化学是一门与物质的组成，结构，性质和反应性有关的科学。新的有机和无机化合物和材料的合成对于化学至关重要，并辅之以开发鉴定和表征这些物质所需的分析方法和仪器的努力。反应速率，热力学和分子结构的研究有助于更深入地了解化学转化，为优化已知反应和发现新反应提供基础。化学家的工作不仅限于实验室实验。计算方法越来越成为了解分子结构和反应性，设计新材料和发现新药物的重要工具。化学提供的分子水平的理解在跨学科研究中解决生物学，医学，能量捕获和存储，先进材料和环境科学中的复杂问题起着重要作用。化学家在教育，政府和各种行业中
While students have the opportunity to do research in the traditional areas of biochemistry, analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistries, they also have access to pursue interdisciplinary research that spans several of these sub-disciplines or goes beyond them. These interdisciplinary research topics encompass areas in medical, computer, and environmental science and allow students to interact with groups from diverse scientific areas in collaborations designed to solve complex, multi-faceted problems.Research programs are consistently funded by national agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Energy.