Atualizado em 27/05/2020 por Secretaria do Departamento de Química Fundamental
From Undergraduate students to Post-Doc fellows, a national reference in education and research
The Department of Fundamental Chemistry was founded in 1970 with the creation of the Institute of Chemistry by the University of São Paulo. However, its origins dates back to the foundation of USP in 1934, as described in the book Origem do Instituto de Química da USP (Origins of the USP Institute of Chemistry, get a free electronic copy here – only Portuguese version).
The cornerstone for the creation of the Department was the decision of several groups and faculties, i.e., i) Department of Chemistry and Molecular Spectroscopy at the former School of Philosophy, Letters and Science; ii) Department of Physics at the former School of Philosophy, Letters and Science; iii) College of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, and iv) Department of Chemical Engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo.
The Department of Fundamental Chemistry comprises a mix of specialists from various areas with a strong emphasis in an interdisciplinary approach to research and education.
Having this bold profile and covering the most relevant areas of Chemistry, the Department has become the most important center for the nucleation of research groups across the country under the leadership of several generations of Department alumni.
Since its foundation, the Department has offered most of the undergraduate courses in the field of chemistry to around 2,000 students from several USP institutes.
The Department also offer evening courses for undergraduate students in chemistry. Besides teaching, the Department also develops intense research activity in education, producing educational materials and promoting training for high schools teachers or in general.
The Department offers master's and doctoral programs in the different areas of chemistry and the Graduate Program is rated as level 7 (maximum score) by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (CAPES). Several faculty members of the Department participate in the Graduate Interdepartmental Program in Science Teaching (with emphasis in Chemistry).
The Department has been in a constant change since its origin, with the inclusion of the Laboratory of Natural Products Chemistry, sponsored by FAPESP in 1967; the Cooperative Program between National Academy of Science/CNPq in the 70´s; by the action of funding agencies (FAPESP, CNPq, CAPES and FINEP); and from 80´s by the Support of Scientific and Technological Development Program (PADCT).
Currently, the faculty is made up of more than 70 members, with about two-thirds comprised of Associate and Full Professor Faculties.
The Department has solid performance in research, with around thirty laboratories and specialized groups, which develop projects in nearly all fields of chemistry as described here.
