The School of Chemistry, University of Sydney is a school of the

Faculty of Science Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warrant ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Two

Nobel Laureates The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make ou ...

are associated with the School:

John Cornforth Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr., (7 September 1917 – 8 December 2013) was an AustralianBritish chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions, becoming the only Nobel la ...

completed his undergraduate degree in the School, graduating in 1938 with First Class Honours and the University Medal; and Robert Robinson was appointed as the first Professor of Pure and Applied Organic Chemistry at the university in 1912.

History

The School of Chemistry was established as a part of the

in 1882. However, chemistry was taught at the

since 1852. A purpose-built building was constructed on what was later named Science Road starting in 1888 and was completed in 1890. The building was designed largely by Archibald Liversidge, Professor of Chemistry and the first Dean of the

. The original Chemistry Building is now used by the

Sydney Pharmacy School The University of Sydney School of Pharmacy, also known as Sydney Pharmacy School is a constituent body of the University of Sydney, Australia. The first Faculty of Pharmacy in Australia, it began teaching in 1899 with cohorts of ' Materia Medica' ...

. In 1945, a large fibro-cement building (known as "Tramsheds") was constructed for use by chemistry students until the current Chemistry Building opened in 1958. The current Chemistry Building is notable in architectural history as one of the first structures in Australia with a curtain wall design.

Centres and initiatives

Laboratory of Advanced Catalysis for Sustainability

The School of Chemistry is home to the Laboratory of Advanced Catalysis for Sustainability which is focused broadly on

catalysis Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

, sustainable processes and fuels, green chemistry, and

organometallic chemistry Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and so ...

. Other areas the group is interested in include

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

, nanoparticles, ionic liquids, biofuels, and nanostructured materials. The research group is led by Prof.

Thomas Maschmeyer Thomas Maschmeyer (born 1966) is a German chemist and a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Sydney. He is the Founding Director of the Australian Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Laboratory of Advanced Catalysis for Susta ...

and consists of ca. 20 researchers. Liquid_Nitrogen_Tank

Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science

The School of Chemistry has a node of the Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science which is a research collaboration between the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

RMIT University RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city ...

, and

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

. The Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science is focused on novel materials for the development of low-cost, high efficiency, light-harvesting devices. The research programme utilises high-throughput screening, single molecule photochemistry, and

ultrafast spectroscopy In optics, an ultrashort pulse, also known as an ultrafast event, is an electromagnetic pulse whose time duration is of the order of a picosecond (10−12 second) or less. Such pulses have a broadband optical spectrum, and can be created by ...

Drug Discovery Initiative

The Drug Discovery Initiative (DDI) was launched in 2018 to develop new drugs by working with

clinician A clinician is a health care professional typically employed at a skilled nursing facility or clinic. Clinicians work directly with patients rather than in a laboratory or as a researcher. A clinician may diagnose, treat, and otherwise care for pa ...

s and industry in infectious diseases,

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

inflammation Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...

, neurodegenerative disorders, and metabolic diseases. However, the DDI is not limited to these areas and its research has contributed to

antibiotics An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention o ...

, cardiovascular diseases, and other health issues. Much of the research of the DDI uses facilities made available by Sydney Analytical such as X-ray scattering techniques and various types of

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

, usually for characterisation of new drugs or

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

. Recent research within the DDI include

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

, and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. The current Academic Director of the DDI is Prof. Michael Kassiou.

Key Centre for Polymers and Colloids

The Key Centre for Polymers and Colloids (KCPC) is a research centre of the School of Chemistry established by the

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

Research Centres Program. While the KCPC is known for polymers and colloids, it comprises several groups that can specialise in different areas like self-assembly, virus mimics,

emulsions An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Althoug ...

, and surfactants. The KCPC has attracted various industry support such as

Orica Orica Limited () is an Australian-based multinational corporation that is one of the world's largest providers of commercial explosives and blasting systems to the mining, quarrying, oil and gas, and construction markets, a supplier of sodium ...

Nuplex Industries Nuplex Industries Limited was a global manufacturer and distributor of resins used in decorative paints and industrial and performance coatings with operations in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand. They were a publicly list ...

, and others. Currently, faculty members involved in KCPC research are: A/Prof. Brian Hawkett, A/Prof. Chiara Neto, Dr. Mohammad Choucair, Prof. Greg Warr, Dr. Markus Muellner, and E/Prof. Les Copeland. The current KCPC Director is A/Prof. Brian Hawkett.

Academics

Admission

Admission to the School of Chemistry's research programs is competitive. Generally, admission to the School of Chemistry Honours program requires a SCIWAM of at least 65 or equivalent. Each faculty member is limited to 2.5

full-time equivalent Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employee, employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to me ...

(FTE) Honours students to ensure adequate supervision where co-supervised projects count as 0.5 FTE for each faculty. As a result, admission for some projects is significantly more competitive than others. The School of Chemistry offer postgraduate research degrees in the

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

, and Graduate Diploma in Science where admission is by application to the

. Applications for funding and scholarships is a separate application but also to the

, this is a competitive process and a successful candidate is typically offered a stipend and a scholarship to cover living expenses and tuition fees, respectively.

Rankings

The

has typically performed well on the QS Chemistry Subject Ranking, where it was 30th in 2013, 42nd in 2014, 51-100th in 2015, 49th in 2016, 50th in 2017, 43rd in 2018, and 51-100th in 2019. The

has been 151-200th in the

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...

in chemistry since its inception in 2017. In 2018, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the School of Chemistry,

138th in the world and 6th in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Notable people

* Adrien Albert *

Albert Ernest Alexander Albert Ernest Alexander (5 January 1914 – 23 May 1970) was a British-Australian chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemi ...

Jane Foss Barff Jane Foss Barff (née Russell) (24 October 1863 – 10 June 1937) was the second woman to attain a Master of Arts from the University of Sydney. She was a founding member of the Women’s College and a co founding member of the Sydney University ...

* Henry H. Bauer * James K. Beattie * Arthur Birch * Alexander Boden *

Brice Bosnich Brice Michael Bosnich (3 June 1936 – 13 April 2015) was an Australian inorganic chemist. He gained recognition for the design of complex ligands useful in homogeneous catalysis. Education He graduated from University of Sydney with a Bachelo ...

Mary Elizabeth Brown Mary Elizabeth Brown (1862 – 1 May 1952) was one of the first women graduates of the University of Sydney (1885). Early life Mary Elizabeth Brown was born in Samoa in 1862. Her father, the Reverend Doctor George Brown, was a Methodist missiona ...

A. David Buckingham Amyand David Buckingham (28 January 1930 – 4 February 2021) born in Pymble, New South Wales, Pymble, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia was a chemist, with primary expertise in chemical physics. Life and career David Buckingham obtained a Ba ...

* Samuel Warren Carey *

Warwick Cathro Warwick Scott Cathro (born 8 March 1948) was pivotal in the development of Trove, an Australian online library database aggregator hosted by the National Library of Australia. The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) says of him; ...

James Charles Cox James Charles Cox (21 July 1834 – 29 September 1912) was an Australian physician and conchologist. Early life Cox was born at Mulgoa, southwest of Sydney. He was a son of Jane Maria (née Brooks) Cox and Edward Cox of Fernhill in Mulgoa. Amon ...

* David P. Craig *

Liz Dennis Elizabeth Salisbury Dennis (born 10 December 1943) is an Australian scientist working mainly in the area of plant molecular biology. She is currently a chief scientist at the plant division of CSIRO Canberra. She was elected a Fellow of the Au ...

Francis Patrick Dwyer Francis Patrick John Dwyer FAA (3 December 1910 – 22 June 1962) was Professor of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra. He was one of the most distinguished scientists Australia has produced. At the time of his death in 1962 he ...

Jane Dyson Helen Jane Dyson is a British-born biophysicist and a professor of integrative structural and computational biology at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. She is also currently editor-in-chief of the ''Biophysical Journal''. ...

* Michelle Engelsman * David Foster *

Hans Freeman Hans Charles Freeman AM, FAA (26 May 1929 – 9 November 2008) was a German-born Australian bioinorganic chemist, protein crystallographer, and professor of inorganic chemistry who spent most of his academic career at the University of Sydne ...

Joan Maie Freeman Joan Maie Freeman (7 January 1918 – 18 March 1998) was an Australian physicist. Biography Joan Maie Freeman was born in Perth on 7 January 1918. Her family moved to Sydney in 1922 and she attended the Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar S ...

Philip A. Gale Philip Alan Gale (born 1969) is a British chemist, Deputy Dean of Science and Professor of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney. He is notable for his work on the supramolecular chemistry of anions. Gale was bor ...

* Ruth Gall * Robert Gilbert *

Frederick Bickell Guthrie Frederick Bickell Guthrie (10 December 1861 – 7 February 1927) was an Australian agricultural chemist and a president of the Royal Society of New South Wales. Early life Guthrie was born in Mauritius, the son of Frederick Guthrie, F.R.S. and ...

Margaret Harding Margaret Harding is an Australian chemist and educator who is currently Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at The Australian National University (ANU). She is an expert in medicinal and biomolecular chemistry, with special research interests in ...

* George Harker *

Rita Harradence Rita Harriet Harradence, Lady Cornforth (16 September 1915 − 6 November 2012) was an Australian biochemist who pioneered the synthesis of penicillamine and steroids, and the stereochemistry of molecules involved in the biosynthesis of cholestero ...

* Noel Hush * Joseph Jacobs *

T. H. Laby Thomas Howell Laby FRS (3 May 1880 – 21 June 1946), was an Australian physicist and chemist, Professor of Natural Philosophy, University of Melbourne 1915–1942. Along with George Kaye, he was one of the founding editors of the reference bo ...

Raymond Le Fèvre Raymond James Wood Le Fèvre DSc, FRACI, FAA, FRS (1 April 1905 - 26 August 1986) was professor of chemistry at the University of Sydney from 1946 until his retirement in 1970. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute in 1 ...

Don Levy Don Levy (1932 – January 1987) was an artist and filmmaker. Levy was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. After studying theoretical chemistry at the University of Sydney, he was awarded a Research Scholarship to the University of Ca ...

* Leonard Francis Lindoy * Archibald Liversidge *

Lew Mander Lewis Norman Mander, , FAA, FRS (8 September 1939 – 8 February 2020) was a New Zealand-born Australian organic chemist. He has widely explored the synthesis and chemistry of the gibberellin class of diterpenes over a 20-year period at the Aus ...

* Betty R. Moore * P. A. P. Moran *

Alice Motion Alice Elizabeth Motion (born Alice Williamson, 28 October 1984) is a British chemist, science communicator, and associate professor at the School of Chemistry, University of Sydney. She is the founder of the Breaking Good project which encoura ...

* Lionel Murphy * Elizabeth New * Ronald Sydney Nyholm *

Ruby Payne-Scott Ruby Violet Payne-Scott, BSc (Phys) MSc DipEd (Syd) (28 May 1912 – 25 May 1981) was an Australian pioneer in radiophysics and radio astronomy, and was one of two Antipodean women pioneers in radio astronomy and radio physics at the end of the ...

Leo Radom Leo Radom (born 13 December 1944) is a computational chemist and Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of Sydney. He attended North Sydney Boys High School. He has a PhD and a DSc from the University of Sydney and carried out postd ...

* John Read *

Edward Rennie Edward Henry Rennie (19 August 1852 – 8 January 1927) was an Australian scientist and a president of the Royal Society of South Australia. Early life Rennie was born in Balmain, Sydney, the eldest son of Edward Alexander Rennie (who later be ...

Ezio Rizzardo Ezio Rizzardo (born 26 December 1943 in Pederobba, Italy) is a polymer chemist at the Australian research agency CSIRO. Biography Born in Italy, Rizzardo's family immigrated to Australia in 1957. After graduating from the University of New Sout ...

* Robert Robinson *

Alison Rodger Alison Rodger FRSC FRACI FAA CChem (born November 21, 1959) is a professor of chemistry at Macquarie University. Her research considers biomacromolecular structures and their characterisation. She is currently developing Raman Linear Differen ...

* Peter Rutledge *

Henry Chamberlain Russell Henry Chamberlain Russell (17 March 1836 – 22 February 1907) was an Australian astronomer and meteorologist. Early life Russell was born at West Maitland, New South Wales, the fourth son of the Hon. Bourn Russell and his wife Jane, ''née'' ...

* Alan Sargeson *

Roberta Shepherd Roberta Barkworth Shepherd (born 1934) is an Australian physiotherapist. She is known for her work on physiotherapy education and research. Early life Shepherd was born in 1934 in New South Wales, Australia. She studied anatomy, physiotherapy, h ...

Charles Shoppee Charles William Shoppee FAA FRS (1904–1994) was a British-born organic chemist who performed major research into steroids. He was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wales (1946–1956) and Professor of Organic Chemistry at the ...

Henry George Smith Henry George Smith (26 July 1852 – 19 September 1924) was an Australian chemist whose pioneering work on the chemistry of the essential oils of the Australian flora achieved worldwide recognition. Smith was born at Littlebourne, Kent, Englan ...

* John Smith *

John McGarvie Smith John McGarvie Smith (8 February 1844 – 6 September 1918) was an Australian metallurgist, bacteriologist and benefactor. Biography Smith was born in Sydney, the eldest surviving of thirteen children of Scots parents David Milne Smith, tailo ...

Sever Sternhell Severyn Marcel Sternhell (30 May 1930 – 18 November 2022) was a Polish-born Australian academic and organic chemist. He was professor of Chemistry at the University of Sydney and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. His research ...

Matthew H. Todd Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

* Jill Trewhella * Ian Wark * David Warren * David Weatherburn * Jenny Zhang

References

External links

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{{coord, -33.887923, 151.189538, display=title Chemistry education Chemistry, School of Science and technology in Australia Science and technology in New South Wales