Department of Chemistry

Introduction

Chemistry is the scientific study of the composition and properties of matter and the investigation of the laws that govern them. Classically, chemistry is divided into several subdisciplines. Organic chemistry deals primarily with carbon compounds; inorganic chemistry, with compounds of the other elements. Physical chemistry seeks to describe relationships between the chemical and physical properties of all substances. Analytical chemistry studies the analysis of the chemical composition of all substances. Biological chemistry pursues the chemistry of living organisms. At the borders of these subdisciplines are many hybrid areas of study: physical organic, organometallic, bioinorganic, and others. At the interface of chemistry with other sciences, several active fields are fueled by insights gained from two ways of thinking about things: for example, chemical physics, chemical biology, organic geochemistry, and the extensive chemical problems in biotechnology, nanotechnology, material sciences, and molecular medicine. In all of these areas the chemist’s approach may be theoretical, experimental, or both.

All chemists have a common core of knowledge, learned through a highly structured sequence of undergraduate courses in which the content is divided into the classical subdisciplines. Toward the end of students’ progress through their four years of undergraduate study, they may choose to concentrate in one or more areas of chemistry through the courses selected to fulfill the chemistry elective requirements and through undergraduate research.

Advising

Faculty advisors are available in the Department of Chemistry for both walk-in meetings and scheduled advising appointments. The departmental advisors assist students with a variety of areas: course planning for the chemistry major, career/graduate school planning, study abroad opportunities, undergraduate research opportunities, and how to deal with academic difficulties. Chemistry majors are required to meet with a departmental advisor by appointment prior to registering for any semester beyond the fourth term in residence. The faculty advisors also schedule many events for the majors.

Graduate School and Career Opportunities

An undergraduate degree tailored according to the student’s interests can open doors to graduate programs in many academic disciplines: chemistry, environmental science, materials science, polymer science, chemical engineering, geochemistry, chemical physics, and several disciplines at the interface between biology and chemistry. A technically oriented administrator in the chemical industry might choose to obtain a master’s degree in business administration. More than 100 schools in the United States offer graduate programs in chemistry and related areas, and the usual practice is to complete a graduate degree at an institution different from the undergraduate institution. It is necessary to specialize in graduate study, either within one of the branches previously mentioned or at the interface between two of them. A student admitted to a graduate program in chemistry in the United States is usually offered a teaching assistantship or fellowship.

Chemists have a wide choice of academic, governmental, or industrial positions. By far the greatest percentage accept industrial positions, mostly in chemical manufacturing or the petroleum, food, and pharmaceutical industries, where they may be developing new products to benefit humanity or assessing the level of risk in the processes for some proposed production methods, for example. Most government chemists are employed in agriculture, health, energy, environmental, and defense-related areas. In the academic field, with such a broad spectrum of colleges and universities in this country, chemists can set career goals with varying levels of emphasis on training students in research and teaching in the classroom and instructional laboratory.

Majors

• Chemistry Major, B.A.
• Chemistry Major, B.S.
• Chemistry Major, B.S.–Biochemistry Track
• Chemistry Major, B.S.–Polymer Track

Minor

• Chemistry Minor

Graduate Programs

• M.A. in Chemistry
• M.S. in Chemistry
• Ph.D. in Chemistry

Courses

• Chemistry (CHEM)

Professors

Erik J. Alexanian, Jeffrey Aubé, James F. Cahoon, Jillian L. Dempsey, Andrey V. Dobrynin, Dorothy A. Erie, Michel R. Gagné, Gary L. Glish, Leslie M. Hicks, Jeffrey S. Johnson, Yosuke Kanai, David S. Lawrence, Bo Li, Gerald J. Meyer, Alexander J.M. Miller, Andrew M. Moran, David A. Nicewicz, Gary J. Pielak, Matthew R. Redinbo, Mark H. Schoenfisch, Sergey S. Sheiko, Jason D. Surratt, Joseph L. Templeton, Marcey L. Waters, Kevin M. Weeks, Wei You.

Associate Professors

Erin Baker, Frank A. Leibfarth, Matthew R. Lockett, Simon J. Meek, Scott C. Warren.

Assistant Professors

Elizabeth C. Brunk, Megan Jackson, Abigail Knight, Huong Kratochvil, Zhiyue Lu, Elisa Pieri, Sidney M. Wilkerson-Hill, Aleksandr V. Zhukhovitskiy.

Teaching Professors

Todd L. Austell, Brian P. Hogan, Domenic J. Tiani.

Teaching Associate Professors

Joshua E. Beaver, Carribeth L. Bliem, Nita Eskew, Danielle Zurcher.

Teaching Assistant Professors

Anna C. Curtis, Jade Fostvedt.