Welcome to the School of Chemistry

UNSW School of Chemistry

The School of Chemistry has a proud history, predating UNSW, beginning at the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts in 1833 and now our School is a leading centre for both teaching and research excellence in Chemistry in Australia – developing cutting edge knowledge to solve real-world problems. Studying chemistry helps you understand the world from the ground up – from the sub-atomic, atomic, and molecular to the spectacular!

We are now a flourishing community of over 300 staff and research students. We are united by our love for chemistry, and embrace diversity in all of its forms. We take our commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion seriously, and truly believe that chemistry should be a welcoming place for all.

Latest News

View more news
The Australian Academy of Science honours Visiting Professor of Chemistry Sir Fraser Stoddart

The Australian Academy of Science honours Visiting Professor of Chemistry Sir Fraser Stoddart

25 May 2021

The School of Chemistry congratulates Sir Fraser Stoddart on the distinction of being invited by the Academy to join as a Corresponding Member.

Corresponding Membership is a special category within the Fellowship, comprising eminent international scientists with strong ties to Australia who have made outstanding contributions to science.

Prof. Stoddart is a 2016 joint Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and one of the few chemists during the past 35 years to have created a new field of chemistry — Mechanostereochemistry. He pioneered the development of techniques now employed as molecular switches in the fabrication of molecular electronic devices and in the design and synthesis of artificial molecular machines.

Find out more about the 2021 Fellows.

Read more…

Professor Palli Thordarson provides advice to the NSW Government on plans to manufacture mRNA vaccines locally

Professor Palli Thordarson provides advice to the NSW Government on plans to manufacture mRNA vaccines locally

7 May 2021

The School of Chemistry congratulates Palli for his role in promoting his research and engaging with the NSW Government. Palli stated that he "feels very privileged to have been part of and witnessed this historic announcement from the NSW Premier. NSW is readying itself to lead the way towards making Australia a global powerhouse in RNA therapeutic research and medical manufacturing."

Please see the UNSW Newsroom item for further information.

Read more…

Congratulations to Dr Quentin Meyer who has just been awarded the Post-doctoral research Runner-up in the Young Electrochemist prizes sponsored by Metrohm

Congratulations to Dr Quentin Meyer who has just been awarded the Post-doctoral research Runner-up in the Young Electrochemist prizes sponsored by Metrohm

26 February 2021

The School of Chemistry congratulates Quentin on his award for his paper on “Air perturbation-induced low-frequency inductive electrochemical impedance arc in proton exchange membrane fuel cells”. The award committee noted that there were a large number of exceptionally high standard submissions this year, and this was reflected by the judging scores being very close. Metrohm plan to run a similar prize in 2021, so they encourage everyone who missed out on this round to apply again. 

Congratulations also to the other UNSW winner, in the Higher degree by research section, Agus Poerwoprajit “Understanding the surface structure-electrocatalytic property relationship: from nanocrystals to single atoms”.

Read more…

The molecule in a novel eye drop designed by Professor Jonathan Morris at the School of Chemistry has commenced clinical trials

The molecule in a novel eye drop designed by Professor Jonathan Morris at the School of Chemistry has commenced clinical trials

3 February 2021

Research conducted by UNSW Sydney has paved the way for clinical testing of an eye drop treatment for Diabetic Macular Oedema and wet Age-related Macular Degeneration, the leading causes of blindness in the developed world.

A clinical trial has commenced across Australia for a novel eye drop treatment that could improve the treatment of patients with retinal vascular diseases. Based on initial work carried out at the UNSW School of Chemistry, Professor Jonathan Morris collaborated with Exonate Limited to design the molecule used in the trial.

Please see the UNSW Newsroom item for further information.

Read more…

Scientia Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow Kris Kilian and NHMRC ECR Dr Iman Roohani have developed an exciting new technique

Scientia Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow Kris Kilian and NHMRC ECR Dr Iman Roohani have developed an exciting new technique

29 January 2021

The School of Chemistry congratulates Kris and Iman on the development of a new technique called COBICS (ceramic omnidirectional bioprinting in cell suspensions) where bone-like structures can be rapidly fabricated, with hierarchical structure, directly into a bath of hydrogels and living cells. The base technology is a ceramic paste-based material that quickly solidifies in water to a structure that mimics native bone tissue.

This means that surgeons, dentists, scientists, etc. of the future may be able to replace damaged bone with this material. In contrast to previous techniques that either require a piece of the patients own bone, or a lab build analogue fabricated at very high temperatures with toxic chemicals, this new technique allows printing in the presence of biology, so that the material can be deposited directly with a patient’s own cells.

This could radically change clinical practice and ultimately reduce suffering and save lives.

Read more…