World class fundamental research programs in a wide variety of subject areas are available to the graduate student majoring in inorganic chemistry. The internationally renowned faculty are involved in cutting edge research that involves virtually all areas of inorganic chemistry and many related disciplines.

General research areas include synthetic inorganic and organometallic chemistry, physical inorganic and organometallic chemistry, theoretical inorganic and organometallic chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, metalloenzyme chemistry, solid state chemistry, and materials science. In these research areas there are many different types of investigations involving, among others, metal ring and/or cluster molecules, homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, photochemistry, inter- and intra-molecular dynamics, computer modeling, and the elucidation of reaction mechanisms.

Serving as inorganic division faculty are: John Berry, Thomas C. Brunold, Judith N. Burstyn, Charles P. Casey (Emeritus), Lawrence F. Dahl (Emeritus), Donald F. Gaines (Emeritus), Danny Fredrickson, Clark R. Landis, Mahesh Mahanthappa, Robert J. McMahon, Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, Shannon S. Stahl, Paul M. Treichel (Emeritus), Robert C. West (Emeritus).

Current research interests of the individual faculty are detailed in following pages. Many graduate students devise their own research projects, and may be closely associated with several research groups simultaneously. Interdisciplinary research involving other groups within and outside the department is an important and expanding part of the inorganic research program.

The major objective of the inorganic faculty is to maintain the highest intellectual atmosphere and to provide the best physical facilities so that every graduate student can achieve his or her greatest creative research potential. To this end, students are encouraged to play a very active role in developing their graduate programs, including the selection of the thesis adviser, research projects, and courses that will address their particular educational needs.

We urge inorganic graduate students to interview a number of the divisional faculty during their first semester and to join a research group as soon as possible. In this way new students are rapidly integrated into the research community that is the essential core of each research group. Weekly departmental inorganic seminars bring together all the inorganic students and faculty. Seminar speakers include visiting chemistry faculty from other universities, visiting industrial chemists and our own advanced graduate students, faculty, and post-doctoral research associates.

Graduate students in inorganic chemistry take a core curriculum that includes several courses in descriptive inorganic chemistry and physical inorganic chemistry. The courses are evolving constantly to address the growth of the various disciplines within inorganic chemistry. At the present incoming graduate students take survey courses during the first year in main group chemistry, transition metal chemistry, inorganic structure and bonding, and spectroscopic methods. In addition there are a variety of more specialized courses that may be elected to augment research programs. Among the offered courses are bioinorganic chemistry, boron chemistry, solid-state chemistry, organometallic chemistry, photochemistry, structural chemistry, and theoretical inorganic chemistry. Typically a graduate student takes a selection of courses that complements his or her chosen research area. Moreover, many students choose to enroll in additional courses in areas removed from their primary research interests in order to develop a more comprehensive view of the chemical world. In the interests of encouraging a broad perspective, all chemistry graduate students must complete a minor that typically consists of several courses outside the major chemistry field. These may be in a specific chemical area outside inorganic chemistry or in another department, or in a combination of areas or departments.

The major goal of the inorganic division is to provide a stimulating environment in which graduate students can develop truly creative research capabilities. The success of our program is amply illustrated by the placement of our Ph.D. graduates in virtually every type of industrial chemical research as well as in colleges and universities throughout the world. Prospective inorganic chemistry graduate students are urged to contact the chemistry department or individual divisional faculty members for additional information about any aspect of our inorganic program. If possible, you should visit the department to see at first hand the support provided for our graduate program.

Kristi Heming Inorganic Divisional Coordinator 1101 University Avenue Madison. WI 53706 Phone: 608-262-6815 Fax: 608-262-6143 Email: heming@chem.wisc.edu