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Chemistry News

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Sculpting strong C—H bonds in complex natural products
 A team of chemists led by M. Christina White, William H. and Janet G. Lycan Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has unveiled a breakthrough in selective oxidation chemistry that could significantly advance drug development with natural products. In...
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Ben Snyder named 2025 Packard Fellow
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Benjamin Snyder, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been named a 2025 Packard Fellow by the David and Lucile...
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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 Nobel Prize in chemistry
  When Nobel laureate Omar M. Yaghi (PhD, '90) was recently asked how he made the choice as a young scientist to pursue the idea of creating porous materials, he talked about two people in his life — his father and Walter Klemperer, his PhD advisor at the University of Illinois Urbana-...
"Believe in the power of the experiment"

Nobel laureate and alumnus Omar M. Yaghi (PhD, '90)

The 12th person from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to win the Nobel Prize, alumnus Omar M. Yaghi (PhD, '90) said it was as a graduate student at Illinois that he learned from his PhD advisor Walter Klemperer how to do rigorous science and become a scientist that can break new ground, not somebody who follows other people’s discoveries.  

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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

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

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Kenneth L. Rinehart (1929 - 2005)

Spotlight: Rinehart, Kenneth L. (1929-2005)

Kenneth L. Rinehart, a  chemistry professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who was internationally known for his research on organic compounds involved in biological activity, died June 13, 2005 at his Urbana home after a long illness. He was 76. Rinehart’s research led to the development of a procedure involving mutasynthesis to prepare new antibiotics. He also led the chemistry department’s marine natural products program that collected samples from the ocean floor in the mangroves off Puerto Rico and elsewhere. In 1990, Rinehart isolated several extracts produced...