Professors Wendy Kelly and Jake Soper both received Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Awards. This program selects rising research stars from around the country and exposes them to the needs of the Department of Defense. DARPA’s goal is to fund researchers who will focus a significant portion of their careers on Department of Defense and National Security issues. Only 33 awards were made nationally in 2009, with two awarded to faculty in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. DARPA is funding Dr. Kelly’s research on “Biosynthetic engineering of thiopeptide antibiotics” and Dr. Soper’s research on “Redox-Active Ligand-Mediated Radical Coupling at Terminal Metal Oxo Ligands: Reactions Relevant to Water Oxidation for Artificial Photosynthesis”.