Welcome to the Department of
Chemistry and Biochemistry

The Department offers Baccalaureate degrees in both Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular biology to undergraduate students. At the graduate level, the Department offers Master's (MS) degrees in Chemistry. Upon graduation, our students are equipped with the knowledge, expertise and personal skills to make a significant and positive impact in the field and benefit their communities at the state, regional, and national levels.

The department is also committed to promoting the professional development of its faculty through active research, scholarship, networking opportunities, and mentoring. The expertise of our faculty spans a wide range of disciplines such as analytical, environmental, inorganic and organic chemistry, physical chemistry, biophysics, biochemistry, geochemistry and other specialties of study.

News and Events

Position Announcement: Asst. Professor, Organic Geochemistry

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Large Lakes Observatory (LLO) at the University of Minnesota Duluth invite applications for a tenure-track shared position as assistant professor, organic geochemistry, available starting August 26, 2013. Job duties and responsibilities include teaching in chemistry (analytical, environmental, and/or general) and limnology, research in organic or stable isotope geochemistry, and service to the departments and college. We are seeking candidates with expertise in the use of biomarkers and isotopic information in modern or paleo-environments. Essential qualifications are a Ph.D. in chemistry, chemical oceanography/limnology or a closely related field from a regionally accredited university, post-doctoral research experience, teaching experience, the potential to develop an independent research program, and good written communication skills.

For a complete position description and required online application, visit https://employment.umn.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=107182. Complete applications will be reviewed starting November 28, 2012 and will be accepted until the position is filled.

2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

UMD graduate Brian Kobilka won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Wednesday, along with another U.S. scientist, for studies about how cells in our body sense their environments. These studies are key for developing better drugs.

Kobilka will share the prize with fellow American Robert Lefkowitz. Kobilka graduated summa cum laude from UMD in 1977 with bachelor of science degrees in biology and chemistry.

Kobilka obtained his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine in 1981, trained in internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis (1981-1984) and served as a research fellow (1984-1989) and assistant professor (1988-1989) at the Duke University School of Medicine. In 1989 Kobilka joined the faculty of the Stanford University School of Medicine where currently he is professor of medicine, and molecular and cellular physiology. He was inducted into the UMD Academy of Science and Engineering in 2005.

Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in Maryland who shares the prize, is also a professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Brian Kobilka was inducted into the UMD Academy of Science and Engineering Award in 2005.

The First Chemical Inquiry Workshop for Minnesota High School Chemistry Teachers

UMD Chemistry & Biochemistry faculty (Brian Gute, Romesh Lakhan, and Anne Hinderliter) and Erin Sheets (Pharmacy) have organized the First Chemical Inquiry Workshop for Minnesota High School Chemistry Teachers that was held here at UMD on July 9-11, 2012.  The objective of this workshop was to develop laboratory experiments, demos, and to discuss new ideas to engage students as active learners with critical thinking skills for success in chemistry and other courses.  Eight high school teachers from Duluth, Cloquet, Rochester and South St. Paul have participated in the workshop.  Funding was provided by the Chancellor's Strategic Initiative Grant, the Swenson College of Science and Engineering and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Dr. Anne Hinderliter gave an invited talk at the FASEB-2012

Dr. Anne Hinderliter, UMD Chemistry and Biochemistry, was an invited speaker at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) 2012 meeting (Snowmass Village, Colorado).  Her talk was entitled, “Weak Protein-Membrane Interactions in Cooperative Response.”  Samantha R. Jaworski, Michael E. Fealey, Anne Rice and Jesse Murphy (Hinderliter’s students) also gave poster presentations on their research during the FASEB meeting.

Uncharted Waters

Dr. Jay Austin (UMD physics and LLO) and Dr. Elizabeth Minor (UMD Chem and Biochem and LLO) were among those featured in a front-page article in the Duluth News Tribune and on Minnesota Public Radio for their work on Lake Superior. Dr. Austin and Dr. Minor had the chance to share their work (funded by the National Science Foundation) with U of M President Kaler, UMD Chancellor Black, state legislators, and other dignitaries. These UMD researchers are deploying a new profiling moorings in the lake; for the first time in a large-lake system. The profiling moorings will allow sensors to move up and down the water column for studies on the lake physics, biology, and chemistry. These new equipment will enable our scientists to conduct year-around studies (including the Minnesota winter), which was previously impossible to do using boat-based measurements. The article also featured timely work of Dr. Minor on the response of Lake Superior to the June 2012 flood that devastated the Duluth region.

Curriculum Development Activities

• Brian Gute received several grants to improve the general chemistry laboratory program. These projects include revising the general chemistry laboratory manual, converting it to an electronic format, developing demonstration kits for faculty, and creating tutorial videos on laboratory techniques.

• Erika Bladholm is working on incorporating more biologically relevant experiments into the BMB major’s physical chemistry laboratory including an experiment focusing on the diffusion controlled kinetics of a metabolic enzyme. In addition, she is working with Anne Hinderliter to develop the new physical biochemistry laboratory.=

• Several faculty members in the department are members of the Integrated Biosciences graduate program. Anne Hinderliter and Ahmed Heikal were particularly instrumental in developing a new M.S. and Ph.D. emphasis in Chemical Biology. Students will be admitted to this new program this fall.

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