This course examines the structure and organization of the chemical literature in the fields of physical and theoretical chemistry chemistry and introduces techniques used to search this literature, focusing on the logic and thought processes necessary for effective information retrieval. The course takes an "under the hood" look at the organization and functionality of a variety of different databases and search systems, and, while learning information retrieval skills, students gradually become familiar with the structure of the chemical literature, the purposes of each genre, and the steps of the scientific publication process. Because of the diversity of research foci in physical and theoretical chemistry, the course is survey in nature, devoting time to a wide variety of tools and search strategies and demonstrating Penn’s collections in chemistry, mathematics, physics, materials science, and engineering. In addition to teaching search skills, we briefly examine methods of choosing a publication venue and the use and limitations of citation information when evaluating authors, institutions, and journals. The semester closes with a brief introduction to personal data management and a discussion of the ethics surrounding scientific communication.
The course is taught at a level appropriate for graduate students and advanced undergraduates and requires permission of the instructor to register. Undergraduate students should have taken two semesters of organic chemistry prior to enrolling. Students should have an interest in physical or theoretical chemistry research.

This course examines the structure and organization of the chemical literature in the field of biological chemistry and introduces techniques used to search this literature, focusing on the logic and thought processes necessary for effective information retrieval. The course takes an "under the hood" look at the organization and functionality of a variety of different databases and search systems, and, while learning information retrieval skills, students gradually become familiar with the structure of the chemical literature, the purposes of each genre, and the steps of the scientific publication process. Search skills are taught using a combination of lecture and laboratory activities, and students learn advanced text-based search techniques, protein and nucleotide sequence and structure similarity search strategies, basic substructure and reaction search strategies, and methods of retrieving property information and profiling substances by their properties. Students will also undertake a detailed examination protein and small molecule crystal structure databases. In addition to search skills, the students are exposed to strategies for choosing a publication venue; the use and limitations of citation information when evaluating authors, institutions, and journals; and the basic principles behind peer review. The semester closes with a brief introduction to personal data management and an in-depth discussion of the ethics surrounding scientific communication.
The course is taught at a level appropriate for graduate students and advanced undergraduates and requires permission of the instructor to register. Undergraduate students should have taken two semesters of organic chemistry prior to enrolling. Students should have an interest in biochemistry or molecular biology research.

This course is focused on molecular species that contain metal-carbon bonds, and the role of these compounds in catalytic processes and organic synthesis. Aspects of the synthesis, structure and reactivity of important classes of organometallic compounds such as metallo alkyl, aryl, alkene, alkylidene and alkylidyne complexes are surveyed for the d and f block metals. Emphasis is placed on general patterns of reactivity and recurring themes for reaction mechanisms.

This course provides an introduction to key concepts in inorganic chemistry, including an overview of the origins of periodic trends, an introduction to various bonding theories (crystal field theory, valence bond theory, and molecular orbital theory), and the kinetics of elementary reactions of coordination complexes. Density functional theory calculations will be performed by students (no experience necessary) to support key concepts developed in the course.

This is an introductory course on methods and applications of macromolecular structure determination using X-ray crystallography. The course will be broken up into three parts: 1) Principles of X-ray crystallography involving didactic lectures on the technique with weekly problem sets; 2) Workshops on macromolecular structure determination involving hands-on experience with the technology; 3) Student "journal club" presentations on current high impact publications involving X-ray crystal structure determination. Prerequisite: Undergraduate calculus and trigonometry.

Structure, dynamics, and function of biological macromolecules. Properties of macromolecular assemblies, membranes and their compartments. (Formerly, CHEM 450-I).

This half-semester course continues to emphasize organic reactions, reaction mechanisms, and their strategic applications in complex molecule synthesis. Topics covered include oxidations, reductions, carbon-carbon bond formations, and strategic applications of protecting groups.

This course focuses on organic reactions, reaction mechanisms, and the strategic applications of these reactions in organic synthesis. Topics include symmetry, stereochemistry, stereoselectivity, olefinations, olefin metathesis, transition-metal catalyzed cross couplings, cycloadditions, electrocyclizations, sigmatropic rearrangements, and other pericycylic reactions. The material will be illustrated by applications in multistep chemical synthesis. Based on this course, students should be able to read the modern literature, develop independent research proposals in organic chemistry, and succeed in graduate school.

This course a high level overview of methods for the study of organic, organometallic, and inorganic reaction mechanism. The preceding course Chem 5412 or its equivalent must be taken before this course. The course will briefly review basic mechanistic conventions (arrows, radical intermediates, etc.) and then more onto a survey thermodynamic and kinetic measurements used in understanding chemical reactions. Topics include kinetic measurements and interpretation, Arrhenius theory, Eyring theory, kinetic isotope effects, Hammett analyses, and electronic structure calculations. Articles discussing these techniques in delineating the reaction mechanisms for problems of current interest will be analyzed. The focus will be on experiments that can be accomplished with readily available analytical tools (NMR, IR, UV, GC, HPLC) and how an undertanding of mechanism can be used to optimize reaction yields and selectivities.

Physical Organic I is an introduction to advanced physical organic chemistry. Mechanism drawing with arrows to denote the movement of an electron density will be a unifying theme. The course will overview organic bonding (basic molecular orbital theory, anomeric effect), structure (bond lengths, bond angles, delocalization and resonance, conformational analysis), and reactivity (electronegativity, nucleophilicity, electrophilicity, acidity, basicity, stereoelectronics).