:format(webp))
Master of Science
MSCotermOverview
Chemistry is about the nature of matter, how to make it, measure it, and model it. In that sense, chemistry really matters; it is essential to explaining the real world. It holds the key to making new drugs, creating new materials, and understanding and controlling material properties. It is no wonder that chemistry is called the “Central Science.” Traditionally, it is divided into subdisciplines, such as organic, inorganic, physical, biological, theoretical, and analytical. Yet, these distinctions increasingly blur as it becomes clear that all of science, including chemistry, is interconnected.
A deeper understanding of chemistry enables students to participate in research spanning biotechnology, nanotechnology, catalysis, human health, materials, earth and environmental sciences, and more. Faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate and undergraduate students work side by side to develop new probes of biological molecules, model protein folding and reactivity, manipulate carbon nanotubes, develop new oxidation and polymerization catalysts, and synthesize organic molecules to probe ion channels. Uniting these pursuits is a shared focus at the atomic and molecular levels, whether this concerns probing the electronic structure and reactivity of molecules as small as dihydrogen or synthesizing large polymer assemblies. The ability to synthesize new molecules and materials and to modify existing biological structures allows the properties of complex systems to be analyzed and harnessed with tremendous benefit to both the scientific community and society at large.
The Master of Science is available only to current PhD students or as part of a coterminal program.