Welcome to the Department of Chemistry at Skidmore
Chemistry is at the heart of modern scientific and technical inquiry — from the composition of distant stars, to geochemical transformations taking place deep within our own planet, to modern pharmaceuticals and high-performance materials, to our own bodies. Not surprisingly, chemistry is often dubbed the "central science," given it is key to advances in fields as diverse as geology, neuroscience, molecular biology, and materials science. The Chemistry program at Skidmore College is certified by the American Chemical Society (ACS). Students can major in Chemistry or Chemistry with a biochemistry concentration, and earn an ACS certified degree.
In recent years, 40% of our students have gone on to graduate programs in chemistry, biochemistry, and related fields including at Harvard University, Yale University, the University of California-San Francisco, University of Michigan, and Johns Hopkins University to name a few. In addition, 30% of our students have enrolled in graduate programs in the health professions including at Boston University, Massachusetts General Hospital, SUNY Downstate, Albert Einstein, Tulane University, Howard University, Stony Brook University, and New York Institute of Technology. The other 30% have found employment in industry, research laboratories, education, and non-profits such as Albany Molecular, eBioscience, Pfizer, Merck, Concentric, Clean Membranes, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Lincoln Laboratories-MIT, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, NYU, Mount Sinai, and the New York Hall of Science.
Our 13 faculty members support them in all these paths and you can read more about them and our program here.
department news
Congratulations to the Chemistry and Biochemistry Class of 2023!
The department celebrated eighteen graduating seniors and their accomplishments on May 16th with a social event and refreshments in the BTCIS Glotzbach Atrium.
The following students earned chemistry awards this year:
- The Charlotte W. Fahey Prize: Abigail Monahan, Kenyon Weis
- The American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award in Physical Chemistry: Aida Castelblanco
- The American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award in Inorganic Chemistry: Samantha Claussen
- The American Chemical Society Undergraduate Award in Organic Chemistry: Kenyon Weis
- The Periclean Scholar Award: Kenyon Weis
The following students earned American Chemical Society certified degrees this year:
- Rebecca Banner, Anthony Mirkovic, Kenyon Weis, Raymond East
Annual End-of-Semester Research Poster Presentations
The Chemistry Department held its annual fall research poster session in the atrium of the new East Wing of the CIS building on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. Sixteen junior and senior students presented the results of their 300-level chemistry research from the fall semester, and Natasha Wozniak ’25 was presented with the General Chemistry Award for the F’21/S’22 academic year. Students, faculty, and staff also kicked off the holiday season with hors d’oeuvres, spiced apple cider, and desserts prepared by the faculty.
Presenting Computational Chemistry Research at a National Conference
Lab members participating in summer research in Lia Ball’s Computational Biophysics Lab (Elizabeth Miller, Ray East, Frida Anguiano, Oluebube Onwuzulu, Adriana Cuibus, and Lizbeth Mendoza) presented at the Mercury Conference held at Furman University in South Carolina.
