Undergraduate Courses 2017-18

For students with limited background in chemistry. Covers basic chemical concepts and historical development of chemistry; connections of chemistry with modern technology; its importance in economy, the environment and daily life.

This course provides a broad background in molecular science with emphasis on relevance to contemporary issues in society, commerce and the environment.

This course concentrates on the basic scientific principles in cosmetic science. Various topics with emphasis on molecular approach related to cosmetic products' formulation and proper uses of cosmetic products will be covered. This course adopts a molecular approach to the study of cosmetic science. By understanding the principles of formulation in make-up cosmetics, skin-care cosmetics as well as hair-care cosmetics, one could recognize that cosmetics are regarded not as mere pampered indulgences, but as key aids to maintaining and promoting better standards of personal hygiene and health.

Various classes of organic compounds, emphasizing organic chemical reactions and mechanisms and their importance in the area of biological chemistry. For non-Chemistry students who prefer to cover organic chemistry in a single semester: a concise combination of the topics of CHEM 111 and CHEM 212.

This course is an introduction to fundamental principles of chemistry for students who have learnt the basic knowledge of chemistry in high school. Topics include atomic structure and periodicity, chemical bonding and molecular structure, basic properties of gases, liquids and solids, chemical kinetics, chemical equilibrium, and basic organic and biological molecules.

Thermodynamics principles with applications to chemical equilibrium systems.

Structure and bonding; regio-, geometric, and stereoisomerism; polar and radical reactions of alkenes and alkynes; substitution and elimination reactions; and an introduction to NMR, IR, and mass spectrometry.

Thermodynamics, chemical equilibrium electrochemistry.

Bonding and structure of inorganic compounds; principles/theories that assist in understanding their behavior.

Fundamental and practical aspects of chemical analysis, including titrimetric, electrical and spectroscopic methods, analytical separations by GLC and HPLC.

Physico-chemical measurements; analysis of data for precision and accuracy; principles and techniques of thermodynamics, kinetics and electrochemistry; propagation of errors and application of computers.

Experimental techniques of organic chemistry; preparation, separation and characterization of organic compounds and natural products.

Experimental techniques of organic and inorganic chemistry; preparation, properties and reactions of representative compounds; separation, purification, analysis and spectroscopic characterization.

Continuation of CHEM 111. Dienes, resonance and aromaticity; electrophilic aromatic substitution and nucleophilic aromatic substitution; benzylic and allylic reactivity; the chemistry of carbonyl compounds and carboxylic acid derivatives; the chemistry of amines; pericyclic reactions.

Basic quantum theory, atomic and molecular structure, equilibrium statisical thermodynamics.

Mechanism of inorganic reactions, organometallic and bioinorganic chemistry, catalysis.

Continuation of CHEM 141. Topics covered include electrochemistry, mass spectrometry and separation sciences.

Instrumental methods in characterization of molecular properties.

Use of advanced synthetic techniques, including inert atmosphere manipulations.

The course focuses on human health at the molecular level. Topics such as the elements essential for life, vitamins, nutrition, energy, performance, sport, reproduction and birth control, the development and use of chemical drugs against diseases, and chemical principles associated with heredity and aging will be discussed.

Use of modern ID- and 2D-NMR, IR, and Mass Spectrometric techniques for structure determination of organic molecules; theory of each technique with emphasis on development of problem-solving techniques.

Provides further training in the multistep organic synthesis of natural and unnatural products, and will focus on the retrosynthetic analysis, pericyclic reactions, carbonium ion rearrangements and organic photochemistry. A prerequisite for students wishing to take CHEM 511/512 as part of their undergraduate program.

Modern polymer synthesis, free radical and ionic initiation, macromolecular properties and characterization.

Liquid crystals, light emitters, conducting polymers, photoconductors, photoresists for nano- and microelectronics, nanostructured materials and devices, optical information storage, chromism, and piezo- and pyroelectricity.

Selected advanced topics in inorganic chemistry including spectroscopy (multinuclear NMR, IR and UV/visible), solid state chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry and catalysis.

Bonding, structure and reactivity of organometallic compounds, ligand substitution, oxidative addition, reductive elimination reactions, insertions and reactions of coordinated ligands, applications to catalytic processes and organic synthesis.

Structure and bonding in solids; metals, semiconductors and dielectrics; crystal chemistry of ceramics, silicate minerals and zeolites; electrical, optical and magnetic properties of solids; fulleren chemistry; introduction to x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, etc.

Symmetry principle and group theory, molecular spectroscopy, advanced topics in molecular orbital theory and bonding, chemical kinetics.

Modern instrumental methods of molecular characterization, including surface analysis (SPR, ellipsometry, quartz balance), optical microscopy (fluorescence microscopy, confocal, TIRF, two-photon), scanning probe microscopy (AFM, NSOM, etc.), and micro total analysis (a.k.a. microfluidics).

Chemical phenomena in the hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere; their interaction with the biosphere; origin and treatment of pollutants and hazardous waste; environmental monitoring and analysis.

For Chemistry undergraduate students only. Accessing chemical information from library databases including chemical abstracts, Medline, science citation index and CCINFO.

For Chemistry undergraduate students only. Each student is required to carry out a literature search on a selected topic under the supervision of a faculty member. He/she will submit a written report and give an oral presentation at the end of the semester.

Offered every semester and Summer. Students do original research in accordance with their ability and background, and under the supervision of a faculty. The final course grade is determined based on an oral presentation and a written report to be submitted to a judging committee, which includes the faculty supervisor plus at least one other faculty. Enrollment in the course requires approval of the faculty supervisor and an average of grade B or above in all Chemistry courses taken. May be repeated for credit, but the total credits may not exceed six.

Offered every semester and Summer. Students do original research in accordance with their ability and background and under the supervision of a faculty. The final course grade is determined based on an oral presentation and a written thesis to be submitted to a judging committee, which includes the faculty supervisor plus at least one other faculty. The thesis should include the results of the original research carried out in CHEM 398.

Under the supervision of a faculty member or teaching staff, students will complete a capstone project which requires the integration of the chemical knowledge learnt from their previous courses. Students will carry out a collaborative research project in our teaching laboratories, together with a literature review on a mutually agreed topic. A written report and an oral presentation are required to document their learning experiences. For CHEM students under the four-year degree only. Students should seek instructor’s approval prior to enrollment in the course.