The School of Chemistry and Biochemistry held our annual El-Sayed Spring Symposium at the Molecular Science and Engineering Building on campus on May 8 and 9, 2025. The symposium, named in honor of Dr. Mostafa El-Sayed, highlights the accomplishments of postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and alumni. A full program can be found here.

This year's symposium featured talks by several distinguished alumni, including Evelyn Ligon (Army), Rakesh Nambiar (Dupont), Belma Haug (Henkel), Anne Marie Sweeney-Jones (BASF), and Zhiheng Lyu (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). Alumni panels focused on industrial careers and academic careers were held as well.

Awards were given for the best talks and posters; winners of research and teaching awards were also celebrated. Drs. Robert Braga and Les Gelbaum were awarded Unsung Hero Awards for decades of service to the department and Dr. Johannes Leisen received the Research Faculty Community Leadership Impact Award. A complete list of graduate student winners can be found here; awards for postdocs and research scientists can be found here.