Physical Chemistry is the part of chemistry that is specifically focused on the quantitative relationships between measurements of static and dynamic physical and chemical properties of matter and the theories explaining the microscopic nature of matter. Physical chemistry provides the concepts and principles that are used to construct the foundation of all aspects of chemistry and related fields. The traditional research areas that form the field of physical chemistry are chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and quantum chemistry. The research interests of our faculty include these traditional areas, but are also strongly interdisciplinary through their connections to other areas of chemistry (inorganic, organic, and biochemistry) as well as physics and biology.

White-light continuum generation in liquid water using femtosecond near-infrared laser pulses. (Korter lab)

There is a wide array of physical chemistry research opportunities in our department. The research being performed here is at the leading edge of science. Some examples include using vibrational circular dichroism to characterize chiral pharmaceuticals, applying femtosecond spectroscopy to determine structure and dynamics in hydrogen-bonded clusters, non-invasive in vivo monitoring of glucose in human blood, and the application of high-level quantum mechanical modeling to complex molecular systems.

Physical Chemistry Faculty
	• Philip N. Borer • Mark Braiman • Joseph Chaiken • Arindam Chakraborty • Teresa B. Freedman • Jerry Goodisman		• Bruce Hudson • Timothy Korter • Laurence A. Nafie • Martin L. Sage (emeritus)

Physical Chemistry Faculty listed by Research Areas
	Analytical • Philip N. Borer • Mark Braiman • Joseph Chaiken • Laurence A. Nafie • Timothy Korter	Biophysical • Philip N. Borer • Joseph Chaiken • Arindam Chakraborty • Jerry Goodisman • Bruce Hudson • Laurence A. Nafie	Chemical Physics • Joseph Chaiken • Arindam Chakraborty • Bruce Hudson • Timothy Korter • Laurence A. Nafie • Martin L. Sage (emeritus)
	Computational • Mark Braiman • Arindam Chakraborty • Teresa B. Freedman • Timothy Korter • Bruce Hudson • Martin L. Sage (emeritus)	Materials Science • Joseph Chaiken • Arindam Chakraborty • Bruce Hudson • Timothy Korter

Graduate Course Offerings in Physical Chemistry
	CHE 546 - Molecular Spectroscopy and Structure CHE 634 - Advanced Chemical Instrumentation                 and Analytical Techniques CHE 636 - Advanced Physical Chemistry CHE 645 - Quantum Mechanics in Chemistry		CHE 655 - Quantum Chemistry and                 Advanced Quantum Mechanics CHE 656 - Chemical Thermodynamics CHE 666 - Statistical Mechanics CHE 674 - Structural and Physical Biochemistry