When Two Worlds Collide What is the chemical nature of thought? What is memory? Why, over 2000 years since Aristotle first asked such questions, are we still searching? We live and work in very exciting times, and I’m thrilled to be using all tools at my disposal to reach for the answers. Jonathan Sweedler | 04/19/2016











My home department is Chemistry, and most people recognize analytical chemistry as my specialty. At the University of Illinois, many professors work in multiple areas, and I take advantage of this. I currently have appointments in the area of Chemical Biology, the Departments of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Bioengineering, and the Neuroscience Program. My group is also diverse in terms of students. I currently have fourteen PhD students; most are working for degrees in chemistry with an emphasis on analytical chemistry or chemical biology, three are working towards degrees in physiology, and another two in neuroscience. Two students are participants in the university’s MD/PhD program, earning their PhD while attending medical school. When it comes to our research focus, the group uses analytical chemistry to develop new technologies that we may then use to answer neuroscience-related questions.

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About the Author

Jonathan Sweedler

Jonathan Sweedler is based in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the James R. Eiszner Family Endowed Chair in Chemistry and a Center for Advanced Study Professor of Chemistry, and serves as the Director of the School of Chemical Sciences.

Professor Sweedler received his BS degree in Chemistry from the University of California at Davis in 1983, and his PhD from the University of Arizona in 1989. Thereafter, he was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University before joining the faculty at Illinois in 1991. His research interests are in bioanalytical chemistry, and focus on developing new methods for assaying the chemistry occurring in nanoliter-volume samples, and applying these analytical methods to characterize the molecular forms, distribution, and dynamic release of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides from a range of animal models. Professor Sweedler is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Analytical Chemistry.

University of Illinois Affiliations: Department of Chemistry, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Carl R. Woese Institute of Genomic Biology, Department of Bioengineering, Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, and the Neuroscience Program.