Research in Chemistry

The department offers a variety of exciting and future-oriented research topics, stretching from organic synthesis, biochemistry, theoretical chemistry, to physical chemistry and spectroscopy. Graduate students are required to engage in research, but we also encourage undergraduates to get involved. Between 2010-2019, our faculty has authored/co-authored 106 research papers in high-quality peer-reviewed journals, often co-authored with undergraduate and/or graduate student researchers. Faculty and students attend numerous national and international conferences and present their papers. Our students also have the opportunity to engage in paid summer research with faculty members.

Current grants (close to $1,000,000) support this research and have funded

  • the extremely well-equipped mass spectrometry facility (including a DART AccuTOF mass spectrometer)
  • the magnetic resonance facility (600 MHz NMR instrument)
  • the new SGI computer cluster
  • Standard instrumentation

Tuesday Seminar Series: The Tuesday seminars are intended to bring internationally recognized colleagues to the department to keep faculty, as well as undergraduate and graduate students, informed about the latest developments in the field, establish a network of contacts, and develop collaborations.

What to expect (Chemistry Graduate Students)

Graduate students admitted to the Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences Program earn salaries as teaching assistants in undergraduate laboratories. They are required to carry out research, and they receive up to 9 units tuition remission per semester.

Despite its small size, the Department of Chemistry mentors 24 graduate students and several post-doctoral fellows.

What to expect (Chemistry/Biochemistry Undergraduate Students)

Undergraduate students have the opportunity to join research groups in the department to fulfill the requirements of chemistry/biochemistry electives, but also in form of summer internships. In the research groups, they will work alongside Graduate students and the faculty supervisor on current projects. They either receive units for their work or (upon availability of funds and qualification) salary as research associates.

Graduate Research Focus Areas ("Tracks") in Chemistry

1) Synthesis and Drug Discovery/Design:  The track puts emphasis on the discovery and development of new compounds (synthetic and natural product sources) as potential drugs as well as new methods of chemical synthesis and structure elucidation.

2) Bioanalytical/Physical Chemistry/Biochemistry: The track puts emphasis on the investigation of chemical, biochemical, and biomedical questions with a broad range of experimental and computational tools. This includes state-of-the-art synthetic methodologies, instrumentation, and molecular techniques.