The development of chemistry in the United States is tied closely to the development of chemistry at Columbia University. For more than a century, Columbia chemistry faculty have produced breakthroughs in research, trained many of the leading chemists in the country, and led the growth of chemistry as both an academic discipline and a profession.
Columbia has been home to many renowned chemists, among them Nobel Laureates Harold Urey, the discoverer of deuterium, and Edward Kimball, a pioneer in the study of cortical steroids. Louis Hammett, the father of physical organic chemistry, and Victor LaMer, the father of colloid chemistry, were longtime members of the department.
This tradition of excellence continues today. Among our faculty we count two recent winners of the National Medal of Science and many members of the National Academy of Sciences.
