Chemistry
The chemistry curriculum at Saint Michael's College combines small class sizes, excellent faculty and personal attention with the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience with laboratory instrumentation early in your college career.
Our program is certified by the American Chemical Society – a designation that is important to both graduate schools and employers.
A bachelor's degree in chemistry prepares you for employment in government and industrial laboratories or for further study in graduate or professional schools. By choosing appropriate electives, a major in chemistry can lead to a career in medicine, dentistry, allied health sciences, law or the business world.
For many years, chemistry majors have enjoyed a 100% acceptance rate to professional and graduate schools. Recently, our alumni have attended such schools as Johns Hopkins University, Dartmouth, University of Virginia and Georgetown University.
| Fall |
General Chemistry I and lab
Calculus I |
Organic Chemistry II and lab
Physics I and lab |
Biochemistry I and lab
Physical Chemistry I and lab |
Senior seminar (counts as half of a course)
Chemical Instrumentation and lab |
| Spring |
Organic Chemistry I and lab
Calculus II |
General Chemistry II and lab
Integrated Chemical Analysis and lab
Physics II and lab |
Physical Chemistry II and lab
Inorganic Chemistry and lab |
Senior seminar (counts as half of a course) |
Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University, 2002 chemistry with a focus on biophysical chemistry
B.S., SUNY College at Plattsburgh, 1996 chemistry and environmental chemistry
Postdoctoral associate, University of Vermont, 2002-2005 structure and function of catalytically-active RNA molecules
TAAP program for alternative licensure in teaching, 2008 middle-level science endorsement
Areas of Expertise:
Protein structure and stability, biophysical chemistry, computational protein design, applications of molecular biology in a protein lab, ribozyme folding and function, environmental chemistry, chemistry education in middle grades, chemistry education for non-science majors
Courses I Teach:
- General Chemistry I and II
- General Chemistry I and II labs
- Liberal Arts Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry II lab
- Physical Chemistry I
- Physical Chemistry I lab
Ph.D. Dartmouth College
B.A. Willamette University
View my Curriculum Vitae
Areas of Expertise:
Experimental Physical Chemistry; Photo-Induced Electron Transfer Reactions; Molecular Spectroscopy; Physical Chemistry Pedagogy
Courses I Teach:
- Chemistry Senior Seminar
- Concepts in Chemistry
- General Chemistry I and II
- Physical Chemistry I, II, and III
Ph.D. University of Wisconsin
B.S. Saint Michael's College
Areas of Expertise:
Using Organic synthesis to develop new tools for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of proteins and metabolites
Courses I Teach:
- Chemistry Senior Seminar
- Organic Chemistry
- General Chemistry
M.S. University of Vermont
B.A. State University of New York at Plattsburgh
Areas of Expertise:
General chemistry education and biochemistry, specifically in the use of photo-induced electron transfer to elucidate the relationships between protein structure and function.
Courses I Teach:
- General Chemistry I and II
- General Chemistry Labs
- Organic Chemistry Labs
B.A. Western Connecticut State University
M.A. Wayne State University
View my Curriculum Vitae
Areas of Expertise:
Responsibilities include lab preparations for all chemistry laboratory courses offered by the department; development of new laboratories in the introductory courses; laboratory refinements in all courses; supervision of student employees (lab preparators, labware technicians and teaching assistants); management of the chemical stockroom; chemical procurement, inventory and budget; and liaison with the Environmental Health and Safety officer.
Courses I Teach:
• General Chemistry I & II Laboratory
• Organic Chemistry I Laboratory
Ph.D. University of North Texas
B.A. Austin College
Areas of Expertise:
Inorganic Chemistry
Courses I Teach:
- General Lab
- Organic Lab
- Inorganic Chemistry
Ph.D. University of Minnesota
B.A. Russell Sage College
View my Curriculum Vitae
Areas of Expertise:
Bio-organic chemistry, more specifically the development of protecting groups for cysteine and selenocysteine for application in the laboratory synthesis of peptides and proteins
Courses I Teach:
- Biochemistry I and II
- Chemistry Senior Seminar
- Organic Chemistry labs
The Chemistry Department at Saint Michael's College strongly encourages students to pursue research opportunities based upon their interests and career goals. There are numerous opportunities to conduct research in all areas of chemistry, either with Saint Michael’s faculty members or off campus at national laboratories and at institutions throughout the country.
In fact, most chemistry majors graduate having spent one or more summers conducting research. They also have opportunities to present their research results at local and national meetings.
An excellent site for finding research opportunities for students can be found at the National Science Foundation.
Current and prospective students in the natural sciences, math and engineering can find other research opportunities at the Web Guide to Research for Undergraduates.
Chemistry and biochemistry faculty members encourage interested students to e-mail or call them directly to speak about possible opportunities that exist in the department.
After graduation, our majors go on to careers like:
- Adhesive Chemist
- Animal Nutritionist
- Agricultural Chemist
- Atmospheric Chemist
- Biotechnology Researcher
- Business Development Director
- Ceramics Engineer
- Chemical Consulting
- Chemical Educator
- Chemical Facilities Manager (Local, Global, Military)
- Chemical Information Specialist-Software (Private, Public)
- Chemical Safety Consultant (Academic, Military, Health)
- Chemical Sales
- Chemistry Professor
- Clinical Research
- Consumer Safety Officer
- Entrepreneur
- Environmental Protection Agency (air, water, waste)
- Environmental Chemist
- Food Safety Evaluator (USDA, Private)
- Food Chemist
- Forensic Pharmaceutical Analysis (Private, FDA)
- Forensic Chemist
- Fragrance Chemist
- Geochemist
- Glass Chemist (Auto, Consumer, Safety)
- High School Teacher
- Human Resources Director
- Marketing and Communications Consultant
- Materials Chemist (NASA, Private, Military)
- Medical Doctor
- Medical Equipment Developer
- Medicinal Chemist (FDA, Private)
- Metals Manufacturing (Mining, Processing, Alloys)
- Nanotechnology
- National Institutes of Health Researcher
- Vitamin and Supplement Chemist
- Petroleum Chemist (Oil Industry, Auto)
- Paint Specialist
- Patent Agent (Private, Academic)
- Patent Attorney (Private, Government)
- Pharmaceutical Chemist (Develop Drug Molecules)
- Plant Engineering
- Polymer Chemist (Plastics, Fibers)
- Pulp and Paper Chemist
- Rubber Chemist (Recycling, Auto, Synthetic)
- Surface Chemist (Computer Chips, Drug Development)
- Textile Chemist
- U.S. Department of Energy (Solve the Energy Crisis)
- Waste Management (Chemical and Hazardous Waste)
- Water Treatment Chemist (Municipal, Private, Federal)
Graduate Study
For many years SMC chemistry majors have enjoyed a 100% acceptance rate to professional and graduate schools. Forty-two percent of our chemistry and biochemistry graduates immediately attend graduate science or medical schools.
The graduate schools they have attended recently include Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, University of Massachusetts, University of Washington State, Dartmouth, University of Vermont, University of Rochester, University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin, Notre Dame, MIT, and the University of Virginia.
To contact the Department of Chemistry:
Department of Chemistry
Saint Michael's College
One Winooski Park, Box 277
Colchester, VT 05439
Fax: 802.654.2236