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Study: Light-driven reaction leads to advanced hybrid nanomaterial
 Scientists are exploring many ways to use light rather than heat to drive chemical reactions more efficiently, which could significantly reduce waste, energy consumption, and reliance on non-renewable resources.A team of chemistry researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-...
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Scientists identify two compounds that could benefit people living with multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting more than 2.9 million people worldwide. It occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath, the protective insulation...
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Alumnus Omar Yaghi (PhD, '90) awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
 Illinois chemistry alumnus Omar Yaghi (PhD, '90) has won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, that Susumu Kitagawa, Kyoto University, Japan; Richard Robson, University of Melbourne, Australia; and Omar M. Yaghi...
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Chemistry, physics professors participate in 2025 Quantum Scialog
 Illinois Professors Mikael Backlund, Pengjie Wang, and Elizabeth Goldschmidt are...
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Younger Chemists Committee at Illinois receives 2025 ChemLuminary Award
 The Younger Chemists Committee (YCC) has received the 2025 ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding Local Section Younger Chemists Committee. This distinction recognizes local section YCCs that demonstrate organizational stability, strong membership and participation, meaningful involvement with...

Chemistry Learning Center

The Chemistry Learning Center (CLC) is an opportunity for all undergraduates enrolled in general chemistry to receive help with homework, meet with teaching assistants and connect with other students taking the same courses. 

CLC Information & Resources

Chemistry courses offer study abroad opportunities

Explore these two courses in the Department of Chemistry that offer short-term study abroad opportunities that will enrich what you learn in the classroom by applying your knowledge to real-world experiences while exploring another part of the world. 

Coffee, Chemistry, and the Community in Panama Natural Products in Costa Rica

Research Areas in Chemistry

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Analytical Chemistry
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Chemical Biology
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Inorganic Chemistry
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Materials Chemistry
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Organic Chemistry
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Physical Chemistry

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Spotlight: Ruth Eliza Okey (1893-1987)

Ruth Eliza Okey, first woman PhD graduate in the Department of Chemistry at Illinois In the early 1900s, Ruth Eliza Okey attended Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ohio, to major in chemistry, “because she liked it.” She also majored in German, because she was told “no woman could make a living as a chemist,” Okey recalled in an autobiographical essay that was published in the Journal of Nutrition after her death in 1987 at the age of 94. From Monmouth, Okey went on to become the first woman to graduate from the University of Illinois with a PhD in chemistry in 1918, after...