Chemistry department chair Scott Rychnovsky has been named a 2011 fellow of the American Chemical Society. He specializes in organic and synthetic chemistry, including the synthesis of complex natural products and development of novel materials that could lead to the creation of effective new drugs. The chemical society, an independent body created by Congress and based in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific group of its kind, with 165,000 members who conduct work related to or using chemistry.