DEPARTMENTAL RESEARCH
Chemistry & Biochemistry Research Program
The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry strongly encourages all chemistry and biochemistry majors to participate directly in high quality, publishable research with research-active faculty. Opportunities to participate in departmental research are offered either through our research course (CHEM 440) or through our Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Independent research is a vital tool in developing critical thinking skills and is highly valued by graduate schools, professional schools, and employers. Students who have gained some research experience are therefore often better equipped to make their next professional transition.
Faculty members in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry are actively involved in research projects in fields as varied as quantum computational methods and molecular modeling, laser spectroscopy, electrochemistry, surface chemistry, mass spectrometry, organometallic chemistry, crystallography, fibroblasts, and gene sequencing and characterization. (You can find information on the various research projects by first clicking the "Faculty" link in the menu on the right-side of this webpage, then navigating between the different faculty member webpages at that link.) The faculty also support students who wish to work on projects of their own devising.
The Samford Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)
The Samford Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) is the vehicle through which many of our students gain research experience in chemistry and biochemistry. In this program, students are paid stipends for their participation in a 10-week, full-time research experience which runs over the two summer semesters. Prior to entering SURP, students are required to interview each of the research-active faculty members in the department, and to decide based on those interviews whose research interests them the most. Upon completing SURP, each student is required, in conjunction with their chosen research advisor, to present their research (either as an oral or poster presentation) at a local, regional, or national professional meeting.
Students who desire to participate in research through the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) should contact Dr. Morgan Ponder or Dr. Brian Gregory for more details.
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
