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Eberly College of Arts & Sciences C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry
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Catalyze Your Future With Chemistry

Through in-depth instruction, hands-on research and independent projects conducted with award-winning faculty, WVU chemistry students learn to question, experiment and innovate.

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Undergraduate

Pursue a BS in Chemistry and choose one of three focus areas: Chemistry and Health, Chemistry and the Environment, and Certified Chemist. 

Undergraduate Programs

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Graduate

Look deeply into what makes our world work, on a chemical and molecular level. Accelerate your career with a  PhD in Chemistry.

Graduate Programs

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Research

Collaboration drives scientific breakthroughs where faculty and students work together to push the boundaries of discovery. 

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Understand the extraordinary nature of the world down to its most basic particles

Why study chemistry at West Virginia University? With advanced research instrumentation, dedicated faculty mentorship, a supportive academic community, and a strong record of contributing to WVU’s R1 research status — studying chemistry here will prepare you for success in graduate school, industry, medicine, and beyond.

About Our Department Explore Our Facilties

Find Support at the Chemistry Learning Center (CLC)

Room 157 in the Chemistry Research Laboratory Building

The Chemistry Learning Center offers resources for students, such as free evening tutoring and chemistry teaching faculty office hours.

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Explore Our Research

Our students receive on-the-job training on cutting-edge research projects.

Analytical Chemistry

Analytical chemistry uses knowledge of chemistry, instrumentation, and statistics to solve problems in almost all areas of chemistry and for a variety of industries.

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Chemical Education

Chemical education refers to the study of the teaching and learning of chemistry at all levels of education. Topics include understanding how students learn chemistry, the best teaching methods and the training of chemistry teachers.

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Inorganic Chemistry

Inorganic chemistry studies the synthesis, reactions, structures, and properties of inorganic and organometallic compounds.

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Catalysis

Research in chemical catalysis aims at designing new classes of catalysts and understanding how catalysts accelerate chemical reactions and select reaction products.

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Forensic Chemistry

Forensic chemistry is about the analysis of non-biological trace evidence found at crime scenes in order to identify unknown materials and match samples to known substances.

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Nanoscience

Chemistry faculty use nanoscience to study the interaction of molecules with matter as well as to develop portable diagnostic and sensing platform for personalized medicine.

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Organic, Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry

Organic Chemistry investigates the structure, properties, and reactions of molecules containing carbon atoms.

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Physical & Biophysical Chemistry

Physical chemistry is the study of the behavior of matter at the molecular and atomic level, as well as how chemical reactions occur. Biophysical chemistry uses the concepts of physics and physical chemistry for the study of biological systems.

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Research Highlights

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Unquenched orbital angular momentum in quasi-linear two-coordinate transition metal complexes featuring sterically bulky carbazole ligands

Dalton Transactions

This study explores the structural and magnetic properties of a new series of two-coordinate transition metal complexes.Theoretical calculations reveal a non-Aufbau ground state electronic configuration in the cobalt complex, providing explanation for its experimentally observed unique magnetic behavior.

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Investigating the Evolution of Student Attitudes toward Science in a General Chemistry Course Using Latent Class and Latent Transition Analysis

Journal of Chemical Education

As science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education researchers continue to explore ways to increase college student persistence in STEM fields, the affective domain (e.g., attitudes, perceptions, and self-efficacy) stands out as an area that can significantly impact these efforts. 

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Effect of Applied DC Electric Fields on H2–Air Axisymmetric Laminar Co-Flow Diffusion Flames with Low Carbon Impurities

Hydrogen

We investigated experimentally the influence of flow conditions and electrode position on a diffusion H2–air flame subjected to an external electric field. We determined the minimum impurity level required to observe changes in flame properties with applied voltage.  

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Committed to Safety

The Department of Chemistry is committed to safety in our teaching and research laboratories. 

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Thanks to facility renovations, research innovations and in-class lessons, the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry has received the nation’s top undergraduate safety program award in chemistry – twice.

Safety Handbook and Info

Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Fabien Goulay Answers...

We know why candles melt - from being lit, of course! But where do candles go when they melt? Do they just disappear into thin air? Hear from Fabien Goulay from West Virginia University to help us understand. 

Meet Dr. Fabien Goulay