Sherry Chemler's Teaching Philosophy

The study of chemistry, the central science, offers an interesting and rewarding future for those who pursue it at many levels. The energy, fine chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields offer many employment opportunities. In addition, chemistry is by nature designed to be interdisciplinary: its practitioners are uniquely poised to contribute to related fields in biology, biophysics and the health sciences. A sound undergraduate and postgraduate chemical education can also provide the basis for a career in scientific journalism, governmental scientific advisory, chemical industry-related sales and business as well as medicine and law. Upon occasion, one also finds a chemical education in the background of philosophers, science fiction writers, artists and politicians. A sound chemical education can be an excellent foundation for a diverse array of productive and fulfilling careers. Freedom, pressure, diversity, curiosity, necessity and responsibility are all components of creative and productive research and thought. Many philosophers point to science as the modern philosophy‹an area where we can still discover, invent, create and push forward. If that is so, then scientists are truly privileged individuals.

Laying a solid foundation in physical organic chemistry, organic reaction mechanisms and total synthesis strategy is at the core of the rigorous organic chemistry graduate program. Our graduate program offers two general courses in organic chemistry 1) organic reaction mechanisms and 2) natural product synthesis. Special topics courses in asymmetric catalysis, organometallic chemistry, bioorganic materials and biological catalysis, among others, and our partner program in Medicinal Chemistry, with its respective core curriculum, offer our students the opportunity for a very solid and diverse organic chemistry education.

UB Learns

UBLearns provides access to course handouts, notes and syllabus for registered students. Access the UB Learns Blackboard pages here!

CHE501: Graduate Organic Reactions

	Syllabus CHE501
	CHE501 Course Folder

CHE514: Asymmetric Catalysis

The 2001 Nobel prize in chemistry went to three chemists who pioneered the area of asymmetric catalysis. What's all the buzz about? In this course, methods for synthesizing enantioenriched organic compounds through asymmetric catalysis are described. Both transition metal and organocatalysis methods are covered.

	Syllabus CHE514
	CHE514 Course Folder

Teaching Problems

Mechanism problems in organic chemistry, courtesy of two leading organic synthesis educators, Dave Evans and Erik Sorensen

1. UB Learns

2. Challenging Problems in Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Evans Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University

3. Selected Problems in Organic Chemistry, Sorensen Laboratory, The Scripps Research Institute

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