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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.
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.
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:
A Chemistry and Chemical Biology graduate student in the Weill Institute’s Baskin Lab, Ryan will be among 600 young scientists from around the world to come together in Lindau, Germany.
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Researchers have identified a new way to fight infections like Lyme disease and syphilis by disrupting the bacteria’s ‘motor,’ preventing it from spreading through the body.
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An FDA-approved drug used in humans has been found to inhibit the growth of oral squamous cell carcinomas in dogs - with one dog’s tumor nearly disappearing in a matter of weeks.
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Chemistry researchers have found ways to reduce the environmental impact of high-density polyethylene by developing a model that enables manufacturers to customize and improve those materials.
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The station will serve as part of a real-world “living laboratory” for existing and emerging electric-vehicle technologies developed at Cornell and elsewhere.
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Robert C. Fay, emeritus professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, died Feb. 6 in Fairfax, Virginia. He was 88.
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What if photovoltaic panels were a hinged, lightweight fabric that was aesthetically attractive and could wrap around complex shapes to better absorb sunlight?
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Brian Crane began as Director of the Weill Center for Cell and Molecular Biology on January 1, 2025. He is only the second Director in the History of the Weill Institute since its founding by inaugural Director Scott Emr in 2008.
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