From the faculty, staff and students of the department of Chemistry at McMaster University, I would like to welcome you to our department and our web site.  The department is home to 28 research-active faculty members in all areas of chemistry, 6 faculty members with instructional and infrastructure responsibilities primarily and 18 dedicated support staff.  Our complement of graduate students now exceeds 90, together with 40 postdoctoral fellows and research associates.

The department offers graduate and undergraduate research opportunities in six major thrust areas: Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Biological Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Physical and Theoretical Chemistry.  Funding for graduate students is competitive with other major Chemistry departments in Canada.  Five faculty members have joint appointments with the departments of Biochemistry or Physics and Astronomy, indicative of the interdisciplinary nature of research in our department; a number of faculty are associate members of other departments including Chemical Engineering, Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Biochemistry, Physics and Astronomy and Materials Science and Engineering.

The quality of research in the department has been recognized externally by a range of prestigious awards to new and established faculty, including: Paul Ayers (Canada Research Chair in Chemical Biology), John Brennan (Canada Research Chair in Bioanalytical Chemistry), Mike Brook (Killam Research Professor), Adam Hitchcock (Canada Research Chair in Materials Analysis), Brian McCarry (Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Environment and Health) and Gary Schrobilgen (FRSC; 2002 Alcan Award; 2002 Award for Pure and Applied Inorganic Chemistry, Canadian Society for Chemistry).

McMaster Chemistry has maintained a tradition of excellent quality in its instrument facilities through major investments by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Innovation Trust and McMaster University.  The web sites of the McMaster Regional Centre for Mass Spectrometry, the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility and the X-ray Crystallography Facility describe our facilities in detail; graduate courses, training for researchers in the proper use of the equipment and access to this instrumentation are readily available.  In short, our facilities continue to be amongst the best and most accessible in Canada.

Excellent research facilities outside the department are also readily accessible.  The Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research has outstanding materials preparation facilities, materials characterization equipment and expert staff which make this Institute one of the premier materials research institutes in North America.  We are also proximate to the McMaster Institute for Applied Radiation Sciences and the McMaster Nuclear Reactor which offer research facilities in isotope production, radio-imaging and radiation sciences, many of which are unique in Canada.

We are especially pleased with the extensive renovations to our undergraduate laboratory facilities (opened in 2002).  The award of a three-year teaching-learning grant has prompted the department to re-evaluate the style of undergraduate course offerings and laboratory experiences in large classes.  A 3-year partnership between the department, the university and a major instrument vendor is funding a significant refurbishing of undergraduate laboratory instrumentation.  A new laboratory wing (37,000 sq. ft.) which houses research groups undertaking work in materials chemistry and biological chemistry opened in July 2003.  Renovations and infrastructure upgrades have been completed in all three instrument facilities (NMR, X-ray and Mass Spectrometry).

The department of Chemistry at McMaster is vibrant place to study and do research in the chemical sciences.  The quality of our faculty, the quality of our facilities and the strong links between our department and other departments and programs means that McMaster Chemistry is one of the best departments in Canada to do productive research and gain hands-on access to modern instrumentation.  Explore our web site and take the virtual tour of our department.  I strongly suggest that you take the opportunity to visit our department and our university if you are in or planning to visit southern Ontario.

Brian McCarry
Professor and Chair

mccarry@mcmaster.ca