Research – MIT Department of Chemistry

A group of students conduct magical experiments in a classroom.

MIT’s Annual Campus Preview Weekend Entertains Prospective Students with ‘Marvelous Molecules in Play’ Chemistry Demonstrations

Dr. John Dolhun (PhD '73), Director of the Undergraduate Teaching Lab, treated an audience to a magical series of experiments.

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A depiction of the science described in the caption below.

Researchers detect a new molecule in space

Such discoveries help researchers better understand the development of molecular complexity in space during star formation.

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Katie Pelham sits on a wooden chair with a black longhaired daschund in her lap.

Graduate Student Spotlight: Katie Pelham

Chemistry Graduate Student Katie Pelham describes her research and answers 20 random questions as part of the Graduate Student Spotlight series.

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Chemistry Alumnus Arthur Spivack to Co-Chair NASA’S Astrobiolgy Science Conference

Spivack (V SB'80, PhD '86) is currently Professor of Oceanography at URI's Graduate School of Oceanography.

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A woman with brown hair smiles in front of two bright windows.

Graduate Student Spotlight: Nicole Angehrn

Chemistry Graduate Student Nicole Angehrn describes her research and answers 20 random questions as part of the Graduate Student Spotlight series.

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A cartoon of two stick figures holding vials.

Messenger RNAs with multiple “tails” could lead to more effective therapeutics

Scientists have engineered long lasting mRNAs that increased therapeutic protein production in cells and animals.

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JoAnne Stubbe stands before a packed lecture hall delivering her lecture.

JoAnne Stubbe Delivers 2024 Davison Lecture in Inorganic Chemistry

Stubbe is the Novartis Professor Emerita and the winner of a National Medal of Science.

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An image of a faucet dripping water into a half full glass.

A new sensor detects harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water

The technology could offer a cheap, fast way to test for PFAS, which have been linked to cancer and other health problems.

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Anne Serby works in a lab setting in 1980 as depicted in a black and white photo.

New exhibits showcase trailblazing MIT women

Materials from MIT’s Distinctive Collections reveal stories of women at the Institute.

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Madeleine Laitz, left, and lead author Dane deQuilettes stand side by side in the lab.

Study unlocks nanoscale secrets for designing next-generation solar cells

The work will help researchers tune surface properties of perovskites, a promising alternative and supplement to silicon, for more efficient photovoltaics.

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Charles Black and Anna Beck stand side by side wearing blue lab coats, protective eyewear, and gloves.

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Innovators: First Year Students Make Unique Penicillins

5.301 Laboratory Chemistry Techniques provides undergraduate first year students a lab experience from theory to useful products in antibiotic synthesis.

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Graduate Student Spotlight: Ashton Davis

Chemistry Graduate Student Ashton Davis describes his research and answers 20 random questions as part of the Graduate Student Spotlight series.

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A man in a suit (Moungi Bawendi) speaks to a packed lecture hall, standing before three display screens.

Moungi Bawendi delivers Nobel Lecture to the MIT Community

On Thursday, February 8, members of the MIT Community and alumni were treated to a lecture by 2023 Nobel Laureate Professor Moungi Bawendi.

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