Department of Chemistry

Chair’s Welcome

Welcome to the Department of Chemistry, where we strive for academic and research excellence while adhering to the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis.  Our department offers many exciting learning and research opportunities in core and emerging interdisciplinary areas of chemistry that are at the forefront of modern chemical sciences.  With 22 faculty, approximately 75 Ph.D. students, postdocs and research scientists, and 85 undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry majors, the department regularly boasts an annual productivity of more than 60 peer-reviewed articles in top chemistry journals. Our PhD alumni have gone on to professional success in industry, academia, government and other chemistry-related professions, and our undergraduate majors have excellent placement rates in top graduate and medical programs.  With the opening of the state-of-the-art science building Regents Hall in Fall 2012, and planned expansion of the sciences, there are many opportunities for pursuing great work in an inclusive and diverse environment. 

Located in the heart of Washington DC and overlooking the Potomac River, the Chemistry Department is only a few miles from the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Naval Research Laboratory in addition to many other world-class science research activity centers at museums and industry in the region.  We encourage you learn more about us on these pages and in our departmental newsletters. 

Jennifer Swift
Department Chair