Undergraduate Program

Why Chemistry?

Chemistry lies at the center of the scientific universe.  It is the creation and analysis of new compounds and materials, from molecules like cisplatin for battling cancer to carbon nanotubes, the strongest material ever discovered or made.  It is the investigation of the components of life itself on both the theoretical and experimental fronts, everything from modeling and simulating phase transitions of water to the theoretical study of protein folding dynamics to elucidating the mechanisms by which DNA is damaged and repaired.  It is the search for better and more efficient sources of energy, and it is the design of ever faster computers and molecular machines.  It is fireworks on the 4th of July, the green of spring, the smell of fresh bread, the Space Shuttle lifting off from Cape Canaveral, and the feel of granite.  It is the mind:  the picture in our mind’s eye of a loved one, the memory of a cherished experience, and the expectation and hope of better days to come, careers to be established, impacts to be made.  Chemistry is a veritable (and often expensive!) toy chest:  lasers with pulses as short as 10-15 seconds, atomic force microscopes that can image and move individual atoms, nuclear magnetic resonance instruments for characterizing molecules and studying their reactions, glove boxes for air- and water-sensitive compounds, and all the wild-looking laboratory glassware you could ever imagine.  Chemistry is a central part of our search for answers:  What is it?  How much is there?  How does this work?  Why does it do that?

The Department of Chemistry at Utah provides a world-class education and the foundation for careers in chemistry as well as other sciences, engineering, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and even business and law. 

• Recent Utah Chemistry alumni have gone to
  • Graduate school at Harvard, Caltech, MIT, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UNC, Michigan, Utah, Stanford, Wisconsin, Cornell
  • Pharmacy school at Utah, UCSF, Boston U.
  • Medical school at Utah, Stanford, Harvard, the Mayo Clinic, UCLA, Ohio State, Virginia, Penn State, Oklahoma, Medical College of Wisconsin, Virginia Commonwealth, Case Western Reserve.
  • Spring 2009 Chemistry Majors made up ten percent of the entering class at the University of Utah Medical School during the fall of 2010.
• Utah Chemistry is known for its excellence both nationwide and worldwide.  It ranks in the top 15% of U.S. graduate programs (182 programs) and in the top ten of state-funded programs.  The undergraduate program ranks 10th nationally with respect to number of majors and 4th nationally with respect to the number of degrees certified by the American Chemical Society (65 in 2008).
• Current faculty:  9 faculty with the rank of Distinguished Professor, 14 recipients of the Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award, 11 recipients of university-wide teaching awards (Distinguished Teaching Award, Early Career Teaching Award, Hatch Prize), 5 recipients of the Rosenblatt Prize, dozens of major awards and fellowships from scholarly and professional societies and private foundations

 

So, why not chemistry?