Related Concentrations: Food Science, Biotechnology, Drug Discovery and Development , Personal Care Science

The Chemistry concentration prepares students to work in a variety of industries which utilize chemical sciences and  processes. This concentration is further subdivided into the following areas:  catalysis, drug discovery synthesis, materials chemistry, and general chemistry.

Catalysis
The fraction of chemical processes in industry that is based on catalysis is currently over 80% and increasing. These range across virtually all manufacturing industries, from fuels to pharmaceuticals. The preparation of new chemical catalytic systems is the most challenging dimension of the manufacturing process, because at this step our understanding of catalysis can create new catalysts, new catalytic process, or new products. There is an increasing demand for leaders with knowledge of both the science of catalysis and the fields related to the business of custom and commodity chemical catalysis and process chemistry, including regulatory processes (e.g. GMP) and intellectual property.

Drug Discovery Synthesis
Along with our competitors in the Boston area, the NJ pharmaceutical industry represents the single largest group of scientists focused on drug discovery in the world. The synthesis of new chemical entities remains the most demanding step of the drug discovery process: it is the point at which theories become real compounds that become medicines. There is an increasing demand for leaders with knowledge of both the science of synthesis and the fields related to the business of medicine, including regulatory processes and intellectual property.

Materials Chemistry
The most promising and fast-growing area in the nanotechnology sector is the development of new functional materials. The synthesis of new materials remains the most demanding step of the discovery process, for it is the transition from the conceptual to the material, the conversion of a hypothesis into new substances with new properties. There is an increasing demand for leaders with knowledge of both the science of materials chemistry and the fields related to the business of materials application, including regulatory processes and intellectual property.

Chemistry
There is an increasing demand for leaders with a broad knowledge of both chemical science and the many areas in businesses that the science of chemistry impacts, including regulatory processes and intellectual property.