Seminars

The various seminars and colloquia available to the Department of Chemistry provide an unparalleled opportunity to be informed about the latest advances in the chemical sciences and become familiar with leading researchers from other universities, both in the United States and from other countries. The seminar series connect students and faculty in our department with the larger scientific community, enabling them to create intellectual networks that benefit their research and careers well beyond their tenure in the department.

Our main seminar series is the “Monday Colloquium” which invites leading research scientists to share and present their current work. The talks take place throughout the academic term on Mondays at 11:15 am, unless otherwise indicated. The colloquium speakers typically visit the Department for the entire day, meeting with faculty and graduate students. There are also several special lectures held annually. These include sponsored lectures such as the Novartis Lecture, the Lambert Lecture, and the Organic Synthesis Inc. Lecture, as well as seminars hosted by BUWIC and BUYCC, in which the student organizations poll their membership to select the speakers.

The department also hosts the Physical Chemistry Seminar Series at 2:00 pm on Wednesday afternoons in the Life Science & Engineering Building, room 103. In addition to outside speakers, this series features BU graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows, allowing them to practice their presentations in a professional environment and inform the department about their research. An offshoot of this series is the Greater Boston Area (GBA) Theoretical Chemistry Lecture Series sponsored by Boston University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). These talks take place virtually.

Students also have the opportunity to present as part of the Chemical Biology Student Seminars delivered by graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows on the roles of chemistry in biology.

Because of the highly collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of research in the Department, there are also many seminar opportunities in other BU science departments and programs, in which we participate, both on the Charles River Campus and at the BU School of Medicine. These seminars are provided by the Center for Computational Science, the Photonics Center, and the Bioinformatics Program which hosts the Systems and Integrative Biology Seminar.