Graduate Degree Programs
M.S., M.P.S. or Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry

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

Research in environmental chemistry 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 are discovered.

Program of Study

Incoming graduate students in Environmental Chemistry are required to take two introductory lecture courses and one laboratory course in Environmental Chemistry. Several advanced courses are also offered, such as Environmental Organic Chemistry, Oceanography, Stable Isotopes, Chromatography, and Kinetics. An introductory Biochemistry lecture course is also required. To ensure that students obtain a strong background in the fundamentals of chemistry, they make selections from among graduate courses in Analytical, Physical, Organic, and Inorganic Chemistry from the offerings of Syracuse University. Students are also encouraged to take related graduate and upper-division undergraduate courses offered in other departments at ESF and at Syracuse University.

Research is at the core of any Ph.D. program. Research is conducted in the laboratory, in the field, and on computers. For more information, visit Environmental Chemistry faculty member pages, or you can explore further via the Department of Chemistry Faculty Directory.

Faculty and their Specialties

Follow the links immediately below for detailed descriptions of research of any professor.

• Neal M. Abrams; nmabrams@esf.edu
  Inorganic chemistry, material science, renewable energy
• Jiajue Chai; jichai@esf.edu 
  Atmospheric chemistry, reactive nitrogen, air quality, climate change, human and ecosystem health
• Theodore S. Dibble; tsdibble@esf.edu
  Redox chemistry of mercury in the environment and in power plants. Chemistry of air pollution, electron beams and combustion.
• Mark S. Driscoll; mdriscol@esf.edu
  Environmental chemistry and radiation for environmentally friendly industrial processes
• Gyu Leem; gyleem@esf.edu
  Environmental and polymer chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, materials science, surface chemistry, light harvesting polymers, photocatalytic and/or magnetic composite materials, solar energy conversion, water remediation
• Huiting Mao; hmao@esf.edu
  environmental chemistry, atmospheric chemistry, air quality, regional to global budgets of trace gases, long range transport, continental export, climate change
• Jaime Mirowsky; jmirowsk@esf.edu
  environmental health, exposure assessment, air pollution, cardiopulmonary health, in vitro models, environmental noise, epidemiology, public health
• Nicholas C. Pflug, ncpflug@esf.edu 
  Environmental Chemistry, Aquatic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Photochemistry, Natural Products, Reaction Mechanisms, Structure Elucidation
• Leanne C. Powers, lcpowers@esf.edu 
  Environmental Photochemistry, Marine Chemistry, Reactive Oxygen Species, Aquatic Biogeochemistry, Ocean Optics
• Mark A. Teece; mteece@esf.edu
  environmental chemistry, food web biochemistry, stable isotope biogeochemistry, coral, stable isotopes, metabolomics, biogeochemistry

Adjunct Faculty

• Dr. Richard Zepp, Adjunct, US Environmental Protection Agency

Emeritus Faculty

• Gregory L. Boyer; glboyer@esf.edu
  biochemistry and environmental chemistry, plant and algal biochemistry, chemical ecology and toxins produced by algae. environmental monitoring, including Buoy and ship-based monitoring systems for water quality
• John P. Hassett; jphasset@esf.edu
  Environmental chemistry, aquatic chemistry
• David J. Kieber; djkieber@esf.edu
  Environmental chemistry, aquatic organic chemistry, aquatic photochemistry, chemical oceanography, atmospheric chemistry, marine microbial ecology, polar research

Courses

There are three Environmental Chemistry courses required of our students, plus a Biochemistry lecture course.

• FCH 510 Environmental Chemistry I -Aquatic Chemistry
• FCH 511 Atmospheric Chemistry
• FCH 515 Methods of Environmental Chemical Analysis
• FCH 530 Biochemistry I - cellular component and metabolic reactions

A range of specialty courses are taught by our faculty and are offered regularly intervals:

• FCH 525 Oceanography
• FCH 560 Chromatography and Related Separation Sciences
• FCH 610 Air Quality
• FCH 620 Chemical Kinetics

Students may elect graduate-level courses in the traditional areas of Chemistry as well as cognate courses in other disciplines.