Chemistry and Biochemistry
Return to: College of Science
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Chemistry and the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Biochemistry. The BS degrees may have, but do not require a minor. The BS in Chemistry degree includes the opportunity to obtain a minor in Secondary Education with Certification in Physical Science or Science. The BS degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry are certified by the American Chemical Society if the course of study is 43 Chemistry semester credit hours (BS Biochemistry) or 47 Chemistry semester credit hours (BS Chemistry).
Pre-Professional Career Advice
The BS Chemistry and BS Biochemistry degrees offer excellent preparation for students interested in careers in dentistry, forensic science, medicine, pharmacy, or veterinary medicine. Students interested in these professions should seek advice from the Pre-Professional Advisor in the Dean of Science Office.
Five-Year Bachelor of Science-Master of Science Program
The curriculum for the BS degree in Chemistry can be completed in three and one-half years. After admission to the Graduate School of the University, it is possible to obtain the MS degree at the end of the fifth year of study in chemistry. Qualified students should consult an academic advisor about the course of study for this program before reaching 60 undergraduate semester credit hours.
Advising and Placement
All students majoring in Chemistry or Biochemistry are required to consult with and have their semester enrollment approved by an advisor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry before every enrollment. For additional information about advisors and advising in chemistry see https://www.utep.edu/science/chemistry/index.html. For advising in secondary education see https://www.utep.edu/science/core/ or contact the College of Science Central Office for Readiness and Engagement, 915-747-8027.
Any entering freshman students with at least one year of high school chemistry with an A or B in Chemistry can receive Credit by Examination for CHEM 1305 by achieving a score of 80 or above on an Examination administered by the Department of Chemistry covering the content of this course.
An entering freshman student with two years of high school Chemistry with grades of A or B can receive Credit by Examination for CHEM 1305 and CHEM 1306 by achieving a scores of 80 or above on Examinations administered by the Department of Chemistry covering the content of these two courses.
Chair
Professor
James Becvar
Contact Information: jbecvar@utep.edu; 915-747-7563
Education: Ph D, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Carlos Cabrera Martinez
Contact Information: crcabrerama@utep.edu; 915-747-7550
Education: BS, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus; Ph D, Cornell University
Carl Dirk
Contact Information: cdirk@utep.edu; 915-747-7560
Education: BA, Montclair State College; MS, Northwestern University; Ph D, Northwestern University
Carlos Ferregut
Contact Information: ferregut@utep.edu; 915-747-6921
Education: BS, National Polytechnic Institute; MS, National Autonomous University of Mexico; Ph D, University of Waterloo
Jorge Gardea-Torresdey
Contact Information: jgardea@utep.edu; 915-747-5359
Education: BS, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua; MS, New Mexico State University; Ph D, New Mexico State University; Postdoctoral: Department of Energy (WERC), New Mexico State University
Wen-Yee Lee
Contact Information: wylee@utep.edu; 915-747-8413
Education: BA, National Taiwan Normal University; MS, The University of Texas at El Paso; Ph D, The University of Texas at El Paso; Post Doctoral Training, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
XiuJun (James) Li
Contact Information: xli4@utep.edu; 915-747-8967
Education: BS, Qingdao University; MS, Shandong University; Ph D, Simon Fraser University; Postdoctoral, University of California, Berkley; Postdoctoral, Harvard University
Mahesh Narayan
Contact Information: mnarayan@utep.edu; 915-747-6614
Education: BS, University of Bombay; Ph D, The Ohio State University; Postdoctoral, Cornell University; Sr. Res. Assoc., Cornell University
Keith Pannell
Contact Information: kpannell@utep.edu; 915-747-5796
Education: BS, Durham University; MS, Durham University; Ph D, University of Toronto
Shailendra Varma
Contact Information: skvarma@utep.edu; 915-747-6937
Education: B.Eng., University of Roorkee; MS, University of Denver; Ph D, Georgia Institute of Technology
Dino Villagran
Contact Information: dino@utep.edu; 915-747-8750
Education: BS, The University of Texas at El Paso; MS, The University of Texas at El Paso; Ph D, Texas A&M University; Postdoctoral fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Chuan Xiao
Contact Information: cxiao@utep.edu; 915-747-8657
Education: BS, Fudan University; MS, Fudan University; Ph D, Purdue University
Associate Professor
Ricardo Bernal
Contact Information: rbernal@utep.edu; 915-747-6918
Education: BS, Texas A&M University; MS, The University of Texas at El Paso; Ph D, Purdue University; Postdoctoral, Medical Research Council- Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Skye Fortier
Contact Information: asfortier@utep.edu; 915-747-5195
Education: Ph D, University of California, Santa Barbara
Amol Kulkarni
Contact Information: akulkarni@utep.edu;
Education: Ph D, University at Buffalo
Katja Michael
Contact Information: kmichael@utep.edu; 915-747-5240
Education: BS, University of Frankfurt; MS, University of Frankfurt; Ph D, Technical University in Munich
Juan Noveron
Contact Information: jcnoveron@utep.edu; 915-747-7572
Education: BA, California State University Long Beach; Ph D, University of California Santa Cruz; Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Utah
James Salvador
Contact Information: jsal@utep.edu; 915-747-5704
Education: High School, Stephen F. Austin High School; BS, University of Texas at El Paso; Ph D, New Mexico State University
Geoffrey Saupe
Contact Information: gsaupe@utep.edu; 915-747-7559
Education: Ph D, University of Texas at Austin
Lela Vukovic
Contact Information: lvukovic@utep.edu;
Education: Ph D, University of Illinois
Assistant Professor
Harish Banda
Contact Information: hbanda1@utep.edu; 915-747-8778
Education: MS, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research; Ph D, Communauté Université Grenoble Alpes
Elizabeth Day
Contact Information: elday@utep.edu; 915-747-5010
Education: BS, The University of South Dakota; Ph D, The University of Georgia
Jose Hernandez-Viezcas
Contact Information: jahernandez19@utep.edu; 915-747-8678
Education: Ph D, The University Of Texas at El Paso
Eda Koculi
Contact Information: ekoculi@utep.edu;
Education: Ph D, John Hopkins
Robert Pankow
Contact Information: rmpankow@utep.edu; 915-747-7555
Education: BA, UC Santa Barbara; MS, CSU Northridge; Ph D, University of Southern California
Hamidreza Sharifan
Contact Information: hsharifan@utep.edu; 915-747-5360
Education: MS, Texas Tech University; Ph D, Texas A&M University
Sreeprasad Sreenivasan
Contact Information: sreenivasan@utep.edu;
Education: Ph D, Indian Institute of Technology
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Saideh Mortazavi
Contact Information: ssmortazavi@utep.edu; 915-747-5701
Education: Ph D, University of Texas
Professor of Instruction
Stephen Stafford
Contact Information: stafford@utep.edu; 915-747-6930
Education: BS, The University of Texas at El Paso; Ph D, Rice University
The University of Texas at El Paso
College of Science
Chemistry and Computer Science Building
500 W University
El Paso, Texas 79902
Phone: 915.747.8027
Email: chemistry@utep.edu