The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

General Info About the School:

Life. This school is in a very small town (~10,000 people) so don't expect too much to do around the town. You can either see this as boring or a great opportunity to focus on your studies for the few years you are here. There is however plenty of outdoor activities such as biking, climbing, etc that you can do. Sports on the other hand are not a highlight of this school. Rugby is the only sanctioned school sport.

Schooling. This school has a much higher standard when it comes to general education requirements than most other universities I've heard about. All students are required to take basic physics, chemistry, and math (calculus) in order to receive a degree. I personally think this amazing since it will prepare anyone for further studies in graduate school and other aspects of life! There are plenty of great undergraduate degrees here! Although the curriculum can be challenging, there is almost always help available to all students through tutoring or 1-on-1 time with professors.

For more info check out the school's web site or the school itself.
Chemistry Department, The Breakdown:

Organic Chemistry. Organic chemistry is the strongest unit of this department at the moment although the word is that that Dr. Kornienko, a natural product chemist (the reason it is so great), may be leaving. There are also two other organic chemists at the school in which on focuses on organic solar cell devices and dyes whereas the other is a fresh out of his post-doc aspiring natural product chemist.

Biochemistry. While there is a biochemistry lab in the department, the classes under the instruction of the main professor, Dr. Steelant, come no where near the level one would expect to master the subject. Although the lab does offer the opportunity to become familiar with certain biomedical lab techniques, it very closely overlaps with most of the curriculum and experience you would receive from a well rounded Biology/Molecular Biology program. I strongly recommend those with an interest in Biochemistry to seek an alternative school since actual biochemistry programs exist elsewhere.

Physical Chemistry. As of now, there is barely a functional physical chemistry unit in the department although a very well knowledgeable theoretical physical chemist is on staff, Dr. Werbelow. A molecular modeling lab is being started by Dr. Altig but because of its infancy nothing can be said about it.

Equipment: From what I know, the department operates two functional liquid nuclear magnetic resonance instruments (a 300 MHz and 400 MHz) and a solid state NMR. One Infrared spectrometer. One Raman Spectrometer. One Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. A HPLC/GC. A flow cytometer. A non-functional mass spectrometer. ((As a note, just because the department does not have a certain instrument does not mean other departments on campus do not and when necessary they are used. The lack of additional NMR instruments is unfortunate since they are a major staple in modern chemistry.))

Facilities (my highlights). Most of the labs in the department were recently remodeled to modern standards and all are operational. Individual research labs all seem adequate. The main building still uses a swamp cooler which may or may not be an issue depending on weather but the annex has refrigerated air.

The Ugly. A few of the faculty in the department put other faculty members and students down, bringing down the moral of the students in the department as well as the graduate students that teach the labs. There is not a high degree of professional behavior within the department regarding faculty and student relationships. Like in a small town, rumors and comments spread like wildfire. Additionally, the infighting between faculty social groups is taking away a possibly great learning and research environment. Lately, the same faculty mentioned above is trying to to get a fellow faculty member (a respected scientist and chemist in the department) fired over a hurt ego. ((I mention this to give a small picture into the reality of what to expect when being in the department. My experiences may not reflect the opinions of anyone else.))

Overall. Once again, I strongly recommend people seeking a degree in Chemistry to look into other schools first. As of right now, the environment is not one I could recommend to friends. As for the level of education received, I would rate the experience to be moderate at best for the undergraduates degree. I can not say I would ever want to attend the graduate program.