The 2025 Advanced Materials Workshop at the University of Oklahoma gathered faculty, students, startups, and industry partners for a full day of innovation, collaboration, and scientific discovery. The event highlighted cutting-edge research in Materials Science and Engineering across campus, featuring contributions from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, the School of Sustainable Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering, the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Among the standout achievements this year was a major win for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. A research team composed of research assistant and OU alumna Jennifer Ou and undergraduate students Meiling Wade and Maham Saeed earned First Place in the Poster Award, securing the workshop’s top prize of $1,000.
Their poster, The Synthesis of Pentagonal and Hexagonal Cyclophanes, impressed judges with its sophisticated approach to designing new organic macrocycles that can enhance charge transfer in photocatalysis and improve size-selective separation, leading to potential energy savings in chemical processes. Among the workshop’s 69 poster presentations, their work distinguished itself through scientific rigor, innovation, and real-world application.
This project was completed under the mentorship of Assistant Professor Yuanning Feng, whose laboratory focuses on synthetic organic chemistry and the development of functional molecular architectures. The award reflects the team’s exceptional dedication, creativity, and collaborative spirit—qualities that exemplify the strength of OU’s chemistry program and its commitment to advancing materials research.
Congratulations to Jennifer, Meiling, and Maham on this outstanding accomplishment! Their success highlights the impactful research being carried out within the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences and reinforces OU’s growing reputation as a leader in interdisciplinary materials science.
