Grp photo 2025 Fall

Our research focus can be summarized as analytical surface-science. Nearly all of our research is based on measurements of chemical interactions with surfaces, and most of our instrumentation is specifically designed to examine interfacial phenomena. If you've ever wondered why oil spreading on water looks like a rainbow, why you can only make sand castles with wet sand, or how Rain-X® keeps your windshield so clean, you might be interested in our work. We use precice measurements of chemical behaviors to create new, fundamental understanding of these types of questions to address important challenges in environmental remediation, materials development, and energy science. 

Detailed descriptions of our research projects and some laboratory pictures can be found within this website.  If you have questions, feel free to send us an email or arrange a visit to our lab.  Follow us on Twitter @shawschem (group) or @shawchem (Prof Shaw)

Research for All

The Shaw group accepts that scientific advancement suffers without participation from all varied communities. We proactively engage all people regardless of status or ability. We acknowledge institutional challenges within the sciences, both for and against, certain groups of people. To counter this and provide clearer pathways to success, we work to create an inviting and enjoyable environment to do, and share, good science for all. Through formal training and informal interactions, we continuously strive to improve ourselves while advocating for each others’ success. We hope our efforts will support positive changes within our field.

 

Event and news feeds

Departmental Events

Final Thesis Defense- Jeewani Meepage (Stone group)

Monday, April 20, 2026 12:30pm
Chemistry Building

"Advancing the measurement of oxidized volatile methyl siloxanes and their contribution to urban aerosols"

Final Thesis Defense- Shanari Wickremasinghage (Bowden Group)

Monday, April 20, 2026 1:30pm
Chemistry Building

"Bridging Color and Chemistry: New Classes of Sulfur-Nitrogen Polymers as a Platform for Advanced Materials"

Inorganic & Chem Ed Research Seminar- Erhunwense Obayuwana (Harshman group)

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 12:30pm
Chemistry Building

Seminar: Mark Nutt of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory & Iowa Nuclear Energy Task Force

Thursday, April 23, 2026 12:30pm
Iowa Memorial Union (IMU)

Join us on Thursday, April 23 for a special chemistry department seminar by Dr. Mark Nutt, Director of Nuclear Energy Programs at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and chairperson of the Iowa Nuclear Energy Taskforce. The Taskforce was established by Governor Kim Reynolds in January 2026 to advise state leadership on the development and advancement of nuclear energy technologies and infrastructure in Iowa. Dr. Nutt, an Iowa native, holds bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees in nuclear...

Materials Frontier Symposium- hosted by MatFab

Friday, April 24, 2026 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Chemistry Building

On April 24, MATFab is hosting the Materials Frontier Symposium from 1:00-5:00 p.m. in the Chemistry Building. There will be two workshops (Laser Ablation/LIBS techniques, and Industry-Academic Partnerships Forum), an undergraduate/graduate poster session, and a plenary speaker. Additional Information and registration information is on our website: https://matfab.research.uiowa.edu/matfab-materials-frontier-symposium

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University Professional Development Events

2026 MIKIW Medicinal Chemistry Conference at the UI College of Pharmacy promotional image

2026 MIKIW Medicinal Chemistry Conference at the UI College of Pharmacy

Saturday, April 18 to Sunday, April 19, 2026 (all day)
College of Pharmacy Building

The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Iowa, will host the 63rd Annual Medicinal Chemistry Meeting-in-miniature.

MIKIW is the longest-running and largest regional medicinal chemistry conference in the United States. The meeting integrates over 200 graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty members from the Universities of Minnesota, Illinois at Chicago, Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin. The two-day, multidisciplinary conference exposes...

2026 MIKIW Medicinal Chemistry Conference at the UI College of Pharmacy promotional image

2026 MIKIW Medicinal Chemistry Conference at the UI College of Pharmacy

Sunday, April 19, 2026 (all day)
College of Pharmacy Building

The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Iowa, will host the 63rd Annual Medicinal Chemistry Meeting-in-miniature.

MIKIW is the longest-running and largest regional medicinal chemistry conference in the United States. The meeting integrates over 200 graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty members from the Universities of Minnesota, Illinois at Chicago, Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin. The two-day, multidisciplinary conference exposes...

Sustainability Lecture Series: Land Use, Policy, and Climate Innovation promotional image

Sustainability Lecture Series: Land Use, Policy, and Climate Innovation

Monday, April 20, 2026 11:30am
Iowa Memorial Union (IMU)

The Sustainability Lecture Series is an interdisciplinary forum of practicing professionals. The conversation will demonstrate real work in land use planning, environmental governance, and climate innovation to help students understand how their future careers can impact sustainability. The panelists cover a broad range of expertise from Environmental Studies, Urban Planning, and Law.

Participants will:

· Understand sustainability as a systems issue

· Recognize the link between land use and climate...

Departmental Brown Bag: Kaitlyn Jones and Johnny Peters promotional image

Departmental Brown Bag: Kaitlyn Jones and Johnny Peters

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 12:30pm to 1:30pm
Psychological and Brain Sciences Building

Brown Bag events feature presentations by Psychological and Brain Sciences graduate students from the Cognitive and Behavioral Cognitive Neuroscience training areas.

Kaitlyn Jones is a Graduate Student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Kaitlyn is in the Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience training area and is a member of the LaLumiere Lab.

Johnny Peters is a Graduate Student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Johnny is in the Behavioral & Cognitive...

Writing Conference Proposals as Graduate Students: A Reviewer’s Perspective promotional image

Writing Conference Proposals as Graduate Students: A Reviewer’s Perspective

Friday, April 24, 2026 10:30am to 12:00pm
Lindquist Center
This workshop will provide tips and tricks for graduate students to craft competitive conference proposals.
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