Courses

This is a one semester course in General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry designed to teach fundamental and applied chemistry concepts in preparation for an allied health professional career.

A beginning course in chemistry designed to present fundamental principles of chemical theory in the context of inorganic and some organic chemistry. This course is reserved for students who have no prior college-level chemistry experience.

A qualitative, nonlaboratory course to relate students to their chemical environment. Classes will include discussions on present problems involving air and water pollution, energy, nuclear material and waste disposal. This course is reserved for students who have no prior  college-level chemistry experience

A qualitative, nonlaboratory course that will present many popular consumer items in a chemical context. Topics will include polymers, fibers, detergents, agricultural chemicals, food, food additives and over-the-counter medication. This course is reserved for students who have no prior college-level chemistry experience.

This course introduces the non-science major to chemical and scientific concepts through a study of foods and food-related processes. No previous scientific training is expected. The student should also gain from the course a greater appreciation of why things are done in certain ways, while learning that some practices have absolutely no scientific basis. This course is reserved for students who have no prior college-level chemistry experience.

A presentation of scientific and chemical principles in the context of forensic science, the application of science to law. This course is reserved for students who have no prior college-level chemistry experience.

The world around us, including our own bodies, is really just a bunch of chemicals. We use them everyday without realizing it. This course will look at some of the more common uses of chemistry in our everyday lives, including food, vitamins, weight control, drugs, crime, etc.

An introduction to physical and chemical principles appropriate for declared and potential science majors. Topics include stoichiometry, nuclear and electronic structure, bonding and thermochemistry.

This course continues the exposition of chemical principles necessary for further study in the chemical and biological sciences. Topics include kinetics, equilibrium, acids and bases, and electrochemistry as well as a periodic survey of the physical and chemical properties of the elements.

A laboratory course to be taken concurrently with CHE 111.

A laboratory course intended to be taken concurrently with CHE 112.

A one-semester course for those not majoring in chemistry, but whose main interest — biology, bioinformatics — requires some knowledge of organic chemistry.

This first half of the two-semester sequence deals mainly with bonding and structure, stereochemistry, nomenclature and the chemistry of hydrocarbons. A survey of the most important functional groups is presented. Understanding why and how reactions take place is emphasized.

The second half of this two-semester sequence covers the extensive chemistry of the major functional groups. Synthesis and spectroscopic structure determination become key areas of interest. A unifying mechanistic approach continues to bring understanding of how reactions occur.

A laboratory course intended to be taken concurrently with CHE 221.

A laboratory course intended to be taken concurrently with CHE 222.

This course emphasizes the total analytical process through applications to actual analyses. Common analytical methods including volumetric analysis, spectroscopy, chromatography and electrochemistry will be discussed and practiced.

A laboratory course intended to be taken concurrently with CHE 227.

This course is designed to continue and expand on the inorganic topics initiated in CHE 111-112. Topics discussed include binding and structure, ionic interactions, coordination chemistry, solid state chemistry, organometallic chemistry, boranes, and bioinorganic chemistry.

This laboratory is designed to be taken concurrently with CHE 242. Laboratory experiences are chosen to illustrate chemical principles discussed in class and to expose the student to some of the techniques and methods of characterization used in the synthesis of main group and transition metal compounds.

A one-semester course in the basic principles of physical chemistry. This course is designed for those not majoring in chemistry, but whose main interest — biology, bioinformatics — requires some knowledge of physical chemistry.

This course is a comprehensive practical survey of the strategies used for the elucidation of molecular structures. Emphasis is placed on documenting and communicating the interpretation of spectroscopic data, as well as understanding molecular geometry and the design of characterization experiments.

This course will focus on the fundamentals of medicinal chemistry, drug design, and application. Topics covered will include structure-activity relationships, pharmacokinetics (what the body does to drugs), pharmacodynamics (what drugs do to the body), and computational approaches to drug analysis. Several classifications of drugs and their impact on human health and society will also be presented.

The first in a three-semester sequence that surveys the physical and mathematical foundations of chemical science. In this course the principles of thermodynamics and dynamics are emphasized.

The second in a three-semester sequence that surveys the physical and mathematical foundations of chemical science. In this course the fundamental concepts of statistical thermodynamics and quantum mechanics are emphasized. Connections between the mathematical formalism of physical chemistry and the macroscopic and spectroscopic properties of matter will be drawn.

This is the laboratory designed to be taken concurrently with CHE 331. The experiments performed in this laboratory course complement material studied in CHE 331. This laboratory requires the use of modern computer platforms and software for data analysis.

This is the laboratory designed to be taken concurrently with CHE 332. The experiments performed in this laboratory course complement material studied in CHE 332. This laboratory builds on techniques learned in CHE 333L. There will be a greater emphasis on computer methodologies to explore the theoretical models of physical chemistry.

One-semester course with a greater emphasis on theory, instrumentation, operation and application of instrumental techniques in analytical chemistry. A focus is placed on mass spectrometry, chromatography, spectroscopy, as well as advanced instrumental techniques.

A laboratory course intended to be taken concurrently with CHE 338.

An introduction to biochemistry on an advanced level. The first course in the two-semester sequence covers the classes of compounds found in the cell. Enrollment in this course is restricted to students with junior or senior status.

The second semester of the biochemistry sequence. This course covers metabolic pathways and those processes essential to the living cell.

A laboratory course intended to be taken concurrently with CHE 345.

A laboratory course intended to be taken concurrently with CHE 346.

This course may be used to offer a variety of special topics in Chemistry and Biochemistry.

This course covers topics specific to the behavior of chemicals in the Environment. Topics include fate and transport of pollutants in the environment; techniques for quantitative measurement of major and trace chemical components in water, air, and soil/solid wastes; and approaches to the remediation of contaminated sites.

A laboratory course that explores practical application of concepts in Environmental Chemistry.

Individual research of a substantive nature pursued in the student's major field of study. The research will conclude in a written thesis or an original project, and an oral defense.

A survey of physical chemistry in biochemistry. Thermodynamics and physical properties of biochemical systems will be studied. Structure function relation of biopolymers, enzyme kinetics, drug-nucleic acid interactions, and models of mutation and chemical carcinogenesis will be explored.

This course develops the mathematical formalism introduced in CHE 331 and CHE 332. A more rigorous approach to molecular orbital theory is taken. The nature of the chemical bond is explored more fully and the relationship between atomic structure and chemical reactivity is probed more deeply. This course will have a significant computational component.

This course deals with advanced topics not covered in CHE 221-222. Certain topics previously covered are treated in greater depth. Examples of areas which are covered include: spectroscopy, heterocycles, polynuclear aromatics, photochemistry, electrocyclic reactions, and polymers.

This laboratory is designed to be taken concurrently with CHE 443.

Mechanisms of organic reactions are discussed. Physico-chemical principles are used to discuss effects of structure on modes of reaction.

The student may elect an original laboratory research program or an independent study program. Both options involve the supervision of a faculty mentor and both require and oral presentation and a written report.

This course will explore the vast array of computational methods that are available to study chemical and biochemical problems. These methods will include molecular mechanics, molecular dynamics, quantum mechanical methods including ab initio and semi-empirical methods as well as free energy perturbation methods, The potential energy surfaces involved in chemical reactions will also be studied.

Molecular modeling methods and techniques will be studied using state of the art software including SYBYL. The course will involve projects and applications using these computational methods. Basic principles of drug design will also be explored. General chemistry (2 semesters), Organic Chemistry (2 semesters), Biochemistry (1 semester) and Physical Chemistry (1 semester) are all prerequisites for this course. Three semesters of calculus and 2 semesters of computer programming are also recommended.

This course prepares upper-level students for practical professional aspects of being a chemist/biochemist. Topics include discipline-specific job searching, resume and cover-letter writing, interview skills, professional behavior, and communications.

This course prepares students for practical professional aspects of being a chemist/biochemist. The synthesis and communication of chemistry and biochemistry topics are emphasized through a written paper and presentation on a topic of the students’ choice, and through participation in the peer review process.

A junior or senior work-study program providing relevant employment experience. The student must work full time for one semester. Registration will occur at the beginning of this full-time semester. This sequence is designed for students wishing to begin their internship during the summer months.

A junior or senior work-study program providing relevant employment experience. The student must work part time for four semesters. Registration will occur during the second and fourth semesters of the experience. Students must work part-time for two semesters to receive credit for one course.

The constituents and structure of the atmosphere; meteorological elements; weather and climate; air masses; fronts and circulation of the atmosphere; instrumentation and map reading.

A descriptive introduction to the science of solar systems for both science and liberal arts majors. Celestial mechanics. Kepler's laws of planetary motion, artificial satellites, motion of earth and moon and related topics. Description of the other planets, other elements of the solar system.

A descriptive introduction to the science of solar systems for both science and liberal arts majors. Celestial mechanics, Kepler's laws of planetary motion, artificial satellites, motion of earth and moon, and related topics. Description of the other planets, other elements of the solar system.

A description of stars in the universe for both science and liberal arts majors. Stellar distance, motion, mass, size, magnitude, temperature and classification of stars, binary stars. Stellar evolution and earth, original and evolution of the universe, cosmology.

An introduction to the fundamental concepts of physics including historical developments and the basic laws and principles of physics as derived from both macroscopic and microscopic phenomena. For liberal arts students.

This course is an introduction to the principles of physics in the context of forensic science, the application of science to law. Application of logic and probability to analyze forensic evidence will also be discussed.

An intensive study of the principles of mechanics, wave motion, sound and heat followed in the second semester by physics; vectors and calculus are used throughout. Must be accompanied by laboratory.

This course is an introduction to quantum mechanics.  We review the experimental verification of the breakdown of classical physics leading to the need for a new probabilistic basis for physics.  Schrodinger’s equation for 1, 2 and 3 dimensional problems will be solved and statistical thermodynamics will be introduced.  Time permitting this course will touch on electron spin and Feynman’s sum over histories approach.

This special topics course will be an introduction to various applications of physics.  For example, topics may include aspects of modern physics, the concepts of the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian, and the thermodynamics of gases and aerosols.