距石溪仅15英里的布鲁克海文国家实验室的国家同步加速器光源为化学前沿研究提供了独特的机会。同步加速器和相关设备是无与伦比的高强度X射线和真空紫外线辐射源。当前研究的一个领域是使用软X射线，能量为100至1000 eV的光子来研究分子中核心电子的激发和弛豫。因为核心电子（例如碳的1s电子）与各个原子紧密结合，所以激发能基本上位于分子中的特定原子上。这种定位具有产生光化学作用的潜力，该光化学具有比用可见光和紫外光激发价电子来实现的更大的原子位点特异性。文理学院内的化学系提供学习课程，这些课程可授予化学教学硕士
The Department of Chemistry, within the College of Arts and Sciences, offers courses of study leading to the degrees of Master of Arts in Teaching Chemistry, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy. Students in the M.A.T. program must register through the School of Professional Development. A student in the Ph.D. program may choose dissertation research in any one of the diverse areas of chemistry represented by the interests of the program faculty, or may choose an interdisciplinary topic under the guidance of a faculty member in another program. Coordinated activities exist with several programs, and include optional concentrations in chemical physics and chemical biology. <br><br>The National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory, located only 15 miles from Stony Brook, provides unique opportunities for frontier research in chemistry. The synchrotron and associated devices are unequaled sources of high-intensity X-ray and vacuum ultraviolet radiation. One area of current research uses soft X-rays, photons with energies of 100 to 1000 eV, to investigate the excitation and relaxation of core electrons in molecules. Because core electrons, e.g., the 1s electrons of carbon, are tightly bound to individual atoms, the excitation energy is essentially localized on a particular atom in the molecule. This localization has the potential for producing photochemistry with far greater atomic site specificity than can be achieved by excitation of valence electronics with visible and ultraviolet light.