Chemistry

The science that seeks to understand the structure and composition of matter and the changes that it undergoes

www.bucknell.edu/chemistry

Related Student Organizations

Alpha Chi Sigma (chemistry honor society)

American Chemical Society

Career Paths

Career opportunities for chemistry majors are wide open, especially in the areas of academia, industry and government. For example, more than 90 chemistry graduates are teaching at universities and colleges, and many alumni work in the pharmaceutical industry. Recently, alumni have secured the following positions:

  • Chemist, Merck & Company, Inc.
  • Client Relations Representative, Vanguard Group
  • Chemist, Benchmark Analytics
  • Research Technician, INVISTA
  • Researcher, AmeriCorps
  • Analytical Chemist, Celator Pharmaceuticals

Undergraduate Research

Students can get involved in research projects as early as their first year at Bucknell. Each summer, 25 to 30 chemistry students are engaged in research full time for a 10-week period. This provides time for close cooperation with a faculty mentor on the student’s personal project. Recent projects include:

  • Determining Total Antioxidants Capacity Using In-Line Capillary Electrophoresis Assays
  • Steric and Electronic Effects on Arylphosphonate Elimination from Organopalladium Complexes
  • Temperature Effects on the Diffuse Reflectance Spectra on Nontronite Clays

Selected Faculty Publications

Recently, scholarship by chemistry faculty members has appeared in:

  • Biochemistry
  • Journal of Chemical Education
  • Journal of Geophysical Research
  • Journal of Magnetic Resonance
  • Langmuir
  • Organometallics
  • Polymer Science

Graduate and Professional School

Nearly half of chemistry alumni pursue graduate or professional education after their time at Bucknell. Recently, alumni have gone on to:

  • Yale University
  • Harvard University
  • New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Thomas Jefferson University
  • Duke University
  • University of Wisconsin
  • Indiana University
  • University of North Carolina
  • University of Delaware
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Cornell

Quick Facts

Number of full-time faculty: 14

Average number of majors per class year: 14

Internships

Chemistry majors can gain career experience through summer internships. Recently, students have interned at:

  • University of Michigan
  • Merck Research Labs
  • Penn State Hershey Medical Center
  • Cephalon, Inc.
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic
  • Institute
  • Santo-Aventis Inc.

Program Details

Receiving a strong education in chemistry opens the way to investigating problems in medicine, materials science and the environment, as well as in the traditional areas of analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry.

  • A B.S./M.S. program allows a student to earn both a bachelor of science and a master of science degree in four years.
  • The chemistry department offers courses in environmental chemistry. In conjunction with courses offered in the departments of geology, civil and environmental engineering, and the social sciences, a student can be well prepared to pursue graduate study or to work in the field of environmental science.
  • Coursework in chemistry helps students understand fundamental chemical principles, to apply these principles broadly and effectively, and to evaluate critically the impact of chemistry on society.
  • Students learn early on what chemists do by taking organic chemistry courses during their first year. Subsequently, they take courses in the other subspecialties of chemistry, leaving time in the curriculum for personal involvement in a research project in collaboration with a faculty mentor.

Faculty

Bucknell's chemistry faculty members provide close, personal attention to students in the classroom and in the lab. All chemistry faculty are active researchers who invite students to become involved in their research.

Dee Ann Casteel
B.Mus. Coe College; Ph.D. Illinois
Scholarly interests: organic synthesis, synthesis of peroxides, antimalarial, medicinal chemistry

Karen Castle
B.S. California at Irvine; Ph.D. Oregon State
Scholarly interests: kinetics and dynamics of atmospheric processes

Charles Clapp
A.B. Bowdoin; Ph.D. Harvard
Scholarly interests: enzyme mechanisms and enzyme inhibitors

William Kerber
Inorganic Chemistry

Margaret Kastner
B.S. Ed., IU at South Bend; Ph.D. Notre Dame
Scholarly interests: x-ray crystallography, chemical education

Molly McGuire
B.A. Carleton; Ph.D. Wisconsin
Scholarly interests: environmental chemistry, environmentally important redox chemistry at clay mineral surfaces; spectroscopic characterization of aqueous colloids

Todd Morris
B.S. University of Tennessee at Martin; Ph.D. University of Alabama
Scholarly interests: surface science and environmental chemistry; novel applications of nanoparticles

David Rovnyak
B.S. Richmond; Ph.D. M.I.T.
Scholarly interests: biophysical chemistry, bile micelles, application of magnetic resonance techniques to the study of biological macromolecules

Thomas Selby
B.S. Univ. Akron, Ph.D. Ohio State U.
Scholarly interests: Biochemistry, X-ray crystallography, structural biology

Thomas Shawe
B.S., M.S. Georgia; Ph.D. Emory
Scholarly interests: organic synthetic methodology: stereo-selective reactions and alkaloid synthesis

George Shields
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology
Scholarly interests: computational chemistry, structural biochemistry, chemical education 

Robert A. Stockland Jr.
Organic and Inorganic Chemistry

Timothy Strein
B.S. North Carolina State; Ph.D. Penn State
Scholarly interests: capillary electrophoresis of biological fluids, charge transfer reactions at ultrasmall electrodes, GC/MS of environmental samples

James Swan
B.S. Kentucky; Ph.D. Penn State
Scholarly interests: bioanalytical chemistry: mass spectrometry of peptides

Eric Tillman
B.S. Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo; Ph.D. Southern California
Scholarly interests: synthesis and characterization of macromolecules possessing interesting photophysical or electronic properties

Brian Williams
B.S. Harvey Mudd; Ph.D. Cornell
Scholarly interests: synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of solvent sensitive materials; photophysical processes; molecular modeling

Scientific and Support Staff

Suellen Beck : Secretary and administrative assistant

Brian Breczinski: NMR manager, electronics/instrumentation technician

Margaret Brody: Stockroom and chemical Supervisor, Purchasing Officer

Dr. Peter Findeis: GC/MS Specialist

Grants & Awards

Chemistry faculty members have recently secured grants and awards from:

  • American Chemical Society – Petroleum Research Fund
  • NASA Geospace Science Program
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Science Foundation

Courses Offered

Advanced Environmental Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry I and II
Biochemical Methods
Biochemistry I and II
Biological Physical Chemistry
Chemistry Capstone
General Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry I and II
Introduction to Chemistry
Introduction to Environmental Chemistry
Mechanistic Organic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry I and II
Physical Chemistry for Engineers
Physical Chemistry I and II
Research in Chemistry Capstone
Seminar
Special Topics in Analytical Chemistry
Special Topics in Biochemistry
Special Topics in Inorganic Chemistry
Special Topics in Organic Chemistry
Special Topics in Physical Chemistry
Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Undergraduate Research
X-ray Crystallography

Facilities & Resources

Bucknell’s chemistry laboratories are equipped with major instruments normally found only at large doctorate- granting institutions. These major instruments include:

  • Varian 600 MHz DirectDrive four-channel, multinuclear NMR spectrometer (14.1 Tesla) with pulsed field gradients, biomolecular liquids probe, two-channel 3.2mm magic-angle spinning solids probe and actively shielded Oxford AS600 magnet; obtained in 2006 with funds from a grant from the National Science Foundation
  • Varian 400 MHz DirectDrive two-channel, multinuclear NMR spectrometer (9.4 Tesla) with autotuning, pulsed field gradients and premium shielded magnet; obtained in 2006 with funds from a grant from the National Science Foundation
  • Multimode V atomic force microscope (AFM) (Veeco Instruments); obtained in 2007 with funds from a National Science Foundation Grant
  • Micromass Electrospray Quadrupole/Time-of-Flight Tandem Mass Spectrometer interfaced with liquid chromatograph; obtained in 2008
  • Continuum pulsed Nd:YAG laser
  • Laser Components tunable midinfrared diode laser
  • SPEX Fluorolog-3 Steady-state Fluorimeter
  • Bruker P4 single-crystal X-ray diffractometer
  • Sciex API-III+ electrospray mass spectrometer equipped for liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry
  • Extrel ELQ tandem mass spectrometer and two Agilent gas chromatography/mass spectrometry systems
  • Micro-Now Model 8300 X Band ESR spectrometer
  • Two Nicolet FTIR spectrometers

Study Abroad

Chemistry majors in recent years have spent a summer, semester or year abroad in Ireland, Italy, France and Spain.