Chemistry

The natural science chemistry examines the composition, structure, characteristics and transformation of substances. Important aspects of this science include the presentation and characterization of materials as well as the physical laws that govern the transformation of substances. Thus, chemistry provides the basis for producing new substances and materials for use in medicine, energy storage, agriculture or the household, and for developing new analytical processes in diagnostics, environmental protection, and quality assurance.

The three main areas of chemistry are inorganic chemistry (bonding of elements: description, characteristics, bonding situation), organic chemistry (bonding with carbon skeleton, e.g. biomacromolecules) and physical chemistry (application of physical methods for analyses of substances and substance transformations). A sharp distinction between these fields, however, is neither possible nor useful. Experiments are the key means of generating knowledge in all natural sciences that rely on inductive reasoning. Providing students with solid practical skills in the chemical lab is therefore an essential part of academic training in chemistry.

Possible lines of work:

Research and development, production, application technology, account management and marketing in the chemical industry as well as medium-sized chemical companies and chemical-related companies; public service (e.g. environmental authorities responsible for monitoring soil, water and air quality, forensics), external or internal quality control of food products and materials; consulting, providing expert opinion in a free-lance capacity, technical documentation and patents, research/academic work at universities, institutes of technology and non-university research institutions.