Vision

Chemists are driving a molecular revolution of unprecedented magnitude and impact that will transform all of science and the world as we know it. From molecular anthropology, computers and medicine to molecular zoology and all disciplines in between, chemistry—the quintessential molecular science—is enabling us to “see and explore” with atomistic resolution these previously unobservable scientific frontiers.

With that new knowledge chemists create remarkable new molecules, materials, tools and theories for the benefit of science and society. We can now make, modify, simulate and interrogate most molecules that have ever existed. Equally importantly, we can design, make and study fascinating new ones. Unlike our cosmic frontier of planets and galaxies, where study is limited to observation, this frontier is being changed, shaped and expanded by those skilled in chemistry—scientists creating new chemical theories, tools and entities, and with that an expanded universe of molecular knowledge and opportunities.

The Stanford Chemistry Department is a preeminent leader of the molecular revolution, addressing the most challenging and important questions in the physical and life sciences of the 21st century, and contributing to the continued innovation of Silicon Valley. By leveraging its multi-disciplinary vision, its culture of synergistic collaboration and translational science, and its excellence in the physical, medical and engineering sciences, Stanford and its Chemistry Department are opening new fields and frontiers and, with them, fundamentally new and innovative ways to address the increasingly complex scientific, health, energy and environmental problems of our time.