Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Chemistry

Department Faculty

Walter J. Bowyer, Professor
Matthew Church, Assistant Professor
Christine R. de Denus, Associate Professor, Chair
Justin S. Miller, Professor
Erin T. Pelkey, Professor
David J. Slade, Laboratory Instructor
Kristin M. Slade, Professor

The chemistry major consists of a core set of foundational courses exposing students to four main subdisciplines: organic, analytical, inorganic, and physical. The curriculum then provides students the flexibility to further engage the subdisciplines that they find most stimulating through upper-level electives and independent studies. To enhance real-world application beyond the classroom and hands-on teaching labs, students have the opportunity to conduct research with faculty, publish peer-reviewed articles, and attend regional or national conferences to present their work and engage with the bigger scientific community. This major is approved by the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Chemistry students earn a degree that has prepared them for immediate employment as a chemist or for admission to a graduate/professional school. Careers recently pursued by graduates include biotechnology, cosmetics, forensics, teaching, drug development, environmental and geoscience, agriculture, materials, quality control, and instrumentation.

The Chemistry Department currently offers majors at the B.A. and B.S. degree levels, and a minor. The B.A. includes required courses in general, organic, inorganic, analytical, and physical chemistry, senior seminar, and one additional chemistry elective, along with cognates in math and physics. The B.S. includes the same core as the B.A., as well as two additional chemistry electives, and an additional natural science course. The more rigorous ACS B.S. contains a set of courses determined by the ACS. To be credited toward the minor or major, all departmental and cognate courses must be completed with a grade of C- or better. Credit/no credit options cannot be used for departmental or cognate courses. The chemistry department places a strong emphasis on faculty-student research and encourages all students to discuss the possibility of doing research with a professor. Opportunities to do so arise from paid summer internships or independent study and Honors projects.

For students who are planning graduate work in chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry, or for those pursuing a career as a practicing industrial chemist, the B.S. or ACS-certified B.S. major in chemistry is highly recommended. Students interested in this program should plan their programs with the department chair as early as possible. Students who are planning to enter medical, veterinary, or dental schools are advised to take the following courses in chemistry: 110 and 120 (or 190); 130; 240, 241, and 348.

Mission Statement

The chemistry major provides students with a strong foundation in modern chemistry techniques so that they can go on to make scientifically informed contributions in a diverse assortment of fields and live lives of consequence. Students engage in small classes to optimize close student-faculty interaction and support quality teaching from dedicated faculty with wide ranging expertise. Our majors gain foundational knowledge, quantitative skills, analytical reasoning, and laboratory skills that are transferrable to a wide variety of careers. Students are trained to understand the physical and living world at the molecular level and leave HWS equipped with the skills necessary to apply this knowledge.

Offerings

Chemistry Major (B.A.)

disciplinary, 13 courses (12 courses if CHEM 190 is taken instead of 110 and 120)
Learning Objectives:

• Communicate effectively, both orally and in written form, the results, conclusions, and relevance of scientific experiments to a specific audience.
• Understand disciplinary material and have familiarity with the subdisciplines: inorganic, organic, analytical, and physical chemistry.
• Apply fundamental content knowledge and core chemical principles to solve unfamiliar problems and applications.
• Design and perform experiments safely, collect data, and analyze those data to answer chemical questions.
• Collaborate with a diverse team of students and faculty to answer scientific questions.

Requirements:
CHEM 110 and 120 (or 190), 130, 210, 240, 241, 318, 320, 470; one additional 300- or 400-level chemistry course, which may include CHEM 450, 490, or 495; MATH 130 Calculus I and MATH 131 Calculus II; and PHYS 150 Introductory Physics I. At least 6 courses must be unique to the major. All courses for the major must be completed with a grade of C- or better.

Chemistry Major (B.S.)

disciplinary, 15 courses (14 courses if CHEM 190 is taken instead of 110 and 120)
Learning Objectives:

• Communicate effectively, both orally and in written form, the results, conclusions, and relevance of scientific experiments to a specific audience.
• Understand disciplinary material and have familiarity with the subdisciplines: inorganic, organic, analytical, and physical chemistry.
• Apply fundamental content knowledge and core chemical principles to solve unfamiliar problems and applications.
• Design and perform experiments safely, collect data, and analyze those data to answer chemical questions.
• Collaborate with a diverse team of students and faculty to answer scientific questions.

Requirements:
CHEM 110 and 120 (or 190), 130, 210, 240, 241, 318, 320, 470; two additional chemistry courses, one must be 400-level which is not CHEM 450, 490 nor 495; Only one semester of research (Chem 450, 495/496) may be counted toward the major. MATH 130 Calculus I and MATH 131 Calculus II; and PHYS 150 Introductory Physics I; one additional natural science course. At least 6 courses must be unique to the major. All courses for the major must be completed with a grade of C- or better.

Chemistry Major (ACS B.S.)

disciplinary, 19 courses (18 courses if CHEM 190 is taken instead of 110 and 120)
Learning Objectives:

• Communicate effectively, both orally and in written form, the results, conclusions, and relevance of scientific experiments to a specific audience.
• Understand disciplinary material and have familiarity with the subdisciplines: inorganic, organic, analytical, and physical chemistry.
• Apply fundamental content knowledge and core chemical principles to solve unfamiliar problems and applications.
• Design and perform experiments safely, collect data, and analyze those data to answer chemical questions.
• Collaborate with a diverse team of students and faculty to answer scientific questions.

Requirements:
CHEM 110 and 120 (or 190), 130, 210, 240, 241, 318, 320, 348, 437, 470; three additional chemistry courses, two of which must be from 422, 445, or 436, chemical research (may be CHEM 450, 490, 495 or summer research); MATH 130 Calculus I and MATH 131 Calculus II; PHYS 150 Introductory Physics I and PHYS 160 Introductory Physics II. At least 6 courses must be unique to the major. All courses for the major must be completed with a grade of C- or better.

Chemistry Minor

disciplinary, 7 courses (6 courses if CHEM 190 is taken instead of 110 and 120)
Requirements:
CHEM 110 and 120 (or 190) and 130, 240; either CHEM 210 or CHEM 241; either CHEM 318 or CHEM 320, one additional chemistry course from the 300- or 400-level, which may include CHEM 450, 490, or 495. At least 3 courses must be unique to the minor. All courses for the minor must be completed with a grade of C- or better.

Course Descriptions

CHEM 101 That's Cool! Chemistry is Everywhere  This course provides a platform for students to help them understand and appreciate the underlying science that surrounds them every day. Topics will include nomenclature, understanding and using chemical equations, chemical bonding, atomic and molecular interactions. The course will also answer questions such as "Why do snowflakes always have six points?" More extensive topics may include environmental chemistry, atomic and nuclear chemistry, simple thermodynamics, the structure and function of macromolecules (such as nucleic acids and proteins), forensic chemistry, food chemistry, and the chemistry of fossil fuels and biofuels. These topics will be chosen in part based on the expertise of the instructor and on relevant and timely issues. The course will also allow students to develop qualitative and quantitative problem-solving skills. Two or three lectures a week, one of which will include a hands-on component in which students will conduct experiments in order to explore the scientific process. This course is not open to students who have taken or intend to take CHEM 110, or who must do so for their intended or declared major. (Offered Annually)

CHEM 110 Introductory General Chemistry  This course presents a survey of chemical concepts in the context of understanding technology that impacts our lives. Fundamental chemistry is illustrated by applications to air pollution (including global warming and ozone depletion), water pollution, energy production, nutrition, and drug design. Three lectures per week. This course prepares students for CHEM 120 and CHEM 240. No prerequisites. (Fall, offered annually)

CHEM 120 Intermediate General Chemistry  A close look at qualitative and quantitative aspects of chemical reactivity. Questions concerning whether a reaction will occur and at what rate are explored. Does the reaction require heat or liberate heat? To what extent will the reaction proceed? Laboratory exercises illustrate these quantitative principles with various types of reactions. Three lectures per week. Prerequisite: CHEM 110. (Spring, offered annually)

CHEM 130 Comprehensive General Chemistry l and II Laboratory  In this course, students will learn how to operate safely in a lab while developing their "hand skills": the ability to weigh precisely, deliver volumes of liquids precisely, prepare solutions of reagents, and analyze the content of solutions. Through hypothesis-driven work, students will answer questions such as: how to create a calibration curve and correctly interpret how to utilize the curve; when to prepare and how to perform a titration; how to correctly synthesize materials; other forms of analysis may be included as well. Through the combination of lab (3 hours) and a separate discussion section (1 hour), students will receive assistance with the theoretical underpinning of the experiments and learn how to effectively communicate in technical writing. Topics covered in the course will include both qualitative and quantitative aspects of chemical reactivity. Questions addressed will include things such as: whether a reaction will occur, at what rate the reaction occurs, and whether the reaction generates or requires heat. This course is meant to be taken after successful completion of CHEM 110 or CHEM 190. Students are highly recommended to take CHEM 120 simultaneous to this course. (Offered annually)

CHEM 190 Accelerated General Chemistry  This course is designed for first year students with a strong high school background in chemistry. The course will begin with a brief review of the material covered in high school chemistry and then move on to more advanced topics. Questions such as (1) whether a reaction will occur and at what rate, (2) does a reaction require heat or liberate heat? (3) To what extend will a reaction proceed? and (4) How fast does a reaction proceed? will be explored. Prerequisite: Foundational knowledge of high school chemistry and a satisfactory score on the HWS chemistry placement exam. (Fall, offered annually)

CHEM 198 Miracle Drugs in the Time of Pandemics  When global public health is "normal", a search for a new miracle drug requires medicinal chemists to make hundreds or thousands of new molecules that might treat some disease while avoiding nasty side effects... but the timeline for success is on the order of a decade or more. What can drug companies do to speed up the process amid a brand-new viral pandemic? We do have several drug cocktails for HIV/AIDS, but AIDS remains a notable outlier of a success story - we have very few small molecule treatments for infectious viral diseases. Instead, most efforts against viral diseases rely on preventing infection, with vaccines being the primary tool in the fight. This course will answer questions like: Why was there so much interest in testing old, well established drugs like Hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Remdesivir, and Dexamethasone against COVID-19? How do we know whether a drug is doing anything useful at all? What are the various vaccine platforms and how do they differ? Famously, the Moderna vaccine was designed within 2 days of the viral sequence being published. Why, then, does data collection and analysis for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) require an additional 11 months or more? What are monoclonal antibodies, and how do they work? There's a very old idea that's worth exploring: can we treat patients with the blood of patients who have already recovered? The backdrop of a pandemic serves to illustrate the pitfalls, challenges, and interesting questions of drug discovery, and the interactions of molecules and viruses with our immune systems. This course is intended to improve scientific literacy while developing analytical skills. No prerequisites. (Offered occasionally during Maymester of Summer)

CHEM 210 Quantitative Analysis  The first part of the course investigates aqueous and nonaqueous solution equilibria including theory and application of acid-base, complexation, oxidation-reduction reactions, and potentiometric methods of analysis. The second part of the course includes an introduction to spectroscopy, analytical separations, and the application of statistics to the evaluation of analytical data. Laboratory work emphasizes proper quantitative technique. Prerequisite: CHEM 120 or CHEM 190, and CHEM 130.(Bowyer, Slade, offered annually)

CHEM 240 Organic Chemistry I  This course is an introduction to the study of organic molecules, and includes structure, mechanism, reactions, synthesis, and practical methods for structure determination. The laboratory emphasizes learning modern techniques and the identification of compounds using spectroscopic methods. Prerequisite: CHEM 110 or 190. (Pelkey, Miller, Fall, offered annually)

CHEM 260 Environmental Chemistry  This courses explores all aspects of the chemistry of the environment, but emphasizes human impact on the atmosphere. For example, the ozone hole, acid rain, and global climate change will be studied in detail. Aerosols, colloids, and the importance of surfaces will also be explored. Pollution in water and soil, especially when impacted by the chemistry of the atmosphere, is introduced. Throughout the course, chemical processes are explained emphasizing kinetic and equilibrium models. Prerequisite: CHEM 110 or 190. (Offered occasionally)

CHEM 241 Organic Chemistry II  This course is a continuation of CHEM 240 with an increased emphasis on mechanism and synthetic strategies. The main focus of this course is carbonyl chemistry, which is the foundation for a great many biochemical processes including protein, DNA, RNA, and carbohydrate biosynthesis and metabolism. Other topics include conjugation, aromaticity, and pericyclic reactions. The laboratory incorporates new synthetic techniques and analytical instrumentation, and includes formal reports upon the structure determination of unknown compounds. Prerequisite: CHEM 240. (Pelkey, Miller, Spring, offered annually)

CHEM 304 Bonding with Food: The Chemistry of Food Preparation, Production, and Policy  Chemistry is a fundamental component of home and restaurant food preparation, as cooking is ultimately a series of complex chemical reactions. Chemistry is also essential to the production of food, from the most basic ingredients to the most elaborate grocery store offerings. An understanding of how society produces food, and how these practices are both regulated and manipulated, can be informed by an appreciation of the chemistry that underlies these techniques. This course begins by providing a background in food-related chemistry based on the foundation laid during introductory and organic chemistry, then applies this knowledge to the understanding of food production and policy. Students will design and perform experiments using food, research and write about issues of food production and policy, and communicate their feelings to each other and to the campus community. Prerequisites: CHEM 241 or permission of instructor. (Miller, offered occasionally)

CHEM 308 The Chemistry of Art: Materials and Conversation  Our studies will begin with the fairly simple pigments of the Stone Age, work our way through the altered materials created in Egypt (esp. glass), then the Renaissance in Europe, all the way through modern art. The advanced chemistry of the materials themselves, their conservation, and especially the analytical techniques used to understand and identify materials will be the focus of the course. Chemical tools to recognize forgeries will be included. The course will be about 50% lecture. The other 50% will comprise reading primary literature, discussions, student presentations, and student projects. The course will include at least one field trip to a museum for a behind-the-scenes visit. Although the course does not have a separate laboratory component, there will be some lab activities and independent projects like making colored glass, recording spectra (IR and NMR) of materials (paper, oil paints, tempera, some pigments), chromatography of dyes, and synthesis of artificial pigments. Prerequisites: CHEM 240 (Howyer, offered occasionally)

CHEM 318 Inorganic Chemistry I  A systematic survey of the principal reactions and properties associated with various groups and periods in the periodic table. A generally qualitative approach to preparation and properties of various classes of inorganic compounds such as: acids and bases, oxidation and reduction systems, complex ions, amphoteric oxides, and ionic compounds, and the quantitative manipulations of these systems. Laboratory. Prerequisite CHEM 120 or CHEM 190, and CHEM 130. (de Denus, offered annually)

CHEM 320 Physical Chemistry I  In this course students study the ways that energy and entropy influence the structure, motion, and reactivity of matter-core chemical principles that underlie all the subdisciplines of chemistry. In Unit 1 students study chemistry through a macroscopic lens with the laws of thermodynamics and kinetics. In Unit 2 students study the structure of matter through a microscopic lens with the postulates of quantum mechanics. Students learn a variety of mathematical tools that are widely used in chemistry. Calculus in particular plays an essential role as the 'language' of the theories in physical chemistry. In the lab students gain hands-on experience with several types of techniques and instrumentation, including bomb calorimetry and various forms of spectroscopy. Dry labs include writing workshops for lab reports, practice with mathematical analysis, and modeling with computer programming. Prior programming experience is not required. (Church, Fall, offered annually)

CHEM 326 Advanced Topics in Chemistry  An in-depth study of topics of current research interest. Topics may include: Molecular Spectroscopy, Computational Chemistry, Advanced Instrumentation, Advanced Synthesis, Nanotechnology, and Surface Chemistry. (Offered occasionally)

CHEM 347 Advanced Organic Chemistry  This course offers an advanced treatment of a selected group of topics in organic chemistry which could include: asymmetric synthesis, synthetic organometallic chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, solid-phase chemistry, heterocycles, carbohydrate chemistry, pericyclic reactions/frontier molecular orbitals, advanced spectroscopy, and/or natural products total synthesis. The emphasis of the course is to further understanding of fundamental concepts in organic chemistry including mechanism, structure, and/or synthesis. Prerequisite: CHEM 241. (Pelkey, Miller, offered occasionally)

CHEM 348 Biochemistry I  The first part of this course involves the study of the structure, function, and physical properties of biological macromolecules. These include proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, with particular emphasis on the kinetics and mechanisms of enzyme catalysis. The second part of the course deals with carbohydrate metabolic pathways, principles of bioenergetics, electron transport, and oxidative phosphorylation. Laboratory. Prerequisites: CHEM 120 or CHEM 190, CHEM 241, or permission of the instructor. (K. Slade, Fall, offered annually)

CHEM 437 Instrumental Analysis  Analysis is an important part of any chemical investigation. This course examines the theory and practice of typical modern instrumental methods of analysis with emphasis on electrochemical, spectroscopic, and chromatographic techniques. Laboratory. Prerequisites: CHEM 210 and 320. (Bowyer, offered occasionally)

CHEM 445 Organic Structure Analysis  The use of instrumental methods for the structure determination of organic compounds is the focus of this course. Students will learn both the theory and application of one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and mass spectrometry (MS). This is a hands-on course where students will spend time becoming proficient running the instruments to collect data and then use a series of computer programs (Chem Office, MNova, and Excel) to analyze the data. Students will work collectively to compile their class data into a library of compounds that can be used to teach future classes. This is a workshop-based capstone course that relies heavily on the use of major instrumentation in the department. As a result, the course is limited to a maximum of eight students. Prerequisite: CHEM 241, one 300-level elective CHEM course, or permission of the instructor. (de Denus, offered every third semester)

CHEM 449 Biochemistry II  A continuation of CHEM 448, the first half of this course covers integrated intermediary metabolism of lipids, amino acids, and nucleic acids. The second half deals with chemical mechanisms of DNA replication, transcription, and translation. Special topics such as muscle contraction, mechanisms of hormone action, recombinant DNA, and neurochemistry are discussed. Laboratory. Prerequisite: CHEM 130 and CHEM 348. (K. Slade, Spring, offered annually)

CHEM 470 Chemistry Senior Seminar  This course is a capstone experience that integrates knowledge learned in previous chemistry courses and will require students to critically analyze and synthesize their knowledge. Students will explore a topic in chemistry through primary literature and review articles, as well as class discussions. The context of these discussions will enable each student to produce a Chemistry senior thesis. The thesis will be a well-referenced paper that incorporates the following elements: 1) an analysis and literature review of research to date, and 2) a detailed description of where the student believes the research area/topic should go next. (Spring, offered annually)

CHEM 495 Honors  (Offered each semester)

CHEM 499 Chemistry Internship