About Us

Welcome

The Virginia Tech Department of Chemistry is a center for chemistry instruction and interdisciplinary research. Our department is home to nationally and internationally recognized faculty, strong academic programs, and state-of-the-art facilities. 

History

Chemistry has been taught at Virginia Tech since the university's founding in 1872. At the beginning, there were only a handful of faculty members at what was then known as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, with each teaching a wide variety of subjects, leaving little time for research.

While the department has since evolved into a leading modern research department, our roots in a dedication to teaching have remained unchanged. Our faculty members generate over 100 peer-reviewed publications per year and have earned numerous prestigious awards for research, teaching and service, reflecting both the ideology of the department that research and teaching go hand in hand, and the motto of the university, Ut Prosim, That I May Serve.

Location

The department primarily occupies three buildings on the Blacksburg campus: Davidson Hall, originally constructed in 1928; Hahn Hall South, built in 1988; and Hahn Hall North, completed in 2002.