Department of Chemistry
http://www.utdallas.edu/dept/chemistry/
Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry; Professor of Chemistry: Ray H. Baughman
Robert A. Welch
Chair in Chemistry; Professor of Chemistry: Dennis W. Smith
Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Chair
in Systems Biology; Professor of Chemistry: A. Dean Sherry
Professors: Kenneth J. Balkus, Jr., Rockford K. Draper
(Biology), John P. Ferraris, Bruce E. Gnade
(Electrical Engineering), Inga H. Musselman
Associate Professors: Michael C. Biewer, Gregg R. Dieckmann, Jinming
Gao (UT Southwestern),
Warren J. Goux, Paul Pantano, John W. Sibert
Assistant Professors: Jung-Mo Ahn, Mihaela C. Stefan, Steven
O. Nielsen, Jie Zheng
Affiliated Professors: Lee A. Bulla
(Biology), Anvar A. Zakhidov (Physics)
Research Professors: Garry E.
Kiefer, Duck Joo Yang
Emeritus Professors: Richard A.
Caldwell
Senior Lecturers: Sergio Cortes, Sandhya R. Gavva, Claudia Taenzler
The Ph.D. program is designed to produce graduates with a focus on
innovation and problem solving in interdisciplinary cutting
edge research areas such as current materials, nanotechnology, biotechnology and polymer chemistry. These graduates,
with their broad course background, research skills, and practical attitudes
should find ready employment in industry or academic positions. A spectrum of
courses provides the student with a broad knowledge of chemistry.
The Master of Science program offers students the opportunity to
prepare for positions in industry, for further training in related scientific
fields, or for further training in chemistry.
The department has the equipment and facilities necessary for
routine use by its faculty and students in teaching and research. Larger items
include: 270 MHz (2), 400 MHz, and 500 MHz multi-nuclear FT-NMR spectrometers;
a powder x-ray diffractometer;
assorted spectrophotometers utilizing fluorescence, phosphorescence and
absorption; three peptide synthesizers; gel
permeation chromatographs; workstations with molecular modeling software; and
scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopes. Chemistry also participates in
the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute, which houses instrumentation for modern materials
science research. Facilities external to chemistry, but readily available to
its use, include a library, the computer center, the cleanroom,
and well-equipped machine and electronics shops.
Admission Requirements
The
University’s general admission requirements are discussed here.
Undergraduate preparation equivalent to the degree of Bachelor of
Science in Chemistry is required. The Chemistry program has no other
requirements above the general admission requirements beginning on page 24.
However, admission is competitive and is decided case by case on the basis of
the quality of previous relevant academic work, GRE scores, letters of
reference, the student's statement of academic interests and, for foreign
students, evidence of fluency in English. Foreign students with TOEFL scores
less than 600 (paper test), 250 (computer test), or 100 (internet test) are
admitted only in special circumstances.
The
University’s general degree requirements are discussed here.
Graduate students in chemistry are expected to demonstrate
fundamental knowledge of lecture and laboratory skills by completing the
following courses with a grade of B or better.
CHEM
5314 Advanced Physical Chemistry
CHEM 5331 Advanced Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 5341 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry I
CHEM 5355 Analytical Techniques I
A
minimum of 30 total graduate semester hours is required.
The M.S. degree can be pursued on a full- or part-time basis.
Other Course Requirements
The remaining requirements beyond the 12-hour core listed above
may be satisfied by presentation and defense of a written master's thesis. The
student must complete, as a minimum, 15 credit hours of research or other
graduate electives plus CHEM 8398. A Supervising Committee will be appointed to
guide the student's thesis work and to assess the completed thesis.
Normally pursued by
full-time students enrolled in a minimum of 9 credit hours of approved graduate
level courses per semester.
In addition to the 12-semester hour core course requirements
listed above, students seeking the Ph.D. degree must take two upper level
elective courses that are approved by the student's faculty research advisor
and the Chemistry Graduate Advisor. Ph.D. students are expected to complete
these six required courses within the first two years of their enrollment. CHEM
8399 is also required as part of the preparation of the dissertation.
Additional courses may be required by the student's Supervisory Committee.
Well-prepared students may request substitution of portions of the
course requirements from the Committee on Graduate Studies in Chemistry. At
least three organized courses must be taken at the University of Texas at
Dallas. The opportunity exists to take elective courses during their second and
subsequent years.
Qualifying Examination:
Original Research Proposal
All Ph.D. students must
take the qualifying examination. In the second year,
students seeking the Ph.D. degree are required to write, present, and defend an
original research proposal. In addition to providing valuable experience to the
student, this exam is used to assess the student's originality and skills in
organizing an effective approach to solving a novel problem. The results of
this examination will be one criterion upon which admission to doctoral
candidacy will be judged.
Students have the option of completing a thesis Master's degree as
part of their doctoral candidacy preparation, unless this requirement has been
satisfied at the time of admission. The doctoral research project may be
conducted in the same laboratory as the Master's degree research or, in order
to gain a broader research experience, in another laboratory. A manuscript
embodying a substantial portion of the Ph.D. dissertation research accomplished
by the student must be submitted to a suitable professional refereed journal
prior to the public seminar and dissertation defense. A public seminar,
successful defense of the dissertation, and its acceptance by the Supervising
Committee and the Graduate Dean conclude the requirements for the Ph.D.
Within the Chemistry program, opportunities exist for course work
and/or research in nanotechnology, biochemistry/biotechnology, organic,
inorganic, materials, analytical, and physical chemistry. The opportunity to
take course work in several of the other university programs allows the student
to prepare for interdisciplinary work. Specific topics within these broad
research areas include nanoscience
(carbon nanotubes, sensors, actuators, nanoscale devices, synthesis of nanoporous materials); organic
solid-state and polymer chemistry (energy storage, electrochromism, light-emitting polymers, solar
cells, membrane separations); inorganic solid-state (zeolites,
membranes, laser ablation, sensors, fuel cells, electrospinning); biological NMR (structural
biology, using NMR active tracers to follow metabolism in cells, isolated
tissues and in vivo); supramolecular
chemistry (design of novel host-guest systems; biologically responsive MRI
agents, design, synthesis and study of macrocyclic
receptors with applications in catalysis, materials science, and medicine);
scanning probe microscopy (instrument development, image contrast, application
to polymer microstructure); bioanalytical
and bionano chemistry, synthetic
chemistry (macrocycles, metalloprotein function);
biochemistry/enzymology (study of oxidative stress;
oxidative metabolism of signaling molecules; molecular modeling; and
catalysis).