Analytical chemistry spans nearly all areas of chemistry but involves the development of tools and methods to measure physical properties of substances and apply those techniques to the identification of their presence (qualitative analysis) and quantify the amount present (quantitative analysis) of species in a wide variety of settings.

Chemical Biology research uses the tools of chemistry and synthesis to understand biology and disease pathways at the molecular level. Advanced Biological Chemistry interests include diverse topics such as nucleic acids, DNA repair, bioconjugate chemistry, peptides and peptidomimetics, glycoscience, biomolecular structure and function, imaging, and biological catalysis. Biophysical Chemistry represents the union of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology using a variety of experimental and theoretical approaches to understand the structure and function of biological systems.

Inorganic chemistry is concerned with the properties and reactivity of all chemical elements. Advanced interests focus on understanding the role of metals in biology and the environment, the design and properties of materials for energy and information technology, fundamental studies on the reactivity of main group and transition elements, and nanotechnology. Synthetic efforts are directed at hydrogen storage materials and thermoelectrics, catalysts for solar hydrogen generation, fullerenes and metal porphyrins, metal clusters and compounds with element-element bonds, as well as nanowires and nanoparticles.

Organic Chemistry research involves the synthesis of organic molecules and the study of their reaction paths, interactions, and applications. Advanced interests include diverse topics such as the development of new synthetic methods for the assembly of complex organic molecules and polymeric materials, organometallic catalysis, organocatalysis, the synthesis of natural and non-natural products with unique biological and physical properties, structure and mechanistic analysis, natural product biosynthesis, theoretical chemistry and molecular modeling, diversity-oriented synthesis, and carbohydrate synthesis.

The advent of computers has revolutionized the approach toward understanding chemistry at a fundamental level far beyond what is capable with traditional pen and paper. Advanced Theoretical chemistry spans a wide range of theoretical and computational methods applied to chemical and biological systems including the development and application of quantum chemical and molecular mechanics simulation methods to diverse topics such as dynamic processes involved in the formation of nanomaterials; structures, dynamics and transport of ions through biological membranes; basic processes of electron-driven chemistry; biological electron and proton transfer processes; bonding and electronic structures of unusual inorganic and organic molecules; mechanisms of organic and organometallic reactions; and rational drug design.