FAS - Chemistry

The department provides programs of graduate study leading to the MS and PhD degrees in Chemistry in the fields of analytical, biological, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry. Interdisciplinary research is also currently conducted in the areas of surface science, combinatorial chemistry, natural products synthesis, nanotechnology, biosensors, laser spectroscopy, organometallic chemistry, and theoretical chemistry.

Contact Information

Department Chair: Craig S. Wilcox

Main Office: 234 Chevron Science Center

Phone: (412) 624-8270

Fax: (412) 624-8611

E-mail: nagy@chemlan.chem.pitt.edu

Web site: http://www.chem.pitt.edu

Research

Descriptions of research offered in each of the fields within the Department of Chemistry are given below:

Analytical Chemistry

Representative of current research activities in analytical chemistry are techniques in electroanalytical chemistry, photoelectrochemistry, in vivo electrochemistry, capillary electrophoresis, chemical state imaging, UV resonance Raman spectroscopy, and polymer analysis.

Biological Chemistry

Biological chemistry research includes protein control of DNA, neurochemistry of dopamine and peptides, biomacromolecular structure and function, cellular differentiation, and electron transfer mechanisms.

Inorganic Chemistry

In inorganic chemistry, studies are being conducted on organotransition metal complexes, redox reactions, complexes of biological interest, transition metal polymers, and optoelectronic materials. The program emphasis both synthesis and physical methods.

Organic Chemistry

Research in organic chemistry is extensive and includes the areas of reaction mechanisms, ion transport, total synthesis, molecular recognition, natural products synthesis, combinatorial chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, synthetic methodology, organometallics, enzyme mechanisms, high throughput synthesis and screening, and physical-organic chemistry.

Physical Chemistry

Research areas in physical chemistry include Raman, electronic, infrared, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy; photoelectron spectroscopy; electron transmission spectroscopy; liquid state dynamics; chemistry of upper atmosphere processes; and molecular beam studies. There is also extensive research on electronic structure, reaction mechanisms, electron transfer theory, quantum mechanics, surface science and new material design. Research on computer applications to chemistry is under way in a variety of areas.

Facilities

The Department of Chemistry is housed in a modern chemistry complex. The main 15-story laboratory tower contains separate NMR, mass spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography facilities; in-house machine, electronics, and glassblowing shops; and a vast array of modern research instruments. In addition to instrumentation within individual research groups, the department supports shared instrumentation, including three 300 MHz NMRs; one 500 MHz NMR; one 600 MHz NMR; two high-resolution and two low-resolution mass spectrometers; a light-scattering instrument; a circular dichroism spectrophotometer; a spectropolarimeter; X-ray systems-single crystal, powder, and fluorescence; a scanning electron microscope; an atomic force microscope; a vibrating sample magnetometer; several FT-IR and UV-VIS spectrophotometers; and workstation computer clusters.

The Chemistry Library is a 6,000 square foot facility that contains more than 30,000 monographs and 15,000 bound periodicals and more than 250 maintained journal subscriptions. Three other chemistry libraries are nearby.

Chemical Physics Program

Chemical physics is an exciting, interdisciplinary field in which the principles of physics are applied to chemical phenomena. The Departments of Chemistry and Physics and Astronomy cooperate to offer an Area of Concentration in Chemical Physics. Students pursue the program through one of the two departments and obtain their PhD in their home department. Students are required to take seven core courses in chemistry and physics. Through the extensive course work training, through the seminars and conferences sponsored by the program, and through the preparation of a dissertation supervised by an interdepartmental committee, students receive rigorous training that prepares them for relevant positions in academia or in industry. Further information can be obtained by contacting the Department of Chemistry.

Admissions

A background of a bachelor's degree in chemistry, including courses in mathematics through integral calculus, is preferred. In addition, the student must meet the general Faculty of Arts and Sciences requirements for admission to graduate study. See Admissions for detail on FAS requirements.

Domestic applicants must submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores and Advanced Chemistry Test scores. International applicants must also submit TOEFL scores.

Information for Newly Admitted Students

After taking an appraisal exam in each of the four areas of chemistry, each new student meets with the department's Graduate Student Advisement Committee for registration counseling. This meeting is to help with the student's orientation and to plan a first-year program. Similar meetings are held before each registration until the student passes the preliminary examination. At that time the staff member who supervises the student's research becomes his/her major advisor, and the remainder of the student's program is developed in consultation with the advisor. All of the advanced degree programs involve original research and course work. Other requirements include a comprehensive examination, a thesis, a seminar, and for the PhD candidate, a proposal. For the typical PhD candidate, this process takes four to five years.

Degree Requirements

The minimal requirements established by the Graduate Faculty of the University, as described under General Academic Regulations, and any additional requirements of FAS Graduate Studies described under FAS Degree Requirements, should be read in conjunction with department-specific degree requirements described in the following sections.

Requirements for the Master's Degree

Ordinarily the MS program includes a total of four to six terms of full-time graduate work. Special arrangements are available for individuals who are interested in a part-time master's program. Each MS student must take a minimum of 12 credits of 2000- or 3000-level chemistry courses for credit. Six of these credits must be core courses (see Course Listing below); the remaining courses can either be in the student's major area or in other fields. Students electing to present a non-research thesis must take one laboratory course (CHEM 1250, 1380, 1440, 2610, or 3210) for credit in addition to the preceding requirements. In addition, each student who does not elect a core course in physical chemistry must demonstrate a satisfactory level of accomplishment in the appraisal examination in physical chemistry or must remove a deficiency in this area by completing CHEM 1410 and 1420 with at least a C average.

Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination consists of an examination of the student's record in the six required core course credits and three additional 2000- or 3000-level credits.

Thesis

The thesis for the MS degree must represent an original research project or a comprehensive and detailed survey of some topic of current interest in chemistry. It must be defended in an oral examination.

Requirements for the PhD Degree

PhD candidates are required to take 12 credits of core courses (see Course Listing below for list of core courses). Additional courses in accord with the need of the individual student will usually be prescribed. Each candidate is required to participate in some teaching activities, for at least two terms, during his/her doctoral program.

Additional requirements for the PhD in Chemistry are detailed below. (Students should also consult the Requirements for the PhD Degree of the FAS section of this bulletin and Regulations Pertaining to Doctoral Degrees.)

PhD Degree Preliminary Evaluation

The preliminary evaluation consists of an examination of the student's core course record. The student must achieve a quality point average of at least 3.00 in 12 credits of core courses selected from at least three of five branches of chemistry.

Comprehensive Examination

The oral comprehensive examination is devoted to a discussion of the candidate's research field. The student is asked to report on his/her own work to date and on a future research plan; but beyond that, the student must be prepared to answer questions touching on the theoretical and practical aspects of the general field in which the research problem lies. The student is also expected to show a command of graduate course work related to the field of the student's research. The department's comprehensive examination satisfies the Faculty of Arts and Sciences requirements for an overview examination. With approval by the Department Chair and the Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies, the student is formally admitted to candidacy for the PhD program.

Seminar

Each student in the doctoral program is required to present at least one seminar, which is open to the department. The seminar may be given at any time during the student's career and on any topic approved by his/her major advisor, including the results of doctoral research.

Proposal

After passage of the comprehensive examination, the student is expected to pursue the thesis problem. When substantial progress on this problem has been made, the student must present an original research proposal before a faculty committee. This proposal must not be closely related to the student's thesis problem.

Dissertation and Final Examination

The PhD dissertation is a report on an investigation under the supervision of a member of the faculty. It must represent an original contribution to knowledge and must relate what is found to what was known before. Candidates must defend their thesis in an oral examination before a doctoral committee consisting of the major advisor, at least two additional departmental Graduate Faculty members, and one Graduate Faculty member from another department within the University. With prior approval, a qualified faculty member from another institution may also be appointed. The final examination is open to all members of the Graduate Faculty.

Course Listings

Advanced Undergraduate/Graduate

CHEM 1130/2180 Inorganic Chemistry

CHEM 1210/3210 Digital Electronics (lecture and lab)

CHEM 1220/3220 Computer Interfacing (lecture and lab)

CHEM 1230/3230 Chemometrics

CHEM 1260/2260 Intermediate Analytical Chemistry

CHEM 1310/2370 Synthetic Organic Chemistry

CHEM 1380/2380 Techniques of Organic Research

CHEM 1450/3450 Molecular Modeling and Computer Graphics

CHEM 1460/3460 Numerical Methods in Chemistry

CHEM 1490/3490 Introduction to Chemical Kinetics

CHEM 1530/2530 Introduction to Molecular Spectroscopy

CHEM 1540/2540 Introduction to Mass Spectrometry

CHEM 1550/2550 Introduction to Magnetic Resonance

CHEM 1560/2560 Mass Spectrometry of Organics

CHEM 1600 Synthesis and Characterization of Polymers

CHEM 2600 Synthesis and Characterization of Polymers

CHEM 2610 Synthesis and Characterization of Polymers (lab)

Core Courses

CHEM 2110 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry 1

CHEM 2120 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry 2

CHEM 2210 Electroanalytical Chemistry

CHEM 2220 Chemical Separations

CHEM 2230 Analytical Spectroscopy

CHEM 2310 Advanced Organic Chemistry 1

CHEM 2320 Advanced Organic Chemistry 2

CHEM 2410 Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics

CHEM 2420 Quantum Mechanics and Kinetics

CHEM 2820 Biorganic Chemistry

CHEM 3590 Bio-macromolecular Structure, Thermodynamics, and Kinetics

General Courses

CHEM 2000 Research and Thesis for the Master's Degree

CHEM 2700 Graduate Research Seminar

CHEM 2970 Teaching of Chemistry

CHEM 2990 Independent Study

CHEM 3000 Research and Dissertation for the PhD Degree

CHEM 3902 Directed Study

Analytical

CHEM 2210 Electroanalytical Chemistry

CHEM 2220 Chemical Separations

CHEM 2230 Analytical Spectroscopy

CHEM 2290 Seminar in Analytical Chemistry

CHEM 3200, 3240 Advanced Topics in Analytical Chemistry

CHEM 3230 Chemometrics

Biological

CHEM 2820 Bioorganic Chemistry

CHEM 3590 Bio-macromolecular Structure, Thermodynamics, and Kinetics

Inorganic

CHEM 2110 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry 1

CHEM 2120 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry 2

CHEM 2190 Seminar in Inorganic Chemistry

CHEM 3100 Advanced Topics in Inorganic Chemistry

CHEM 3110 Advanced Topics in Inorganic Chemistry

CHEM 3120 Advanced Topics in Inorganic Chemistry

Organic

CHEM 2310 Advanced Organic Chemistry 1

CHEM 2320 Advanced Organic Chemistry 2

CHEM 2390 Seminar in Organic Chemistry

CHEM 3300 Advanced Topics in Organic Chemistry

CHEM 3310 Advanced Topics in Organic Chemistry

CHEM 3320 Advanced Topics in Organic Chemistry

CHEM 3330 Advanced Topics in Organic Chemistry

Physical

CHEM 2410 Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics

CHEM 2420 Quantum Mechanics and Kinetics

CHEM 2490 Seminar in Physical Chemistry

CHEM 2530 Molecular Spectroscopy

CHEM 2550 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

CHEM 2620 Atoms, Molecules and Materials

CHEM 3400, 3410 Advanced Topics in Physical Chemistry

CHEM 3420 Advanced Topics in Physical Chemistry

CHEM 3430 Advanced Quantum Chemistry

CHEM 3440 Time-dependent Quantum Dynamics

CHEM 3470 Statistical Mechanics

CHEM 3480 Kinetics and Motion in Chemical Reactions

CHEM 3490 Molecular Collision Dynamics

CHEM 3500, 3510 Advanced Topics in Physical Chemistry

CHEM 3520 Advanced Topics in Physical Chemistry

CHEM 3530 Advanced Topics in Reaction Dynamics

CHEM 3580 Advanced Topics in Material Science