On behalf of the staff and the students in UCD School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, I would like to welcome you to our School and to our web site. With 24 academic staff, and approximately 40 final year undergraduates and over 100 research students and postdocs, this is a vibrant School that offers excellent facilities and high standards, in both teaching and research. Our staff and students come not only from Ireland but are drawn from all round the world, and give the School an exciting international flavour.
Undergraduate Courses
Chemistry is concerned with the world at the level of molecules. Chemists seek to elucidate the structures of molecules, and probe the relationship between the structures and the properties of those molecules. The insight that Chemistry provides is fundamental to a huge range of scientific and technological activities, so Chemistry is often described as "the central science". For example, chemists are key players in unravelling the molecular basis of life, discovering new drugs, understanding environmental changes, and developing new materials. An interactive tool for learning about the structures of useful molecules can be found in the Molevision section of this site.
The School offers Honours BSc degrees in Chemistry and in Medicinal Chemistry & Chemical Biology. Lecture courses and associated laboratory work in organic, physical, inorganic and organometallic chemistry are complemented by more specialist offerings in, among others, environmental chemistry, materials science, electrochemistry, biopolymers and nanochemistry. For many years, UCD has had particularly strong linkages with the numerous pharmaceutical companies in the Dublin region and throughout Ireland . Indeed, many of the leaders of these companies are UCD graduates. If you are interested in our BSc degree courses, you will find more details in the Undergraduate Programmes section of the site.
Research and Postgraduate Courses
The School is home to 24 research groups with interests spanning a wide range of chemical sciences. Our complement of postgraduate students is generally around 90, together with approximately 40 postdoctoral fellows. In September 2005 the School took a huge step forward with the opening of the Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology (CSCB) with its state-of-the-art laboratory and instrumental facilities. Our research infrastructure includes five high-field NMR spectrometers (300-600 MHz) as well as modern mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and microanalysis facilities, all with excellent technical support. If you are interested in our research activities, you will find more details in the Postgraduate Programmes, Research and Staff sections of the site.
The quality of the staff, the degree programmes and the facilities make the UCD School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology an exciting place to study and carry out research. I strongly suggest that you take the opportunity to visit us at UCD if you are in Dublin, or are planning to visit the region with its dynamism, cultural diversity and outstanding scenic vistas.
Professor Earle Waghorne
Head of School
UCD School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
