Chemistry

The course teaches key concepts prevalent in organic chemistry and the resulting properties of organic molecules. These are presented based on standard U.S. text books and are complemented by specific examples of compounds present in important drug molecules and natural products. Introductory topics include molecular structure, chemical bonding, and orbital interactions. The resulting properties of molecules are then introduced on key compound classes such as alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes that later are complemented by aromatic rings and functional groups such as alcohols, carbonyls, and amines. Furthermore, the crucial properties that explain the reactivity of organic molecules and enable a detailed understanding through distinct reaction mechanisms are highlighted throughout the course. Finally, these concepts are applied towards the planned synthesis of target molecules in combination with suitable structure determination methods.

This course presents the fundamentals of chemistry including the following topics: atomic structure based on quantum mechanics; atomic properties; trends in periodic table; chemical bonding (Lewis structures, VSEPR theory, hybridization, and molecular orbital theory); gaseous and aqueous equilibria; properties of inorganic and organic acids, bases, buffers; titrations; phase changes; molecular orbital theory; thermochemistry; thermodynamics; free energy changes; electrochemistry; chemical kinetics; coordination compounds; organic chemistry; structure, conformations, and relative energies of organic molecules; application of thermodynamics and kinetics to organic and biochemical reactions; use of molecular modeling software to illustrate molecular structures and their relative energies. This class has a separate general chemistry lab. There are five recitations that go along with the lectures. Text: Theodore L. Brown, et al., CHEMISTRY: THE CENTRAL SCIENCE. This course is taught in Chinese, but the text is in English.

This course provides a rigorous presentation of thermodynamics principles, with emphases on the application of mathematical methods to the study of the spontaneity of processes, chemical reactions, and chemical energy. In addition to thermodynamics description of chemical equilibrium phenomena that form the basis of macroscopic chemical principles, connections between microscopic pictures (quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics) and bulk properties are highlighted.

This course provides an introduction to the concepts, formalism, and applications of quantum mechanics in different disciplinary fields of science and technology: mathematics, computer science and information technology, basic physics, and physico-chemistry. It includes instruction from specialists within these disciplines in connection with current research issues. 

This course consolidates year 1 organic and physical chemistry by reference to biological examples and shows students its relevance to cellular biochemical processes. It introduces mechanisms and thermodynamics of chemical processes in the cell, including central metabolic pathways, principles of enzyme and metalloenzyme active site catalysis, coenzyme chemistry, and thermodynamics of biochemical processes. It conveys the multidisciplinarity and role of chemical ideas in understanding biochemistry, and enable students to apply basic chemical principles in unfamiliar biochemical contexts to generate hypotheses. It also introduces key concepts of cell biology and protein structure.

This course connects the microscopic description of chemical reactions with macroscopic measurable quantities and explores the processes responsible for chemical changes: molecular collisions, elementary reactions, surface phenomena, catalysis, absorption isotherms, theory of the activated complex, and diffusion controlled reactions.