adam Jason Shuhendler, Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Ottawa Heart Institte, University of Ottawa
2:30 p.m. in 101 Baldy Hall, UB North Campus
Friday, March 13, 2026
Electrochemical Energy Storage: A Keystone for a Sustainable Energy Future
Presented by: Amy Marschilok, Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University and Interdisciplinary Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory
2:30 p.m. in 101 Baldy Hall, UB North Campus
Friday, April 10, 2026
The Development of Performance Enhancing Asymmetric Catalysis to Address the Selectivity-Generality Paradox and Modern Expectations in Chemical Synthesis
Presented by: Jeffrey Johnston, Stevenson Professor, Chemistry, Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology
2:30 p.m. in 101 Baldy Hall, UB North Campus
CANCELLED - Distinguished Alumni Lecture
Friday, April 17, 2026
The Distinguished Alumni Lecture presented by Dr. Daniel Ammon has been cancelled.
4:00 p.m., Friday, April 24, 2026
Non-Traditional Modulation of Polypeptide Information: Novel Agonists of Class B1 GPCRs
Guest Speaker: Samuel H. Gellman, Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin - Madison
- 4 p.m.: Welcoming Remarks, Javid Rzayev, Professor and Chair of Chemistry
- 4:05 p.m.: Introduction of Tieckelmann Lecturer, Bing Gong, Professor of Chemistry
- 4:10-5:10 p.m.: Howard Tieckelmann Memorial Lecture, Professor Samuel H. Gellman
- 5:15 p.m.: Light reception, Center for the Arts Lower Atrium
Friday, May 1, 2026
Co-hosted with the Chemistry Community Engagement Committee (CCEC)
Amphiphilic Dendritic Hybrid Block Copolymers (HBCS) for Theranostic Nanomedicine
Presented by: Davita L. Watkins, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University
2:30 p.m. in 101 Baldy Hall, UB North Campus
Best Dissertation of 2025
Friday, May 8, 2026
Presenters to be announced
2:30 p.m. in 101 Baldy Hall, UB North Campus