ChemistryDuke has a great Chemistry Department. And the best is yet to come. We are distinctive in many ways:
Outstanding facilities and interactions
From our beautiful home in the French Family Science Center, a five-minute walk can reach all of the basic physical sciences, the engineering school, and most of basic medical sciences on campus. This physical proximity, unparalleled at major American universities, fosters strong interdisciplinary connections and enables research to solve major scientific problems with broad impact.
Dynamic faculty
Our faculty includes numerous recent hires at the junior and senior level, and many hold endowed chairs that recognize their special contributions to research, education, and service. The Department also includes Chemistry research faculty members and tenure-track Duke faculty members with primary appointments in other departments and secondary appointments in Chemistry.
Strong graduate students
Duke’s strengths have attracted excellent students who take advantage of the opportunities available both in Chemistry and across campus. A significant fraction are supported by outside fellowships and University-wide training grant programs, such as those in pharmacology or medical imaging.
Novel foci
Our research programs take advantage of Duke's unique strengths and differential opportunities: chemical biology, nanomaterials, energy science, theoretical/computational chemistry, and molecular and biomolecular imaging. Many members of the Department participate in interdisciplinary centers and training programs covering Developmental, Cell and Molecular Biology; Biophysics; Materials Science; Genetics; Pharmacology; and Toxicology.
Internationally respected research
With publications in the world’s most respected journals and regular highlights in the national news media, Duke Chemistry faculty and students pursue an amazing range of cutting-edge research, detailed in the faculty pages on this site.
Balance between research, teaching, and service
Excellence in research is at the core of a good Chemistry department, but a truly outstanding one reflects a broader mission. Our undergraduate courses are taught by our most distinguished researchers and by extraordinary educators, and we use and develop the best teaching methods and course content for our students. Graduate students are an active part of this mission, and they often organize new courses (through our Future Faculty program) and participate in our strong outreach programs. Not surprisingly, our students and faculty alike have been recognized with numerous university teaching, service, and mentoring awards.