Chemistry symposium put student research on display

CLEMSON – The Fourth Annual Chemistry Research Symposium was held Saturday, March 9, on the campus of Clemson University.

A poster session was held from 9-11 a.m. in the atrium of the Life Sciences Facility. At 11:30 a.m., keynote speaker Dr. James M. Tour gave a keynote talk titled “Nanotechnology: Graphene, Devices and Medicine” in the Hunter Labs auditorium. Professor Tour is T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering and Computer Science at Rice University.

The purpose of the event was to share the research and accomplishments of the past year with each other and the larger Clemson community. Prospective graduate students were invited as a means for them to learn about the research in the department and to interact with current graduate students. Alumni, representatives from local industry and students from local public schools were also in attendance.

Dr. Tour discussed new routes to the formation of graphene, including laser-induced graphene which is made in the air and without furnaces. A series of devices including supercapacitors, gas sensors, triboelectric generators, electrocatalysis beds for water splitting and the oxygen reduction reaction, air filters and water purifiers have been made from this flexible platform.

“Science isn’t hard work for the curious,” said Bill Pennington, chair of the department of chemistry. “But it does provide education and training for a wide variety of careers and vocations – and chemistry, as the central science, provides a jumping-off point to a world full of opportunities.”

The symposium featured posters presented by graduate students from each research group in the chemistry department, as well as undergraduate students and students from surrounding schools.

Clemson’s department of chemistry and the Chemistry Graduate Student Organization sponsored the event.

For a gallery of photos, click HERE.