Department of Chemistry
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.
Our graduate program boasts a unique educational opportunity, allowing students substantial flexibility in developing a Ph.D. experience uniquely suited to their personal interests and goals.
Chemistry Research Areas
We offer dynamic research environments that combine specialities to address pressing challenges.
Research Facilities
The department’s cutting-edge research facilities offer faculty and students powerful tools for innovation.
University Institutes and Centers
Our interdisciplinary institutes and centers strengthen our research offering across the university.
News from around the department
New research from Penn State shows how SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mutated, potentially to become more transmissible.
Penn State research reveals how a protein could allow the sorting of rare earth elements for future use.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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