What is Chemistry?
Chemistry is the science of stuff
At its core, chemistry is the study of matter—what it’s made of, how it behaves and how it changes. That means everything you can touch, see, smell, taste and hear. Even the way your brain processes a thought or your eyes adjust to light? That’s chemistry at work.
Every time you cook a meal, start a car or even breathe, you’re watching chemistry at work. It’s behind the energy that powers our homes, the medicine that saves lives and the materials that shape the world—from fabrics and plastics to solar panels and smartphone screens.
At the University at Buffalo Department of Chemistry, we study chemistry to understand how the world works at a molecular level—and how to make it better.
Chemistry in action
Chemistry touches nearly every part of your day. It’s at the center of breakthroughs in:
- Healthcare: Developing new medicines and vaccines
- Energy: Creating cleaner, more sustainable fuels
- The environment: Finding smarter ways to protect natural resources
- Food and agriculture: Preserving food and feeding a growing world
- New materials: From biodegradable packaging to flexible electronics
- Daily life: From clean water to smartphone screens, chemistry is behind it all
🤯 The wonder of chemistry
Here’s the magic: combine two dangerous elements—sodium (a reactive metal) and chlorine (a toxic gas)—and what do you get?
🧂 Table salt.
That’s chemistry. It helps us understand how substances behave on their own—and what happens when they come together to make something entirely new.
Chemists rarely work alone. They team up across fields to push innovation forward:
- With biologists to explore how life works at a molecular scale
- With physicians to design life-saving drugs
- With physicists and geologists to study the universe and Earth’s core
- With ecologists to fight pollution and climate change
- With engineers and innovators to build better materials for everyday use
At UB, chemistry isn’t just something you study—it’s something you do.
You’ll step into real labs, work with cutting-edge tools and tackle problems that matter. Whether you’re exploring how molecules behave, testing new ways to store energy or helping design next-gen medicines, you’ll be learning by doing—from day one.
With support from world-class faculty and access to advanced research facilities, you’ll get hands-on experience that opens doors—whether your next step is a job in industry, a health career or graduate school. From fighting cancer to cleaning up our water, UB chemists are solving problems that impact lives.
Whether you’re curious about careers, want to meet the faculty or are ready to dive into research, here’s where to start: