The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry supports ongoing research in a variety of areas. Explore the various research areas and associated faculty below. These research areas also correspond to the available areas of specialization for our Graduate Degrees.
Analytical Chemistry is a discipline within chemistry and biochemistry which is substantially focused upon the identification, determination, and quantitation of various bio/chemical substances and/or classes of substances. Thus, analytical chemists are generally more concerned with chemical and physical properties of matter that will allow the distinguishment of such species. Likewise, analytical chemists are more broadly concerned with the instrumentation and procedures employed in the identification and measurement of chemicals. Many individuals would more strongly associate analytical chemists, as opposed to chemists of other sub-disciplines, with the applied areas of electrochemistry, spectroscopy, separations, and equilibrium/kinetics.
Faculty:
Robert L. White | infrared and mess spectrometric analysis, environemental chemistry
Zhibo Yang | mass spectrometry, live single cell analysis, mass spectrometry imaging, instrumentation, metabolomics, fundamental ion chemistry
Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry of life. The discipline includes a study of the structure of proteins and other macromolecules and how they are formed and organized into what we see as parts of the body, organs, organelles, and cells. Proteins are multifunctional, and an important part of Biochemistry is devoted to an understanding of how they work, including a study of metabolism as it relates to the utilization of nutrients to create energy or build molecules needed by the body. The structure of other macromolecules, such as lipids and complex carbohydrates, and how they are made and work is also studied. The storage and transmission of genetic and other information is also considered. Finally, the discipline includes a study of how the above processes are regulated. Closely related is a study of how cells and organisms grow, differentiate, and reproduce. Underpinning all of the above are the tenets learned in Physical, Organic, and Inorganic Chemistry. In addition, it is impossible to describe the study of the above without a working knowledge of Analytical Chemistry.
Faculty:
Christina R. Bourne | structural biology, anti-bacterial, microbiology, biochemistry
Yuanning Feng | self-replication. self-assembly, autocatalytic synthesis, nanoscopic transformation, dynamical materials, molecular machines, origin of life
John W. Peters | electron transfer, energy, agriculture, oxidation-reduction reactions, nitrogen
Rakhi Rajan | protein-nucleic acid interactions, CRISPR-Cas systems, structural biology, gene editing, CRISPR adaptation
Idris Raji | Lipid nanoparticles, immunotherapy, gene therapy, drug delivery, small molecule drug discovery
George Richter-Addo | biological inorganic chemistry, heme porteins, nitric oxide
Valentin V. Rybenkov | chromatin structure and dynamics, single DNA nanomanipulations, antibiotic discovery, computational and mathematical biophysics
Yihan Shao | enzymatic reactions, bioluminescence, chemiluminescence, multi-scale modeling algorithms, quantum chemistry methods
Paul A. Sims | enzymology, biocatalysis, biochemical education
Shanteri Singh | chemoenzymatic, chemical biology, enzymes, X-ray, NMR
Ann H. West | C. difficile sporulation, two-component signal transduction, stuctural biology, protein phosphorylation
Helen I. Zgurskaya | cell membrane biochemistry
Inorganic chemistry is concerned with the structure, properties, and reactions of all compounds not derived from hydrocarbons. It has applications in every aspect of the chemical industry, including catalysis, materials science, pigments, surfactants, coatings, medicine, fuel, and agriculture. Inorganic chemists are employed in fields as diverse as the mining and microchip industries, environmental science, and education. Their work is based on understanding the behavior and the analogues for inorganic elements and how these materials can be modified, separated, or used often in product applications.
Faculty:
Yitong Dong | quantum dot, single photon emitter, spectroscopy, quantum dot synthesis, quantum light source, single nanocrystal spectroscopy, photocatalysis, electrochemistry
Hyunho Noh | Electrochemistry, Electrocatalysis, Metal−Organic Framework, Heterogeneous Catalysis
George Richter-Addo | biological inorganic chemistry, heme porteins, nitric oxide
Bayram Saparov | solid state chemistry, materials chemistry, hybrid organic-inorganic materials, chalcogenides, photovoltaics, magnetism
Indrajeet Sharma | synergistic catalysis, metal carbenes, carbohydrate chemistry, nitrous oxide, drug discovery, organic synthesis, natural products, laughing gas
Yitong Dong | quantum dot, single photon emitter, spectroscopy, quantum dot synthesis, quantum light source, single nanocrystal spectroscopy, photocatalysis, electrochemistry
Yuanning Feng | self-replication. self-assembly, autocatalytic synthesis, nanoscopic transformation, dynamical materials, molecular machines, origin of life
Daniel T. Glatzhofer | energy conversion and storage, polymer chemistry, electrochemistry
Ulrich H.E. Hansmann | protein folding, aggregation, enhanced sampling techniques
Bayram Saparov | solid state chemistry, materials chemistry, hybrid organic-inorganic materials, chalcogenides, photovoltaics, magnetism
Yihan Shao | enzymatic reactions, bioluminescence, chemiluminescence, multi-scale modeling algorithms, quantum chemistry methods
Indrajeet Sharma | synergistic catalysis, metal carbenes, carbohydrate chemistry, nitrous oxide, drug discovery, organic synthesis, natural products, laughing gas
Wai Tak Yip | sensor development, solar energy harvesting, single-molecule photophysics
Organic chemistry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the structure, properties, and reactions of compounds that contain carbon. It is a highly creative science. Chemists, in general, and organic chemists, in particular, can create new molecules that have never been proposed before, which, if carefully designed, may have important properties for improving the human experience. The very foundations of biochemistry, biotechnology, and medicine are built on organic compounds and their role in life processes. Most of the modern, high-tech materials are composed, at least in part, of organic compounds.
Faculty:
Robyn Beaulieu | chemical education, organic chemistry, mechanistic organization, currciulum development, laboratory development
Shikha Chauhan | Organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, cyclic nucleotide signaling, chemical biology, biochemistry, drug discovery
Yuanning Feng | self-replication. self-assembly, autocatalytic synthesis, nanoscopic transformation, dynamical materials, molecular machines, origin of life
Daniel T. Glatzhofer | energy conversion and storage, polymer chemistry, electrochemistry
Donna J. Nelson | organic chemistry education research, science policy, public perception of science
Idris Raji | Lipid nanoparticles, immunotherapy, gene therapy, drug delivery, small molecule drug discovery
Indrajeet Sharma | synergistic catalysis, metal carbenes, carbohydrate chemistry, nitrous oxide, drug discovery, organic synthesis, natural products, laughing gas
Shanteri Singh | chemoenzymatic, chemical biology, enzymes, X-ray, NMR
Physical chemistry is generally concerned with the structure, energy, and transformation of matter, placing special emphasis on the principles of quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and kinetics. Physical chemists are focused on understanding the physical properties of atoms and molecules, the way chemical reactions work, and what these properties reveal. Their work involves analyzing materials, developing methods to test and characterize their properties, developing theories about these properties, and discovering their potential uses.
Faculty:
Ulrich H.E. Hansmann | protein folding, aggregation, enhanced sampling techniques
Charles V. Rice | MRSA, antibiotics, beta-lactams, drug development
Valentin V. Rybenkov | chromatin structure and dynamics, single DNA nanomanipulations, antibiotic discovery, computational and mathematical biophysics
Susan J. Schroeder | biophysical chemistry, viral RNA, virus-host interactions, nanopore sequencing, structural biology, RNA thermodynamics, RNA structure prediction
Yihan Shao | enzymatic reactions, bioluminescence, chemiluminescence, multi-scale modeling algorithms, quantum chemistry methods
Zhibo Yang | mass spectrometry, live single cell analysis, mass spectrometry imaging, instrumentation, metabolomics, fundamental ion chemistry
Wai Tak Yip | sensor development, solar energy harvesting, single-molecule photophysics
Christina R. Bourne | structural biology, anti-bacterial, microbiology, biochemistry
Ulrich H.E. Hansmann | protein folding, aggregation, enhanced sampling techniques
Rakhi Rajan | protein-nucleic acid interactions, CRISPR-Cas systems, structural biology, gene editing, CRISPR adaptation
George Richter-Addo | biological inorganic chemistry, heme porteins, nitric oxide
Susan J. Schroeder | biophysical chemistry, viral RNA, virus-host interactions, nanopore sequencing, structural biology, RNA thermodynamics, RNA structure prediction
Shanteri Singh | chemoenzymatic, chemical biology, enzymes, X-ray, NMR
Ann H. West | C. difficile sporulation, two-component signal transduction, stuctural biology, protein phosphorylation
