Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry programs at UMass Dartmouth provide students with the theoretical and practical expertise necessary for success in a wide variety of careers. Chemists and biochemists pursue a broad spectrum of rewarding professional careers ranging from pharmaceutical research scientists to production supervisors in the chemical industry to physicians and patent attorneys. Class sizes, especially at the junior and senior levels, are usually small, affording the student ample opportunities for interaction with the faculty. Students benefit from individualized attention and instruction usually encountered only in a small-college setting. The department is professionally accredited by the American Chemical Society.

Teaching and research facilities are equipped with modern instrumentation, including a state-of-the-art 400 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer and x-ray diffractometer funded by NSF major research instrumentation grants, a UPLC-QToF-MS system and an impressive range of atomic absorption, biosensors, calorimeters, chromatographs, FTIR, electrophoresis systems, DNA sequencer, mass spectrometers, UV-visible spectrophotometers and spectrofluorometers.

The department maintains a computer-learning classroom as well as a variety of computers and accessories, including PC and Mac computer workstations and printers. Students have access to the full range of campus computing services.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UMass Dartmouth also offers graduate programs leading to the Ph.D. in Chemistry or the M.S. in Chemistry, as well as a 4 + 1 B.S./M.S. option. The department actively participates in the Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology with faculty serving as research advisors for students in that program.

Teacher Preparation Program Option:

Enrollment in the 4+1 (BA/BS-MAT) Teacher Preparation program allows undergraduate students to explore teaching as a profession through completion of graduate-level education coursework and field experiences within local public school settings. Students pursing teacher preparation at UMass Dartmouth graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in their chosen major, a Master’s degree in Teaching, and a Sheltered English Immersion endorsement. In order to develop a plan towards a license to teach, students should indicate their interest to both their chemistry major advisor and the Coordinator of Teacher Preparation Programs. Students may enroll in the 4+1 program once they have earned 30 credits with a 3.0 GPA or above.

Premedical

Both chemistry and biochemistry options satisfy the mathematics, physics, and chemistry requirements for admission to medical, osteopathic, optometric, podiatric, dental or veterinary school. The biochemistry degree option also satisfies biology requirements, by including 11 credits of biology courses such as BIO 234 (Cell Biology), Biology 236 (Cells and Genetics Lab), BIO 235 (Genetics) and one appropriate advanced BIO elective chosen in consultation with the faculty advisor. All premedical students must have their degree programs approved by the Premedical Faculty Advisor to make sure that they will satisfy the prequisites of the professional schools to which they plan to apply.

Environmental Chemistry

For students interested in marine chemistry, geochemistry, toxicology, environmental monitoring and analysis, environmental law, or other areas of environmental science, the department allows for a more interdisciplinary course of study with electives chosen from other departments such as biology, physics, environmental engineering, economics or political science.

The Chemistry option is modified as follows: CHM 552 (Instrumental Methods of Analysis) is substituted for CHM 318 and 319. CHM 431, CHM 433, and either CHM 416 or 424 can be waived. In place of the two advanced science electives, at least five courses chosen from an approved list of environmental electives are required. (One of these can count toward the university social science requirement.) Contact the department’s environmental chemistry advisor for full details.

Faculty and Fields of Interest

Robert E Berry (Lecturer) nuclear magnetic resonance, protein structure, biochemistry

Brian Blanchette (Lecturer) analytical chemistry and biochemistry

Donald W Boerth (Chancellor Professor Emeritus) physical organic chemistry, theoretical chemistry, theoretical studies of acidity and isotope exchange in nucleic acid components, computer graphics in chemistry

Shuowei Cai (Professor) bioanalytical and biophysical chemistry, protein chemistry, drug formulation, pharmaceutical biotechnology

Patrick J Cappillino (Assistant Professor) inorganic chemistry, inorganic materials and nanomaterials synthesis, energy storage and production of carbon-neutral, renewable alternatives to petroleum-derived energy.

Wei-Shun Chang (Assistant Professor) physical chemistry, nanomaterials, single-particle spectromicroscopy, catalysis, biosensing

Maolin Guo (Professor) biochemistry and molecular biology, protein engineering, structural biology, bioinorganic chemistry, metals in biology and medicine

Xiaofei Jia (Assistant Professor) biochemistry, structural biology, HIV-1 viral-host interactions

Jamie S. Lawton (Lecturer) physical chemistry

Anne M Liberty (Lecturer) general chemistry, biochemistry and cancer biology

David R Manke (Associate Professor and Chairperson) inorganic chemistry, synthesis of solid materials for separations and discreet transition metal complexes for small molecule activation

Maricris Mayes (Assistant Professor) theoretical and computational chemistry and materials/nanoscience, quantum chemistry, reaction dynamics and mechanisms, ab initio molecular dynamics, high-performance computing

Charlene W Mello (Adjunct Faculty) antimicrobial peptides, protein chemistry, biomolecular recognition, naturally derived structural materials, interfacing of biological materials with inorganic materials, biochemical sensors

Catherine C Neto (Professor) phytochemicals with anti-cancer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activity from cranberries and other plant sources; bioactivity, purification, and analysis of natural products; factors influencing production of secondary metabolites including functional food factors

Olusegun Bamidele Olubanwo (Lecturer) synthetic organic chemistry

Christine Piva (Lecturer) pharmaceutical sciences, natural products

Sivappa Rasapalli (Associate Professor) synthesis of natural products, heterocyclic chemistry, green chemistry, development of novel synthetic methodologies, catalysis (enzymatic, organo and organometallic), development of novel biomaterials for bioengineering and for drug delivery

Melissa A Silvia (Lecturer) general chemistry, biochemistry

Timothy C K Su (Chancellor Professor Emeritus) physical chemistry, gas phase ion-molecule interactions, mass spectrometry, chemistry of the atmosphere

Yibin Wei (Lecturer) bio-organic chemistry