University of Illinois At Urbana Champaign

Astrochemistry is an interdisciplinary area of knowledge at the intersection between chemistry and astronomy.  As a few examples, topics of active research in this area include identifying organic molecules in interstellar space, building models of the chemical reactions that occur in interstellar space, laboratory measurements of astronomically important molecules, searching for Earthlike planets using molecular signatures, and understanding the contributions of interstellar molecules to the chemical origin of life.  In order to succeed in this field, students require training in both of the traditional disciplines of chemistry and astronomy.