Chemistry

Department of Chemistry
Churchill-Haines, Room 115
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
Phone: 605-677-5487
http://www.usd.edu/chemistry

Degrees:

Master of Science, thesis option only
Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Chemistry

Department Chairperson: Professor Mary T. Berry
Graduate Program Director: Assistant Professor Ranjit Koodali

Graduate Faculty

Professors:

Mary T. Berry, Ph.D., University of Virginia. Specialization: Physical Chemistry, Lanthanide Spectroscopy, and Photochemistry.

Miles D. Koppang, Ph.D., University of North Dakota. Specialization: Analytical Chemistry, Electrochemistry as Applied to Bioanalysis, Electron-Transfer Mechanism at Electrodes, and Chemical Education.

P. Stanley May, Ph.D., University of Virginia. Specialization: Physical Chemistry, Spectroscopy of Transition Metal and Lanthanide Ions in Solid State, Solid-State Energy Transfer Dynamics, and Multiple Photon Excitation.

Andrew G. Sykes, Ph.D., University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. Specialization: Inorganic Chemistry, Luminescent Sensors and X-ray Crystallography.

Associate Professors:

David C. Hawkinson, Ph.D., Northern Illinois University. Specialization: Physical Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry..

Grigoriy A. Sereda, Ph.D., Moscow State University. Specialization: Organic Chemistry, Synthesis of Biomedically Relevant Compounds, Catalysis, Photocatalysis, Controlled Modification of Fluorescent Nanocrystals with Organic Functionalities.

Joseph E. Vitt, Ph.D., Iowa State University. Specialization: Analytical Chemistry, Electroanalysis, Analysis of Electrochemical Oscillating Reactions, and Oxidation Mechanisms by Oxygen-Atom Transfer at Electrode Surfaces.

Yuyu Sun, Ph.D., Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Specializations: Polymers and Biopolymers in Biomedicine; Antimicrobial and Biofilm-Controlling Systems and Biomedical Devices.

Assistant Professors:

James D. Hoefelmeyer, Ph.D., Texas A&M University. Specialization: Inorganic Chemistry

Chaoyang Jiang, Ph.D., Nanjing University. Specialization: Analytical Chemistry and Materials Chemistry. Layer-by-Layer nanocomposite, Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering, Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy, Plasmonic Nanomaterials.

Ranjit T. Koodali, Ph.D., Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, Chennai. Specialization: Physical Chemistry, Mesoporous materials and their applications in environmental remediation and conversion and storage of solar energy.

Haoran Sun, Ph.D., Jilin University. Specialization: Organic Chemistry, Fluorinated materials for energy conversion and drug development.

Program Description

While the twelve research faculty span the major sub-disciplines of chemistry (analytical, inorganic, organic and physical), their work is focused in four core areas that bridge these traditional demarcations: (1) Electrochemistry and Surface Science, (2) Molecular Spectroscopy and Photodynamics, and (3) Organic Synthesis and Chemical Reaction Mechanisms, and (4) Nanoparticles in Catalytic Applications. The department offers a Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry as well as a Master of Science in Chemistry. Graduate students may begin their program at the start of either the fall or the spring semester. Completion of requirements for the M.S. degree in Chemistry generally takes two years for students who enter with the equivalent of an ACS approved B.S. in Chemistry. There is a substantial research component to the program culminating in oral defense of a thesis whose basis is an original contribution to the discipline. The Ph.D. Materials Chemistry is designed to allow students to complete both masters and doctoral requirements within six years.

Admission Requirements

Completion of a baccalaureate degree in Chemistry and satisfaction of additional requirements may be stipulated to provide a course background equivalent to that of an ACS (American Chemical Society) approved major.
Undergraduate GPA of at least 2.7 or a graduate GPA of at least 3.0.
The GRE General test is required for International students only. There is no minimum score required; the score is considered along with the other application materials. International Students are also required to submit a TOEFL score.
There are other requirements for international applicants.

- Subject to faculty approval, those who do not meet all of the criteria above may be admitted on a provisional basis.