From the Head of School

Welcome to the School of Chemistry. We hope this site contains all the information you might need whether you are a thinking of studying here or are interested in finding out about the various research activities that the School is involved in.

The School is one of the largest Chemistry Schools in Australia. It is also the oldest, with the establishment of the Chair of Chemistry and Experimental Physics in 1851. Today, its undergraduate enrolments (Years 1 to 3) average 2500 each semester, while there are over 40 students enrolled in the Honours program and over 100 postgraduate students studying for either Masters or PhD degrees, including a large cohort of International students.

We currently have 29 academic staff, including six Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science, a Federation Fellow, and over 60 research fellows/postdoctoral staff. Over 40 administrative, technical and professional staff help support the running of the School.There are around 38 research groups working in the following main areas of chemistry:Biological and Medicinal Chemistry

Synthesis, Catalysis and Materials
Polymer and Colloid Chemistry
Computational and Theoretical Chemistry
Supramolecular Chemistry
Reaction Dynamics and Kinetics
Chemical Spectroscopy
Environmental Chemistry
Chemical Education

The School is well-equipped with modern research instrumentation including a large number of major research facilities.

In 2008, the School held 32 ARC Discovery Grants, 10 ARC Fellowships, 6 ARC Linkage Grants, and 1 ARC Research Network Grant. These, together with other grants, totalled $14.2M in research funding. The School produced 234 research publications, including 2 books. While highlights of awards to our staff and students included the award of the Convocation Medal to Honours graduate Andrew McLeod; the award of a NSW Young Tall Poppy Award to Dr Peter Rutledge; the Peter Dunlop Occupational Health and Safety Award to Mr John Duckworth; the RACI Biota Award for Medicinal Chemistry to Dr Richard Payne; the Australian Academy of Science Craig Medal to Professor Leo Radom; and the RACI Leighton Medal to Emeritus Professor Len Lindoy.

Professor G G Warr
Head of School