Information found in this online edition of the 2008-09 catalog is unofficial and for informational purposes only. By authority of the dean of the College, some factual corrections to the printed version may appear here. The official document of record is the printed edition of the 2008-09 Catalog. For more information, please contact the Office of the Registrar.

Chemistry

Chair: Louis Y. Kuo

The Department of Chemistry curriculum serves four groups of students: chemistry and biochemistry/molecular biology majors; biology, engineering, and environmental studies majors; students planning to apply to professional schools in the health sciences; and nonscience majors satisfying their scientific and quantitative reasoning General Education requirement.

The Major Program

The Department of Chemistry provides a flexible, challenging curriculum to accommodate and encourage a diversified approach to the major. Following a core of required courses in general, organic, and physical chemistry, including laboratories, students select advanced courses from several electives.

In all chemistry courses, instructors encourage students to think for themselves and work independently. This is accomplished in some classes by having students work at the blackboard in small discussion groups to solve problems. In other courses, students survey chemical literature to make class presentations or write papers to discuss the nature of the work under study.

All students are encouraged to participate in research with a faculty member at the first opportunity, which may be as early as the sophomore year. The department uses research not only to foster independence of thought but also as a means of teaching students to teach themselves. Although the emphasis is on educating students, projects explore current areas of research and are often supported by grants. Frequently, projects result in publications coauthored by students and faculty.

Since the department's curriculum is regularly reviewed and approved by the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society (ACS), a student may select the specific set of courses that leads to an ACS-certified degree. Students also have the option of meeting the major requirements with courses that more closely reflect their particular interests and more optimally prepare them for certain advanced fields of study. Students who expect to attend a professional school after graduation (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and so on) will find that the flexible chemistry major curriculum more than meets their needs. A chemistry major may also elect to complete a series of education and certification courses and teach chemistry at the high school level following graduation.

Major Requirements

A minimum of 41 semester credits in chemistry, plus courses in mathematics and physics, distributed as follows:

1. General chemistry: 110 and 120.
2. Organic chemistry: 210 and 220.
3. Physical chemistry: 310 and 320.
4. Advanced laboratory: 365 and 366.
5. Seminar: 405.
6. Advanced courses: 420 plus 4 semester credits of an upper-division elective selected from 300, 305, 330, 335, 355, 443, 453, and 464.
7. Mathematics 131 and 132.
8. Physics 141 and 142 or Physics 151, 152, and 251.

Note: For an American Chemical Society–certified major, in addition to the above requirements, the student must complete Chemistry 330 or 335 and 355, and an additional four semester credits at the 300 or 400 level (greater than 310). Students may also be required to take Chemistry 299, 480, 490, or 499 so they have a total of 500 laboratory contact hours. Mathematics 225, 233, and 235 are recommended, with preference given to Mathematics 225 and 235.

Minor Requirements

A minimum of 24 semester credits (five courses) taken for a grade, including the following:

1. General chemistry: 110 and 120.
2. Organic chemistry: 210 and 220.
3. Four semester credits of chemistry courses at the 300 or 400 level.

Special Programs

The departments of chemistry and biology offer an interdisciplinary biochemistry/molecular biology major. See Biochemistry and Molecular Biology listing.

Honors And Senior Research

Students are especially encouraged to do senior-level thesis research. Students who have distinguished themselves academically through the junior year (GPA of 3.500 or higher in chemistry and overall) are invited to participate in the honors program. Students who complete the program are, with faculty approval, awarded honors in chemistry on graduation. Students not qualifying for the honors program may elect to participate in the senior research program. In both programs, each student proposes a research project in consultation with a faculty member, presents the proposal to the department in a seminar, performs the laboratory work, prepares a written thesis, and defends the thesis orally before the department faculty.

Resources For Nonmajors

Perspectives in Environmental Chemistry (Chemistry 100) and Perspectives in Nutrition (Chemistry 105) are specifically designed to help nonscience majors learn chemistry and relate it to the world around them.

Facilities

The Olin Center for Physics and Chemistry has more than 40,000 square feet of classroom, laboratory, and study space. Facilities and equipment used by the chemistry department include one lecture-demonstration theatre; a wellequipped biochemistry laboratory; modern scientific instrumentation (FT-NMR, FT-IR, GC-MS, HPLC, UV-VIS, AA, 10 molecular modeling workstations); a data analysis room; an organic chemistry instrumentation room; special laboratories for general chemistry, organic chemistry, and advanced analytical, physical, and inorganic chemistry; and student-faculty research laboratories.

Faculty And Staff

Barbara A. Balko, associate professor. Physical chemistry.
Anne K. Bentley, assistant professor. General, inorganic, and materials chemistry; nanotechnology.
Julio C. de Paula, professor. Physical chemistry.
James A. Duncan, professor. Physical organic chemistry.
Robert Killin, instructor and laboratory director.
Louis Y. Kuo, professor. Organometallic/bioorganic chemistry, biochemistry.
Janis E. Lochner, Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Professor of Science. Biochemistry.
Nikolaus Loening, assistant professor. Physical chemistry.

CHEM 100 Perspectives In Environmental Chemistry

Balko, Bentley, Kuo, Staff
Content: General and organic chemistry concepts developed for a more thorough understanding of chemically related environmental issues such as meeting energy needs (including nuclear energy), atmospheric pollution (the greenhouse effect, stratospheric ozone depletion, photochemical smog, acid rain), toxicology, and plastics. Lecture, laboratory.
Prerequisite: Mathematics 055 or equivalent.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.

CHEM 105 Perspectives In Nutrition

Lochner, Staff
Content: The fundamental basis of human nutritional needs and contemporary controversies in nutrition. Extracting energy from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins; essential amino acids and the cellular synthesis of proteins; water-soluble vitamins in major nutrient metabolism; biological function of fat-soluble vitamins; physiological roles of minerals. Readings on contemporary controversies in nutrition including the relationship between diet and disease. Lecture, laboratory.
Prerequisite: None.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.

CHEM 110 General Chemistry I

Balko, Bentley, Loening, Staff
Content: Introduction to the general principles of chemistry required for students planning a professional career in chemistry, a related science, the health professions, or engineering. Stoichiometry, atomic structure, chemical bonding and geometry, thermochemistry, gases, types of chemical reactions, statistics. Weekly laboratory exercises emphasizing qualitative and quantitative techniques that complement the lecture material. Lecture, discussion, laboratory.
Prerequisite: Mathematics 055 or equivalent. Previous high school chemistry not required.
Taught: Annually (fall), 5 semester credits.

CHEM 120 General Chemistry II

Balko, Bentley, Kuo, Loening, Staff
Content: Continuation of General Chemistry I. Chemical equilibrium, kinetics, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, descriptive inorganic chemistry, coordination chemistry, nuclear chemistry. Weekly laboratory exercises emphasizing quantitative techniques that complement the lecture material. Lecture, discussion, laboratory.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 110 or equivalent.
Taught: Annually (spring), 5 semester credits.

CHEM 210 Organic Chemistry I

Duncan, Kuo
Content: The basic principles of organic chemistry from a mechanistic perspective. Bonding (Lewis structures, atomic and molecular orbitals); stereochemistry (chiral compounds, enantiomers, diastereomers, conformers, optical activity, Fischer projections); nomenclature; chemistry of alkanes (free radical substitution, reaction-coordinate energy diagrams, asymmetric induction); chemistry of alkyl halides, alcohols, ethers (substitution and elimination reactions, carbocations, pKa, nucleophilicity, leaving groups, kinetics); infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy; chemistry of alkenes (addition and elimination reactions, oxidation and reduction, hydroboration, inductive and resonance effects of substituents, regio- and stereoselectivity); chemistry of alkynes (acidity, addition reactions); introduction to organometallic compounds. Lecture, discussion, laboratory.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 120.
Taught: Annually, 5 semester credits.

CHEM 220 Organic Chemistry II

Duncan, Kuo
Content: Chemistry of aldehydes and ketones (reactions at and adjacent to the carbonyl group, enolization, conjugate addition, oxidation, reduction). Lecture, conference, laboratory. Synthesis; chemistry of carboxylic acids and derivatives (pKa of acids, nucleophilic substitution of derivatives, acyl chlorides, esters, amides, anhydrides, nitriles). Carbohydrates (stereochemistry, aldoketoses, aldopentoses, aldohexoses, ketosugars, derivatives, furanose and pyranose forms, reducing and nonreducing sugars, disaccharides and polysaccharides); fats and oils; aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, resonance and molecular orbital approaches, electrophilic and nucleophilic aromatic substitution); aromatic nitrogen and oxygen chemistry (diazotization, synthesis); chemistry of amines, amino acids, peptides, proteins, DNA; other topics. Lecture, discussion, laboratory.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 210.
Taught: Annually, 5 semester credits.

CHEM 299 Independent Study

Staff
Content: Laboratory research or individual study topics arranged in consultation with a faculty supervisor.
Prerequisite: Consent of department chair and supervising faculty member.
Taught: Each semester, 1-4 semester credits.

CHEM 300 Environmental Chemistry

Balko, Staff
Content: Principles of chemistry applied to global, regional, and local problems of the earth's environment. Chemistry of the atmosphere and of natural and waste waters. Sources, reactions, and impact of chemical species on the environment and control strategies. Energy production.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 210.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.

CHEM 305 Aquatic Chemistry

Balko
Content: Principles of chemistry applied to processes governing the composition of natural waters. Focus on the solubility equilibria that control the concentration of inorganic compounds (e.g. carbonate and silicates), kinetics of mineral growth and dissolution, the role of acid-base reactions and redox equilibria.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 210 and 220 (may be taken concurrently), or consent of instructor.
Taught: Alternate years, 2 semester credits.

CHEM 310 Physical Chemistry: Thermodynamics And Kinetics

Balko, Loening
Content: Fundamental concepts of classical physical chemistry. Thermodynamics--first, second, and third laws; phase equilibria; chemical equilibria; kinetics--theory and practice; reaction rates.
Prerequisites: Chemistry 120. Physics 142 or 152. Mathematics 132.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.

CHEM 320 Physical Chemistry: Statistical Mechanics And Quantum Chemistry

Balko, Loening
Content: Statistical mechanics; quantum mechanics; quantum theory; molecular orbital theory; atomic and molecular spectroscopy; magnetic resonance spectroscopy; molecular modeling.
Prerequisites: Chemistry 120. Physics 142 or 152. Mathematics 132.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.

CHEM 330 Structural Biochemistry

Lochner, Staff
Content: The structure-function relationship of biological molecules. Principles governing protein folding and methods used to assess protein structure; case studies illustrating how protein structure dictates function; DNA structure and the chemistry of protein-DNA interactions; membrane biochemistry and the dynamics of membrane organization; role of the membrane in facilitating transport, intracellular communication, and mediating the transmission of nerve signals.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 220.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.

CHEM 335 Metabolic Biochemistry

Lochner, Staff
Content: Systematic assessment of how the cell derives metabolic energy and uses the energy to drive biosynthetic reactions. Principles of thermodynamics as applied to biological transformations of energy; allosterism and enzyme reaction mechanism; metabolic regulation in guiding the flow of cellular metabolites; defects in metabolic pathways; the biochemical basis of disease.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 220.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.

CHEM 336 Biochemistry Laboratory

Lochner, Staff
Content: Contemporary biochemical techniques introduced in a project-based format. Protein purification using both recombinant DNA techniques and classical tools such as affinity chromatography; functional characterization of the purified protein. Cellular metabolic responses and transmembrane signaling reactions studied using HPLC, radioisotope studies, enzyme analyses.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 330 or 335 (may be taken concurrently).
Taught: Annually, 2 semester credits.

CHEM 355 Experimental Methods In The Physical Sciences

Loening, Tufte
Content: Experimental methods and instrumentation in the physical sciences. Design experiments, construct instrumentation, make measurements, and analyze and interpret data in order to reach meaningful conclusions. Discussion and use of modern experimental techniques, including analog and digital electronics, many types of sensors, computerized data acquisition, spectroscopy (atomic, fluorescence, and infrared), mass spectrometry, and chromatography. Final student-designed project provides opportunities for interdisciplinary investigations. This course is taught in conjunction with Physics 201. Credit may not be earned for both Chemistry 355 and Physics 201.
Prerequisites: Chemistry 120 and Physics 141 or 151, or consent of instructor.
Corequisites: Chemistry 220 and Physics 142 or 152, or consent of instructor.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.

CHEM 365 Physical Chemistry Laboratory

Balko, Loening
Content: Laboratory course to demonstrate the principles of physical chemistry and to develop research aptitude in chemistry. Investigation of thermochemistry, phase equilibria, kinetics, spectroscopy, and solid-state studies using techniques such as calorimetry, UV-visible, IR, NMR, Mass spectroscopies, and diffraction. Attendance at departmental seminars required. Lecture, laboratory, oral presentations.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 310 or 320 (may be taken concurrently).
Taught: Annually, 2 semester credits.

CHEM 366 Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory

Bentley, Kuo
Content: Introduction to classical and modern techniques for synthesizing inorganic compounds of representative and transition metal elements and the extensive use of IR, NMR, Mass, and UV-visible spectroscopies and other physical measurements to characterize products. Syntheses and characterization of inorganic and organic materials/polymers are included. Attendance at departmental seminars required. Lecture, laboratory, oral presentations.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 220.
Taught: Annually, 2 semester credits.

CHEM 405 Chemistry Seminar

Staff
Content: Preparation and delivery of a seminar with accompanying abstract and bibliography. The seminar focus is either on a relevant topic in the chemical literature or, for students pursuing senior and honors research, on the thesis proposal.
Prerequisite: Senior standing.
Taught: Each semester, 1 semester credit.

CHEM 420 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry

Bentley
Content: Modern concepts of inorganic and transition metal chemistry with emphasis on bonding, structure, thermodynamics, kinetics and mechanisms, periodic and family relationships. Atomic structure, theories of bonding, symmetry, molecular shapes (point groups), crystal geometries, acid-base theories, survey of familiar elements, boron hydrides, solid-state materials, nomenclature, crystal field theory, molecular orbital theory, isomerism, geometries, magnetic and optical phenomena, spectra, synthetic methods, organometallic compounds, cage structures, clusters, lanthanides, actinides.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 320 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.

CHEM 443 Medicinal Organic Chemistry

Kuo
Content: Bioorganic chemistry for selected medicinal compounds. Biophysical and chemical concepts of drug-receptor interactions and drug action. Biochemical basis for drug action elucidated in the context of fundamental organic mechanisms.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 220.
Taught: Annually, 2 semester credits.

CHEM 460 Topics In Modern Physical Organic Chemistry

Duncan
Content: Modern approach to the study of the interrelationships between structure and reactivity in organic molecules: Advanced stereochemistry; energy surfaces and kinetics; advanced electronic structure theory, including computational methods; thermal pericyclic reactions. Subject to interests of students and instructor, substitute physical organic topics might include, among others: Photochemistry, linear free-energy relationships, catalysis, electronic organic materials, molecular recognition, supramolecular chemistry.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 220
Corequisite: Chemistry 320 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Alternate years, 2 semester credits.

CHEM 464 Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy

Loening
Content: Advanced topics in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, with an emphasis on structural biology applications. Fundamental NMR theory, multidimensional methods, heteronuclear experiments, correlation spectroscopy, the nuclear Overhauser effect, chemical exchange, protein structure determination, protein dynamics.
Prerequisite: Chemistry 220. Chemistry 320 and/or 330 are recommended.
Taught: Alternate years, 2 semester credits.

CHEM 480 Senior Research

Staff
Content: Experimental and/or theoretical research on an advanced topic of current significance in chemistry. Students present their thesis proposals in an early fall seminar and detail results of their investigations in a thesis in the spring.
Prerequisites: Senior standing. Consent of instructor.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits each semester of the senior year.

CHEM 490 Chemistry Honors Research

Staff
Content: Experimental and/or theoretical research on an advanced topic of current significance in chemistry. Students present their thesis proposals in an early fall seminar and detail results of their investigations in theses in the spring.
Prerequisite: By invitation only.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits each semester of the senior year.

CHEM 499 Independent Research

Staff
Content: Participation in a faculty-supervised research project. Details, including academic credit, determined by the student in consultation with faculty supervisor.
Prerequisites: Junior standing. Research experience. Consent of department chair and supervising faculty member.
Taught: Each semester, 1-4 semester credits.

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