Welcome to the Department of Chemistry at UC San Diego!
I am honored to serve as Chair of this extraordinary department. This is a meaningful moment for Chemistry at UC San Diego: a time to celebrate our strengths, deepen our sense of shared purpose, and imagine boldly what we can build together.
Chemistry is a science of transformation. It helps us understand matter at the most fundamental level and gives us the tools to create new molecules, materials, medicines, technologies, and ways of seeing the world. It connects discovery to impact. It connects the classroom to the laboratory, the laboratory to society, and fundamental questions to some of the most urgent challenges of our time.
At UC San Diego, Chemistry is defined by exceptional breadth, creativity, and ambition. Our research spans molecular design and synthesis, chemical biology, materials, physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, computation and theory, atmospheric and environmental chemistry, and many areas where traditional boundaries give way to new possibilities. Our faculty, researchers, students, postdoctoral scholars, and staff contribute to a vibrant scientific community that extends across our campus, throughout San Diego, across the nation, and around the world.
Just as important as what we study is how we do our work. Great chemistry depends on people: on curiosity, mentorship, collaboration, careful experimentation, creative risk-taking, and the daily efforts of many individuals whose contributions make discovery and education possible. As Chair, my goal is to help our department be a place where excellence and belonging reinforce one another -- where people are challenged, supported, recognized, and inspired to do their best work.
To our undergraduate students: Whether you are encountering chemistry for the first time, pursuing a major, joining a research group, preparing for graduate or professional school, or building a path toward industry, medicine, education, public service, or another future, you are an essential part of this department. We want the Department of Chemistry to be a place where you discover not only what science can explain, but what you are capable of contributing.
To our graduate students and postdoctoral scholars: Your ideas, energy, and leadership are central to our research mission. You push our science forward every day. We are committed to rigorous training, meaningful mentorship, professional development, and a research environment that prepares you to lead with creativity, independence, and purpose.
To our staff: The department’s work is possible because of your expertise, dedication, and care. You support our students, sustain our research and teaching missions, keep our operations moving, and help create the environment in which science can thrive. Your work is vital to who we are and to where we are going.
To our faculty and research scientists: This is a moment of remarkable opportunity. Our collective strength lies in the depth of our expertise, the breadth of our research, and the generosity with which we mentor, collaborate, and build programs that reach beyond any single laboratory or discipline. Together, we can shape a department known not only for outstanding science, but also for outstanding education, mentorship, and service.
We also warmly welcome alumni, families, collaborators, industry partners, donors, educators, neighbors, and the broader San Diego community. Chemistry at UC San Diego does not stop at the doors of our classrooms and laboratories. It lives in our outreach, partnerships, public mission, and commitment to using knowledge in service of society.
I am deeply optimistic about our future. We have extraordinary people, remarkable students, world-class research, and a community capable of doing meaningful things together. My hope is that everyone who comes to the Department of Chemistry—whether to learn, teach, discover, work, collaborate, visit, or support our mission—finds a place driven by curiosity, rigor, respect, creativity, and shared purpose.
Thank you for visiting our website and for your interest in Chemistry at UC San Diego. I invite you to explore our programs, attend our seminars, learn about our research, connect with our community, and join us in the work of discovery.
Together, we will build a Department of Chemistry that is inclusive, ambitious, collaborative, and outward-looking—a department where excellent chemistry thrives because people thrive.
Francesco Paesani
Chair, Department of Chemistry
UC San Diego