Chemistry

Students will have the opportunity to work collaboratively in the laboratory on open-ended projects utilizing St. Kate's modern facilities and more than a half-million dollars worth of instrumentation. Students collaborate with faculty on research projects in organic and inorganic synthesis, computer simulations and molecular modeling, nanoscience and nanotechnology, bioanalytical chemistry, structural biology, and X-ray crystallography of organometallic complexes. Financial support for undergraduate research, including student stipends, is available through the St. Catherine's 3M Collaborative Research Endowed Fund and the Summer Scholars Program and external grant support to faculty. Student-faculty research projects allow students to develop peer relationships with faculty and do science, not just talk about it. In recent years, students have partnered with faculty on a wide variety of projects in the electronic properties of nanomaterials, synthesis of bioactive molecules for disease treatment, NMR determination of protein structure, and natural product chemistry. Students have presented the results of their research at local, regional, and national meetings of the American Chemical Society, the Biophysical Society, and the Material Research Society. In addition, St. Kate's is a member of the Green Chemistry Commitment. As a member of this commitment, all chemistry graduates have training in chemical toxicology and green chemistry theory, applications, and practices. The department's weekly chemistry seminars will introduce students to outside speakers who share their work and expertise in the discipline. These seminars also provide perspectives on careers in chemistry, and our speakers often look to St. Kate's students for internships and job opportunities. Many chemistry majors obtain internships or technical assistant positions in local companies such as 3M, Ecolab, H.B. Fuller, Medtronic, and General Mills. Chemistry majors are eligible for a variety of departmental scholarships. Some examples are the Sr. Marie James Gibbons Scholarship for a promising first-year student interested in chemistry as a major and the Sr. Mary Thompson Scholarship for a chemistry major planning a career in science or medicine. Multiple Helen Steinfort Jordan Scholarships are available to support talented junior and senior chemistry majors who demonstrate financial need.