SMU Department of Chemistry
SMU 2015 research efforts broadly noted in a variety of ways for world-changing impact
SMU scientists and their research have a global reach that is frequently noted, beyond peer publications and media mentions.
It was a good year for SMU faculty and student research efforts. Here’s a small sampling of public and published acknowledgements during 2015, ranging from research modeling that made the cover of a scientific journal to research findings presented as evidence at government hearings. Continue reading
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SMU chemist Nicolay Tsarevsky wins prestigious National Science Foundation Career Award
SMU chemist Nicolay (Nick) Tsarevsky has received a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award, expected to total $650,000 over five years, to fund his research into new methods of creating polymers — whose uses range from fluorescent materials to drug carriers, to everyday technologies.
NSF CAREER Awards are given to tenure-track faculty members who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research in American colleges and universities. Continue reading
CBS DFW 11: Too Much ‘Blue Light’ Hinders Sleep
CBS DFW Channel 11 reporter Doug Dunbar covered the blue light research of Brian Zoltowski, an assistant professor in the SMU Department of Chemistry.
Zoltowski’s lab was awarded $320,500 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health to continue its research on the impact of blue light on humans and other organisms and how it can stimulate disease. Continue reading
KERA: The Bright Side And Dark Side Of Blue Light
KERA Public Radio journalist Justin Martin explored the good and bad of blue light in our environment with Brian Zoltowski, an assistant professor in the SMU Department of Chemistry.
Zoltowski’s lab was awarded $320,500 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health to continue its research on the impact of blue light on the circadian clock of humans and other organisms.
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Study funded by NIH is decoding blue light’s mysterious ability to alter body’s natural clock
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health is unraveling the mystery of how blue light from residential and commercial lighting, electronic devices and outdoor lights can throw off-kilter the natural body clock of humans, plants and animals, leading to disease.
Exposure to blue light is on the increase, says chemist Brian Zoltowski, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, who leads the study. Continue reading
Scientific American: How your smartphone messes with your brain — and your sleep
Scientific American science blogger Josh Fischman drew on the sleep expertise of SMU Assistant Professor of Chemistry Brian D. Zoltowski to explain how artificial light from our smartphones and other digital devices causes sleep deprivation. His blog article, “How your smartphone messes with your brain — and your sleep,” published May 20 and has been heavily shared through social media.
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Business Insider: Your Smartphone Is Destroying Your Sleep
Business Insider Science Editor Jennifer Walsh tapped the sleep expertise of SMU Assistant Professor of Chemistry Brian D. Zoltowski to explain how artificial light from our smartphones and other digital devices causes sleep deprivation. Her article, “Your Smartphone Is Destroying Your Sleep,” published May 19.
Zoltowski’s lab at SMU studies one of the many proteins involved in an organism’s circadian clocks. Called a photoreceptor, the protein responds to light to predict time of day and season by measuring day length. Continue reading
Chemical probe confirms that body makes its own rotten egg gas, H2S, to benefit health
A new study confirms directly what scientists previously knew only indirectly: The poisonous “rotten egg” gas hydrogen sulfide is generated by our body’s growing cells.
Hydrogen sulfide, or H2S, in small amounts plays a role in cardiovascular health. In the new study, chemists developed a chemical probe that reacts and lights up when live human cells generate hydrogen sulfide, says SMU’s Alexander R. Lippert. Continue reading
Circadian clock research may enable flexible designer plants; treat cancer and diabetes
How does a plant know when to sprout a leaf, fold its petals or bloom? Why do humans experience jet lag after a trip abroad?
The answer is the internal circadian clocks that are present in every organism and that respond to external cues such as light and temperature, says SMU chemist Brian D. Zoltowski. Zoltowski’s lab studies one of the many proteins involved in an organism’s circadian clocks. Continue reading