About the Department
Mission
The mission of the Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences is to be an internationally recognized research institute, performing cutting-edge chemical research in four key research areas:
- Synthetic Chemistry & Catalysis;
- Computational Chemistry;
- Molecular Pharmaceutical Sciences;
- Analytical Chemistry & Spectroscopy.
The department has an outstanding research infrastructure and environment for talented scientists and students to achieve the highest possible standards in both research and teaching. The department also recognizes its role in society and maintains effective collaborations with for-profit and non-profit partners to valorize its academic resources.
Organization chart
Synthetic Chemistry & Catalysis
The integrated study of chemical synthetic pathways and their underlying catalytic mechanisms lies at the heart of the discipline of chemistry. This discipline plays a key role in maintaining the competitive strength of the Dutch economy, via continued innovation within Dutch industry. Research at the VU is carried out in the groups of Prof. dr. Koop Lammertsma (Physical Organic Chemistry) and Prof. dr. ir. Romano Orru (Synthetic and Bio-Organic Chemistry).Computational Chemistry
Particularly at the interfaces of chemistry with biology and physics, challenging opportunities appear that make it possible to use a computational approach to further progress in predictive science. This applies especially to the description of 'life', and of new, complex-, and bio-mimetic materials such as those appearing in catalysis and photosynthesis. In Amsterdam the integration of computational chemistry research and teaching activities has been achieved with the start of the Amsterdam Center for Multiscale Modeling (ACMM) in 2008. The VU contribution to the ACMM is formed by the joint staff of the groups centered around Prof. dr. Evert Jan Baerends (Theoretical Chemistry/Density Functional Theory), Prof. dr. Luuk Visscher (Quantum Chemistry and Multiscale Modeling) and Prof. dr. F. Matthias Bickelhaupt (Theoretical Organic Chemistry and Biocatalysis). Within Europe this combined expertise of the ACMM is unique; internationally few institutes exist of comparable depth and breadth, as is evident from accepted quality indicators in the sciences, like publication impact, recognition through prizes (Spinoza, four VICI's), memberships of academies, spin-off activities.Molecular Pharmaceutical Sciences
Molecular pharmaceutical sciences (MPS) is strongly focused on the molecular characterization of drug targets, the design of new drug leads and the establishment of key toxicological and pharmacological profiles in the early stages of drug discovery and development. MPS represents an important part of the molecular research in the Leiden-Amsterdam Center for Drug Research and is supported by the chairs in Pharmacochemistry (Prof. dr. Rob Leurs), Computational and Molecular Toxicology (Prof. dr. Nico Vermeulen) and Target & System Biochemistry (Prof. dr. Martine Smit). The research area is recognized nationally and internationally as a leading centre for pharmaceutical research, with substantial revenues from both governmental research programs (NWO, STW) and industry (TI Pharma, national and international pharmaceutical companies).
Analytical Chemistry & Spectroscopy
Analytical sciences find widespread application in vital areas of the Dutch economy, like chemistry and polymers, life sciences, food/nutrition, health care, the semiconductor industry, safety & forensics, environment & legislation, logistics and trade & transport. The research theme comprises activities in ultrafast photodynamics and spectroscopy in the gas phase (Prof. dr. Maurice Janssen), Applied Spectroscopy (Prof. dr. Cees Gooijer), and Biomolecular Analysis (Prof. dr. Hubertus Irth). Research in the area of analytical chemistry and spectroscopy is dedicated to both fundamental science and applications, with a close connection to industry. The spectroscopy groups at the VU and the UvA group molecular spectroscopy play an important role in the VU Laser Centre.
