The Department of Chemical Sciences, erstwhile Chemistry, was established in 1917, at the time of the inception of the Institute. A major part of Shambhu Nath Dey’s seminal work on discovering cholera toxin was performed in this department, for which he was nominated for the Nobel Prize.

Over time, the department has adopted different aspects of chemical principles. Currently, the research areas pursued are carbohydrate and nucleoside chemistry, medicinal chemistry, structure and functions of anti-microbial peptides, principles of prokaryotic gene regulation, theoretical and quantum chemistry, natural product-based drug development, ultrafast spectroscopy, and environmental and atmospheric chemistry.