Research - Department of Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry is a tightly knit community with over 20 research groups comprised of approximately 85 graduate students and post-docs. Our faculty members, students and staff occupy research space in modern laboratories across three buildings in the northwest science and engineering sector of York University’s Keele campus: Chemistry, Petrie Science & Engineering, and Life Sciences. Our well-funded (NSERC, CIHR, CFI, Mitacs, etc.) teams perform world-class research in all major fields of chemistry including the traditional subdisciplines: analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry, as well as modern interdisciplinary areas, including biological, computational, environmental, materials, and medicinal chemistry.

Research in the Department of Chemistry is also well-aligned with advancing four of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): i) Good Health and Well-being, ii) Affordable and Clean Energy, iii) Responsible Consumption and Production, and iv) Climate Action. The UN SDGs also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. York University’s most recent University Academic Plan “Building a Better Future: York University Academic Plan 2020-2025”, is rooted in the university’s history, values and commitment to a more just and sustainable future and naturally embraces all 17 SDGs.

The Department has undergone a dramatic rejuvenation and growth in recent years with seven new research faculty hired in the past five years alone. This renewal has also been accompanied by a considerable modernization and expansion of key instrumentation that now entails a comprehensive suite of state-of-the-art characterization techniques – either operated centrally (YSciCore, NMR facility) or by individual research groups.

We welcome you to explore the fascinating research done by our teams below!