Excellence in Physical Chemistry

Physical Chemistry is the part of chemistry that is specifically focused on the quantitative relationships between measurements of static and dynamic physical and chemical properties of matter and the theories explaining the microscopic nature of matter. Physical chemistry provides the concepts and principles that are used to construct the foundation of all aspects of chemistry and related fields.

The traditional research areas that form the field of physical chemistry are chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and quantum chemistry. The research interests of our faculty include these traditional areas, but are also strongly interdisciplinary through their connections to other areas of chemistry (inorganic, organic, and biochemistry) as well as physics and biology.

There is a wide array of physical chemistry research opportunities in our department. The research being performed here is at the leading edge of science. Some examples include applying femtosecond spectroscopy to determine structure and dynamics in hydrogen-bonded clusters, non-invasive in vivo monitoring of glucose in human blood, and the application of high-level quantum mechanical modeling to complex molecular systems.