About The Chemistry Department

The University of Virginia Department of Chemistry is of medium size, combining outstanding physical facilities with a close-knit community of scholars. With a faculty size of 25, a graduate student body of about 120, and about 50 research associates, a stimulating atmosphere strongly encouraging interactive association has been created. Our 25 faculty members include professors who are nationally and internationally recognized in their fields. Chemistry building The list of recent honors received by faculty members includes the American Chemical Society's Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry; 1993 and 1998 Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards for excellence in both teaching and research; 1992 and 1996 Virginia Scientist of the Year awards, a 1994 Sloan Foundation Award, 1997 and 1999 Alexander von Humboldt Research Prizes, an Analytical Chemistry Award in Chemical Instrumentation, a 1999 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, a 1999 Coblentz Award, and a 2001 MacArthur Genius Award. Faculty research areas span a wide range offering a varied program of courses and research problems. Recent graduate student national fellowship awards include Kristy DeWitt awarded the Cognis Corporation Research Fellowship in Colloid and Surface Cemistry and Scott Capitosti awarded the ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry Predoctoral Fellowship Award. A graduate student can expect to have considerable input in both the design of his or her own degree program as well as in matters pertaining to the operation of the Department as a whole.

As we describe elsewhere in this website, the goal of graduate study in chemistry is to develop outstanding young scientists able to make significant contributions in their chosen fields. With this in mind, emphasis is placed on research that contributes to our fundamental body of knowledge. Also important is the exceptional opportunity to interact not only with fellow graduate students, research associates and faculty, but also with outstanding scientists from all parts of the country and world. This participation in the forefront of scientific discovery prepares the student for the role of independent contributor to the scientific community.

Teaching and research in the Department of Chemistry have been considerably strengthened in recent years by a number interdisciplinary centers and programs including Molecular Biophysics, Structural Genomics, Chemical Physics, and Laser Interactions with Matter. These programs, along with ongoing research in analytical methods, synthetic inorganic and organic chemistry, spectroscopy and other areas of physical chemistry, provide the student with a choice of strong research areas over a broad range of the chemical sciences. The faculty attracts more than $8.5 million yearly in outside funding to support these programs, an indicator of the vigor of research being carried out in the Department.

The graduate program is further supported by an extensive library system. The Barksdale Chemistry Library, established by private gifts, contains about 20,000 volumes on chemistry-related subjects. Up-to-date sets of the important chemical journals, books, and on-line databases are readily accessible. Graduate students are entitled to keys to the building and to the library for research and reading. Alderman Library has more than 1.6 million books as well as extensive collections of manuscripts, maps, prints, and microfilms. The Science and Engineering Library, the large library of the Medical School, and the Physics Library contain numerous additional books and journals in chemistry and allied fields.