Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry - Macromolecules

SUNY Stony Brook University

The Department of Chemistry, within the College of Arts and Sciences, offers courses of study leading to the degrees of Master of Arts in Teaching Chemistry, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy. Students in the M.A.T. program must register through the School of Professional Development. A student in the Ph.D. program may choose dissertation research in any one of the diverse areas of chemistry represented by the interests of the program faculty, or may choose an interdisciplinary topic under the guidance of a faculty member in another program. Coordinated activities exist with several programs, and include optional concentrations in chemical physics and chemical biology. With development of state-of-the-art X-ray diffraction and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) at the State University of New York’s X3 Beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the polymer and biomacromolecular physics group, being members of the participating research team (PRT), possesses one of the most powerful X-ray scattering facilities in the country. The experiments at Stony Brook make use of a wide variety of complementary techniques such as SAXS, laser light scattering, photon correlation spectroscopy, fluorescence photobleaching recovery, holographic relaxation spectroscopy, transient electric birefringence, and various forms of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Stony Brook scientists can perform measurements to determine the structure and dynamical behavior of advanced polymeric materials, supramolecular systems, and biomacromolecules. Time-dependent processes can be studied using stop-flow, steady-flow, pressure-jump, and temperature-jump experiments together with time-resolved capabilities using intense radiation sources such as pulsed lasers and the synchrotron radiation. Unparalleled opportunities exist for interdisciplinary research using unique and novel instrumentation in polymer materials, polymer physics, colloid science, and biophysical chemistry.