The Chemistry Department has been involved in a number of joint activities both within and outside of the University over the years. A few of these activities are perhaps particularly worth mentioning, two relating to undergraduate programs and one to the areas of graduate studies and research. In 1970, the Biochemistry program was created and is run jointly by members of the Chemistry and Biology Departments, both of whom have biochemists on staff. This program has been very popular and has attracted many excellent students over the years. In 1991, an undergraduate program in Environmental Science was launched. This is a broad program and involves the participation of many departments and disciplines including Chemistry.
On the research and graduate studies side, by far the most important development occurred in 1981. This saw the complete amalgamation of Carleton’s graduate programs in Chemistry with the University of Ottawa’s graduate programs in Chemistry and the creation of the Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Research and Graduate Studies in Chemistry, later shortened to the Ottawa-Carleton Chemistry Institute (OCCI). The Institute now has well over 100 graduate students and has changed two medium-sized programs into one of the most highly respected operations in the country. Based on the success of this program many other graduate programs (e.g. all Departments in Science and Engineering) have followed suit and amalgamated their programs and activities with those at the University of Ottawa.