The Department of Chemistry is one of the first Departments to function after the Indian Institute of Technology Madras was founded in 1959.
The Department began with one Professor and one lecturer as faculty members, to conduct classes for the undergraduate engineering programme of the Institute.
Prof. Sekar has been elected as a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Arnab Rit has been awarded CRS Bronze Medal.
Prof. Md Mahiuddin Baidya has been awarded the prestigious CRSI Bronze Medal for 2025.
Dr. Yamijala S R K Chaitanya Sharma has been awarded Young Faculty Recognition Award 2024 at IIT Madras
Applications are invited throughout the year from highly motivated, talented students who have completed M. Sc in Chemistry with a valid GATE score or a valid fellowship from CSIR(JRF), UGC(JRF) or DST(INSPIRE).