The Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology at Cornell has been home to some of the world's most distinguished chemists, including four Nobel Prize winners and two MacArthur "Genius" Awards. Our faculty are renowned for their groundbreaking research in many areas, ranging from nanoscale materials and polymers to supramolecular chemistry. Whether you are an undergraduate exploring the discipline or a graduate student working on a Ph.D., you will be able to conduct cutting-edge research with the leading chemists in the field today.
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Graduate Program
As a graduate student in Chemistry & Chemical Biology, you will receive training across the chemical sciences while focusing on one of five in-depth programs of study: Analytical, Inorganic, Organic, Physical, or Theoretical. You will conduct advanced research with our distinguished faculty or you can join a laboratory at one of the state-of-the-art research facilities at Cornell, such as the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF) or Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS)
Nearly all graduate students work as Teaching Assistants in undergraduate Chemistry & Chemical Biology courses in their first year in the program. Admission to the graduate program guarantees at least five years of full financial support as long as you show satisfactory progress toward your Ph.D. degree.
Undergraduate Program
Majoring in Chemistry & Chemical Biology at Cornell will allow you to explore the foundations of the discipline and the fields it intersects with—the Life Sciences, Physics, and Engineering. The undergraduate program will prepare you for a variety of careers in industry, academia, government, and the non-profit sector.
Here are a few of our undergraduate courses:
CCB News
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"Cornell alumni are generous with their time and efforts to assist students, to answer questions from students, or connect them to people and places."
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New A&S dean relishes ‘life in a university’
Peter John Loewen says he's excited to support faculty in their research, meet students and showcase the value of a liberal arts education.
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Advanced chelators offer efficient and eco-friendly rare earth element recovery
The researchers have developed a technique to purify certain rare earth elements at room temperature without relying on the toxic and caustic compounds currently used for the task.
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Dr. Jerrold Meinwald honored in memorial lecture
Cornell chemistry professor (emeritus), Dr. Jerrold Meinwald, was recently honored in a memorial lecture.
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A touch of gold has extra reach in degrading micropollutants 
A Cornell team used a new form of high-resolution optical imaging to better understand how adsorption – the clinging of molecules to surfaces – works on the semiconductor titanium dioxide with a gold particle added as a co-catalyst.
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Fors receives ACS Young Investigator Award
The award recognizes two outstanding early career investigators conducting research in any area of fundamental polymer or biopolymer science.
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Cornell Chem Young Alumni Spotlight - Jon Meinhardt (Class of 2022)
We recently caught up with recent Cornell Chem graduate Jon Meinhardt (Class of 2022) to find out what he’s up to now, and to ask his advice on a few important topics.
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