In the early 1950s, Technion administration decided to develop the existing science departments beyond their status at the time. They were no longer merely to teach the minimum science requirements to engineering students, but henceforth were also to conduct teaching and research activities in the sciences. In 1954, David Ginsburg was entrusted with the task of developing the Division of Chemistry at the Technion, where a small number of people were already conducting research in physical and analytical chemistry. Following a consolidation period, the science departments at the Technion, including Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics, were given faculty status in 1962. The English name, in line with western usage, continued to be Department of Chemistry. In 1964, the Faculty moved into the complex that it now occupies, comprised of the Bernstein, Canada and Compton buildings. In 2006 the faculty was renamed as the Schulich Faculty of chemistry, following a vary generous donation from the Canadian philanthropist Seymour Schulich.
Today, the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry is a very active and energetic academic unit. With 26 faculty members and about 150 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, the Faculty exhibits the highest ratio of graduate students/faculty at the Technion.
The Faculty’s research and teaching programs span the full spectrum of disciplines within the chemical sciences, including physical, analytical, inorganic, organic, biochemical and theoretical fields, and maintain strong collaborations with the associated sciences of physics, materials science, biology, biotechnology, nanotechnology and medicine.
State-of-the-art research is a vital part of our academic life. In addition to advancing science and technology, it is a vital tool in the education of our about_faculty-smallundergraduate and graduate students. Our research program opens wide horizons for those young women and men, enabling them to take part in cutting-edge science, enter new promising fields, and apply hands-on some of the most sophisticated scientific instrumentation available anywhere today.
More than 2630 students have graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry, including more than 1691 bachelors, 543 masters and 398 doctors. To date, many of the Faculty’s alumni hold leading positions in Israeli industry including its high-tech and defense sectors, universities and other educational institutions, as well as in various governmental and public research organizations.