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 chemistry and biochemistry undergraduate 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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December 4, 2019
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Student to Student: Overcoming obstacles and achieving your goals
When Bilal Zeghum left RIT to help his family relocate, he thought he had met all the requirements for his degree. When he discovered he had not, it didn't stop him from continuing on his path to completing his education and entering a career in his field.
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October 29, 2019
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Student to Student: Sustainable polymers
Liam Reilly became motivated to participate in research on sustainable polymers when he learned of the damaging effects of plastic production on our environment. His research is centered on one specific relationship we have with nature, our production and disposal of our most commonly produced material: Plastic.
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September 9, 2019
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How to protect your emotional wellbeing
Chemistry World talks to Paul Craig, professor and department head in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, about maintaining good emotional health while working in the science field.
Research
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:
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
Biochemistry is about the chemistry of living systems. Biochemists study fundamental life processes at the molecular level, exploring peptides, proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and carbohydrates, along with the small molecules and metabolites that control their behaviors. Discoveries made with this approach can be used to identify new drug targets to prevent or cure diseases, to develop vaccines against emerging infectious diseases, to design new drugs based on the structures of proteins or nucleic acids, to develop new targeted imaging agents/targeted therapeutic agents for diseases such as cancer and heart disease, and to better understand the biochemical roles that biomolecules play in health and disease.
Research Active Faculty:
Featured Work
First Collaborative Publication using New State-of-the-art Instruments
Charles Bopp '18 (materials science and engineering MS)
Charles Bopp 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...
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.
