Congratulations to Linda Zuckerman, who won a poster prize for “Synergy Between Experimental Techniques” at the Mechanisms of Reactions (MECAREACT) conference in Paris, France. This award came to recognize her use of a wide variety of techniques in her research, which encompasses synthesis, surface spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and methods development. Great job, Linda!

Congratulations to Alec Hegg, who was elected co-chair of the next Gordon Research Seminar on Inorganic Reaction Mechanisms, which will be held in 2027. Excellent leadership, Alec!

2024 has been an epic publication year for the Holland Group, topped off by two JACS papers. The first was initiated by Cory MacLeod and Sean McWilliams, who discovered a series of carbonyl and carbyne complexes, and then brought through the fire by Allie Nagelski, who changed around substituents to enable purification and did a ton of analysis. She was assisted by Sam MacMillan and Kyle Lancaster at Cornell, who made essential XAS and DFT contributions that enabled us to show that carbon bridges in diiron complexes can effectively “buffer” changes in charge, a role that may be important in the FeMoco of nitrogenase. The second was initiated by Jeremy Weber and then finished by Alec Hegg; they worked with the groups of Alex Miller and Hannah Shafaat to show a series of rhenium complexes that split N2 to nitrides, and then the nitrides can give ammonia electrochemically. Both studies involved careful mechanistic study, analysis of ligand covalency and redox activity, and careful computations that make me proud. Great work!!!

Double congratulations to Linda Zuckerman, who has received two awards based on her accomplishments. First, she was awarded a Dean’s Emerging Scholars Research Award, which provides travel support to students who have contributed to inclusiveness in the department. Then, most recently she received an ACS Leadership in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect Recognition Award. Both of these have as a major component the fact that she has been an inspiring leader of the Chemistry Peer Resource Advocates, who initiate and support inclusiveness initiatives in our department and help to guide community members toward university resources when they are having trouble. Congratulations Linda, and thanks for this amazing service to inclusiveness!