The Department of Chemistry is now hiring for two new Tenure-Track faculty positions.

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The Eberly College of Science

Department of Chemistry

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Chemistry Undergraduate Program

We provide a program that’s flexible enough to meet your specific interests. Through research and co-op opportunities, you’ll put your classroom knowledge into practice to prepare for a wide range of careers.

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Chemistry Spotlight

News from around the department

New modeling by Penn State chemists shows how synonymous mutations can still impact protein production and function.

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Why synonymous mutations are not always silent

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Marty Bollinger honored with the 2023 Abeles and Jencks Award for the Chemistry of Biological Processes

Penn State chemists produce hundreds of new nanoparticles with previously unknown features using an innovative experimental approach.

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Unconventional experiments produce new nanoscale particles with big potential

Featured Faculty

Jason Cross

Associate Teaching Professor

Cross joined the department faculty as an associate teaching professor in August of 2022. He will be teaching Organic Chemistry courses with a special interest in Luminescent Lanthanide Complexes.

Featured Faculty

Julie Fenton

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Fenton joined the department faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry on January 1, 2022. The Fenton Research Group's focus will be on creative synthetic problem solving at the interface of inorganic and organic materials.

Featured Faculty

Danielle Reifsnyder Hickey

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Hickey joined the department faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry on January 1, 2022. Her research focus is on the atomic-resolution investigation, transformation, and synthesis of nanomaterials.

Featured Faculty

James Hodges

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Hodges joined the department faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry on January 1, 2022. The Hodges Research Group is broadly interested in the synthesis and applications of new inorganic solids.

Featured Faculty

Jonathan Kuo

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Kuo joined the department faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry on August 1, 2021. The Kuo Research Group uses materials and structures that exist in Nature to inform the design of new organometallic catalysts.

Featured Faculty

Stewart A. Mallory

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Mallory joined the department faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry on August 1, 2021. The Mallory Group's fundamental challenge is to answer questions concerning the collective behavior and mechanical properties of soft active matter systems.

Featured Faculty

Lukas Muechler

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Muechler joined the department faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry on August 1, 2021. His research focuses on the use of chemical concepts and physics to aid discovery of new materials.

Featured Faculty

Katheryn Penrod

Assistant Teaching Professor

Penrod joined the department faculty as an assistant teaching professor in August of 2022. She will serve as the Assistant Laboratory Director of Physical Chemistry with pedagogical research interests.

Featured Faculty

Elvira Sayfutyarova

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Sayfutyarova joined the department faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry on January 1, 2022. Her research is on the application of new quantum chemical approaches to photochemical reactions and properties of complex bioinorganic systems.