If you choose Theoretical and Physical Chemistry, you will gain an inter-disciplinary education at the intersection between chemistry, biochemistry, material technology, physics, mathematics and information technology. You will learn how matter behaves on atomic and molecular levels, how this behaviour determines the microscopic and macroscopic properties of the matter and how chemical reactions take place. Theoretical and Physical Chemistry is the study of the fundaments of the discipline Chemistry.
Much of our research is directed towards current problems related to climate and the environment, material technology and life technology. By combining the mathematical rigour of physical and theoretical chemistry with the practical challenges related to finding new materials with completely new properties, understanding all the chemical reactions that take place in the air around us, or understanding how molecules in medicines move around in the cells of the human body, we can discover new and important solutions.
Our understanding of matter builds on physical principles. Knowledge of mathematics is an advantage. Curiosity and enthusiasm are other useful qualities. As a master's student you will become part of one of our research groups. Some of us work with instruments such as mass spectrometers, light, synchrotron and neutron scattering techniques, NMR spectroscopy, electron microscopes and lasers, whereas others use and write their own computer programs for describing the structure and properties of molecules and materials with the help of quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, and statistical mechanics. We often combine experimental investigations with theoretical computations on some of the most powerful super-computers in the world.
We are able to predict the properties of molecules and materials, sometimes even before they have been produced in the laboratory. We can compute and measure precisely how chemical reactions take place in batteries, in living cells, or in the empty space between the stars, and we can simulate the properties of atoms, molecules and nanostructures we would prefer not to have in the laboratory (because of toxicity or explosive characteristics) or that exist in places we can never reach (for example in the powerful magnetic field of a neutron star). We study how molecules, polymers and proteins fold themselves and spontaneously self assemble into intricate nanostrcutures that can be used in medical applications. With the help of powerful x-rays and neutron-rays at international research centres, we can "film" how these structures behave and move on scales from a few angstrom, to nanometers, and even bigger than micrometers. We can even measure and model the transportation of matter through cell membranes. In other words, our models can describe chemical and biological systems comprising everything from a single atom to millions of atoms, so-called multi-scale models.
Through studying physical and theoretical chemistry you will gain a background that will make you attractive to a broad range of employers, both within public bodies and in industry – without necessarily being directly related to chemistry. A master's candidate who has worked with advanced scientific instruments will be sought after in public or private institutions and laboratories. Master's students with a background in polymer and colloid chemistry will find employment in Norwegian industry in branches ranging from medicines to paint. With a master's degree in Theoretical Chemistry you will have gained programming skills that will make you popular in both the computer and finance sectors.