Welcome to the UW Department of Chemistry! Please review the pages below for information about our degree programs, research opportunities, and resources to support graduate students. We hear from our students that our expansive research facilities and accessible faculty contribute to an excellent graduate experience. If you need financial assistance to help you realize your dreams, financial support is available. If you are serious about pursuing your graduate education with us, please review the admissions section.
Graduate Programs
Graduate Program News
The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce the following prizes for outstanding work by graduate students. These awards, announced each spring, recognize outstanding contributions to research by doctoral students and carry a $1,000 prize. The awards were restructured in Academic Year 2022-23 after a few years hiatus and are funded by endowments made possible through philanthropic support of faculty, friends, and alumni. All UW Chemistry Ph.D. students that have completed their General… Read more
The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce the following prizes for outstanding work by graduate students. These awards, announced each spring, recognize doctoral research and carry a $1,000 prize. The awards were established in Academic Year 2021-22 and are funded by endowments made possible through the philanthropic support of faculty, friends, and alumni.
George H. Cady Prize for Best Thesis in Inorganic Chemistry
Ben Mitchell earned his Ph.D. in 2023 for his work… Read more
The UW’s Clean Energy Institute is speeding the development of next-generation technology and supporting the experts who will create it.
By Jamie Swenson
Read the feature in University of Washington Magazine, March 2024.
Chemistry PhD student Ricardo Rivera-Maldonado is mentioned as a collaborator and Associate Professor of Chemistry Cody Schlenker is quoted.
Accelerating the adoption of a clean energy future requires scholars who have both deep disciplinary expertise and a worldview and skill set that are broader than is typically provided by traditional graduate degrees. To meet this need, the University of Washington’s Clean Energy Institute (UW CEI) is delighted to announce the establishment of the Graduate Certificate in Clean Energy… Read more
As a bright student growing up in Ukraine, Vlada Olkhovych was driven to succeed by her mother, Alla.
“She was a single mother, and she didn’t have a college degree,” Vlada said. “Growing up, she always pushed me to get a good education, a good job, to have a better life than she had. She was a big inspiration for me.”
When it came time to pick an undergraduate major at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Vlada chose chemistry. A curious person, she loved how broad the subject was,… Read more
Congratulations to Ben Poulter, who defended his Ph.D. work "Understanding Valence and Core d-d Correlations on Ground and Excited States of Solvated Ruthenium Complexes with Novel X-ray Spectroscopies" on December 6, 2023. Ben was a student in Professor Munira Khalil's research group and worked using time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy to investigate excited state mixed valency. He has accepted a position with Amy Cordones-Hahn and Kelly Gaffney at the Stanford PULSE Institute where he will… Read more
Congratulations to James E. Baumann, who defended his Ph.D. work “Copper Boryl Heterobimetallic Complexes in the Copper-Catalyzed Hydrofunctionalization of Alkynes and Alkenyl Boronate Esters” on December 4, 2023. James was a student in Professor Gojko Lalic’s research group and worked on the development of novel reactions leveraging copper hydride catalysis. He has accepted a position with the Medicinal Chemistry Knowledge Center at Stanford University as a medicinal chemistry postdoctoral… Read more
Featured Student Organization: Inclusion in the Chemical Sciences
by Michaela Gustaitis, graduate student
Inclusion in Chemical Sciences (InCS) had an exciting and eventful Academic Year 2022-23! As an organization, we hosted and attended numerous outreach and social events and had a great time engaging with different members of the community.Every summer, InCS organizes a mentorship network where incoming first-year PhD students are paired… Read more
Congratulations to Cholpisit Ice Kiattisewee, who defended his Ph.D. work “Model-driven DBTL cycle acceleration with broad-host-range bacterial CRISPRa/i circuits” on July 18, 2023. Ice was an adjunct student from the Molecular Engineering and Sciences program working in the research groups of Professors Jesse Zalatan and James Carothers (Chemical Engineering) where he developed CRISPR gene… Read more
Congratulations to Tammi van Neel, who defended her Ph.D. work “Expanding the Bioanalytical Toolbox for Cell Signaling and the Envrionment” on June 15, 2023. Tammi was a student in Professor Ashleigh Theberge's research group and developed user-friendly tools and techniques to study cell signaling and environmental impacts on human health. She has accepted a position with the National Center for Advancing… Read more