Welcome to the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Samford University!
Why study chemistry or biochemistry? Chemists and biochemists like to refer to our discipline as the "central science." This expresses our view that chemistry and biochemistry overlap with almost every other branch of science. The knowledge and skills that a student of chemistry or biochemistry develops can be applied to problems from the subatomic scale to those found in the farthest reaches of the universe. The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Samford University is small enough to provide personal attention and yet large enough to provide the breadth of experience needed to qualify our graduates for positions in industry, graduate school, or professional school.
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Samford offers majors in both chemistry and biochemistry, with coursework in the five traditional subject areas of chemistry: analytical chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry. In place of the traditional laboratory sections associated with these subject areas at the junior and senior level, a series of "unified" laboratory courses is currently being employed. These unifed labs are more project-oriented and, in an interdisciplinary fashion, incorporate concepts and skills derived from the upper-level courses in these five subject areas. The goal of this laboratory course sequence is to enhance our students' abilities to integrate ideas found in the five subject areas listed above, while increasing their exposure to practical, hands-on laboratory work in those areas.
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Samford University is also committed to extending the educational experience of our undergraduates through opportunities to participate directly in high quality, publishable research through increased interactions with research-active faculty. Such opportunities are offered either through our research course (CHEM 440) or through our summer research program. Students in our summer program are paid stipends for their participation in a 10-week, full-time research experience.
Thanks again for stopping by our website to visit! Please feel free to take a look around to familiarize yourself with the department and to use some of the resources and links that are available.
Dr. Morgan S. Ponder
Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Molecule of the Month
Endo-10-Methyl-pentacyclo[4.4.0.02,5.03,9.04,8]decan-7-one
Instructions for Using Jmol (www.jmol.org)
To activate the viewing area: Place the mouse cursor over the viewing
area and left click
To rotate the molecule: Hold down the left click button on the mouse
and drag around the viewing area
To zoom in and out: Hold the Shift key down while you left click
and drag the mouse around the viewing area, or use your mouse's scroll button
To change the rendering settings: Right click the mouse, and a menu
listing options for changing the molecular rendering settings appears
CONTACT INFO:
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Samford University
800 Lakeshore Drive
Birmingham, AL
35229-2236
Departmental Office: SCI 337
Phone: (205) 726-4255
Fax: (205) 726-2479
