Mission and Vision

Northwestern Chemistry: Research, Collaboration, and New Frontiers

Multi-disciplinary Problem Solving
Chemistry, as an academic research endeavor, has moved beyond the classical sub-disciplines of organic, inorganic, physical, and analytical chemistry, and toward various interdisciplinary areas. At the same time, state-of-the-art chemical research increasingly emphasizes:

• multi-disciplinary problem solving
• technology transfer
• collective expertise
• overall excellence

A New Organizational Focus
The Chemistry Department has implemented a new organizational focus to take advantage of the new realities of chemistry research. The Department has inaugurated three new programmatic areas focused on:

• the Chemistry of Materials
• the Chemistry of Life Processes
• the Chemistry of the Environment and Catalysis.

These three programs do not replace, but augment the Department’s traditional programs in organic, inorganic, and physical chemistry.

A Strong Tradition of Collaborative Interactions
The Chemistry Department at Northwestern has a long-standing strong tradition of collaborative interactions between faculty not only within the department but with faculty and students in other departments as well. Because the multidisciplinary programs are organized around important new chemical areas, they ferment new ideas and lead naturally to cooperative or leveraged research efforts. Members of the Department have successfully obtained funding to establish the Institute for Nanotechnology, which focuses on materials chemistry, and the Institute for Catalysis in Energy Processes, which focuses on the areas that its name implies.

Looking Ahead
Currently, we are actively seeking support for the establishment of the third leg of our institute triad, namely, the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute. This institute will enhance our already substantial research efforts at the interface of chemistry, biology, and medicine.