Prof Swift teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in chemistry.

CHEM 023: MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY
This course examines the interconnected relationship between food and chemistry. Ever wonder why an egg solidifies when you cook it? Or why fruit turns brown when it’s cut? Or why certain dishes are prepared in certain ways? Or why recipes have the ingredient list they do? These questions are all rooted in the science of the food components and their treatment. Relevant concepts and language surrounding the chemistry behind proteins, fats, carbohydrates, beverages and other food products will be developed during the semester. This course fulfills the College science requirement has no prerequisites.

CHEM-115: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I
This is the first half of a year-long course in introductory organic chemistry. Topics covered include the structural, synthetic, mechanistic and physical properties of several broad classes of molecules including alkanes, alkyl halides, alkenes, alkynes, alcohols and ethers. Stereochemical aspects of organic molecules and several spectroscopic methods (IR, NMR, and mass spectra) are also covered. Previous completion of CHEM 002 & 010 or their equivalent is a pre-requisite for this course.

CHEM-117: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LAB I
This course is an introduction to conventional laboratory techniques used in making, separating and purifying organic molecules, this course is designed to reinforce the principles of organic reactions and stereochemistry discussed in the lecture, improve critical thinking skills through experimentation, observation, data collection, and the evaluation of experimental outcomes. Previous completion of and/or concurrent enrollment in CHEM 115 is a pre-requisite for this course.

CHEM-118: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LAB II
The second lab course in the organic chemistry sequence is designed to provide hands-on experience with organic reactions & materials that have practical “real world” applications, improve laboratory skills and understanding of chemical reactions through experimentation, observation, data collection, and the critical evaluation of experimental outcomes, and to improve science writing skills by describing the experimental purpose & outcomes in a writing style that is consistent in style and tone with common chemistry journals. Previous completion of and/or concurrent enrollment in CHEM 116 is a pre-requisite for this course.

CHEM-570: ORGANIC SOLID STATE CHEMISTRY
This class surveys the historically important research accomplishments upon which much of the field of solid state organic chemistry is based as well as the current questions being addressed in the field. The major topics to be covered include (1) fundamentals of crystalline structures, (2) solid state reactivity, (3) nucleation & growth and (4) structure-property relationships and their applications. Other topics may be included depending on collective interest.

CHEM-903: TECHNIQUES IN CHEM EDUCATION
The purpose of this course is (1) to familiarize graduate students with some the departmental expectations and resources in regard to teaching and research and (2) to provide an additional venue in which to enable students to work on the “soft skills” that are necessary in their capacity as both a teaching assistant and researcher. A variety of topics will be covered including but not limited to scientific ethics, oral presentation skills, scientific writing, effective graphics preparation, conducting literature searches, computational resources and teaching resources.