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Chemistry

M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry

» Department of Chemistry » College of Science

INTRODUCTION
WHAT IT TAKES
WHAT PEOPLE DO
GET INVOLVED
FACULTY

The Department of Chemistry at the University of Idaho offers a Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Chemistry. It is a midsized department that strikes a perfect balance between excellent teaching and high-level research, providing access to state-of-the-art equipment and outstanding facilities.

M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are offered in analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry. There are many opportunities to do interdisciplinary work, including research in bio-organic chemistry, biophysical chemistry, environmental chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and nanomaterials.

An advanced degree in chemistry will position you at the front lines of chemical research and development, where you can make significant contributions to the knowledge of our physical world. As a student in the program, you will learn to operate sophisticated instrumentation. You may work on the development of new materials used in medicine, agriculture, food production and many other fields. You also may become involved with environmental monitoring and pollution abatement, or with the building of sensors for use in explosives detection.

With between 45 and 50 graduate students in the program, the department is small enough that you’ll receive individual attention, but it’s large enough to provide you with the latest in instrumentation and facilities. You will have a chance to collaborate with, and learn from, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scientists, and faculty from other departments and colleges.

The Department of Chemistry is located in Renfrew Hall, on the University of Idaho campus in Moscow. Most of your course and lab work will be performed on campus, although there are some opportunities to utilize nearby facilities, such as the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Wash. and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Prepare for Success

If you’re interested in earning a graduate degree in chemistry, you must have a solid background in the areas of analytical (qualitative, quantitative and instrumental), inorganic, organic (including qualitative organic analysis) and physical chemistry. As you prepare to pursue a graduate degree, it’s also important to take several physics courses and to strengthen your writing skills by contributing to research projects as an undergraduate.

Your First Year

In order to earn a master's in chemistry, you must complete a minimum of 30 credits in required 500-, 400- and 300-level courses. Ph.D. candidates need a minimum of 78 credits, with a large number of credits coming from research activities. Depending on your interests and the results of your cumulative entrance exam, your first year could include classes, such as:

Nucleic Acids: Synthesis and applications (Chem 571, Topics in Organic Chemistry). You will learn about RNA and DNA as the carriers of genetic information, as well as their role in therapeutics and even nanotechnology.
Electrochemistry (Chem 558): You’ll discover the fundamental concepts of electrochemistry, including the principles of redox processes, in-depth treatment of electroanalytical techniques and much more.
Environmental Chemistry (Chem 418/518): This course is divided into three parts – soil, water and atmosphere – to give you a thorough understanding of the chemical and biochemical activities that occur in the natural environment.

What You Can Do

Many students with advanced degrees find work in research and development (R&D) in the chemical, pharmaceutical or oil industries. They may also join smaller biotechnology or environmental consulting firms or government laboratories.

Opportunities

With an advanced degree in chemistry, you will be in demand by today’s top companies. Your salary could range from about $50,000 to more than $100,000, depending on the particular job. The upper ranges of the salary spectrum generally apply to senior research and management positions in large corporations or in the federal government. A large variety of career opportunities are available, including:

Manufacturing: You may work in a team that produces plastics and other synthetic materials, drugs, detergents and cleaners, pesticides and fertilizers, paints, industrial chemicals and many other products.
Medical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology: In this area you may study human genes and work towards the development of new drugs.
In-house research and development (R&D): Many students with advanced chemistry degrees work in R&D to create more effective medicines, higher-yielding crops, food processing advancements and more.
Chemical/environmental: You may work to develop processes such as improved oil refining and petrochemical processing that save energy and reduce pollution.
Engineering/architectural: You may work in a team that studies materials, integrated circuits, fuel cells or sensors that are incorporated in buildings and other structures.
R&D services firms: Many companies use chemists from consulting firms in specialized R&D projects to develop new or improved products.
Academia: You have the opportunity to teach chemistry in high school, junior college or at the university level. With a Ph.D., you can build a career in teaching and research in partnership with private or public institutions.

Current Research

The Department of Chemistry at the University of Idaho offers research programs in many branches of chemistry, including:

Nanoscience
Fluorine chemistry
Environmental/analytical chemistry
Organometallic chemistry and catalysis
Mass spectrometry
Medicinal chemistry
Supercritical fluid reactions
Theoretical chemistry

Hands-On Experience

Due to the fact that research is such a vital component of your graduate work, our department fosters strong interactions with two national laboratories, giving you greater options and access to sophisticated facilities. Many of our students have the opportunity to perform experiments in collaboration with scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Wash. and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Current student research includes collaborative work at the Idaho National Laboratories, including a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) project involving the development of fuel for a lunar nuclear reactor.

Facilities

Renfrew Hall, where the Department of Chemistry is located, has just undergone a $7 million renovation. We have world-renowned research laboratories in fluorine chemistry, supercritical fluids and FT-IR spectroscopy. Our facilities include:

600 and 500 MHz NMR spectrometers
A high resolution GC/MS
A single crystal X-ray diffractometer
Nanosecond lasers
Twelve Fourier transform infrared spectrometers
Three Raman spectrometers
Three 300-MHz NMR spectrometers
A photon correlation spectrometer
Two atomic absorption spectrometers
Chromatographs (SFC, GC and HPLC)
Facilities for neutron activation analysis

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