School of Chemistry and Materials Science
School of
Chemistry and Materials Science
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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April 26, 2022
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RIT prepares graduates for advanced degrees
Many RIT students' experiences as undergraduates have helped them get into top graduate degree programs.
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April 6, 2022
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Study: Cultural competence key in mentoring deaf and hard of hearing undergrads
ASBMBToday, a publication of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, features the RIT-RISE project.
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December 8, 2021
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Setting the Stage for the Performing Academic
RIT students have never had as many ways to pursue their love of performing arts than they do now. From scholarships, new clubs and classes, private music lessons, community partnerships, and exciting new venues being built on campus, performing arts for RIT students is literally becoming a show stopper.
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 principles 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
Climate Change Course: Complex Teams Solving Complex Problems
RIT students from all majors learn creative and interdisciplinary problem-solving through the perspectives of a diverse set of faculty members.
Performing on Stage and in the Lab at RIT
Amyria Kimble ‘24 (chemistry)
Amyria Kimble understands how scientists and performers use the same skills to bring their ideas to life, so it’s no surprise she formed Pandemic Step Team, the first-ever step club at RIT.
Learning Assistant (LA) Program: An Authentic Teaching Experience
The Learning Assistant (LA) program at RIT provides students with an authentic teaching experience so they can experience what it’s like to teach at the college level.
Featured Profiles
From Student Support to Student Success in Chemistry MS
Kaitlyn Clark BS ‘19, MS ‘22 (chemistry)
Kaitlyn Clark chose RIT for its access services and began as a mathematics major. With the support from multiple faculty members, she discovered chemistry and is now an MS graduate.
From RIT to Unilever: The Learning Journey Continues
Shin Lutondo ’18 (chemistry)
Shin Lutondo ’18 took advantage of all RIT had to offer - research, co-ops, MOCHA, intramural sports. Today he applies that diverse learning experience to the Research & Development community at...
From an RIT Student to a Leading Biotech Professional in Analytics
Archana Pandey ‘06 (chemistry MS)
Archana Pandey ‘06 was inspired to pursue a career in analytics after working on analytical techniques and instruments like HPLC and LCMS in her grad program.
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.
