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Chemistry News

Kenneth S. Suslick elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Three University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty members have been elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest honorary societies in the United States. ...
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Six chemistry students awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
Six students in the Department of Chemistry have been awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.Current graduate students selected as NSF Graduate Research Fellows are Giuliana Rose Judge, Sophia Yuxin Liu, Abigail Rose Miller, Alexandru T. Niculescu, and Joshua L. Pack. And...
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Prashant Jain awarded a 2026 Langmuir Lectureship
Prof. Prashant Jain has been awarded a 2026 Langmuir Lectureship by the American Chemical Society Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry and the Langmuir journal.Jain was selected for the honor for, among other things, "pioneering...
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Christopher Cramer (PhD, ’88) is May 2026 Convocation speaker
After 30 years as a chemistry professor at the University of Minnesota, Christopher Cramer was thoroughly enjoying his day-to-day mission as Vice President for Research at Minnesota when a tantalizing opportunity emerged in the private sector. “It was a remarkable opportunity,” said Cramer (Ph...
Portrait of Ted Brown
Remembering Theodore "Ted" Brown, professor emeritus of chemistry and founding director of Beckman Institute
Theodore “Ted” Brown, the founding director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,...
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Nobel laureate and alumnus Omar M. Yaghi (PhD, '90)

"Believe in the power of the experiment"

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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Chemistry at Illinois: #9 in the nation

The graduate program in Chemistry at Illinois is one of the top programs in the nation and specialty areas are ranked in the Top 10 as well — U.S. News and World Report rankings. Learn how you can pursue an advanced degree in this nationally ranked program and experience the thrill of working on some of the most challenging problems in the chemical sciences.

#4 Analytical / #7 Inorganic / #8 Organic / #9 Physical / #9 Theoretical

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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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. 
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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. 

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