About the Department
Chair's Message · Research Areas · Highlights · Awards and Accolades · Research Support Laboratories · Technical Shops & Services · Employment Opportunities · Photo Gallery

Established in 1908, the University of Alberta is recognized for its scholarly achievements and commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and service to the community. The Department of Chemistry at the University of Alberta provides an outstanding environment for studies in Chemistry, is among the most research active departments in Canada, and is regarded as being among the top three in the country. The Department is one of the best equipped and best funded in North America and has a faculty renowned internationally for their excellence in teaching and research. The academic staff of the Department consists of 36 Professors. Four of our Faculty have joint appointments with the National Institute for Nanotechnology, including the new Director General. In addition there are 7 Faculty Service Officers (teaching and service laboratory management), and 1 Administrative Professional Officer. Finally, many retired Professors and Professors Emeriti remain associated with the Department and active in research and departmental affairs.

Research

The research interests of the Faculty encompass not only the traditional areas of analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry but also cover many interdisciplinary areas including bioanalytical, bioorganic, biophysical and medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, combinatorial chemistry, materials science, glycoscience, organometallic chemistry and catalysis, chemical physics, surface science, nanotechnology, and theoretical and computational chemistry.

Faculty members of the department are involved in academic and industrial collaborations at the national and international levels, with colleagues from foreign countries, including France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Research funding

The research programs of the department are broadly funded by national and international agencies and private corporations. A total of approximately 11 million dollars of direct cost research funds were awarded to the members of the Department in the 2004-2005 year.

Facilities

The instrumentation facilities and research support infrastructure in the Department of Chemistry are outstanding. The Mass Spectrometry laboratory, the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance laboratories, and the X-ray Crystallography laboratory are professionally staffed and equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation. The Biological Services laboratory provides assistance to researchers interested in learning microbial and tissue culture techniques. The Analytical and Instrumentation laboratory includes in-house elemental analysis and spectral services. The technical shops and services, which include electronic instrument services, machine shop, glassblowing shop, and information technology group provide rapid turn-around of custom-design work and repair services. The Department houses high-performance computing workstation clusters for modeling and simulation studies, and chemistry researchers have access to the regional "WestGrid" computing facility. Outstanding facilities in other departments on campus and at the National Institute for Nanotechnology are available to chemistry department researchers.

Programs of study

Undergraduate Program
Students interested in chemistry can graduate with Honors or Specialization degrees, or take a general science degree with concentration in chemistry. The first two degrees provide excellent training for entry to related graduate programs and for work as professional chemists. An Industrial Internship Program is in place for students in Honors or Specialization programs providing 12 or 16 months of work experience in industrial or government laboratories. Each year, 5,000 undergraduate students take courses offered by the Department. Undergraduate students have ample opportunities to engage in cutting edge research.

Graduate Program
The Department of Chemistry offers M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees requiring both course work and thesis research. Over 230 graduate students, 50 postdoctoral fellows and 14 research associates are currently involved in the various research programs. Graduate students have the opportunity to complete their studies in the traditional graduate program, or one of the specialized chemical biology or chemical physics programs. Students also have the opportunity to work with the National Institute for Nanotechnology. Teaching assistantships, as well as numerous awards and scholarships, are available for chemistry graduate students. All graduate students receive a comprehensive financial support package to sustain them through their graduate programs.

Seminar series

The department holds weekly seminars in the various areas of chemistry along with the following endowed lectures series: AstraZeneca Lecture; Boehringer Ingelheim Lecture; Edward Herbert Boomer Memorial Lectures; Endowment Fund for the Future - Distinguished Visitor; Fraser W. Birss Memorial Lectures; Harry Emmett Gunning Lecture Series; Merck-Frosst Lecture; Raymond U. Lemieux Lecture on Biotechnology; Reuben Benjamin Sandin Lecture Series; Walter E. Harris Teaching Workshops; Xerox Lectureship.