Contact Us
Mailing Address:
University of New Mexico
Department of Chemistry
& Chemical Biology
MSC03 2060
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-0001
General Information:
Please call our front desk
at : 505-277-6655
The University of New Mexico Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology offers a vibrant research atmosphere and students benefit from the highly interdisciplinary environment. The Department is also uniquely situated with two major national laboratories close by as well as well as the nationally recognized Health Sciences Center on the nearby North campus.
The PhD program in Chemistry and Chemical Biology generally takes between 4 and 5 years to complete including the preparation of a research dissertation and manuscripts for publication. The program prepares students for rewarding careers in academia, research institutes, national laboratories or industry.
The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology has 16 research-active faculty members in addition to a number of adjunct collaborating faculty members for students to choose as research mentors representing the traditional disciplines of organic, inorganic, physical, and biological chemistry. However, the focus of the UNM Department of Chemistry is on interdisciplinary fields that focus on real-world problems.
The following lists the research themes of the department along with participating faculty. Take note that faculty often span multiple disciplines and the area that you are associated with is determined mainly by you and your research advisor. Feel free to contact any of the faculty listed in a particular area to obtain more details and/or advice.
In addition to the modern facilities contained within the department, additional research facilities are located at the nearby UNM College of Engineering, UNM School of Medicine, Sandia National Laboratories, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Highly competitive teaching and research assistantships are available that include a living expense stipend, tuition, fees and health insurance are available for all qualified PhD students throughout their course of study who remain in good academic standing.
Students can matriculate in either the fall or spring semester. The deadlines for applications for fall semester (which begins in mid-August) are June 15 for domestic applicants, and February 15 for foreign applicants without visas. The deadlines for applications for spring semester (which begins in mid-January) are December 1 for domestic applicants, and July 15 for foreign applicants without visas. For further information and applications, visit the website at http://chemistry.unm.edu/
The metropolitan area of the city of Albuquerque has a population over 800,000 residents from a highly diverse set of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The city is located just west of the majestic 10,000 ft Sandia Mountains. The New Mexico's diverse landscape provides excellent resources for recreational and cultural activities.
Analytical chemistry research at UNM involves multi-variate statistical analysis of complex mixtures, single molecule level detection, and protein structure determination. Several user facilities are available such as mass spectrometry and proteomics as well as electron microscopy.
Active Research Professors: (Cabaniss, Grey, Paine)
Modern biological chemistry is a rapidly developing discipline which seeks both to understand the molecular details of biological processes and to control these processes for the benefit of mankind. Results of work in this area have important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of disease and for the development of alternative energy sources. The research interests of UNM Biological Chemistry faculty are diverse, spanning protein and RNA structure and function, enzyme and metabolic pathway engineering, natural product biosynthesis, drug discovery and development, design and synthesis of cellular imaging agents, and computational and spectroscopic studies of metalloenzymes and other complex biological systems.
Active Research Professors: (Bear, Dunaway-Mariano, Guo, Keller, Kirk, Liang, Melancon, Wang)
Active Research Professors: (
Ho)
UNM offers the state-of-the-art computational facilities at the Center for Advanced Research Computing (CARC, http://www.hpc.unm.edu/). The research interests of our faculty range from elementary reaction dynamics, mechanisms of solution phase and enzymatic reactions, heterogeneous catalysis, charge and energy transfer, and photochemistry.
Active Research Professors: ( Evans, Guo, Keller, Kirk)
Inorganic chemistry research at UNM involves multi-disciplinary and high impact studies of metallo-enzyme mechanisms, CO2 conversion, and lanthanide ion selective chelation. New and exciting magnetic and catalytic compounds are also studied that are of great interest to the optoelectronics and energy sectors.
Active Research Professors: ( Guo, Kemp, Kirk, Paine)
Materials/Nanoscience/Polymer is a newly emerged and highly interdisciplinary research area crossing boundaries between traditional disciplines in chemistry, physics and engineering. The major thrust in our research is focused on organic photovoltaics (OPVs), polymer based OPVs in particular, as alternative and renewable energy sources. Our aim is to understand the fundamental physics and mechanisms behind the operation of OPVs and to improve their efficiencies through design and synthesis of novel polymeric materials, precise morphology control using nanotechnologies and architectural artistry in fabrication of OPV devices. Through these distinct but interconnected research projects, we are hoping to construct a platform of effective learning for the students, spanning knowledge from organic, physical and polymer chemistry to physics, nanotechnology and engineering, which ultimately leads to multi-directional career preparation.
Active Research Professors: ( Evans, Grey, Guo, Kemp, Paine, Qin)
Organic Chemistry research at UNM is diverse, with faculty interests in development of novel organocatalytic and photochemical reactions for total synthesis and bioenergy applications, synthesis and biosynthesis of bioactive compounds, design of enzyme mechanistic probes and cellular imaging agents, and synthesis and characterization of organic photovoltaics and selective metal chelating agents. Faculty research efforts are multi-disciplinary and often involve collaboration with research groups at the UNM Medical School and UNM Cancer Center.
Active Research Professors: ( Deck, Dunaway-Mariano, Guo, Liang, Mariano, Melancon, Paine, Qin, Wang)
Physical Chemistry research at UNM involves new experimental approaches to study properties and processes in molecules and materials. Current research efforts involve the study of excited state photophysics and photochemistry, charge and energy transfer, and device physics. Faculty use new and sophisticated tools such as atomic force microscopy, single molecule spectroscopy, time-resolved spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy.
Active Research Professors: ( Bear, Evans, Grey, Guo, Keller, Kirk)