About
The Chemistry Department strives to create a "Community of Scholars" in which faculty and students learn together both in and out of the classroom. The faculty is committed to developing each student's abilities fully through coursework, laboratory experiences and mentored research experiences. The programs of study in the Chemistry Department offer an excellent foundation for advanced study in chemistry or chemically-related fields as well as excellent preparation for professional programs such as medicine or law.
Through their formal coursework, students explore the composition, structure, properties, and transformation of matter and come to understand key chemical ideas such as how structure determines function and how energetics determine reaction outcomes. This formal course work is complemented by an active seminar series that allows students to learn the important skill of oral presentation as well as to listen to talks by leading experts in a variety of chemically-related areas. Beyond the formal curriculum, students are actively encouraged to participate in research projects with faculty members as early as their first year. This research, which can occur during the academic year or over the summer, provides students with experience at the cutting-edge of science in a variety of areas including nanotechnology, biochemistry, materials chemistry and drug development. Students involved in research have the opportunity to present their work at numerous regional, national and international meetings and have been co-authors on publications in leading scientific journals. For example, Margaret Anne Gray (C'09) and Chelsea Pyle (C'08) published "Reversible Oxidative Addition and Reductive Elimination of Fluorinated Disulfides at Gold(I) Thiolate Complexes: A New Ligand Exchange Mechanism" in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in collaboration with Professor Rob Bachman.
Students wishing to gain additional experiences beyond Sewanee have little trouble being selected for funded research internships at universities and national labs across the country, including Cal Tech, Georgia Tech, University of Wyoming, N.C. State, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. For example, Kristin Whitely (C'10) spent ten weeks at Cal Tech and Stephanie Owens (C' 07) spent six weeks at the Nuclear Summer School at Brookhaven National Lab.
The Department of Chemistry offers the following three majors:
Chemistry examines the composition, structure, properties, and transformation of matter, from which the material world is constituted. Topics examined range from atomic structure to the functioning of biomolecules and modern materials. The courses offered and requirements for the major are more fully described below.
Biochemistry, offered in collaboration with the Department of Biology, explores the molecular basis of life. The major provides a sound foundation in biology and chemistry as well as a thorough exploration of the interface between these two traditional disciplines. (See the catalog section on Biochemistry for requirements.)
Environmental Studies: Environmental Chemistry, offered in collaboration with the Environmental Studies Program, illuminates the chemical nature of the environment and environmental issues through a multidisciplinary course of study. (See the catalog section on Environmental Studies for requirements.)
Entering students with an interest in any of the above majors are strongly encouraged to discuss their academic planning with faculty in the Department of Chemistry as early as possible in their academic career. Students interested in advanced placement into Chemistry 102, 111 or 201 should consult the department chair.
