Chemistry
Division I Chair: R. Rosen
Program Chair: M. Saderholm
Faculty: J. Baltisberger, M. Garrett, A. Kovacevic, M. Saderholm, and P. Smithson
Chemistry is central to many of the major issues that will face society for years to come from energy and waste management to medicine and biotechnology. The Chemistry Program offers a full set of courses designed to prepare a student for graduate study, medical school, or work in the chemical industry. This course work includes a foundational two-year program with associated labs in general, organic, and analytical chemistry, followed by intensive junior/senior laboratory courses in conjunction with advanced courses in biochemistry, and physical, inorganic, and organic chemistry. All majors assemble a Chemistry Portfolio over their junior and senior years that insures each student has conducted experiments in all areas of chemistry, has achieved proficiency in all major areas of instrumentation, and has attended and given seminars both inside and outside of Berea College.
Chemistry courses are grounded in problem solving using both practical and quantitative-reasoning skills. The Program faculty is committed to the idea that students should conduct research as part of their undergraduate curriculum. All Chemistry faculty direct undergraduate research with students, as well as send some students to undergraduate-research programs at other institutions. The Program aims to prepare its students to address chemical problems that have come to dominate the headlines of today’s news, from nuclear to biomedical issues and everything in between.
Berea’s Chemistry students have gone on to work in many fields, including chemical-industrial research, medicine (including doctors, physician assistants, and pharmacists), and college teaching. The Program’s courses also serve as collateral requirements in Biology, Nursing, Psychology, and Sustainability and Environmental Studies, as well as provide general chemistry and environmental chemistry courses to serve the student body at large.
For students inclined toward Chemical Engineering, the College offers a 3-2 Engineering Dual Degree Program under the Applied Science and Mathematics major. In that program, a student attends Berea College for three years, then completes the Engineering degree requirements at either the University of Washington (Saint Louis, Missouri) or the University of Kentucky (Lexington).