DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

***First-Year Seminar Courses are Not Open to General Enrollment***

Science Writing for a Non-Technical Audience (Fall 2019; Larry Trzupek)

In this course we will read and discuss works on technical subjects written for a general audience with no special scientific training; the authors we'll be reading include Sam Kean, John McPhee, Don Norman, Richard Rhodes, and Lewis Thomas.

Although the course is not targeted exclusively to science majors, students enrolling in it should have enough of a background in the fundamental sciences to feel comfortable writing about technical topics.

The Chemistry of Food (Fall 2019; Owen Priest)

In The Chemistry of Food we will explore the chemistry and science of nutrition, cooking, food preservation, flavoring, coloring, and aroma. We will explore the science of salt, sugar & high fructose corn syrup, leavening agents, microwaves, proteins, and fats. What is the science behind genetically modified foods and why is it so controversial? What is celiac disease and gluten sensitivity? Is gluten sensitivity real? What does the science say?

The Chemistry of Clean Water (Winter 2020, Will Dichtel)

Access to clean water for drinking, farming, and many other uses is a basic human need that is anticipated to become more expensive and difficult because of climate change, expanding populations, and resource depletion. We will learn this problem from both a chemical and practical perspective. What are common water sources and their common contaminants? How is drinking water and waste water treated today, and what are the limitations of these methods? What technologies are emerging or need to emerge to address these limitations? How does water relate to food production and energy consumption in regard to sustainability? We will answer these questions through literature research, studying current and recent problems in water systems, and by visiting local drinking water and/or waste water treatment facilities.

Sustainability Meets Environmental Justice (Spring 2020, Shelby Hatch)

In this course, we will explore how issues of race and class shape our views of these concepts. Northwestern University is currently about halfway through its first five-year strategic sustainability plan. This plan will serve as a starting point for discussing various issues of sustainability such as the built environment, transportation, and resource conservation. We will delve into the chemistry behind sustainable design with a particular eye toward how the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry and Green Engineering are applied.

Chemistry laboratory techniques applied to materials science and nanotechnology, acid-base chemistry, and chemical kinetics. Planning, data collection, interpretation, and reporting on experiments.  

Must be taken concurrently with the Chem 132-0 lecture course.

Prerequisite: Chem 131-0 and Chem 141-0 (C- or better in both courses). 

The chemistry of polyfunctional compounds of biological and medicinal interest. Modern organic synthesis, bioorganic chemistry, and recent developments in organic chemistry. Must be taken concurrently with Chem 230-3 lab course. 

Prerequisite: Chem 210-2 and Chem 230-2 (C– or better in both courses).

Pericyclic reactions, functional group participation, rearrangements, fragmentations, radical reactions, synthesis and reactions of carbenes and nitrenes, the synthesis and chemistry of synthetic polymers, and the bioorganic chemistry of carbohydrates, nucleosides, nucleotides, nucleic acids, amino acids, peptides, and lipids.

Prerequisite: Chem 212-2 and Chem 232-2 (C- or better in both courses)

Experimental techniques of modern organic chemistry emphasizing chemical separations, spectroscopic characterization, and reactions such as amide synthesis, Grignard reaction, aldol condensation, Robinson annulation, and Diels-Alder reaction.

Must be taken concurrently with the Chem 210-3 lecture course.

This course will cover the design and synthesis of polymers, including reaction mechanisms, characterization, and structure-property relationships.

Prerequisite: For undergraduates, three quarters of CHEM 210 or 212 are required. At least one of the following courses is highly recommended: CHEM 307/407, CHEM 313/413, CHEM 319/419, CHEM 410, CHEM 412, or CHEM 415.

Taught with Chem 409. Undergraduates should enroll in Chem 309, unless they are officially completing the BA/MS program.

This course connects macroscopic properties (342-1) to molecular properties (342-2). The topics include the Boltzmann distribution, partition functions, distribution functions, macroscopic properties, theories for kinetics, and experimental methods.

Prerequisites: Chem 342-1 and Chem 342-2.

 The third course in the 350 sequence covers the very important topic of spectroscopy from a physical chemistry point of view. It deals with the use of various spectroscopic techniques (FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, uv/visible absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy) for structure determination of gas and liquid phase molecules and for kinetics measurements. In addition, you will be asked to design and carry out a 4-week research project at the end of the quarter based on some aspect of course material in the entire Chem 350 sequence.

Prerequisites: Chem 342-2 or equivalent and Chem 350-2; Chem 342-3 or Chem 348 co-requisite.

Advanced Inorganic Chemistry: Solid State and Materials

No description available.