The Chemistry Department is a dynamic, energetic and growing organization that focuses on giving students the best possible education in the chemical sciences. We are housed in the Science Building, a state-of-the-art facility with labs offering the latest instrumentation and technology. We offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees and are proud of our low student to faculty teaching ratios. The department has fourteen fulltime faculty and a support staff of seven. Our faculty members have diverse research interests - ranging from the study of trace metals over remote areas of the open ocean to bio activation and cytotoxic mechanisms of xenobiotics including antineoplastic agents, environmental contaminants, natural products and photosensitizers to theoretical investigation of the chemical vapor deposition processes of various inorganic materials such as diamond, graphite, silicon crystals, and silicon carbide . Student research opportunities abound for undergraduates as well as graduate students. Welcome to our website!

JOIN OUR TEAM!

The Department of Chemistry at Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA anticipates full-time lecturer needs in organic and analytical chemistry for the 2012-13 academic year. The department is also accepting applications to fill current and future full-time, part-time and annual lecturer positions to teach introductory chemistry and others as needed. 
For additional information and to apply, visit: https://jobs.cwu.edu. CWU is an AA/EEO/Title IV Institution.

Department News

• Junior major Troy Kilburn has been selected as a recipient of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. This is a highly competitive, national scholarship. Troy was one of 282 scholars selected for the 2012-2013 academic year out of more than 1,100 faculty-nominated candidates nationwide.
• On February 15 the CWU Chemistry Club put on a Community Chemistry Show in the Science Building. They invited children from the community to come and see cool science demonstrations and charged a small admission fee. All proceeds went to benefit the Children’s Activity Museum.
• The CWU Chemistry Club worked with a local Relay for Life team to put on the fifth annual Concert for a Cure to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The concert was held at the Moose Lodge in Ellensburg. The band RoadFever, comprised of chemistry faculty and staff and a physics staff member, performed. With more than 250 people from campus and the community in attendance, over $1,200 was donated for the American Cancer Society.
• CWU alumna Dr. Aurora Clark, associate professor of chemistry at Washington State University came to campus Friday, March 2. She presented a seminar on her research titled “Re-analysis of Ion Solvation Using Graph Theory”.
• Junior chemistry major Cierra Miller was accepted into the Science Honors Research Program for 2012-13. Her proposal was titled “Role of Protein-Protein Interactions in the Specification of Specialized Neocortical Areas: A Closer Look at Transcription Factors Emx2 and QKI-7.” She conducts research with Todd Kroll.
• James Siegenthaler and Brandon Petersen were awarded Science Honors for 2012-2013. James is fully funded by the Science Honors Program and Brandon will be funded through the McNair Program. They conduct research with Steve Chamberland.
• James Siegenthaler and Jacob Buchanan were awarded COTS undergraduate research grants for $500 each. They conduct research with Steve Chamberland.
• JoAnn Peters presented a poster entitled, "Identification of plastic materials in a museum collection through collaboration with an undergraduate chemistry program" at the International Conference on Preservation Of Plastic ARTefacts in Museum Collections (POPART), March 7-9, 2012, Paris, France.
• Nine chemistry students attended the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego, California March 25-30. Seven of the students presented results of research conducted at CWU and a poster of the activities of the CWU Chemistry Club (an ACS Student Affiliate). They successfully applied for funding for this trip through the Student & Activities Committee.