Faculty of Arts & Science
Chemistry & Biochemistry

Dr. Kathryn Preuss - 2012 Alumna of the Year

See the Department news page for more details.

6th Annual Chinook Symposium for Chemistry & Biochemistry

See the Department news page for more details.

Chemistry is often called the central science as it deals specifically with the 112 elements that comprise all matter.

Everything around us - the air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat, buildings we live in, cars we drive - our very bodies - are all made from these elements. There are five main branches of Chemistry:

• Analytical Chemistry - focuses on the detection and measurement of chemical species used in fields like forensics
• Organic Chemistry - deals with carbon compounds, which are the main components of living matter
• Inorganic Chemistry - delves into all the remaining elements, most of which are found in the mineral world
• Physical Chemistry - is the study of the fundamental principles governing the behavior of matter
• Theoretical Chemistry - starts from basic physical theories like quantum mechanics in order to provide frameworks within which all chemical phenomena can be understood
  
  The primary focus of the program is to provide you with extensive theoretical knowledge in all five branches of Chemistry, in addition to enhancing your technical and practical skills with hands-on experience.

Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry of living systems. It aims to understand the chemical and physical basis of life at the molecular level and how living systems interact with their environments.

It is a demanding field that combines expertise in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. Versatility and intense curiosity are the hallmarks of successful Biochemists, as they draw on knowledge from a variety of fields to investigate the molecules that facilitate life, from the structure, function and dynamics of molecular machines, to the complex regulation of metabolic pathways and biological processes. Biochemists study the extraordinary molecules that are produced and utilized by living systems. As a consequence, many of the most spectacular advances in the sciences are driven by discoveries in Biochemistry.

Program Planning Session for Chem & Bchm majors

Registration for Summer and Fall 2012 will be starting March 20, 2012. To help Chem & Bchm majors make informed choices about what classes to take, the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry is having an information session,
”How to make the most out of your Program”.

Faculty members will go over the Program Planning Guides (PPG), identifying which courses must be taken in sequence and what courses are more flexible. This will help you to avoid delays due to lacking pre-requisites, so you can complete your degree in four years.

Individual program planning advice will be available for students after the presentation, so bring your completed PPG, tentative timetable for Fall 2012 and they can point out potential scheduling problems.

Faculty members will explain different opportunities to gain lab and research experience while you are a student and careers where you can use your degree.

March 13, 2012
4:30pm
B660

Chemistry & Biochemistry 4000 Courses

These are tentative course outlines and are subject to change.

Advanced Chemistry or Biochemistry courses can be taken more than once provided the content, as identified by the title, is different in any two offerings.
Chemistry or Biochemistry 4000 courses are usually offered each semester and offerings will normally not be repeated within a two-year cycle (e.g. Practical Spectroscopy and Advanced Molecular Modeling were offered in Spring 2008 and will not be offered again until at least 2010).

Click on the text for a PDF of the course outline or contact the professor for more information about the course. Some courses are scheduled to be taught in the next calendar year. This is indicated by the semester and year in brackets after the professor's name.

Spring 2013

Biochemistry 4000 - Drs. Kothe and Wieden (Spring 2013)
Chemistry 4000 - Dr. Hazendonk (Spring 2013)
Chemistry 4000 - Dr. Przybylski (Spring 2013)
Chemistry 4000 - Dr. Wetmore (Spring 2013)

Fall 2012 classes

Contemporary Methods in Biochemistry - Drs. Kothe and Wieden (Fall 2012)
Medicinal Chemistry - Dr. Susan Lait (Fall 2012)

Spring 2012 classes

Biochemistry of Food Flavour Formation - Dr. Roman Przybylski (Spring 2012)
Chemical Applications of Group Theory – Dr. Michael Gerken (Spring 2012)
Crystallography - Dr. René Boeré (Spring 2012)
Molecular Modeling – Dr. Stacey Wetmore (Spring 2012)

BIOCHEMISTRY
Biochemistry of Antibiotic Activity
Contemporary Methods in Biochemistry - Drs. Kothe, Mosimann, Wieden
Enzyme Structure and Mechanism – Dr. Ute Kothe
Nanomachines in Biochemistry - Dr. Ute Kothe
RNA Biochemistry
Structural Biology and Bioinformatics

CHEMISTRY
Advanced Computational Chemistry – Dr. Stacey Wetmore
Advanced Contemporary Chemistry - Dr. Peter Dibble
Advanced Kinetics and Reaction Dynamics – Dr. Marc Roussel
Advanced Organic Chemistry – Dr. Peter Dibble
Biochemistry and Chemistry of Food Flavor Formation - Dr. R. Przybylski (Spring 2013)
Chemical Applications of Group Theory – Dr. Michael Gerken
Crystallography - Dr. René Boeré
Fluorine Chemistry - Dr. Michael Gerken
Industrial Food Chemistry - Dr. Roman Przybylski
Introduction to Molecular Modeling – Dr. Stacey Wetmore
Lanthanide and Actinide Chemistry – Dr. Paul Hayes"
Medicinal Chemistry - Dr. Susan Lait (Fall 2012)
Modeling Biochemical Reaction Networks - Dr. Marc Roussel
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy – Dr. Paul Hazendonk
Principles of Electrochemistry and EPR Spectroscopy - Dr. René Boeré
Organometallic Chemistry – Dr. Paul Hayes
Statistical Mechanics – Dr. Marc Roussel