The central mission of the College of Chemistry is to advance society through education and research, and we have made it our responsibility to fulfill this mission, year in and year out, for more than 140 years.
Our two departments provide fundamental and applied studies of an outstanding caliber. The remarkable breadth and depth of resources available to our students readies them as chemists and chemical engineers to address society’s most urgent 21st-century issues.
College faculty have been leaders at the frontiers of knowledge since 1872. Current pioneering research includes premier programs in catalysis, thermodynamics, chemical biology, atmospheric chemistry, the development of polymer, optical and semiconductor materials, and nanoscience, among others.
Check out College of Chemistry news articles and featured videos, as well as our biannual college magazine, Catalyst.
The College of Chemistry is consistently ranked as one of the best places on earth to learn, teach, and create new tools in the chemical sciences. This is no accident. It’s the direct result of exceptional scholarship as well as thousands and thousands of donations from our loyal alumni and friends.
By D. N. Hansen, H. C. Mel, R. H. Muller, and J. S. Newman
Charles William Tobias, a beloved and
William Conger Morgan was born in Albany, New York, June 21, 1874. After receiving the degree of A.B. from Yale University, he was awarded...Read more about William Conger Morgan
By G. E. K. Branch, A. R. Davis, and J. H. Hildebrand
William Crowell Bray, Professor of Chemistry at the
Chemistry faculty in front of newly built Gilman Hall 1917. C. Walter Porter is sixth from right in front row.
By James Cason, William F. Giauque, and Joel H. Hildebrand
...Read more about Charles Walter Porter
College of Chemistry faculty in 1917. Axel Olson is seated on the left in the front row.
By G. E. Gibson T. D. Stewart G. K. Rollefson
...Read more about Axel Ragnar Olson
Orlemann was part of the chemistry research team to work on the Y-12 project at Oak Ridge during World War II.
By Donald S. Noyce, George Jura, and Charles W. Tobias
By Les Prix Nobel edited by Nobel Lectures
Glenn Theodore Seaborg was born in Ishpeming, Michigan, on April 19, 1912. At the age of 10 he moved with his family to California, in...Read more about Glenn Theodore Seaborg
By Robert E. Connick, William H. Miller, and C. Bradley Moore
Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer, former...Read more about Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer
By Les Prix Nobel, edited by Nobel Lectures
Photo: Melvin Calvin in his Lab.
Melvin Calvin was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, April 8, 1911, of Russian...Read more about Melvin Calvin
