The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland conducts an extensive range of laboratory, field, and computer modeling efforts in the area of Environmental Chemistry, all designed to quantify the impact of human activity on the environment, ultimately leading to a more sustainable future.

The faculty members in environmental chemistry (Blough, Dickerson, Mignerey, Mullin, and Salawitch) are leaders in their fields of research. Their research efforts involve support and or collaboration with many of the federal laboratories in the area, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency. The University of Maryland provides an environment for discovery and innovation over a wide range of environmental sciences. Research efforts involve formation transformation of atmospheric aerosols, the effect of pollution on watersheds and the atmosphere, the kinetics of chemical processes involved with the transformation of pollutants, as well as the application of analytical techniques to identify chemicals in fingerprints that might act as molecular chronometers.