School of Chemistry and Materials Science
School of
Chemistry and Materials Science
Overview
Chemistry has revolutionized modern society through synthesizing new materials and probing the fundamental processes of life. RIT offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that prepare you for professional work in both research laboratory and industrial settings. The materials science graduate program seeks to provide solutions for a number of different fields including energy, medicine, clothing, and equipment production.
10
New or renovated labs for teaching research
27.6K
Square feet of teaching, research laboratories, and support facilities
94%
Of our graduates spent at least two semesters experiencing outside-of-classroom learning
Latest News
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May 6, 2021
![student posing with aquarium tank and homemade measuring equipment.]()
Modular 3D-printed instruments allow science students to conduct experiments at home
How do you teach students to use scientific instrumentation when a pandemic forces classes online and the students have no access to the usual lab or analytic equipment? Adjunct Professor Bruce Kahn found a creative solution this spring while teaching an experimental techniques class.
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December 3, 2020
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One Mentor, Four Success Stories (and Counting)
It began in 2015 with a research grant, a team of undergraduates, and an outstanding mentor. Today these RIT alumni are developing new cancer therapies, celebrating a patent, writing in science journals, and teaching the next generation of scientists.
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July 29, 2020
![Michael Heagy, department head, school of Chemistry and Materials Science.]()
Michael Heagy appointed head of RIT’s School of Chemistry and Materials Science
Michael Heagy has been appointed the new head of RIT’s School of Chemistry and Materials Science. Heagy comes to RIT from the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, where he began his academic career as an assistant professor in 1996 and has served as the chair of the Department of Chemistry since 2016.
Research
Additive manufacturing is fabrication process whereby materials are deposited, rather than removed as in subtractive manufacturing, to create a functional part or device. Since parts are fabricated “bottom-up”, benefits include less material consumption and waste. Additive manufacturing requires precise coordination between material properties and the application process. The physical and chemical behaviors of ink materials and substrates must match process specifications in order to produce device or part functionality. Research efforts at RIT touch on the entire additive manufacturing workflow from functional material design and synthesis to ink formulation, deposition and energy curing. Particular emphasis is directed toward nano-material design and function.
Research Active Faculty:
Thomas Trabold
Department Head
Department of Sustainability
Golisano Institute for Sustainability
David Borkholder
Professor
Department of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering
Kate Gleason College of Engineering
Biochemists study fundamental life processes at the molecular level, exploring the chemistry, structure, and biological significance of proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates, along with the small molecules (metabolites) that control their behaviors. Discoveries made using biochemical approaches can be used to identify new drug targets to prevent or cure diseases, to develop vaccines against emerging diseases, to design new drugs and therapeutics based on the structures of proteins or nucleic acids, to develop new molecular tools for evaluating and elucidating cellular function, and to better understand the biochemical roles that biomolecules play in health and disease.
Research Active Faculty:
Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) is a scholarly field that combines disciplinary expertise in a STEM field (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) with research methods from cognitive science, psychology and the learning sciences. Researchers in this field are interested in studying and transforming STEM Education through basic and applied research. Faculty in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science are (1) designing, implementing, and evaluating novel instructional methods for organic chemistry lab and biochemistry lab instruction, (2) Quantitatively evaluating the fidelity of implementing new teaching methods across a variety of institutions, (3) Exploiting the benefits of using our hands as models when learning abstract chemistry concepts, and (4) Evaluating the effectiveness of research mentoring techniques on student learning, motivation, and sense of belonging. DBER faculty in chemistry and biochemistry engage many undergraduate students on their research teams and actively disseminate their research at conferences and through peer-reviewed publications.
Research Active Faculty:
Materials Scientists use the principals of chemistry, physics and engineering to create and characterize new materials. They study the behavior of materials under stress, including physical strain and corrosion. They create new materials with unique properties, including renewable resources. They create new types of metals, ceramics, glass and polymers, including biomaterials and nanomaterials. Materials Scientists also build devices that contribute solutions to our energy challenges, such as organic photovoltaic solar cells.
Research Active Faculty:
Organic photovoltaic devices (OPV) provide an option for low cost, flexible, and non-toxic (no lead or cadmium) renewable energy. Organic materials can be modified to increase light absorption, energy transfer, conductivity and to reduce costs of manufacture. Molecular structure can be changed for aesthetically pleasing colors and artistic design, with devices being semitransparent or transparent, valuable for building integration or in applications such as smart windows. Furthermore, a growing number of exciting new polymer donors and non-fullerene molecular acceptors has spearheaded a major resurgence in OPV in recent years.
OPV research provides a wonderful intersection point between synthetic chemistry, predictive computational materials design, and the physical chemistry that is used to describe the mechanism of operation.
Research Active Faculty:
Featured Work
Alumnus Creates Mask that Provides Defense and Offense Against Coronavirus
Ken Reed ‘71 (chemistry)
Ken Reed ’71 partnered with his wife Shirley to develop a state-of-the-art face mask that protects against COVID-19, rapidly destroys pathogens on the surface of the mask, is reusable and comfortable...
First Collaborative Publication using New State-of-the-art Instruments
Charles Bopp '18 (materials science and engineering)
Charles Bopp '18 recently published work with Professor KSV Santhanam on corrosion protection of Monel alloy. This is the first collaborative publication utilizing new state-of-the-art instruments in...
Identifying Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals
Taylor Wolf ’18 (biochemistry) ’18
Taylor Wolf ’18 (biochemistry) conducted research with Professor Scott Williams to create a test that will identify substandard and counterfeit pharmaceuticals that could help reduce what has been a...
Featured Profiles
No Matter Where You Start, RIT Gets You There
Niaya Jackson and Nana Aikins (biochemistry)
Biochemistry majors Nana Aikins and Niaya Jackson found the supportive, close-knit community at RIT College of Science helped them figure out their next steps.
Med School Prep: Skills and Experiences to Outshine Your Peers
Arooj Iqbal ’11 (biochemistry)
Arooj Iqbal ’11 (biochemistry BS) leveraged every opportunity available at RIT to help her successfully stand out as a candidate for medical school.
From RIT to MD: Part of the Team that Saves Lives
Kyle Grimaldi ’12 (chemistry)
Kyle Grimaldi ’12 (chemistry) completed medical school at the Jacobs School of Medicine and is now an Emergency Medicine Physician in Charlotte, NC.
Undergraduate Programs
RIT’s chemistry and biochemistry programs feature rigorous, in-depth curricula that remain flexible enough to allow students to specialize in several other related fields. We offer robust undergraduate research and laboratory teaching experience opportunities, often as early as freshman year, with faculty mentorship and state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation.
Graduate Programs
Our chemistry and materials science and engineering graduate programs prepare professional scientists by offering curricula that allow students to specialize in their chosen fields while engaging in rigorous, meaningful research using state-of-the-art instrumentation and facilities, under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
