Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry and Chemical Biology - Organometallic

The program of graduate study is designed to give broad training in the fundamentals of chemistry and in methods of research. Students ordinarily pursue those objectives by taking advanced courses, participating in organized and informal seminars, and carrying out and reporting on research projects in their major subject. Students normally conduct research during the summer and receive financial support for this purpose. With the consent of the Special Committee, a student may elect one or two minors from the above list or from another field. Entering students are required to register with the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at the beginning of their first term. They consult with the Director of Graduate Studies and with their temporary Special Committee. The official course of study in the Ph.D. graduate program begins during the second week of August, one week before the official start of the Fall Semester at Cornell. All incoming Ph.D. students take a series of graduate proficiency exams in Organic, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry provided by the American Chemical Society (ACS). All Ph.D. students then meet with the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) and select professors in their area of interest for advice on course selection.

Organometallic chemistry melds the disciplines of inorganic and organic in examining the structure both conformational and electronic -- and reactivity of compounds containing metal-carbon bonds. Main group and transition metal reagents are investigated in the context of stoichiometric and catalytic transformations critical to the synthesis of fine and commodity chemicals. Laboratory training emphasizes a hands-on approach, including: 1) the synthesis and manipulation of air-sensitive compounds, 2) spectroscopic characterizations (multinuclear, 2D, and VT NMR, IR, UV-vis, epr), 3) X-ray structure determination, 4) kinetics and related mechanistic investigations, including simulations, and 5) conducting/interpreting ab initio and/or semi-empirical molecular orbital calculations.