Department of Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry at SUNY-ESF is unique in that it is organized around the interdisciplinary areas of biochemistry and natural products chemistry, environmental chemistry and polymer chemistry. It stresses a strong foundation in the traditional areas of chemistry (analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry) plus integration of these areas into its specialties. Thus, students at all levels enjoy the advantages of a chemistry program with specialties aligned with the needs of the 21st century.

The department is committed to maintaining its leading role in extending the state of knowledge in its specialties. The department’s home is the 71,000-square-foot Edwin C. Jahn Laboratory. This state-of-the-art facility for research and teaching is well equipped with instruments needed for modern chemical research. The department involves all of its students in research, giving them familiarity with the actual practice of chemistry.

All students obtain a strong foundation in analytical, physical, organic and inorganic chemistry before selecting among three options leading to the bachelor of science degree:

This option stresses a chemical approach to problems in the life and health sciences. Students take advanced courses in natural products chemistry, natural biopolymers, spectroscopy, and biochemistry. Professional electives in botany, chemical ecology, genetics and molecular biology strengthen connections in the life and health sciences. Research areas include the elucidation of chemical signals by which organisms communicate with each other, the role of trace metals in the growth of microorganisms, and the origin and function of biologically active natural compounds.

Environmental chemistry stresses applications of fundamental chemical principles to describe and predict behavior of chemicals in the environment. After obtaining a strong foundation in analytical, physical and organic chemistry, students pursue advanced study in air and water chemistry. A wide variety of courses in ecology, engineering, geology, and environmental policy are also available. Research encompasses fieldwork, laboratory studies, and modeling, and focuses on the atmosphere as well as marine and freshwater systems. Studies are carried out on scales ranging from local to regional to global. Topics include behavior of nutrients in water, food webs, toxic algal blooms, reactive and persistent organic pollutants, and global climate change.

Students take advanced courses in mechanisms of polymerization and polymer synthesis, physical properties and characterization of polymers, and laboratory techniques of polymer synthesis and characterization. Special topics courses in contemporary polymer and material science are available as electives. In addition, courses in carbohydrate chemistry provide a solid background for chemists planning careers in paper, plastic, high-tech, energy, membranes, and related areas. Biochemistry is an appropriate elective for students interested in the growth of biotechnologies while environmental chemistry complements this program for students interested in working on problems of biodegradation. The program offers an excellent background both for direct entry into industrial chemistry and graduate study in areas such as chemistry, biotechnology or polymer science.

Students may enter the Bachelor of Science program as first-year students or as transfer students. Students who are preparing to transfer to ESF as juniors must have earned at least 60 credits of college coursework in courses comparable to the lower-division course requirements.

The Department of Chemistry at ESF is unique in that it is structured around four areas of application:

1. Biochemistry
2. Environmental Chemistry
3. Organic Chemistry of Natural Products
4. Polymer Chemistry

Faculty members in the department are internationally recognized experts and are well funded by federal agencies (NSF, DOE, NASA, etc.), industry, government, and NGOs. Graduate students commonly receive national fellowships. The environment for graduate students is challenging but supportive, as faculty are invested in student success.

Graduate degrees require an appropriate program of courses at ESF and Syracuse University. Master of Science and doctoral students must complete a minimum of 18 credit hours and 30 credit hours of graduate level coursework, respectively. In addition, doctoral students must pass two preliminary examinations and a doctoral candidacy examination.

Requirements for a Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy degree also include FCH 997 and a research thesis or dissertation. For further details, visit the Requirements for M.S. and Ph.D. Degrees page. Current research projects encompass natural and synthetic polymer chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology; organic chemistry of natural products and chemical ecology; environmental chemistry of the air, water, and soils.

The Masters in Professional Studies is designed as a broad coursework-based program intended for students who need additional courses in Chemistry, but who are not planning on pursuing a research career in the field. M.P.S. students must take at least one course in three out of the four subject areas of the department: Biochemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Natural Products/Organic Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry. The curriculum is sufficiently flexible to allow a student interested in specializing in one of these areas to take the core sequence in that area, although this is not strictly required. Students who have taken any of these courses as undergraduates may not repeat them for graduate credit.

All students entering graduate programs at ESF are expected to be proficient in communication skills, including technical writing and library skills. This applies to M.P.S. students also and they are required to have completed at least one course in technical writing and one course in library usage, either as an undergraduate or as a graduate student. Alternatively, graduate students can meet the requirement by demonstrating the equivalent in experience in writing and library skills, as determined by the steering committee.

In addition to the formal coursework, the M.P.S. program also requires an integrative experience that allows one to synthesize their knowledge. This can be a detailed analysis of one particular area of chemistry, an independent study, internship with industry, or work in a research laboratory. The integrative experience should be approved by the student’s steering committee prior to starting and the students will be expected to present a written final report on the integrative experience.

M.S. students are required to take at least 18 credits of coursework or non-thesis research; some options require additional credits. While a certain number of research credits are required, successful completion of an M.S. thesis project is determined by effort and effectiveness, not by credits.

Graduate studies in biochemistry reflect the College’s interests in microbial, insect, bio-based fuel, and plant biochemistry. After completing a one-year sequence in general biochemistry, students select advanced courses from a range of offerings in chemistry, organismal biology and molecular biology. Advanced courses in biochemistry are available both at ESF and Syracuse University.

The ESF program offering M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry with an emphasis in environmental chemistry is one of the few doctoral programs of its type within a chemistry department in the United States. The six core faculty and five participating faculty make it one of the largest such programs in the world.

Students take three core courses in environmental chemistry and one course in biochemistry. Subsequent coursework is carefully selected from regularly offered courses on analytical methods, biogeochemistry, and basic areas of chemistry. Coursework is also available in ecology, biology, geology, and engineering.

Research in the department spans a wide range, from fieldwork to laboratory work to computer modeling. Areas of research include global climate change, coral reef ecosystems, biogeochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, regional and global air quality, and transient and persistent organic pollutants. The program avoids a "pollutant of the week" approach that would leave graduates unprepared for future developments. Instead, it emphasizes a framework wherein students can incorporate new knowledge as it becomes available and deal with new problems as they appear.

Graduate students in organic chemistry of natural products take a one-year course sequence in mechanistic organic chemistry and another in synthetic organic chemistry. Additionally, one-semester courses are required in advanced physical chemistry and the organic chemistry of natural products. Courses in biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, statistics and specialized courses in chemistry or biology may be arranged and selected by the student in consultation with faculty.

Research in the field of organic chemistry of natural products takes three paths. These paths are the isolation and characterization of new natural substances; the synthesis of new or improved syntheses of better-known natural substances; and the study of the relation of molecular structure to biological response. Chemical research in each of these areas is coupled with biological testing. Research involving isolation and synthetic chemistry requires the student to develop expertise in separation techniques, such as the several methods of chromatography, and spectrometric identification of molecules. Successful investigation in structure/activity relationships requires the student to become familiar with statistical methods of analysis.

Graduate students in polymer chemistry select their courses from a range of offerings in chemistry, chemical engineering, mathematics, physics, and other appropriate areas. These courses will include either the one-year sequence in physical or organic chemistry of polymers and such additional courses as the student and advisor consider necessary. Special topics in a spectrum of polymer fields are offered or can be arranged in consultation with the faculty.

Research is an essential component of any graduate degree program in polymer chemistry.

The area of study in chemical ecology is offered through collaboration between the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology and the Department of Chemistry. Interested students should apply to the department of major interest, which will have prime responsibility for setting requirements. Faculty from both areas contribute to the development of a plan of study enabling a student to acquire sophisticated skills in either chemistry or biology and an ample understanding of the other field to grapple with problems requiring an understanding of both.

As a relatively new interdisciplinary endeavor, workers in this field attempt to understand organismal interactions, both intra- and interspecific, mediated by chemical substances such as hormones, pheromones, kairomones and phytoalexins. These interactions occur at all taxonomic levels: between uni- and multicellular organisms, microbes and plants, plants and plants, plants and animals, microbes and animals and various species of animals. Study of such interactions has accelerated in recent years through joint efforts of biologists and chemists in basic and applied research in the laboratory and field.

General requirements for Chemistry M.S. and Ph.D. students in this program are found on the Department of Chemistry Requirements for M.S. and Ph.D. Degrees page.

Structural Biology, Biochemistry and Biophysics (SB3) is a joint program between Syracuse University, SUNY Upstate Medical University and SUNY-ESF. The SB3 doctoral degree program was created in response to the growing need for researchers in structural biology caused by the completion of the Human Genome Project. Determining the structure, function and relationships of thousands of newly discovered biomolecules will be among the most important scientific accomplishments of the 21st century. See http://sb3.syr.edu/ for full details of this multi-university program.