Orange Alert

Department of Chemistry

What are living and nonliving things made of? Find out through studying the nature of matter, the composition of substances and their properties and reactions. You'll have hands-on research experience in different areas such as theoretical physical chemistry, drug discovery or organic synthesis.

Immerse yourself in the composition, structure, properties and reactions of matter, especially of atomic, elemental and molecular systems. Experience a challenging but nurturing environment and take courses in analytical, biological, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry.

Undergraduate and graduate students perform original research in a number of different areas of chemistry, from theoretical and experimental physical chemistry to organic synthesis, nanomaterials and biochemistry.

Facilities

The Department of Chemistry is located in the Center for Science and Technology (CST) on the eastern edge of campus.

The department is equipped with state-of-the-art research and teaching facilities and an outstanding technical support staff. Available instrumentation includes the following, to name a few:

  • Isothermal titration calorimeter
  • NMR and X-ray crystallography facilities
  • Ultrafast laser laboratory
  • Several high-resolution spectrophotometers and fluorimeters
  • Electrochemical analyzers
  • HPLC systems
  • Polarimeters
  • IR and Raman spectrometers
  • Instrumentation for GC-MS and LC-MS measurements

Other support services include the Chemistry Stores, an on-campus source for commonly used laboratory supplies and chemicals, and electronics and glass blowing shops, where highly specific research equipment is designed and fabricated. The Science and Technology Library offers an outstanding collection of scientific literature and electronic resources.

Take chemistry out into the world

There are many career possibilities for a chemistry major. Chemical, drug and oil companies are certainly options. Here are some others:

  • Manufacturing companies—such as fragrances, steel, dyes, or computers.
  • Service companies offering testing, cleaning, or analysis
  • Education.
  • Government (national laboratories, agencies, or the military).
  • Entrepreneurial opportunities, start-ups, or think tanks.
  • Legal field. Lawyers with a chemistry degree are highly sought after for their expertise.

Learn more about all your options by speaking with your advisor.

Events
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Events

There are no events in this category right now, but please check the University calendar for many other options.

Recent News
Robert Doyle sitting in a lab.

(Jan. 11, 2024)

Medicinal Chemist Robert Doyle Named Jack and Laura H. Milton Endowed Professor

The professorship will enhance Doyle’s work in both the lab and classroom, where he and students are working to develop new drugs to treat diseases and syndromes including diabetes, obesity and cachexia.

Robert Doyle in the lab.

(Nov. 15, 2023)

Nov. 30 Lecture Spotlights the Science Behind Anti-Obesity Drugs

A&S chemist Robert Doyle will discuss his team’s cutting-edge treatment which offers steady weight loss without common, unwanted side-effects.

Rachel Steinhardt portrait

(Nov. 7, 2023)

Rachel Steinhardt Awarded NSF Grant to Study Brain Chemistry

Professor Steinhardt's project aims to better understand how individual cells communicate to create brain activity.

Graphic representing how assembly and disassembly of UBQLN2 condensates can be regulated by protein quality control components such as polyubiquitin chains of different sizes and topologies.

(Oct. 24, 2023)

The Goldilocks Effect: A&S Researchers Find Parameters of Polyubiquitin that are ‘Just Right’ for Biomolecular Condensate Formation

Carlos Castañeda is among a team of researchers whose study on protein regulation was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Atanu Acharya portrait.

(Oct. 16, 2023)

Atanu Acharya Wins NIH Award to Study the Biochemistry of Bacterial Membrane Proteins and Light-Sensitive Proteins

Acharya has been awarded a Maximizing Investigators' Research Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Recent Publications

Yao, Z.; Zhang, B. S.; Steinhardt, R. C.; Mills, J. H.; Prescher, J. A. Multicomponent bioluminescence imaging with an extended pi-luciferin. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2020, 142, 14080. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c01064

Kerr, W. G.; Pedicone, C.; Dormann, S. D.; Pacherille, A.; Chisholm, J. D. “Small Molecule Targeting of SHIP1 and SHIP2.” Biochem. Soc. Trans. 2020, 48, 291-300. DOI:10.1042/BST20190775.

Pedicone, C., Fernandes, S., Dungan, O. M., Dormann, S. M., Viernes, D. R., Adhikari, A. A., Choi, L. B., De Jong, E., Chisholm, J.D. and Kerr, W.G. "Pan-SHIP1/2 inhibitors promote microglia effector functions essential for CNS homeostasis." J. Cell Sci. 2020, 133, jcs238030. DOI:10.1242/jcs.238030.

Moser, B. A.; Escalante-Buendia, Y; Steinhardt, R. C.; Rosenberger, M. Cassaidy, B.; Naorem, N. Chon, A. C.; Nguyen, M.; Tran, N.; Esser-Kahn, A. P. Small Molecule NF-kB Inhibitors as Immune Potentiators for Enhancement of Vaccine Adjuvants. ChemRxiv https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv.10043138.v1

Wu. M.; Moser, B. A.; Steeves, T. M.; Figueroa, A.; Wallace, B. M.; Kim, S. T.; Esser-Kahn, A. P.; Steinhardt, R. C. Photon upconversion for the enhancement of microfluidic photochemical synthesis. RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 26172–26175. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9RA03468D