Physical Chemistry Research Division
Associated Faculty
About the Physical Chemistry Research Division
The Chemistry & Biochemistry Department at µÛÍõ»áËù has a strong graduate program in physical chemistry that offers students the option of pursuing either master's or Ph.D. degrees. The program's research comprises a broad range of materials science that includes elements of nanoscience, solid-state chemistry, surface chemistry, synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and spectroscopy. A recent addition to the program is theoretical and computational chemistry with applications covering broad areas of catalysis and spectroscopy.
Over the past few years, the faculty within the Physical Chemistry Division has been well-funded, and the division has benefited from the involvement of graduate students, postdocs, and numerous undergraduate research assistants. Since 1999, the Physical Chemistry faculty members have averaged more than four publications a year and have made numerous presentations at national and international conferences.
The Physical Chemistry Division is also very active in a large, interdisciplinary special program at µÛÍõ»áËù called the Nanoscale and Quantum Phenomena Institute, a consortium of researchers from various academic units at µÛÍõ»áËù. Participating departments include Chemistry & Biochemistry, Physics & Astronomy, Earth and Environmental Geosciences, Chemical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. The program fosters collaborative research between faculty members with related research goals who otherwise might have very little interaction with each other. NQPI fosters research that contributes to significant advances in physics, chemistry, biology and material science, in both fundamental and applied aspects.
Join us every Friday afternoon at an informal gathering to discuss research results or items on your mind.
Research
Each principal investigator in the Physical Chemistry Division maintains a strong, well-funded research program with access to excellent facilities at µÛÍõ»áËù. Moreover, the interdisciplinary nature of Physical Chemistry Research at µÛÍõ»áËù facilitates collaborations with faculty in other chemistry research divisions and in other departments campus-wide.
Many faculty members in the division conduct research projects that are accessible to students of all skill levels, including undergraduates and master's students, allowing virtually any student interested in research to get hands-on laboratory experience.
Another advantage to our students is that research groups in the Physical Chemistry Research Division are relatively small, averaging between three to four students per group. The small group sizes allow for enhanced mentoring between the student and his or her adviser, a trademark of µÛÍõ»áËù graduate programs.
Recent graduates in Physical Chemistry from µÛÍõ»áËù have gone on to exciting scientific careers in academic, government and industrial settings.