The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rensselaer has a long history of innovation in education and for excellence in laboratory instruction.
In addition to a strong focus in the traditional areas of chemistry we offer courses and research programs in the rapidly developing frontiers of modern science, including biochemistry, biophysics and biotechnology, materials and polymer chemistry, and medicinal chemistry.
At the forefront of research while being small enough for students to receive individual attention from faculty.
Research projects in emerging fields of science and technology that lie at the intersection between chemistry and biotechnology, energy sciences, physics, biochemistry, computational methods, material science and nanotechnology.
A number of awards are given to outstanding undergraduates to recognize exceptional performance.
The undergraduate laboratory program emphasizes the hands-on use of modern research-grade instruments that allow students to become familiar with real-world equipment and tecniques used in research and industry.
Student researchers play a critical role in the world-changing discovery, innovation, and breakthroughs taking place across campus.
So you’re interested in chemistry?
Perhaps you’re pretty sure that chemistry is the subject you want to major in, or, perhaps, it is just one of several possibilities.
Perhaps you’re not sure what a chemist really does after college.
Jacob Shelley earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ in 2005, and completed his Ph. D. at Indiana University under Prof. Gary Hieftje in 2011.
Fund for Undergraduate Summer Research established in memory of Professor James V. Crivello in recognition of his many years of service at both General Electric and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
For the first time ever, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will host the National Organic Chemistry Symposium (NOS) June 22-26, 2025 at the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center. NOS is the premier event sponsored by the American Chemical Society’s Division of Organic Chemistry.
Today, it was announced that Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will become the first university in the world to house an IBM Quantum System One. The IBM quantum computer, intended to be operational by January of 2024, will serve as the foundation of a new IBM Quantum Computational Center in partnership with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). By partnering, RPI’s vision is to greatly enhance the educational experiences and research capabilities of students and researchers at RPI and other institutions, propel the Capital Region into a top location for talent, and accelerate New York's growth as a technology epicenter.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Christopher Cioffi, Ph.D., Thomas and Constance D’Ambra Professor in Organic Chemistry, has received a $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, along with Konstantin Petrukhin of Columbia University and Gennadiy Moiseyev of Wake Forest University. The grant will enable the team to design a drug to treat Stargardt disease, a rare retinal disorder.
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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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