Chemistry is where inquiry meets innovation and curiosity fuels discovery.
At WSU, you’ll learn to think across disciplines, enhance your reasoning abilities, and improve your knack for problem-solving—all of which are key skills for a career in any field you choose.
From forensics and pharmaceuticals to nanotechnology and homeland security, the study of the properties, composition, and structure of elements and compounds and their interactions is foundational to understanding our physical world and creating new opportunities.
Featured Courses
301 Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry
A survey of the chemistry of the elements using basic principles of bonding, acid-base and oxidation-reduction chemistry, and thermodynamics.
410 Advanced Synthesis and Characterization
Synthesis and characterization of organic and inorganic compounds and solid-state materials; modern synthetic technology, characterization methods, and laboratory techniques.
Department of Chemistry in the News
Meet the new faculty of 2023
The breadth of scholarly interests and teaching expertise of the college’s newest faculty—from environmental humanities and many-body physics to economic globalization and the history of visual storytelling—enriches and expands the arts and sciences across the WSU system. Click “read more” to learn a little about each of these new faculty members. Arts & Humanities | […]
Seed Grants for CAS faculty
Five College of Arts & Sciences received a 2023 New Faculty Seed Grant from the WSU Office of Research. The grant program supports junior faculty in developing research, scholarly, or creative programs that lead to sustained professional development and external funding. The program is sponsored by the Office of Research and the Office of the […]
Wogmans commit $5M through estate plans to support STEM teaching and research
Growing up in Spokane during the 1940s and ‘50s, Dr. Ned Wogman enjoyed a perfectly happy childhood. There was tennis. There was music. A younger brother. One thing there wasn’t—enough money between parents Walfred and Lela Wogman to send Ned to college, no matter how many lawns were mowed and no matter how much snow […]
Research to recover rare earth elements
Xiaofeng Guo, assistant professor of chemistry, is part of a national team of scientists who recently received $39 million to develop market-ready technologies to increase domestic supplies of elements necessary for the transition to clean energy. He will be investigating how supercritical carbon dioxide could be used to recover critical elements, especially rare earth elements, […]