Course Descriptions
Department of Chemistry
D. P. Barondeau, J. D. Batteas, D. E. Bergbreiter, J. W. Bevan, K. Burgess, A. Clearfield, B. Connell, F. A. Cotton, P. S. Cremer, D. J. Darensbourg, M. Y. Darensbourg, K. R. Dunbar, J. P. Fackler, Jr., P. F. Fitzpatrick, F. P. Gabbai, Y. Q. Gao, D. W. Goodman, M. B. Hall, K. E. Harding, C. B. Hilty, J. L. Hogg, T. R. Hughbanks, A. E. Johnson, J. Laane, P. A. Lindahl, R. R. Lucchese, J. H. Lunsford, R. D. Macfarlane, S. A. Miller, J. B. Natowitz, S. W. North, M. L. Peck, F. M. Raushel, D. Romo, M. P. Rosynek*, M. W. Rowe, D. H. Russell, J. C. Sacchettini, R. E. Schaak, E. A. Schweikert (Head), A. I. Scott, E. E. Simanek, D. A. Singleton, A. Sprintson, D. H. Son, M. P. Soriaga, G. Vigh, C. M. Watanabe, R. L. Watson, D. L. Yeager, S. J. Yennello
* Graduate Advisor
The Department of Chemistry offers programs of study leading to the MS and PhD degrees in chemistry, with an emphasis on students whose efforts are directed toward the PhD degree. The MS degree program includes both course work and a required thesis which provides the student with experience in experimental or theoretical research. A non-thesis MS degree is available to students who elect to complete a program with an emphasis in Chemical Education. This program has specific admission and degree requirements that are available from the department. All MS degrees in chemistry, except for those meeting the requirements for the program in Chemical Education, require submission and defense of a thesis.
The program leading to the PhD degree is designed such that the student receives extensive research experience. The dissertation which results from this research must satisfactorily demonstrate that the student is capable of independent and creative research in a specialized area of chemistry and has satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the area in which research activities were performed. In addition, the student must demonstrate that he or she has a broad and commanding knowledge of the subject matter in the general field of chemistry. The Department of Chemistry requires that each student participate in the teaching program of the department for at least two semesters as part of the MS or PhD degree requirement. There is no foreign language requirement.
Opportunities for research are available to graduate students in the basic subfields of chemistry and in a variety of significant and relevant specialized areas. Faculty members conduct research programs to provide students with opportunities to make significant research contributions in modern physical, organic, inorganic, analytical and biological chemistry. There is also considerable departmental research activity in various interdisciplinary areas such as nuclear chemistry, theoretical chemistry, electrochemistry, materials science, bioanalytical, biophysical, bioorganic and bioinorganic chemistry. Three nuclear-related faculty, all of whom are members of the Cyclotron Institute, provide an outstanding graduate nuclear-chemistry research program. The department also offers strong research programs in heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis, analytical instrumentation, coordination chemistry, spectroscopy, photochemistry and organometallic chemistry.
Major scientific equipment required for modern chemical research is available in the department for use by graduate students. These include x-ray diffractometers; NMR, EPR, ENDOR, AFM, STM and photoelectron spectrometers; mass spectrometers; and infrared, Raman, ultraviolet, optical rotatory and circular dichroism spectrophotometers. Total space available for departmental instructional and research programs is more than 200,000 net square feet. For further details about programs, faculty, facilities and financial assistance, write to Graduate Advisor of the Department of Chemistry, or send email to gradmail@mail.chem.tamu.edu. Additional information may be found on the website at www.chem.tamu.edu.
Chemistry
(CHEM)
601. Analytical Chemistry I. (3-0). Credit 3.
Fundamentals of chemical instrumentation. Modular approach to instrumental methods of chemical analysis; modules to be covered include digital electronics, modern optics, basic quantification and signal-to-noise enhancements. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in chemistry or approval of instructor.
602. Analytical Chemistry II. (3-0). Credit 3.
Modern analytical techniques, spectroscopies, chromatography, and “hyphenated” methods such as GC-FTIR, GC-MS, HPLC-MS, CE-LIF, and CE-MS are examined from the perspective of surface analysis, fundamentals of separation science and structural characterization of complex molecular systems. Prerequisite: CHEM 601.
603. Modern Chromatographic Separation Methods. (3-0). Credit 3.
Detailed treatment of the most recent developments in the theory and methodology of high performance chromatographic techniques. Intended for graduate students in chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
610. Organic Reactions. (3-0). Credit 3.
Introduction to mechanisms and scope of the basic organic reaction types as applied to major functional groups. Prerequisite: CHEM 646 or approval of instructor.
615. Organic Synthesis. (3-0). Credit 3.
Application of organic reactions to synthesis of complex organic molecules. Synthesis design and methodology, scope and limitations of reactions and experimental design. Prerequisite: CHEM 610.
619. Analytical Spectroscopy. (3-0). Credit 3.
Modern analytical spectroscopic techniques; U.V., visible spectroscopy, atomic absorption, emission spectrometry, flame emission, fluorometry, x-ray methods and other new developments in analytical spectroscopy. Prerequisite: CHEM 602 or approval of instructor.
621. Chemical Kinetics. (3-0). Credit 3.
Present theories about chemical reaction rates and mechanisms. Prerequisite: CHEM 324.
622. Adsorption Phenomena and Heterogeneous Catalysis. (3-0). Credit 3.
Chemistry of the gas-solid interface; energetics, isotherms and rates of gas adsorption on solid surfaces; experimental methods of studying solid surfaces and adsorption phenomena; kinetics and mechanisms of selected heterogeneous catalytic reactions.
623. Surface Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
Nature, structure and chemistry of surfaces; characterization of surfaces from surface energy to structure; relation to chemical processes. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in chemistry or approval of instructor.
626. Thermodynamics. (3-0). Credit 3.
Theory and applications of classical thermodynamic functions. Prerequisite: CHEM 324.
627. Principles of Biological Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
General principles of biological chemistry with an emphasis on the structures and mechanisms of action for proteins, nucleic acids and lipids. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
628. Coordination and Bioinorganic Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
Structure and reactivity of coordination compounds; reactions of metal ions with small biomolecules and the reactions of toxic metal ions; role of metal ions in biological systems including the function of metal ions in enzymes. Prerequisite: CHEM 633.
631. Statistical Thermodynamics. (3-0). Credit 3.
Methods of statistical mechanics based primarily on Boltzmann statistics; approach to thermodynamics through partition function; statistical concept of entropy. Prerequisite: CHEM 626.
633. Principles of Inorganic Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
General principles of inorganic chemistry treated with a view to applications in other subfields of chemistry. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in chemistry or approval of instructor.
634. Physical Methods in Inorganic Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
Determination of the molecular structure of inorganic and organometallic species; modern aspects of diffraction, magnetic resonance and vibrational methods. Prerequisite: CHEM 641 or 673.
635. Introduction to X-ray Diffraction Methods. (3-0). Credit 3.
This course presents the fundamentals of diffraction theory by crystals and the solution of crystal structures using this methodology. Prerequisite: BS in Chemistry, Physics, or Engineering.
636. Mechanistic Inorganic Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
Reaction pathways in both main group and transition-metal complexes; factors which influence the reaction rate including nature of the metal, the coordination sphere, reaction conditions and catalytic intermediates. Prerequisite: CHEM 633.
637. Electroanalytical Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
Modern electroanalytical methods including potentiostatic, galvanostatic, sweep and periodic techniques. Prerequisite: CHEM 602 or approval of instructor.
641. Structural Inorganic Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
Introduction to chemical bonding; ionic, covalent, coordinate and hydrogen bonding; relationship of molecular orbital and ligand field theories to experimental studies of the electronic structure of inorganic molecules. Prerequisites: CHEM 633 and 673.
642. Organometallic Chemistry and Homogeneous Catalysis. (3-0). Credit 3.
Synthesis, structure and reactivity of organometallic compounds; elementary processes for general and radical reactions, mechanism of reactions at metal centers and applications to homogeneous catalysis. Prerequisite: CHEM 633.
646. Organic Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
A detailed introduction to the theory and principles of organic chemistry; bonding and structure in organic chemistry, stereochemistry, reactive intermediates in organic chemistry and transition state theory; kinetics and thermodynamic approaches. Prerequisite: CHEM 228 or approval of instructor.
647. Spectra of Organic Compounds. (3-0). Credit 3.
Correlations of molecular structure with spectroscopic and other physical properties; applications to modern problems in organic chemistry. Prerequisite: CHEM 646 or approval of instructor.
648. Principles of Quantum Mechanics. (3-0). Credit 3.
Classical mechanics and development of wave mechanics; application of wave mechanics to special chemical problems. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
650. Molecular Spectra and Structure. (3-0). Credit 3.
Introduction to molecular spectroscopy and its relations to structure, theoretical treatments, quantum and wave mechanics, vibrations and normal coordinates, molecular symmetry and group theory. Prerequisite: Qualifying graduate students in chemistry and physics or approval of instructor.
660. Nuclear Chemistry. (3-3). Credit 4.
Radioactive decay, nuclear models, nuclear spectroscopy, nuclear reactions, fission and other topics of current interest in nuclear chemical research. Laboratory work to emphasize modern nuclear chemical instrumentation. Prerequisite: CHEM 464 or approval of instructor.
671. Macromolecular Folding and Design. (1-0). Credit 1.
Oral presentations and discussions in the general area of biomolecular structure, folding, function and design. May be taken 12 times. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor. Cross-listed with BICH 671 and MBCH 671.
672. Bioorganic Reaction Mechanisms. (3-0). Credit 3.
Proposed mechanisms of action of various enzymes and coenzymes from the “model systems” approach; new developments, theory and established mechanisms. Prerequisites: CHEM 646; BICH 624.
673. Symmetry and Group Theory in Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
Applications of symmetry and group theory to various types of chemical systems; classification of molecules into symmetry point groups and use of character tables. Prerequisite: Bachelor’s degree in chemistry.
681. Seminar. Credit 1 each semester.
Oral presentations and discussions of recent advances in chemistry.
684. Professional Internship. Credit 1 to 4.
Supervised practical experience in professional functions appropriate to career goals in chemical education. Students will be required to complete a scholarly report of these activities acceptable to graduate committee. Enrollment limited to students pursuing a non-thesis MS degree, with emphasis on chemical education. Requires approval of committee chair and department head with non-thesis MS degree plan filed. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in chemistry.
685. Directed Studies. Credit 1 to 6.
Special topics to suit small group requirements; more recent problems and results in various branches of chemistry; laboratory work or conference and discussion. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
686. Ethics in Chemical Research and Scholarship. (1-0). Credit 1.
Ethical issues in chemical research and scholarship and methods for resolution of such issues; includes Texas A&M University Policies and Procedures, ethics and scientific truth, ethics and other scientists and ethics and society; case studies. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in chemistry or biochemistry.
689. Special Topics in... Credit 1 to 4.
Selected topics in an identified area of chemistry. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: Graduate classification and approval of instructor.
690. Theory of Chemical Research. (3-0). Credit 3.
The design of research experiments in various subfields of chemistry and the evaluation of research results with the aid of examples taken from the current scientific literature. May be repeated for credit.
691. Research. Credit 1 or more each semester.
Research for thesis or dissertation.
695. Frontiers in Chemical Research. (3-0). Credit 3.
Present status of research in a variety of significant chemical fields. Content will depend on the availability of visiting lecturers who will be selected because of distinguished international recognition in their fields of research. May be taken twice. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
696. Modern Applications in Chemistry. (3-0). Credit 3.
Investigates modern topics in chemistry and their application in pre-college classrooms in a manner compatible with good scientific inquiry; designed for in-service teachers or those who have permission from their graduate advisory committee. Prerequisite: CHEM 101/102 or approval of instructor.
697. Methods in Teaching Chemistry Laboratory. (1-2). Credit 1.
An introduction to teaching methods associated with the teaching of introductory chemistry laboratories using graduate teaching assistants. Emphasis placed on effective communication, preparation, record keeping, and safe and effective management of an instructional laboratory. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in chemistry.
698. Inquiry and Chemical Concepts. (2-0). Credit 2.
Essential concepts in chemistry at the pre-college level; investigates methods and techniques of inquiry teaching as called for by state and national standards; parallels between inquiry teaching and scientific inquiry. This course will be a combination of regular and Internet-based classes. Prerequisite: CHEM 102 or approval of instructor.