University of Pittsburgh - Department of Chemistry

University of Pittsburgh - Department of Chemistry

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The Department of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh is primarily located in the Chevron Scie

The Department of Chemistry has a strong commitment to teaching, research, and service in all areas of the chemical sciences. Our objectives are to provide a first-rate academic training environment for undergraduate and graduate students and to conduct research at the forefront of chemical science.

Operating as usual

02/04/2025

Mithun Madhusudhanan, a third year PhD student in Professor Peng Liu’s lab, recently received a fellowship from the Pittsburgh Quantum Institute to support his research in computational organic chemistry this spring.

“The fellowship is a big honor,” Madhusudanan said. “Pittsburgh has a lot of history with quantum mechanics, and it feels exciting to be a part of that history.”

Madhusudhanan’s research centers on carbon-hydrogen functionalization reactions using chiral dirhodium catalysts. Using quantum mechanical calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, he investigates how the structures of these catalysts impact their enantio- and regioselectivity. His work has resulted in several high-impact publications, including in Nature and Angewandte Chemie.

“Pitt has had a really significant impact on me,” Madhusudan says. “The research environment is fantastic. I mean I don’t think you can offer anything better than this.”

According to Madhusudanan, phenomenal mentoring is one of the greatest aspects of Pitt’s research environment.

“My mentor has been absolutely supportive,” Madhusudanan says. “Any questions I have I can ask him any time. He is always really responsive to everything.”

Madhusudhanan came to Pitt after completing his undergraduate degree at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram. He says he chose Pitt for its leading theoretical chemistry research program and its excellent faculty.

“We have one of the best theoretical chemistry faculty at one of the best R1 universities,” Madhusudhanan says. “I knew that this place could offer me what I want and what I need to learn. I felt this place could offer me the best exposure I need for computational chemistry.”

Madhusudhanan was originally interested in biology, but became interested in chemistry because of incredible mentors and chemistry’s broad importance.

“Chemistry has the ability to be silent but at the same time impact everyone’s life,” Madhusudhanan says. “I began to realize that when I was an undergrad, and that was when I realized that I wanted to go into chemistry.”

01/14/2025

Please join us in congratulating Prof. Peng Liu on being named the Richard King Mellon Chair of Chemistry - a well-deserved honor recognizing Peng’s achievements in research, teaching, and mentorship! https://zurl.co/yhPPZ

01/10/2025

Applications are open for our 2025 REU program! If you (or an undergraduate you know) are interested in a 10-week PAID research opportunity in our department, apply here by Feb. 15: https://zurl.co/mmJiT . More info: https://zurl.co/rl4Zb

Pitt Faculty Members Elected to the National Academy of Inventors - Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 12/17/2024

Please join us in congratulating Peter Wipf, who was recently elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors! His work in synthetic and medicinal chemistry has led to 77 patents and formed the basis for six startup companies, and as the Pitt Innovation Institute writes, he "is one of Pitt's most prolific and collaborative inventors." Read more: https://zurl.co/nMFaq

Pitt Faculty Members Elected to the National Academy of Inventors - Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship University of Pittsburgh faculty members Peter Wipf and Joel Greenberger have been elected Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors. Wipf, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry, is …

Peng Liu is unraveling new reactions — and new ways of working together 11/20/2024

"Publishing in Nature is a crowning achievement for any researcher, marking the kind of work that can make a career. Peng Liu and his students managed it twice earlier this year — in the same month." Check out Pittwire's highlight about Peng Liu's group!
https://zurl.co/qNex

Peng Liu is unraveling new reactions — and new ways of working together With a pair of Nature papers among a flurry of recent studies, the computational chemist is on a hot streak that shows no sign of stopping.

Photos from University of Pittsburgh - Department of Chemistry's post 11/04/2024

We loved seeing our majors get into the Halloween spirit last week with costumes on Thursday and pumpkin painting on Friday. Here are a few of our favorites - featured: a slinky mole, bromothymol blue and phenolphthalein, and some "chem scaries" including a non-normalized wavefunction and a reaction with -500% yield (yikes!).

Hope you all had a great Halloween, and we look forward to doing this again next year!

10/29/2024

We recently learned that Barb Skinner, who received her BS from our department, was honored as one of this year's Heroes of Chemistry for her work as part of a team at AbbVie that developed Rinvoq, a drug used to treat immune-mediated diseases. Congrats, Barb! https://zurl.co/qcSg

Photos from University of Pittsburgh - Department of Chemistry's post 10/23/2024

On October 11th, the Chemistry Department held our annual Career Fair & Networking Event.
We had 5 companies and 110 students participate - hope everyone made some good connections, and we look forward to doing this again next year!

10/18/2024

We are delighted to hear that Prof. Michelle Ward received the ACS Pittsburgh Women’s Chemistry Committee (WCC) award for Encouraging Women into the Chemical Sciences. Congratulations, Michelle!

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219 Parkman Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA
15260