CHEM 401/611 Statistical Thermodynamics (Graduate Core), Dr. Chris Geddes (T Th 8:30 – 9:45, Meyr 272)
Areas: Physical and Biophysical Chemistry. You have already seen classical thermodynamics, equilibrium chemistry, spectroscopy and quantum mechanics in physical chemistry. Thermodynamics is concerned mainly with the properties and actions of the bulk materials, while quantum chemistry looks in detail at individual atoms and molecules. Statistical thermodynamics brings the two views together where the bulk properties and actions are predicted from the properties of the microscopic atoms and molecules. Chemicals react and rearrange. Fluids boil, freeze, and evaporate. Solids melt and deform. Rubber stretches and retracts. Proteins fold. We will study the microscopic forces that drive these (and other) macroscopic processes. Statistical thermodynamics gives us a set of tools for modeling molecular behavior and how it is realized in the macroscopic realm. Most importantly, statistical thermodynamics gives a language for interpreting experiments. We will emphasize practical examples that chemists encounter.
CHEM 467/667 Advanced Analytical Methods (Graduate Core), Dr. Zeev Rosenzweig (T Th 10 – 11:15; Meyr 272)
Area: Analytical Chemistry. This course will focus on cutting-edge methods for chemical and biochemical analyses pulled from current literature. The focus of this course will be on providing insight into the fundamentals of each method as well as the molecular information that can be obtained from the various methodologies discussed as well as current advances in these areas.
CHEM 490/684-01 Optical Spectroscopy, TBA (MWF 9 – 9:50; Meyr 272)
Areas: Physical Chemistry, Spectroscopy.
CHEM 490/684-02 Solid State Materials Chemistry, Dr. Joseph Bennett (MWF 10 – 10:50; Meyr 272)
Areas: Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, Theoretical Chemistry
This course will focus on the structure and properties of materials in the solid state, their chemical reactivity, and their uses in a variety of applications. Topics of discussion will include extended crystalline structures and their properties as implications of their symmetries; bulk and low-dimensional extended solids; electronic, optical, and magnetic functional materials; and materials used in the energy sector. Discussions and assignments will use critical tools that have emerged in the past decade of materials discovery such as freely available open source computing infrastructures and searchable databases. This course is intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students.
CHEM 490/684-03 Advanced Medicinal Chemistry, Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke (T Th 11:30 – 12:45; TBA)
Areas: Organic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry. Principles of medicinal chemistry, including modern rational approaches to drug design and development will be covered using a literature-based, discussion approach. Topics for discussion may include, for example, issues with various types and classes of drugs, current topics in the literature related to medicinal chemistry and drug design, as well as new approaches and tools for therapeutic uses, and specific case studies.
CHEM 490/684-04 Advanced Mass Spectrometry: Fundamentals, Tissue Imaging, and Applications in Precision Medicine, Dr. Herana Kamal Seneviratne (T Th 11:30 – 12:45; Meyr 272)
Areas: Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Toxicological Chemistry.
This course will cover the fundamentals of mass spectrometry, tissue imaging, mass
spectrometry-based omics, and their applications in precision medicine. The course comprises regular lectures, presentations (group and individual), and primary literature. In this class, students will learn the principles of mass spectrometry including current methodologies, as well as how these state-of-the-art technologies can be used to understand complex biological processes. This class is intended for graduate and upper-level undergraduate students.
CHEM 490/684 -05 Molecular Imaging for Drug Discovery, Dr. Songon An (MWF 11 – 11:50; Meyr 272)
Area: Biochemistry. This class is designed for students who are interested in learning how chemical and biochemical concepts are integrated to explore biological processes in cellular contents and further how such advanced knowledge is incorporated to develop high-throughput screening assays for drug discovery. The class will not only introduce the fundamentals of biochemical concepts conventionally applied in biochemistry but also present their recent applications in life sciences and translational medicine. *Note that this class may include hands-on laboratory activities, covering from mammalian cell culture to fluorescence microscopy.
All elective courses listed above are approved for both CHEM and BIOC Majors.