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Chemistry stands at the crossroads between physics and biology.
As biological processes are examined in ever-finer detail,
chemistry is increasingly called upon to provide the insights,
techniques, and materials needed to understand the workings
of living organisms, including ourselves. Chemistry is thus
a popular major for those interested in biomedical careers.
In another direction, chemistry is also essential to the search
for solutions to the ecological problems created by the ever-expanding
range of human activities.
As a major, chemistry provides a solid foundation of scientific
knowledge and experimental skills that enables one to specialize
in many directions toward careers in research, teaching, business,
or professional practice. Also, because virtually all constructed
things we see and use in our daily lives involve chemistry,
there is a huge pool of jobs for chemists in the manufacturing
industries.
The Department of Chemistry at the University of Hawai'i
at Mānoa (UHM) offers MS and PhD programs in organic,
inorganic, and physical chemistry. Specialized research opportunities
exist in astrochemistry, bioorganic chemistry, biopolymer
structure determination, homogeneous and environmentally friendly
catalysis, hydrogen storage materials, natural products isolation,
structure determination and synthesis.
Graduate study in chemistry consists of course work, independent
study, teaching and research. A thesis or dissertation based
on original research consists the most important part of the
master’s or doctoral degree, respectively. Candidates
for advanced degrees are required to serve as teaching assistants
for a portion of their program.
The research and teaching laboratories of the Department
of Chemistry are located in Bilger Hall and Bilger Addition.
The department’s instrumentation includes three NMR spectrometers:
a Varian Mercury Plus 300 for routine solution H-1, P-31,
and C-13 spectra; a Varian Unity Inova 400 wide-bore, used
primarily for solid state NMR; and a Varian Unity Inova 500
for multi-dimensional and/or multi-nuclear experiments.
Other departmental resources include mass spectrometry services
and an electronics shop, in addition to personal computers
and workstations available for use to members of the department.
The faculty of the Department of Chemistry have research
interests in organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry:
Organic Chemistry — The main areas
of research in the Organic Chemistry Division
are bio-organic and natural products chemistry. Particular
emphasis is placed in three areas: 1) The isolation and
structure determination of bioactive compounds from marine
and terrestrial organisms. 2) The total synthesis of natural
products. 3) The development of new methods for synthesis.
Inorganic Chemistry — The Inorganic
Chemistry Division focuses on the synthesis and characterization
of advanced hydrogen storage materials, novel homogenenous
catalysts, environmentally friendly catalysts and green
catalytic systems.
Physical Chemistry — Research on
physical chemistry at UHM includes experimental and theoretical
approaches, such as magnetic resonance techniques applied
to the study of proteins, crystallographic methods for zeolite
chemistry, computational studies of the interactions between
surfaces and small molecules, reaction dynamics, and astrochemistry.
Members of the graduate faculty participate in a number of
collaborative efforts. Organic chemistry faculty interested
in natural products chemistry are part of an integrated drug
discovery program with colleagues at the Cancer Research Center
of Hawai'i. Faculty are involved in other NASA's Astrobiology
Institute.
Faculty members maintain research programs and participate
in the graduate education program. Most of the faculty also
teach undergraduate courses and direct undergraduate research
projects. Extramural support for faculty research comes from
several federal agencies, including the National Institutes
of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Army and the
Department of Energy. The current award total from federal
programs is $6.4 million. Additional support comes from industrial
sources and private foundations.
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