Welcome to Chemistry
Welcome to the Department of Chemistry at Georgia State University. We are a growing program offering Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Chemistry. Our high-quality faculty is devoted to teaching and working with both undergraduate and graduate students. Currently nearly 400 undergraduate Chemistry majors and over 130 graduate students are enrolled. Our graduate student body is composed of approximately 50 MS students and approximately 80 PhD students. A number of undergraduate and M.S. graduate students work full-time while going to school. To accommodate these working students, the Department offers all its courses on an evening basis at least one time per year. Teaching and research assistantships are available to qualified graduate students.
Department News
Professor Phillip Sharp, Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine, to Speak at Georgia State University
Dr. Sharp, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in the discoveries of split genes, will speak to the public at Georgia State University on May 8th at 10:30 AM in the Urban Life Auditorium. A world leader in molecular biology and biochemistry, Dr. Sharp is Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His laboratory has now turned its attention to understanding how RNA molecules act as switches to turn genes on and off (RNA interference). These newly discovered processes have revolutionized cell biology and could potentially generate a new class of therapeutics. He shared the Nobel Prize with Richard J. Roberts of New England Biolabs. They were honored for work in split genes RNA splicing. This event is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Georgia State University, and the Chemistry Collaboration, Workshops & Communities of Scholars program.
EMC Invitation
It is a great pleasure to announce that Professor Aimin Liu will be giving an invited talk at the 23rd Enzyme Mechanisms Conference, joining a list of world-renowned speakers including many members of the National Academy of Science. Congratulations!
NSF Funding
It is a great pleasure to announce that Professor Gadda received a major NSF grant in addition to his NSF CAREER award. Congratulations!
MBD Research Award Winners
MDB day was this past Friday, June 17, and we are proud to announce that Mr. Alex Spring (Professor Mark Germann's group) won second place for his oral presentation. Two of our students also the poster competition: Ms. Shirlene Jackson Beckford (Professor Dabney Dixon's group) came in first and Mr. Weixuan Chen (Professor Binghe Wang's group) won second place. Congratualtions to all!
2CI Cluster Hire
It is our pleasure to announce that Dr. Suri S. Iyer will be joing the Chemistry Department faculty later this year as part of the Second Century Initiative (2CI). This is excellent news, and more information will be posted soon.
Funding News
Dr. Maged Henary's ACS-PRF proposal has been well received and is scheduled for the final recommendation for funding at the September meeting. This is excellent news! Please congratulate him!
CDC Position
It is our pleasure to announce that Ms. Denise Tevis, a recent MS graduate under the direction of Dr. David Wilson, has moved from an ORISE Fellowship to a CDC position. Please congratulate her!
ACS Undergraduate Scholar Award
It is our pleasure to announce that Ms. Michelle Womack, an undergraduate Chemistry major in Dr. David Wilson's group, has been named and ACS Undergraduate Scholar in a national competition. Please congratulate her!
Travel Award
It is our pleasure to announce that Ms. Crystal Smitherman, a PhD student in Dr. Giovanni Gadda's group, has been awarded a travel award from the organizers to attend the 17th International Symposium on Flavins and Flavoproteins. Please congratulate her!
Pre-Doctoral Fellowship
It is our pleasure to announce that Ms. You Feng, under the direction of Dr. Yujun George Zheng, has been awarded a one-year American Heart Association Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. Please congratulate her!
ACS-PRF Funding
It is our pleasure to announce that Dr. Hao Xu has received notification that his research proposal entitles "Catalytic Enantioselective Phenolic Oxidation by Cooperative Catalysis" has been recommended for funding by the ACS PRF Advisory Board. Please congratulate him.
NSF Funding
It is our pleasure to announce that Dr. Gangli Wang has received notice from NSF that he will get major funding for three years. This is great news for the Department and continues the remarkable achievements of the Assistant Professors. Please congratulate him!
Congratulations to our 2010 Student Award Winners
The Chemistry Department extends a heart-felt congratulations to our 2010 Undergraduate Award winners, and our 2010 Graduate Award winners.
The National Research Council Gives Chemistry National Recognition
In the highly anticipated rankings just released by the National Research Council, the PhD program in Chemistry ranked in the top 10 of 178 programs using the 5th centile ranking for both "Student Support and Outcomes" and "Faculty Diversity." Overall, Chemistry did well nationally compared to peer institutions using the data driven ranking system. These results show the quality of the PhD program, and that it is still one of the best kept secrets in the South. In the five years since the data for the report was collected, the Department has seen considerable growth: We have doubled the producton of PhD's, increased our faculty by ~50%; and increased our publicaton rate from ~90 per year ~150 per year. For the University press release, please cick here.
Chemistry MS Program Ranked Number 9 in the US and Number 1 in the Southeast by the American Chemical Society Official Rankings for 2008-2009
The Article from C&E News Can be found here. Please make sure to click through to the "Chemistry Graduates, Top Producers for 2008-09" Data Table at the bottom of the article. The Department also tied its record last year by graduating 13 PhD students in one academic year. A complete list of 2009 - 2001 MS and PhD degrees awarded can be found here.
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Click here for a list of all Faculty members and their research interests.
Click here for a list of all Graduate Student accomplishments.