News for November 22, 2024 (the last newsletter until December!)

Good news: (Send your good news to Kimberly Hazen)

China has activated the world’s largest offshore floating solar installation (ok, not department-specific, but help me out and share your news)

Staff Spotlight: Rosemary Wonnell

Rosemary Wonnell, Undergraduate Chemistry Specialist at Badlands National Park

Everyone I work with is invested in improving how we teach, and I see firsthand how hard instructors work to support students and help them succeed.

Meet Rosemary Wonnell. Rosemary has been at the Department of Chemistry for over two years. She holds a BA in Linguistics, and before working at UW, she worked for Epic and in IT support. In the Undergraduate Chemistry Office, her role supports the operational tasks of more than 27 undergraduate courses serving several thousand students. She works with more than 20 different instructors to facilitate testing accommodations for students working with the McBurney Disability Resource Center. Rosemary also works with Maddy Henkel (also in the Undergraduate Chemistry Office) to assist with enrollment, scholarships, exam administration, and various other tasks that support undergraduate instruction. She says she feels lucky to work with such a fantastic team of dedicated, friendly, and fun people. “I’m not a chemist, but I’m grateful to work in a department where there is a genuine passion for chemistry, whether that is teaching chemistry or researching chemistry,” Rosemary says. Outside of work, Rosemary plays viola with the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra. She enjoys cooking, amateur photography, traveling to national parks, and reading the Chemistry Newsletter every Friday. (Editor’s note: Yay!)

📣👉Let’s learn more about you with our Staff Spotlight! Tell us what you do for the Department of Chemistry and a little about yourself. It’s easy and just takes a few minutes. Click here to respond.

Tips for a better work-life:

Thanksgiving closures:
- Thursday, November 28 (Thanksgiving)
  - Entire department will be closed
- Friday, November 29 – The building will be locked, department newsletter will be on vacation
  - The Business Office is closed, some staff will be working remotely.
  - The Undergrad Office is closed, some staff will be working remotely.
  - Research Store closed on Friday, open 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. Mon-Wed (11/25-11/27)
  - The Copy Center is closed
  - Shipping/Receiving is closed, Aaron Smith will be out from 11/22 to 12/2. Items to be shipped should go through Ashley Petersen in the Copy Center.
  - NMR staff will be working remotely
  - Machine Shop is open regular hours
  - Electronics shop is closed
Cybersecurity Awareness Training Reminder
- All faculty, staff, postdocs, graduate students, and student workers must complete Cybersecurity Awareness Training annually. The training can be accessed here: https://it.wisc.edu/about/division-of-information-technology/enterprise-information-security-services/office-of-cybersecurity/cybersecurity-awareness-training/ Questions can be answered in the online FAQ.

Happenings of note:

Partners In Giving: It’s so easy to make a difference! These are just a few examples of what just a little bit can do! Give here (choose UW in upper right corner).

We are smack dab in the middle of our 2024 campaign. Our goal this year is to boost our participation. We know that you are a generous bunch. You probably already support a charity that is listed with Partners In Giving.

So why give through this campaign?
- We are in a head-to-head battle against other departments in L&S. They are measuring an increase in participation.
- You can give easily through your payroll deduction and spread your giving across many paychecks.
- It’s so easy to control how you give.
November 24, 2024 @ 11:59 pm deadline

The Office of Sustainability is inviting submissions for our annual Sustainability Writing Awards. The awards are open to any current UW–Madison student (undergrad, grad, professional); this year, three winners will be awarded scholarship prizes of $500/each via the WiSH hub. We also work with all winning authors to polish their pieces for publication on our website. The deadline for submissions is Sunday, November 24 at 11:59 pm. Comprehensive information is available on the website.
Announcing the first-ever departmental book swap – brought to you by GSFLC Wellness and the DEI Committee! ALL individuals in the department are encouraged to participate! Before the event, select a (new or gently used) book that is meaningful to you. All genres are welcome! Grab your book and join us in 9341 on November 25th from 12-2 p.m. At the event, you will be able to trade your book for a new-to-you book! After obtaining your book, feel free to mingle and chat or curl up with a nice cup of cocoa. Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate will be provided. Bring your own mug! More information here.
Volunteer for the Wisconsin Middle School Science Bowl to be held February 1, 2025, and hosted here at UW-Madison! The Science Bowl is a competition for teams of middle school students to compete for a chance to go to the National Science Bowl in Washington D.C. However, in order to have a successful Science Bowl, we need volunteers! The main volunteering positions are: timekeeper, scorekeeper, moderator, and scientific judge. We need at least 50 people for this event to run and would appreciate your help! In return we offer free coffee, bagels, pizza, and a T-shirt for all who volunteer. Apply by December 5, 2024.

What is required of a volunteer:

-A minimum 6-hour time commitment on the day of the Science Bowl

Time shifts needed are as follows:

· 7:30 am – 1:00 pm

· 7:30 am – 3:30 pm

· 7:30 am – 6:00 pm

-Undergraduate/graduate student status or college degree already completed

-A 2-hour time commitment for training before the Science Bowl

-A Background Check

-Completion of an online course Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect (60 min)

If you are interested, please click here to volunteer. Questions? Email Matt Bowman. questions please email me at mdbowman@wisc.edu

Chemical Coders December 6, 2024 Seminar
- Spencer Heins
- Exploring Chemical Space using Computational Workflows
- A discussion about automated workflows to guide substrate selection and define chemical space: SMILES strings, conformational analysis, DFT, molecular descriptors, dimensionality reduction, and more! More information here.
- 2 p.m.
- Chemistry 7419
GSFLC Community Building events:
- Delta Beer Lab Tour
  - 167 E Badger Rd
  - Sat, Dec 7 at 5 pm
  - Tour is free, but each attendee (including guests) must purchase a $12 flight of beer (part of a demonstration) or $12 worth of other beverages (includes non-alcoholic options) on site.
  - Limited food available on site (frozen pizzas, pretzels, popcorn) or you can bring your own food.
  - RSVP here
- Recreational Sports
  - If you are organizing a team, whether UW intramural or recreational elsewhere in Madison, and are looking to add players to your roster, list it on this Google sheet! If you are looking to join a team, contact a listed captain or list yourself on the “Free Agents” tab on the sheet. This is a living document, so feel free to add/remove it anytime.
- For more information about the Graduate Student Faculty Liaison Committee (GSFLC), how to join, and our event calendar, visit https://chem.wisc.edu/gsflc/.

Recent department publications (compiled by Ariel Andrea):

Higgins, P. M.; Wehrli, N. G.; Buller, A. R. Substrate-Multiplexed Assessment of Aromatic Prenyltransferase Activity. Chembiochem 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cbic.202400680 .
Li, K. J.; Dergachev, V. D.; Dergachev, I. D.; Zhang, S. M.; Varganov, S. A.; Ping, Y. Excited-state dynamics and optically detected magnetic resonance of solid-state spin defects from first principles. Physical Review B 2024, 110 (18). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.110.184302 .
Li, S. Y.; Yang, H. M.; Hofstetter, H.; Tonelli, M.; Cavagnero, S. Magnetic-Field Dependence of LC-Photo-CIDNP in the Presence of Target Molecules Carrying a Quasi-Isolated Spin Pair (vol 54, pg 59, 2022). Applied Magnetic Resonance 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00723-024-01724-1 .
Peters-Clarke, T. M.; Quan, Q. W.; Anderson, B. J.; McGee, W. M.; Lohr, E.; Hebert, A. S.; Westphall, M. S.; Coon, J. J. Phosphorothioate RNA Analysis by NETD Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 2024, 23 (4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcpro.2024.100742 .
Plachinski, E. F.; Qian, R. Z.; Villanueva, R.; Poole, D. L.; Rosenthal, T.; Yoon, T. P. Enantioselective 2π+2σ Photocycloaddition Enabled by Brønsted Acid Catalyzed Chromophore Activation. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c13596 .
Serrano, L. R.; Peters-Clarke, T. M.; Arrey, T. N.; Damoc, E.; Robinson, M. L.; Lancaster, N. M.; Shishkova, E.; Moss, C.; Pashkova, A.; Sinitcyn, P.; et al. The One Hour Human Proteome. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 2024, 23 (5). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcpro.2024.100760 .
Torralba-Maldonado, D.; Marlin, A.; Lucio-Martiínez, F.; Freire-García, A.; Whetter, J.; Brandariz, I.; Iglesias, E.; Pérez-Lourido, P.; Ortuño, R. M.; Boros, E.; et al. Tuning the Properties of Rigidified Acyclic DEDPA2 Derivatives for Application in PET Using Copper-64. Inorganic Chemistry 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c04050 .
Yin, L.; Tong, Y.; Xie, R. S.; Zhang, Z. P.; Islam, Z. H.; Zhang, K. J.; Burger, J.; Hoyt, N.; Kent, E. W.; Marcum, W. A.; et al. Targeted NAD+ repletion via biomimetic nanoparticle enables simultaneous management of intimal hyperplasia and accelerated re-endothelialization: A proof-of-concept study toward next-generation of endothelium-protective, anti-restenotic therapy. Journal of Controlled Release 2024, 376, 806-815. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.10.045 .
Zhou, Y. X.; Liao, Y. X.; Zhao, Y.; Tang, W. P. Development of Integrin Targeting Chimeras (ITACs) for the Lysosomal Degradation of Extracellular Proteins. Chemmedchem 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cmdc.202300643 .