Foster Colloquium Series

Lecture at University at Buffalo.

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