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Department of Chemistry

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Department of Chemistry

Areas of faculty study include general, organic, medicinal, physical, analytical, and inorganic chemistry, as well as biochemistry and earth science.

Approved by the American Chemical Society, the department offers programs leading to the following degrees:


Students in the MS Program are supported by teaching assistantships or stipends from research grants. Washington, DC, is a center for scientific research, and our students have the opportunity to attend seminars and use the research facilities at area laboratories such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (formerly the National Bureau of Standards).

Students Run the Labs around Here!

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AU Chemistry undergrads not only redesign their own research projects. They reshape the courses every year.

Courses & Rotation

For upcoming class offerings, times, and open sections,
please see Eagle Service.

For all chemistry course descriptions, please see the AU Catalog.

Course Rotation

CHEM-415 Advanced Physical Chemistry (3) is usually offered alternate falls (even years).

CHEM-440 Advanced Analytical Chemistry (3) is usually offered alternate springs (even years).

CHEM-450 Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (3) is usually offered alternate springs (odd years).

CHEM-481 Experimental Chemistry I (3) is usually offered alternate falls (even years).

CHEM-482 Experimental Chemistry II (3) is usually offered alternate springs (odd years).

 

Colorful stylized visualization of the brain and brainwaves

Research ·

Professor Alexander Zestos’s Brain Sensors Headed for the Marketplace

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Chemistry of Cooking

Professor Matt Harting introduces the course on chemistry of cooking. 

 

News & Notes

Douglas Fox received two grants ($24,129 and $22,700) from Vireo Advisors, LLC., for the project "Nanocellulose Fluorescence Labeling Validation.”

Raychelle Burks is part of the leadership team for AU's new Translating Research into Action Center (TRAC). TRAC, which is funded through a $5.7M, four-year cooperative agreement from the National Science Foundation Accelerating Research Translation program, is a university-wide initiative established to strengthen our capacity to speed and scale translational research.  Raychelle Burks published "Polymorphism of Bis(benzimidazole)bis(thiocyanato-N)cobalt(II) and Its Relevance to Studies of the Chief Color Test for Cocaine" in the journal Inorganics.

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Raychelle Burks served as a technical advisor on a trio of episodes for the Hulu show Death and Other Details

Stefano Costanzi published an article in Arms Control Today titled "The Chemical Weapons Convention Is Stronger Than You Think.” 

Raychelle Burks published the research paper "Clarifying the complex chemistry of cobalt(II) thiocyanate-based tests for cocaine using single-crystal X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic techniques" in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.

Raychelle Burks received a $55,169 grant from Doane University for the project “IUSE: EHR Track 1 Engaged Student Learning, Level 2: Developing computational efficacy and skill within an inclusive community of practice in the natural sciences.”

Alexander Zestos has constructed a novel carbon electrode pH sensor that can be implanted into human tissue to measure fast pH changes in the brain.

Stefano Costanzi received $178,721 from the Henry L. Stimson Center for "CHEMINFORMATICS – A Chemical Weapons Non-Proliferation Compliance Tool.”

Raychelle Burks talks pop culture forensics on NPR's Short Wave.

Alexander Zestos received a grant for $50,000 from George Washington University's DC Center for AIDS Research for his project "Assessments of potential impacts of cognitive deficits on drug use and their implications for HIV intravenous drug users."

Stefano Costanzi received a grant for $429,000 from NIH / Department of Health and Human Services for his project "Virtual screening for the identification of ligands of GPR101, an orphan GPCR involved in X-linked acrogigantism (X-LAG)."

Alexander Zestos received a grant for $50,000 from George Washington University's District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR) for his project "Assessments of potential impacts of cognitive deficits on drug use and their implications for HIV intravenous drug users."

Douglas Fox received a grant for $40,000 from Vireo Advisors, LLC. for his project "Nanocellulose Fluorescence Labeling."

Hanning Chen received $75,000 from George Washington University for “Nanomechanics and Electronic Structure of Organic Photovoltaics in Real Application Conditions by Advanced Scanning Probe Microscopy.”

Stefano Costanzi received an award of $140,000 from The Henry L. Stimson Center for his project called "Cheminformatics Tool to Bolster the Control of Chemical Warfare Agents and Precursors."

Raychelle Burks spoke about the underrepresentation of women in the field of science, sexism, racism and invisibility in the documentary, Picture a Scientist.

Arianna Lopez, CAS/BS ’20, was awarded the Fletcher Scholar Award for 2020.

Alexander G. Zestos received an award through the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative.

Alexander G. Zestos was selected as an Emerging Investigator by the Royal Society of Chemistry for his recent publication in their journal, Analytical Methods.

Arianna Lopez, CAS/BS ’20, was profiled by American magazine in "A Balancing Act."

Spotlight: Kelsey Kirsch

Kelsey Kirsch.Kelsey Kirsch (Senior-Biochemistry '25), recently published as a first author in the journal Dalton Transactions. Her work was titled "Direct O2 mediated oxidation of a Ni(II)-N3O structural model for the active site of nickel acireductone dioxygenase (Ni-ARD): Characterization, biomimetic reactivity, and enzymatic implications." Kelsey is a student in the lab of Dr. Santiago Toledo, where research investigates the involvement of metalloenzymes in disease. Kelsey's work focuses on studying the reactivity and mechanism of a known "moonlighting" function of the metalloenzyme acireductone dioxygenase (ARD).

This alternative reactivity displayed by ARD has been linked to the development of cancer. Kelsey's work is the first functional and structural biomimetic model of ARD. Additionally, this work highlights the first example of a nickel coordination compound that is capable of activating O2 directly. This reactivity has broad implications on how other similar enzymes might display aberrant behavior in nature. Kelsey started working in the Toledo lab at the beginning of her sophomore year. Kelsey was the lead person in this project. She is also a supplemental instructor for General Chemistry I and is a member of the Department's recruitment and retention committee. Kelsey intends to enter into a PhD program in Chemistry in the Fall of 2025.

Burks was honored by Exploration Place, Kansas’ premier science center, during Black History Month 2023

Achievements ·

Raychelle Burks Receives Inaugural Cottrell Scholar Award

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Hazard symbols on a map of the world

International ·

Could Putin Use Chemical or Biological Weapons in Ukraine?

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