News
Dec 20th 2024 - Thy came back to visit from NOLA! (Thy, if you see this post, please visit us more often, we miss you!)
Aug 27th 2024 - The Fall Semester has started. Third time teaching General Chemistry I :)
Aug 2nd 2024 - Marne has been working with us over the summer through the Smart Polymer REU program. Her research focuses on characerizing the effects of non-ionic surfactants on the phase behavior of mixed micelle/polymer systems. She did a great job in generating phase diagrams of different systems, such a talent!
Jun 9 - 13th 2024 - Dr. Xu attended the Neutrons and Food 7 Conference at the University of Delaware. It was a great opportunity to hear many inspiring talks and to reunite with fellow scientists from around the world. Additionally, it was a pleasure to meet Qutell, who is working at Chemours, the chemical company right across the road from the conference venue. Seeing how much she has grown and is thriving in the industry is incredibly rewarding!
May 16th 2024 - Alison and Sadie are recognized as the LSU Distinguished Undergraduate Researcher! Congratulations to both of you! All the best with your graduate studies, keep us updated :) !
May 1st - 3rd 2024 - Our group has been busy performing scattering experiments at various national facilities! Khaleda and Sulo traveled to CHESS for SAXS experiments on BioSAXS beamline.
Apr 23th - 25th 2024 - Shanta and our talented undergraduate researcher Sadie traveled to ORNL for SANS experiments on the BioSANS beamline.
Apr 14th 2024 - Sunday group lunch at Dr. Xu's place (finally she has a proper dining table that can accommodate 10 people...)
Mar 17th 2024 - The Xu Research Group attended the ACS Spring Meeting in NOLA. Proud to be a Chemist!
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Dec 28th 2023 - Dr. Xu welcomed an honorary member to the group: Laurence Duan. He attended General Chemistry I with Dr. Xu in the Fall sememster of 2023.
Nov 8th 2023 - Dr. Xu gave a presenation entitled: " Small-Angle X-Ray/Neutron Scattering for the Study of Biomacromolecular Interactions" at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Dr. Xu is grateful for the invitation :)
Oct 28th 2023 - The Macromolecular Studies Group Student Association (MSGSA) had a booth at the Super Science Saturday event. Our booth has attracted a lot of curious future scientists :)
Oct 26th 2023 - Shanta and Bailey traveled to CHESS for another SAXS measurement. We greatly appreciate the kind help generously provided by Dr. Gillilan and Dr. Huang!
Oct 10th 2023 - Shanta's paper "Understanding the Impacts of Molecular and Macromolecular Crowding Agents on Protein–Polymer Complex Coacervates" has been accepted by Biomacromolecules (https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.3c00545). Our brilliant undergraduate researchers Alison and Sadie are also contributors to this work!
Sep 26th 2023 - Our publicatoin entitled "Role of Domain–Domain Interactions on the Self-Association and Physical Stability of Monoclonal Antibodies: Effect of pH and Salt" has been accepted by Journal of Physical Chemistry B ( J. Phys. Chem. B 2023, 127, 39, 8344–8357). One of the highlights of the paper I think is the ability to predict the relative flexibility of antibody molecules using Small-Angle Scattering combined with MD simulation :).
Aug 21st 2023 - The Fall semester starts.
Aug 2023 - Alison came back from the SURF program offered by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) at the Gaithersburg campus in MD. If you are an undergraduate student who is interested in doing research with brilliant minds within a collaborative environment, you should definitely consider applying for the NIST SURF Program! Alison had a great summer doing polymer research, and here is what she says about the SURF program:
"I had an incredible experience at NIST this summer! Not only was I able to further my learning of chemistry, but I was also able to learn more about different areas of research including physics and material science. I was working with diblock copolymers for semiconductor industry research, but it made me realize that I really like working with polymers. Because of this, I plan to study it in graduate school. I was also able to learn different instrumentation methods from leaders in their fields and talk with them about their research. Working at NIST over the summer was one of the best experiences I’ve had. I feel like I really broadened my knowledge of chemistry and other areas while also finding out what I want to study in the future!"
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to know more about the SURF program :)
Jun 5th 2023 - Dr. Xu attended the ORNL User Group Meeting in Knoxville, TN. It is great to hear so many inspiring talks on neutron scattering on soft matter/biological research!
May 26th 2023 - Tori and Sulo performing SAXS/WAXS measurements at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.
May 18th 2023 - Another team effort - helping Tori and Sulo preparing samples for their trip to Brookhaven National Laboratory.
May 17th 2023 - Thy is officially graduated, congratulations! All the best with the new job in NOLA, we will miss you!
May 12th 2023 - After three years, the Department of Chemistry continues with the Annual Crawfish Boil.
May 3rd 2023 - The Xu group went out for Pre-Summer Group Lunch at the Chimes. We have 7 talented young researchers in our group now!
Apr 26th 2023 - The Xu group presented at the Graduate Research Conference at LSU. Tori and Shanta received awards for their presentations. For more information: https://www.lsu.edu/graduateschool/events/graduate_research_conference/index.php
Apr 20th 2023 - Thy presented at the LSU Discover Day 2023. Good Job Thy!
Feb 24th 2023 - It took a village to prepare Shanta's samples to CHESS...
Feb 7th - 8th 2023 - Khaleda and Tori traveled to CHESS (Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source) for SAXS experiments. Many thanks to Dr. Gillilan and Dr. Huang for helping at the beamline.
Jan 21th - 27th 2023 - First neutron experiment in the new year. Shanta and Dr. Xu traveled to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for USANS experiments.
Jan 5th 2023 - The Xu research group welcomes a new member: Sulochana Mudiyanselage.
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Dec 5th 2022- Stocking-full of proteins! Check out our Christmas door decoration @ 454 Chemistry and Materials Building. Special thanks to Alison and Fahmina.
Nov 6th-9th 2022- The entire group attended the ACS Southwest Regional Meeting (SWRM) right here at the heart of Baton Rouge.
Oct 18th 2022- Victoria is selected to attend the 28th CHRNS Scattering School on SANS and Neutron Reflectometry, hosted by the NIST Center for Neutron Research, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD. (Photo credit: Dr. Susana Teixeira)
Aug 25th 2022- The Xu group received funding from the USDA to develop complex coacervates as sustainable, stimuli-responsive coating materials for cotton fabrics.
(Image cited from from https://www.nist.gov/image/usda-logo)
Jul 29 - Aug 3 2022 - Dr. Xu presented at the American Crystallography Association Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon.
Jul 18 - 19th 2022 - Dr. Xu visited ORNL for her first SHUG-EC annual onsite visit.
Jul 11 - 12th 2022 - Dr. Xu presented at the Southern Soft Matter Annual Symposium hosted by PSE @ University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS.
Jun 21st 2022 - Dr. Xu gave a virtual presentation at the NIST Center for Neutron Research. Hopefully we will go for neutron measurements at the NCNR soon!
Jun 4th - 9th 2022 - Dr. Xu co-chaired and presented at the Biology, Biophysics and Biotechnology Session for the 11th American Conference on Neutron Scattering. It is great to see so many colleagues in person after a very long time!
Apr 16th 2022 - After more than two years, we are finally back to air travels and in-person SANS experiments!
March 11th 2022 - Qutell passed the qualification exam for her Master's Degree. Congratulations, so proud of you!
March 9th 2022 - SAXS measurements were performed at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) in Chicago, IL.
Jan 28th 2022 - Our first Synchrotron-radiated SAXS experiment went smoothly at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) in Ithaca, NY.
Jan 4th 2022 - Khaleda has been selected to attend the 27th CHRNS School on Methods and Applications of Neutron Spectroscopy, hosted by the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR).
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Dec 9th 2021 - Starting from 2022, Dr. Xu will serve as a member of the ORNL SNS/HIFR User Group (SHUG) Executive Committee. She appreciates all the supports from the neutron community, and she is absolutely thrilled!
Dec 9th 2021 - We entered the Christmas door decoration contest, and it is clear that all Shanta wants is a PhD :)
Sep 10th 2021 - Shanta has been selected to attend the Neutron Spin Echo (NSE) workshop at the NIST Center for Neutron Research in Maryland. Congratulations!
Aug 23rd 2021 - First day of the Fall Semester 2021. Glad to see many more students who are interested in Macromolecules!
Aug 12th 2021 - Dr. Xu presented at the 2021 Joint Nanoscience and Neutron Scattering User Meeting, hosed by ORNL.
Jul 2 - 5, 2021 - The group performed the first SANS experiment on BioSANS beamline at Oak Ridge National Laboratory!
Jun 21 - 28, 2021 - Shanta and Khaleda attended the Online Course on Neutron Scattering Applications in Structural Biology, hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Jun 15th 2021 - Dr. Xu gave a presentation for the Large Scale Structure Seminar Series at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Good to see many of our scattering colleagues in TN!
May 7th 2021 - Welcome Shanta and Khaleda for joining our group as graduate researchers!
Jan 19 - 21, 2021 - Dr. Xu was invited to attend the PepTalk 2021 Conference virtually. She shared her experience in characterizing the protein-protein interactions using small angle scattering, and she was also fascinated by the impressive work done by other researchers.
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Dec 31st 2020 - Qutell got accepted to attend the CHRNS Summer School on Neutron Scattering at NIST in Feb 2021. Congratulations!
Dec 26th 2020 - Dr. Xu received the Single Investigator Award from the Louisiana Materials Design Alliance (LAMDA) for characterizing the hierarchical structures of shape memory polymer materials.
Dec 21st 2020 - The Fall semester of 2020 is officially coming to an end. With all the challenges and uncertainties, I am glad to know that my students found CHEM4010 a great course, and thank you all for the recognition that I did a good job as a new professor (course evaluation for CHEM4010: 4 out of 4). Happy holidays everyone, and all the best for your future endeavors!
Sep 18th 2020 - Dr. Xu presented at the Collaborative Computer Project on Small Angle Scattering (CCP-SAS) workshop
Aug 15th 2020 - Dr. Xu's first day @ LSU. Geaux Tigers :)
