First Year Students

The following Chemistry Research Groups are accepting Graduate Students for the 2026-2027 Academic Year:
Bawendi, Cao, Ceyer, Cummins, Drennan, Elkin, Freedman, Gilliard, Griffin, Hong, J. Johnson, O. Johnson, Kiessling, Kulik, McGuire, Movassaghi, Nolan, Peng, Pentelute, Radosevich, Raines, Schlau-Cohen, Shalek, Shoulders, Suess, Surendranath, Van Voorhis, Wang, Wendlandt, Willard, Zhang

The following Chemistry Research Groups are not accepting Graduate Students for the 2026-2027 Academic Year:
Buchwald, Chakraborty, Danheiser, Imperiali, Nelson, Roman, Shao-Horn, Solomon, Swager

As part of the research group selection process, all first-year graduate students are required to participate in a rotation program. There are two different rotation programs: Group Rotations & Chemical Biology (5.S52) Lab Rotations. Each rotation lasts three weeks. The purpose of these programs is to facilitate more in-depth research discussions and interactions with senior graduate students and other group members, provide insight into the day-to-day research activities and operations of specific groups, and offer an additional space to work and spend time on campus beyond the graduate student lounge. The rotation dates for Fall 2026 are as follows:

• Rotation 1: Tuesday, September 8 – Sunday, September 27
• Rotation 2: Monday, September 28 – Sunday, October 18
• Rotation 3: Monday, October 19 – Sunday, November 8

You will be assigned a mentor in each group during the rotations to provide guidance and support. However, you are expected to be proactive—communicate with your mentors and other group members, ask questions, explore the research, and take initiative. This is an opportunity to learn about different research areas (e.g., techniques, equipment, instrumentation), contribute to the group, and make a strong impression through your engagement, initiative, and enthusiasm. We encourage you to make the most of each rotation and build meaningful relationships with faculty and group members.

If research groups allow you to enter the laboratory to shadow current group members or participate in in-depth laboratory tours, you must first complete standard EHS safety training, as well as any lab-specific training required by individual research groups. Students enrolled in 5.S52 (“Tutorial in Chemical Biology”) in the Fall will receive safety training and participate in lab rotations as part of the class.

Students not enrolled in 5.S52 may not perform laboratory work under any circumstances. They may only enter laboratory spaces when accompanied by their assigned mentor or another authorized member of the research group.

Over the summer you will receive an email with a form to complete to indicate your preferences for the first rotation. Prior to the start of the 2^nd rotation and 3^rd rotations you will fill out the form again to indicate your preferences for those rotations.

The assignments for rotation #1 in both programs will be finalized over the summer, and assignments will be provided during orientation week.

We are unable to arrange rotations outside the Department of Chemistry, but you are welcome to contact faculty in other departments directly. Please note that other departments may have different rotation schedules and research group selection processes.

Faculty research talks will be scheduled in the first weeks of September. First-year students are required to attend all presentations; they provide an excellent means of learning about the research going on in the department. Copies of the schedule of research presentations are included in the orientation packet and any updates to the schedule will be sent via email. In addition, a departmental poster session will be held each September. This event is intended to initiate community building and allow the first-year students to interact with group members and encourage further scientific discussion and exploration of current research in our department. The Poster Session for Fall 2026 will be held on Friday, September 25^th from 2:00 – 4:00pm in the Bush Room (10-105)

In addition to attending faculty research talks, first-year students must also make appointments to meet individually with those faculty whose work is of interest to them, to learn more about specific research underway in their laboratories.  Faculty will expect to hear from interested students. Many labs hold weekly research group meetings and/or subgroup meetings, and first-year students are encouraged to attend these meetings. Attendance at research group meetings do not have to be synonymous with the rotation schedule. First-year students may elect to attend group meetings at any time during the fall semester as their schedules permit. All students are expected to explore research opportunities with at least three different faculty members by meeting individually with the professor, but meeting with five is strongly encouraged. These individual meetings are in addition to attending the introductory evening research talks for first-year students. Completing a rotation in a research group’s lab does not replace the requirement of having had serious interaction (speaking in depth with a faculty member about research or attending a faculty member’s research presentation) with at least three different faculty members prior to submitting the Research Supervisor Selection Form.

In addition to attending group meetings, meeting with faculty, and attending evening faculty talks, at any time during the term (even before a professor’s research talk), students are encouraged to visit labs to meet informally with graduate students and post-doctoral researchers.

There will be a mid-point check-in in order to provide students and faculty with insight into the current status of the research group selection process. On October 9^h, approximately half-way through the Research Group Selection Process, students will fill out the Research Supervisor Selection Form to indicate their current preferences for research supervisors. The Chemistry Education Office will be only people to have access to these student preferences with their names attached, and they will compile the data. This spreadsheet, with student names removed, indicating how many students ranked faculty members/groups as their 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd choice will be distributed to both faculty and first-year graduate students. This spreadsheet will also include a list of how many students each faculty member plans to recruit this year +/– 1.

The last step is for first-year students to decide which groups are their top choices for graduate research. Once a student has decided on their top choice of research group, the student should inform the faculty member that they are their top choice for research supervisor. If a research supervisor is listed on the Research Supervisor Selection Form as one of the three choices, it is expected that the student has already met with that faculty member. To minimize pressure on students to decide prematurely, no faculty member is permitted to agree to supervise a student until finalized by the Graduate Officer, or to make any advance commitments about supervising the student.  In addition, no student is permitted to conduct research during the fall term prior to the announcement of research group assignments (except for the 5.S52 Lab Rotations).  Students must submit the Research Supervisor Selection Form by 12pm (NOON) on Monday, November 9, 2026.

On the form, you must list the 3 – 5 different research groups that you have explored and indicate which groups are your first, second, and third choices. Your form must have three different faculty members listed for the three choices. For example, you cannot list just one faculty member, or two faculty members with the third option to be jointly supervised by the same two faculty members). If you submit a form that does not follow this guideline you will be contacted and asked to resubmit the form immediately.

Students may only list someone outside of the department on the form if they have already agreed to serve as their research supervisor.

During the week of November 2^nd students are strongly encouraged to have a discussion with their top choice(s) for research supervisor. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss the likelihood they will be able to supervise you.  Faculty are not permitted to agree to supervise a student before the Research Supervisor Selection Forms are turned in but may give strong indications of their plans during the week of November 2^nd.

Graduate students submitting lists by 12pm on November 9^th will be notified of their research group assignments via email sometime after Monday, November 16^th. We expect that notifications will be sent by the end of the day of Friday, November 20^th but will let students know if they will be announced after that date. No student will receive an assignment to a research group prior to official notification from the Department.

Some students do not get their first choice of research supervisor.  While a disappointment at first, we have found that the second or even third choice of a student almost invariably works out for the student in the long run.  Students should go into the search process for a research supervisor with an open mind and with the knowledge that we have a great faculty and there are more than one faculty members who can serve as your mentor. 

Occasionally, a student may wish to change their research supervisor. Each of these situations is different and students should consult with both Professor Gilliard and Jennifer Weisman.