Click picture to enlarge Juan Alicea presented his research on "Conformationally -defined self-assembly: multi- metal, multi-zone, crystalline systems" with Dr. Seidel and fellow Chemistry major Joseph Campanelli at the 229th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego from March 13-17, 2005. Juan is a recipient of the Robert Noyce Scholarship funded by the National Science Foundation. In Summer 2005 Juan received additional NSF funding to conduct research at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the PST program. Joseph Campanelli presented a second project on "A unique, self-assembled, zonal polymer system based on zinc(II), copper(II), and an organic backbone" with Dr. Seidel and NSF Robert Noyce Scholar Russell Ainbinder at the 39th National Organic Chemistry Symposium at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City from June 12-16, 2005. Joe Campanelli is pursuing a masters degree in Chemistry at St. John's University as of Fall 2005. Russ Ainbinder graduated in May 2005 with a B.A. in Earth Science and a Chemistry minor, and is pursuing the M.S. in Secondary Education at Dowling.

The Chemistry BA and BS degrees prepare students for employment in a wide variety of private industries and governmental entities, or for graduate study in chemistry and related fields. The BA in chemistry gives students flexibility to pursue varied career goals by requiring fewer credits for the major than the BS. Both degrees exceed the minimum chemistry content required for secondary school teaching, and both prepare students to pursue advanced degrees in the sciences and engineering or in professional schools. The BA is recommended for students interested in teaching or attending medical or law school since it allows more electives that students may use to fulfill education requirements for New York State Teacher Certification or to meet other professional school requirements. Students interested in chemistry PhD programs, however, should select the BS in chemistry.

Dowling offers courses in general, inorganic, organic, analytical, instrumental, environmental, biological, and physical chemistry that are enhanced by opportunities through internships, independent study, research, and special topics courses. Students get hands-on experience with modern and traditional instrumentation and techniques in laboratories, class work, and field experiences, including high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AA), infrared spectroscopy (IR), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), mass spectrometry (MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Computer labs are equipped with tutorial software for IR, proton and carbon NMR, mass spectrometry, and qualitative organic analysis. SPARTAN molecular modeling and computational software is integrated into laboratory courses.

Students conduct research at Dowling or with our collaborating partners such as Brookhaven National Laboratory, the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and other governmental, academic, civic and industrial partners. Undergraduates may participate in collaborative research opportunities that integrate chemistry with computer science, environmental science, and biology. For example, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is a major technical tool utilized by government, business and in health professions. The Dowling GIS laboratory is equipped with computer-based, data-intensive geographic-oriented technology providing remote sensing and imaging technology that provides a critical contribution to understanding a variety of impacts on society, ecosystems, pollution levels and economic relationships. Students in the chemistry program have the opportunity to work at Dowling and/or with our partners in research areas such as global climate change, environmental contaminants tracking, environmental monitoring and inventories. The undergraduate program, along with active internships at EPA, USGS, BNL and other agencies, give chemistry students an excellent marketability level.