from the head of school

Welcome to the School of Chemistry. We hope this site contains all the information you might need whether you are a thinking of studying here or are interested in finding out about the various research activities that the School is involved in.

The School is one of the largest Chemistry Schools in Australia. It is also the oldest, with the establishment of the Chair of Chemistry and Experimental Physics in 1851. Today, its undergraduate enrolments (Years 1 to 3) average 2,500 each semester, while there are over 40 students enrolled in the Honours program and over 100 postgraduate students studying for either Masters or PhD degrees, including a large cohort of International students.

We currently have 36 academic staff, six Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science, a Federation Fellow, a Future Fellow and over 60 research fellows/postdoctoral staff. Over 40 administrative, technical and professional staff help support the running of the School.There are 36 research groups working in the following main areas of chemistry:

• Computational and Theoretical Chemistry

• Chemical Education

• Molecular Design and Synthesis

• Materials Chemistry

• Green Chemistry and Renewable Energy

• Molecular Spectroscopy and Photonics

• Drug Discovery and Medicinal Chemistry

• Supramolecular Chemistry

• Biological Chemistry/Chemical Biology

• Soft Matter

• Neutron and Synchrotron Diffraction and Spectroscopy

The School is well-equipped with modern research instrumentation including a large number of major research facilities.

In 2011, members of the School received over $7M in new research funding, leading to a total of 33 Discovery Grants, 8 Fellowships and 5 Linkage Grants from the Australian Research Council, totalling (with other grants) $11.9M in competitive research funding. The School produced 1 book, 4 book chapters, 272 research papers and 37 refereed conference papers. Our research continues to receive national and international recognition including the Selby Research Award to Dr Chris McErlean; the Rennie Memorial Medal to Dr Richard Payne; the NSW Young Tall Poppy Award to Dr Deanna D'Alessandro; Professors Trevor Hambley and Thomas Maschmeyer were both elected as Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science; the colloid science legacy of retired Associate Professor Robert J. Hunter, AM FAA. was honoured by the RACI; and our students received various awards at national and international conferences.

Professor Gregory G Warr
Head of School