Division of Natural Sciences

Rooted in 200 years of academic excellence, Columbia attracts the best scientific minds from across the country and around the world. Columbia’s Arts and Sciences science faculty include 240 faculty members across nine academic departments: AstronomyBiologyChemistryEarth and Environmental SciencesEcology, Evolution and Environmental BiologyMathPhysicsPsychology; and Statistics. Together with hundreds of undergraduate majors, graduate students, and post-docs, we are a community advancing fundamental knowledge and committed to solving the world's most daunting challenges in health, technology, and the environment.

From the discovery of deuterium to proving plate tectonic theory and the astronomical theory of ice age cycles, to the development of laser and radar and the detection of gravitational waves, to groundbreaking innovations in population genetics and cancer genomics, distinguished Columbia scientists have led innovation and creative interdisciplinary collaborations for decades.

Ruben L Gonzalez Jr,  Dean of Natural Science

Ruben Gonzalez is a Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University. He is a first-generation Cuban-American and the first in his family to attend college. He obtained his B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Florida International University (FIU), a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), in 1995 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley in 2000.