Chemistry

With nearly 130 students and 15 chemistry faculty, the University of Idaho is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a nationally recognized chemistry program that blends personalized support with tremendous access to research opportunities and advanced technology. With a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Chemistry, you'll be equipped to deal with pressing issues such as food production, energy, medicine, environmental protection, national security and more. The program offers the following options: 

• General: This option is perfect if you want to become a high school teacher or if you’re interested in studying patent law or going into technology management, for example.
• Professional: This option will prepare you to pursue either a career in chemistry or an advanced degree.
• Premedical: In this track, your classes will give you the scientific foundation you need to build a career in medicine, dentistry or pharmacy.
• Forensics: This new option provides a strong background for a career in forensic chemistry. Its content is tailored to the requirements of state crime laboratories.

In our program, you will acquire the skills needed to excel in careers involving chemistry. The degree also provides you with a good foundation in math, physics and biochemistry. As an undergraduate you will participate in research, which will give you a definite advantage in the job market or in admission to graduate and professional schools.

Prepare for Success

If you have an inquisitive mind, an interest in the physical sciences, a keen intellect and a willingness to work hard, you’ll make a good chemistry student. We’ve found that our most successful students are goal oriented and have a clear vision of the road ahead. In high school, you’ll benefit from taking several chemistry, math and physics classes. These courses will give you a solid background and foundation for expanding your knowledge and skills at the next level.

Your First Year

Your first year will be spent primarily studying introductory level chemistry and math courses, along with general core classes required by the university. Nearly all of your chemistry classes will also include a lab component. Here’s a description of what your first year might look like:

• Chem 111 – Principles of Chemistry: You’ll learn the fundamental principles and applications of chemistry.
• Chem 112 – Principles of Chemistry II: You’ll cover inorganic chemistry, kinetics, equilibrium, liquids, solids, acid-base, electrochemistry, nuclear chemistry, thermodynamics and qualitative inorganic analysis.
• Math 143: This course covers precalculus algebra and analytic geometry.
• Math 170: In this course, you’ll learn the fundamentals of analytic geometry and calculus I.
• Math 175: You’ll gain a more in-depth understanding of analytic geometry and calculus II.
• English 101
• English 102
• Core courses

What You Can Do

With a degree in chemistry, you have a world of career opportunities open to you. It is really a matter of narrowing your focus and discovering the areas that excite you. You may want to go on to graduate school, medical school or dental school. Another option is to build a career in the chemical, oil, pharmaceutical or mining industries.

No matter what your passion, from forensic science to cellulosic biofuels, a chemistry degree will give you the skills you need to achieve your goals. Examples of career opportunities for chemistry majors may include:

• Research and development chemist
• Industrial process chemist
• Technical manager
• Science teacher
• Forensic scientist
• Analyst in mining and the oil industry
• Policy maker in government
• Environmental consultant
• Lab technician
• Art restoration expert

Opportunities

Many of our chemistry graduates have built exciting and rewarding careers within companies around the world. To give you an idea of the range of salaries you can expect to earn, here’s what we’ve found: $60,227 (B.S.), $79,414 (M.S.) and $93,012 (Ph.D.). Our alumni also have gone on to professional schools to become doctors, dentists, physical therapists and nurses. Here’s a sample of where our graduates have landed over the last five years:

• Washington State University, Water Quality Lab Manager
  
• Idaho National Lab
• Eastern Washington University
• North Idaho College
• Schweitzer Engineering
• University of Idaho
• Wyeth Lab
• Pacific Northwest National Lab
• Roche Pharmaceuticals
• University of Arizona
• Institute of Materials
  
• Pioneer International
• Aquatic Research

Current Research

When it comes to research, the University of Idaho Department of Chemistry is at the top of its game. In recent years, six faculty members have received the University of Idaho Award for Faculty Excellence in Research. Many faculty members have written textbooks and book chapters; combined, they publish about 50 research papers a year and give more than 100 presentations at scientific events and meetings around the world. In fact, our faculty members are annually awarded grants and contracts from federal agencies and private industry averaging $1.5 million. As a student in this top-notch program, you will have the unique opportunity to contribute to a diverse and dynamic research community, right from the start.

Faculty research is loosely organized around the traditional divisions of analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry, but there is interdisciplinary work in bio-organic, environmental, and materials chemistry going on as well. Here are some groundbreaking research projects happening on campus:

• Dr. Frank Cheng is developing new detectors for peroxide explosives, which are widely used by terrorists.
• Dr. Patrick Hrdlicka is focused on the development of designer nucleic acids (NAs) for applications in therapeutics, diagnostics, and nanobioscience.
• Dr. Jean’ne Shreeve is working in the area of fluorine chemistry, including ionic liquids, and energetic materials.
• Dr. Eric Brauns is working on biomolecular structure and dynamics, especially with ribonucleic acid (RNA).
• Dr. Ray von Wandruszka is exploring the genesis of humic materials, the breakdown products of plant and animal matter in the environment.
• Dr. Chien Wai is using supercritical fluids in the synthesis of nanomaterials and the remediation of nuclear waste.
• Dr. Tom Bitterwolf is developing metal nitrosyl compounds for use as photopharmaceutical agents.
• Dr. Richard Williams works with theoretically interesting compounds, notably the synthesis and characterization of the first neutral homoaromatic molecule.

Activities

Our student chapter of the American Chemical Society is very involved in the community. By joining, you can meet friends and classmates who are also interested in chemistry.

Hands-On Experience

One of the best things about studying chemistry at the University of Idaho is the vast opportunity to participate in research activities. You'll interact with faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows on a one-to-one basis. Some of our students start working in the labs as early as their first semester. As you take more advanced courses and get a better feel for what type of chemistry you want to pursue, you may be put in charge of your own project. In some cases, you’ll even have the opportunity to present your research findings at professional meetings or in chemistry journals.

Facilities

It’s an exciting time to be a chemistry student at the University of Idaho. The department has state-of-the-art equipment for both teaching and research. In our freshman laboratories, we were among the first institutions in the world to provide LabQuest modules to all students, allowing them to use cutting-edge technology to conduct sensor-based experiments. Undergraduate students partaking in research have access to first-class instrumentation and the instruction necessary to use it.

Faculty Involvement

We like to say that our department is “large enough to count, but small enough to care.” Most of our faculty members know their students by name. And since virtually all students end up in research labs sooner or later, close mentoring relationships usually develop.

Thomas E. Bitterwolf, Ph.D.
Professor
Professor Bitterwolf's research encompasses a broad area of organometallic chemistry ranging from the organic chemistry of functional groups on cyclopentadienyl metal compounds to the electrochemistry and photochemistry of reactions at the metals themselves. A major emphasis of the research program is the design and rational synthesis of new organometallic compounds with complex functionality, or compounds with two metal atoms held in very close proximity. Having prepared these new materials, the research then focuses on their chemistry, potential catalytic behavior or their further elaboration into pendant groups in polymers.
» bitterte@uidaho.edu

Eric B. Brauns, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
My research group is interested in developing techniques to extract more information from our experimental infrared spectra. My group is also interested in developing interferometric methods for hyperspectral imaging.
» ebrauns@uidaho.edu

I. Francis Cheng, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research areas: Electro-, Analytical and Environmental Chemistries
» ifcheng@uidaho.edu

Leszek Czuchajowski, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
After continuing for a few years my interest in the synthesis and the molecular and electronic structure of cyclophanes which I brought with me to the USA in 1981 from Poland (Silesian University in Katowice), my research refocused on the meso-substituted porphyrins.
» leszek@uidaho.edu

W. Daniel Edwards, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
» edwards@uidaho.edu

T. Rick Fletcher, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Areas of Research: Laser-based experiments in gas phase reaction dynamics and micro-and nanoscale spectroscopy, Stimulated Raman excitation to promote mode specific chemical reactions, Atmospheric chemistry, Micro- and nano- non-linear and fluorescence spectroscopy, Gas phase mechanistic organic chemistry
» fletcher@uidaho.edu

Peter Griffiths, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Professor Griffiths' research is centered on the application of vibrational spectrometry to the solution of problems of analytical, environmental and structural chemistry.
» pgriff@uidaho.edu

Patrick J. Hrdlicka, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research interests include applications of chemically modified nucleic acids with therapeutics, diagnostics and nanobioscience; synthetic bioorganic chemistry, including carbohydrate, nucleoside and oligonucleotide chemistry; and characterization of nucleic acids by NMR, fluorescence and molecular modeling.
» hrdlicka@uidaho.edu

Sharon G. Hutchison, Ph.D.
Senior Instructor
Areas of interest: General Chemistry, Chemical Education and Physical Chemistry
» sgh@uidaho.edu

Sofie P. Pasilis, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Applying vibrational spectroscopy and mass spectrometry to the elucidation of interactions between actinide metals, especially uranium, organic complexing agents, and mineral surfaces, Investigating the biocoordination chemistry controlling the transport of uranium in the human body, Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of metals and metal-ligand complexes, Development of surface analytical methods for mass spectrometry, Investigating the biocoordination chemistry controlling the transport of uranium in the human body
» spasilis@uidaho.edu

Jean'ne M. Shreeve, Ph.D.
Professor
Current research: Nucleophilic and electrophilic fluorinations and perfluoroalkylations; high energy compounds; biologically interesting compounds containing fluorine; hypervalent compounds of sulfur and phosphorus; fire extinguishants, ionic liquids; nucleophilic and electrophilic difluoroaminating reagents.
» jshreeve@uidaho.edu

Dan Stelck, Ph.D.
Senior Instructor
» daniels@uidaho.edu

Ray von Wandruszka, Ph.D.
Department Chair & Professor
Our research is focused on the chemistry of humic materials, i.e. the decaying organic matter present in soil and water. We study the structure, characteristics, and environmental effects of these important compounds. We also have an interest in surface active agents, especially non-ionic ones, and the clouding phenomena associated with these compounds. We aim to elucidate these effects using spectroscopy, surface measurements, and chromatography.
» rvw@uidaho.edu

Chien M. Wai, Ph.D.
Professor
Current Research Interests: Supercritical fluid extraction of metals and radioisotopes, Making metal films in supercritical fluids, Microemulsion templated synthesis of nanoparticles, Carbon nanotube-supported nanoparticle catalysts
» cwai@uidaho.edu

Richard V. Williams, Ph.D.
Professor
INTERESTS The main thrust of my research is in the synthesis and study, including theoretical calculations, of theoretically interesting molecules. Areas of current interest include: the search for a neutral homoaromatic hydrocarbon, pyramidalized carbon-carbon double bonds, structurally interesting organic radicals, and highly distorted novel aromatic molecules.
» williams@uidaho.edu