Environmental and Sustainable Chemistry

An arctic sampling expedition on Devon Island. Courtesy ofThe environment is central to Newfoundland's culture and economy. This is reflected in our faculty: Professors Bottaro, Kozak, and Kerton, focus their research programs on developing environmentally sustainable processes and methods to detect pollutants. The Green Chemistry and Catalysis Group are leaders in developing more environmentally responsible catalysts and chemical processes.

Materials Chemistry

The Chemistry Department approaches Materials Science in a comprehensive fashion, from new synthetic techniques to device development. Our materials research spans organic, inorganic and biological materials, with applied projects in artificial tissue scaffolds, environmental sensors, energy production and storage, and optoelectronic devices. Faculty members involved in materials research include Professors Katz, Kozak, Merschrod, Pickup, Poduska, and Zhao.

Computational Chemistry

Our department is a leader in the field of computational chemistry, with seven faculty members who are theoretical or computational chemists and many more using computation as part of their research. Students working in other fields will have an opportunity to learn how to use computation in their own research. Please see the website for the Computational Chemistry Group for more information. Our department also has excellent facilities for fundamental physical chemistry research, including laser spectroscopy, materials characterization, and the FT-ICR in the Laboratory for the Study of the Energetics, Reactions, and Structures of Gaseous Ions.

Synthetic Chemistry

Organic and inorganic synthesis is a large and vibrant part of our department. The organic division, including Professors Bodwell, Grover, Pansare, and Zhao, lead competitive research programs in the synthesis of natural products and materials, as well as the development of new synthetic techniques such as organocatalysis. Professors Kerton and Kozak are leaders the design of new polymerization catalysts and green synthetic processes.