Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London

Department of Chemistry,
Imperial College London

Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City
Former name	Royal College of Chemistry
Established	1845;180 years ago (1845)
Head of Department	Professor Oscar Ces [1]
Faculty	Imperial College Faculty of Natural Sciences
Staff	46 [2]
Students	861 [2]
Location	Imperial College Road, London, United Kingdom 51°29′52″N0°10′39″W / 51.497708°N 0.177475°W / 51.497708; -0.177475
Campus	South Kensington White City (research)
Website	www.imperial.ac.uk/chemistry
Map
Location in Albertopolis, South Kensington

The Department of Chemistry is responsible for chemistry teaching and research at Imperial College, London.

The department comprises approximately 63 academic staff, 10 teaching fellows, 95 postdoctoral research scientists and research fellows, and 1150 students, including 240 PhD students, 150 MRes students, and around 750 undergraduate students, as of the 2016-2017 academic year. ^[3] This community is further supported by over 45 administrative and support staff. The department operates across two sites, one in South Kensington (borough of London), and another in White City (part of the Hammersmith borough) ^[4] .

The first site is the Chemistry Building located on Imperial College Road, overlooking the Dangoor Plaza and the Queen’s Lawn at the South Kensington campus. The second is the Molecular Sciences Research Hub (MSRH), a £170 million building for Chemistry on the White City Campus, which sits in the White City Innovation District. The Molecular Sciences Research Hub houses all research in the Department of Chemistry, and undergraduate students conduct their final-year research projects there.

August Wilhelm von Hofmann was the first professor at the Royal College of Chemistry

History

See also: Royal College of Chemistry and Royal College of Science

The department's origins lie in the Royal College of Chemistry, founded in 1845 on Hanover Square, moving the next year to Oxford Street. ^[5] Its first professor was August Wilhelm von Hofmann, from the University of Giessen. The college was later incorporated into the Normal School of Science as a department, and the school was reestablished as the Royal College of Science in 1890. ^{[6] [7]} In 1907, the Royal College of Science became one of the founding institutions of Imperial College, which joined the University of London, only to leave it and become independent in 2007.

In 2018, the Molecular Sciences Research Hub opened at the college's White City campus, becoming the new centre for the department's academic research. Teaching continues at South Kensington; however, students now undertake research projects at the new research hub. ^[8]

Rankings

• The Department of Chemistry was ranked 11th globally in the 2024 QS World University subject rankings, 4th in Europe and 3rd in the UK. ^[9]
• The 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) results saw the Department ranked 3rd overall in the UK (according to percentage of overall submission that was 4*) and was one of four to score 100% 4* in the UK for research environment (joint 1st).
• The EDI environment was recognized through renewal of its Athena SWAN Gold award (2019), one of only two in Chemistry in the UK.
• All undergraduate courses accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry
• The Department was ranked 4th in the UK by the Times Good University Guide in 2024 and 5th by the Complete University Guide.
• The Department ranked 3rd in the UK and 6th in Europe according to the “Academic Ranking of World Universities."

Research infrastructure

The Molecular Sciences Research Hub is a 24,000m² research facility providing infrastructure for Chemistry with a capacity for 80 groups and more than 800 researchers (including collaborating groups from other departments, stimulating connections between the chemical sciences and other disciplines). The MSRH, which spans nine floors, was built to high energy efficient standards, certified BREEAM Excellent, and awarded a 2019 global laboratory design S-Lab prize.

Imperial College White City aims to co-locate academia and business with a view to supporting economic growth and local skills, enterprise, and innovation with an impact locally and across the UK. This has stimulated a new wave of internal and external SMEs to move into the area. The White City Innovation District is emerging as a hotspot in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine, business (STEMMB), the arts, and media.

To support the growth of the White City Innovation District, the Department co-established the Deep Tech Network in partnership with Upstream, a partnership between Hammersmith and Fulham Council and Imperial College London. The Deep Tech Network runs a series of events and showcases that aim to foster links between stakeholders in White City.

Teaching

Types of study

Undergraduate

The department offers three-year BSc and four-year undergraduate MSci courses. ^[10] The department has connections with universities in Europe, allowing undergraduate master's students to study abroad during their course. It also allows students to take a year in industry and incorporate management or foreign languages into the course. All students graduating with an undergraduate degree from the department are also awarded the Associateship of the Royal College of Science, ARCS.

Postgraduate

The department hosts a large PhD student community, with all students aligned to one of the core research themes. The Department hosts three Centers for Doctoral Training: (i) the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Chemical Biology (ICB CDT), the EPSRC Centre in Synthesis and Reaction Technology, and the Leverhulme Centre for Doctoral Training in Cellular Bionics. It is also a partner in the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Medical Imaging with King's College London.

The department offers MRes and MSc courses in subject specialties ^[11] including:

• MSc in Digital Chemistry
• MRes in Advanced Molecular Synthesis
• MRes in Biological and Physical Chemistry
• MRes in Chemical Biology and Bio-Entrepreneurship
• MRes in Catalysis: Chemistry and Engineering
• MRes in Drug Discovery and Development
• MRes in Green Chemistry: Energy and the Environment
• MRes in Nanomaterials
• MRes in Nanomedicine and Nano-diagnostics

Nobel Laureate Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson completed his bachelor's and doctor's degrees at the department

People

• August Wilhelm von Hofmann, first professor at the Royal College of Chemistry
• Martha Whiteley OBE, one of the inventors of mustard gas (also an alumna of the department)
• Sue Gibson OBE
• Anthony Gerard Martin Barrett FRS, FMedSci (also an alumnus of the department, BSc PhD)
• Lord George Porter OM PRS, 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry ^[12]

Alumni

• Frances Micklethwait MBE ARCS, first researcher into a cure for mustard gas
• Sir Derek Barton BSc ARCS PhD, 1969 Nobel Prize in Chemistry ^[13]
• Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson BSc ARCS PhD, 1973 Nobel Prize in Chemistry ^[14]

References

1. "Contacts | Faculty of Natural Sciences".
2. "STATISTICS POCKET GUIDE 2016–17" (PDF).
3. "Imperial College - Statistics Pocket Guide" (PDF).
4. "Kensington and Chelsea | Map, England, History, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
5. "Royal College of Chemistry". London Remembers.
6. "Imperial College". British History Online.
7. "Chemistry at Imperial | Faculty of Natural Sciences".
8. "Our Future | Faculty of Natural Sciences". Imperial College London.
9. Daniel, Tsharna (10 April 2024). "QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024 has arrived!". QS. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
10. "Course Structure and Content | Faculty of Natural Sciences". Imperial College London.
11. "MRes Courses | Faculty of Natural Sciences".
12. "Nobel Prizes | Faculty of Natural Sciences". Imperial College London.
13. "Derek Barton - Biographical". NobelPrize.org.
14. "Geoffrey Wilkinson - Biographical". NobelPrize.org.