Graduate Chemistry Course Offerings

Graduate Chemistry Course Syllabi

Chemistry 501 - Organic Chemistry for Graduate Students This core organic chemistry course introduces reaction mechanisms and organic synthesis to students with varying undergraduate backgrounds in chemistry. Critical skills toward solving mechanism are developed as the underlying organic principles (kinetics, strain, stereoelectronics, stereochemistry and conformational analysis) are elaborted. These principles will be used to predict and understand reactivity and stereochemistry in more sophisticated reactions. Some of the common carbon-carbon bond forming reactions and functional group manipulations are discussed. This common draws on many synthetic examples from the chemical literature to illustrate mechanism, synthetic utility and to exercise predictive skills. Prerequisite: Chemistry 502 - Synthetic Organic Chemistry The aim of this course is to cultivate knowledge of modern organic synthesis. The application of organic reactions to the synthesis of complex molecules, including natural products, will be studied. In addition to synthetic strategies, detailed reaction mechanism, reaction scope and issues in catalysis will be discussed. Prerequisite: Chemistry 503 - Inorganic Chemistry This course is intended to provide students with a broad background in inorganic chemistry. The fundamental concepts of coordination chemistry will be developed, including the structure, bonding, electronic properties, and reactivity of transition metal complexes. The descriptive chemistry of transition metals, lanthanides, and actinides will be covered. The course will conclude with introductions to bioinorganic chemistry, organometallic chemistry, and solid state inorganic chemistry. Prerequisite: Chemistry 504 - Physical Methods in Inorganic Chemistry This course will survey modern physical methods of characterization and study of inorganic and organometallic compounds. Topics include NMR, IR and UV/visible spectroscopy, ESR, and mass spectrometry. Examples of applications of these methods in the current literature will be presented. Prerequisite: Chemistry 505 - Physical Chemistry for Graduate Students This course will begin with a review of the fundamentals of classical thermodynamics with emphasis on the connections between thermodynamics and microscopic structure. The subject matter will then be developed from a molecular and statistical point of view. The usefullness of thermodymanics and associated statistical methods in understanding molecular events in chemical reactions will be stressed. The kinetics of chemical processes will be treated for reactions in both gaseous and condensed phases in the last third with an emphasis on current reaction dynamics (theory and experiment). Prerequisite: Chemistry 506 - Physical Chemistry for Graduate Students II This course will give hands on experience in the use of quantum chemistry software in the calculation of the spectroscopic and structural properties of molecules. After an introduction covering the basic principles of Quantum Mechanics which is needed for the understanding of molecular calculations in chemistry, each student will be assigned an account for the actual calculations. Interpretation of the results will be discussed in detail. Both organic and inorganic examples will be treated. Students are going to have a working knowledge to perform quantum mechanical calculation in support of their research after completion of the course. Course offered in the spring semester. Chemistry 507 - Analytical Chemistry for Graduate Students This course will be a survey comprising two topics: (1) electroanalytical chemistry, including potentiometry, voltammetry, coulometry and coulometric titrations. (2) spectroscopy, including atomic absorption spectroscopy, atomic emission spectroscopy, molecular absorption spectroscopy, and various analytical aspects of non-optical spectroscopy as time permits.

An introduction to relevant instrumentation on these two topics will be discussed.