Friday and Saturday, October 19-20, 2007
A Celebration of 75 years of Graduate Education in Chemistry

Eastman Quadrangle and Rush Rhees Library

The discipline of chemistry has been studied at the University of Rochester from the institution's founding in 1850. The Chemistry Department, under the leadership of Chair Victor J. Chambers, was authorized to grant the doctoral degree in 1927 and the first Ph.D.s in chemistry, also representing the first Ph.D.'s from the College, were conferred in June 1932 to Linus M. Webb and Bernard E. Landow. The first woman doctoral graduate at the College was also in chemistry, Ethel L. French (PhD '36).

Since that time, over 800 graduate students have earned their Ph.D. degrees in chemistry at the College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering at University of Rochester. The College now offers 21 Ph.D. programs housed in 24 departments, covering a range of fields from the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering to the social sciences and humanities.

The Department of Chemistry celebrated the 75th anniversary of our graduate program and our doctoral alumni by hosting a chemistry symposium and a doctoral alumni reunion and banquet on Friday, October 19, 2007.