The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, centrally located on the beautiful Boulder Campus of the University of Colorado, is recognized internationally for its outstanding record in research, graduate education, and classroom teaching. The faculty, staff, and students are dedicated to ensuring its continuing vitality and scientific leadership.

Departmental teaching and research programs encompass analytical chemistry, biochemistry, organic and inorganic chemistry, and physical chemistry. In addition, interdisciplinary programs in materials/nanotech, biotech, and environmental and atmospheric chemistry are well established and have a long tradition in the Department.

The Department presently has over 45 faculty members, all of whom participate in undergraduate and graduate educational programs and direct active research programs. There are currently about 450 undergraduate biochemistry and chemistry majors, 250 graduate students, and 70 post-doctoral associates and visiting fellows in the Department. In a recent year, the student population included representatives from 30 foreign countries and from more than 50 colleges and universities around the United States. This representation of students from widely different backgrounds contributes to the enrichment of student life within our Department.

Fully equipped to meet the needs of all the research groups, the Department maintains electronic, mechanical and glass-blowing shops, NMR, X-ray crystallography, and mass spectroscopic facilities. These facilities are an important adjunct to the Department, having the capability to support high-level scientific research and analysis as well as to fabricate and repair specialized equipment.

Our faculty and staff are deeply committed to excellence in both research and teaching, by maintaining a strong tradition of working effectively with both undergraduate and graduate students. We encourage you to browse through the subjects being taught in the classroom and discoveries being made in the research laboratories.

Gordana Dukovic and Joel Eaves Join the Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty

We are pleased to announce the addition of Gordana Dukovice and Joel Eaves to our Program.

Dr. Gordana Dukovic's research is focused on fundamental problems in nanoscience and how they impact the application of nanoscale materials to solar energy harvesting. Our approach integrates the design and synthesis of novel nanomaterials with detailed electronic spectroscopy in order to reveal how such materials interact with light. The group welcomes a broad spectrum of scientists, with interests ranging from synthetic chemistry to femtosecond spectroscopy.

The Eaves group uses theoretical chemistry to understand basic issues in materials and biophysical chemistry.  In energy conversion problems, they are investigating the most efficient control parameters in nanoscale materials for maximizing photon to electron yields.  They are also interested in how multicarrier correlations modify accepted pictures of charge transfer.  In biophysical problems, they study DNA confinement, disorder, and energetics in bacteriophages.

Welcome to our New Graduate Students

We would like to welcome our new graduate students to our department.

We are very happy to have you all as additions to our program.

Link: Group Photo of the Incoming Class

Rob Knight Wins Prestigious Early Career From HHMI

We are proud to announce that Rob Knight is a recipient of the Early Career Award from Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The award is given to scientists who have led their own laboratories for two to six years and have made considerable contributions to biomedical research.

Congratulations to Rob on receiving this outstanding award.

Three Chemistry Faculty awarded the prestigious NSF CAREER Award for 2009.

	The Department is proud to announce Assistant Professors Niels Damrauer, Mathias Weber, and Rainer Volkamer have all been awarded prestigious NSF CAREER awards for 2009.
The Awards: Niels Damrauer - Manipulating Molecules and Motivating Students; Explorations of Energy Conversion through Adaptive Control and in New Educational Platforms Rainer Volkamer - Spectroscopic Measurements of Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) Precursor Gases through Laboratory and Aircraft Studies Mathias Weber - Spectroscopic Studies of Ionic Transition Metal Complexes

Hearty congratulations to Niels, Mathias, and Rainer.  The Department is planning a reception to honor the awardees – details will follow shortly.

Professor Damrauer wins 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship

In addition to be the receipient of the NSF CAREER Award, Professor Damrauer has also won a 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship.

The Sloan Research Fellowships seek to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise.  These two-year fellowships are awarded yearly to 118 researchers in recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field.

Professor Sievers Inhalable Measles Vaccine Honored with Governor's Award for Research Impact

Professor Robert Sievers was Honored on February 18th with the first Governor's Award for Research Impact for his Inhalable Measles Vaccine. This life-saving vaccine could mean the difference between life and death for millions of childern in developing countries.

Please visit the Univeristy of Colorado's News Center for more information about Professor Sievers Governor's Award for Research Impact.