History of the Department
1875
Foundation of the Physical Science Department
1880
Fr. Kemp founder of the first Chemistry lab. Served for 27 years
1884
The first B.Sc. student passed was Bapuji Palanji Doctor who studied Chemistry under Fr. Kemp.
1890
Separate building for Chemistry
1891
The Department of Chemistry came into existence as an independent entity.
1902
Chemistry began to be studied as a separate subject. The Chemistry was introduced first time in M.A. examination
1907
Fr. Henry Slerp came to the helm and work hard for the development of the lab. The current honors program probably originated from his approach. Project work like water and soil analysis was introduced in the college and this kind of learning has become an integral part of education in Xavier’s.
1909
Springer research scholarship was started by the university and awarded to Mr. H. K. Sahir who passed his M.A. exam in 1908 with First class.
1910
Fr. Slerp became the first Chemistry Principal.
1912
Dr. J.T. Lalvani secured the Dady prize for a treatise on water analysis of several hot water spring
1920
Dr. S.K. Gokhale and Fr. Sacasa inducted into the Department. Fr. Sacasa stepped in as the Head of the Department with added dedication and the idea of discovering by research which made him the pioneer to infuse the provocative theme of a creative study through intensive research.
1930
Dr. V. V. Nadkarny joined the Department
1935
The Chemistry shed was demolished and work began to convert what was a dream into architectural gems of ‘the purest ray serene’. The magnitude of the labor can be gauged from the fact that building operations went on apace till the end of 1936.
1960
Present Chemistry Department was built
1972
The AMC (Amateur Mountaineering Club) was started with the help of Fr. John Misquitta who conducted hikes.
1972 - 1974
Nadkarny Sacasa Research lab was constructed which was meant for research at MSc and Ph.D. level by the help of Fr. J. V. D’Souza
1979
Khandala seminar started by Department of Chemistry now followed by other Departments
1980
Nadkarny Platinum jubilee was celebrated.
1986
An exhibition ‘Chemoflage’ was organized by the student and staff of the Chemistry Department on a fairly massive scale which was a huge success.
1999
The Chemistry lab on the first and ground floor was renovated with the help of a donation by Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.
2003
XAC was formed by a group of TY students and some staff which aims at fostering interaction between students at a different level and between students and staff. This is the first association of students of a science Department that has grown in popularity since then and organizes intra - college and inter - college activities.
2008
The first female head of Department Dr. S. Potnis was appointed.
Renovation of ground floor lab.
2011
Inauguration of present Modern Chemistry Laboratory on the first floor.
International Year of Chemistry was declared by IUPAC and UNESCO and for that two-day festival was organized.
2014
The first International Conference of Chemistry (ICC) titled, 'Chemistry Cutting Edge: Nano, Green and Beyond' was organized by Dr. Fr. Roy Pereira
National Workshop in collaboration with Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) was organized titled Sustainable Energy: Crisis and Management
2017
Research Scholar Meet (RSM) was organized for the first time in collaboration with the Indian Chemical Society (Mumbai Branch).
Mass Spectrometry Workshop was organized by Dr. Freddy Havaldar
International Conference was organized by Dr. Fr. Roy Pereira in collaboration with IIFr, Delhi.
2018
International Symposium on "Recent Developments in the Neurological Sciences and the new Interpretation of the Spiritual Aspects in Humans" was organized by Dr. Fr. Roy Pereira.
2019
The International Science Conference (ISC) titled, ‘From Health to Well-being: An Interdisciplinary approach from Fundamental Sciences to Translational Medicine’ that was organized in collaboration with Creighton University, USA by Dr. Fr. Roy Pereira.
Headship
Prof. Bhagwat, Chhapgar, Fr. Corbella, Nadkarny, A.Y. Prabhudesai, Melky Alvares, Anthony Monteiro, Peter Fernandes, Dr. Hoshang Master, Dr. Surbhi Potnis, Dr. Freddy Havaldar, Dr. Fr. Roy Pereira and at present Prof. Marazban Kotwal.
Research Guides
Dr. V. V. Nadkarny, Dr. Kothare, Dr. Lawande, Dr. J. V. Bhat, Fr. John Misquitta, Dr. Peter S. Fernandes, Dr. Hoshang Master, Dr. Freddy Havaldar, Dr. Zoeb Filmwala, Dr. Dionysia Coutinho, Dr. Sapna Purohit and Dr. Pralhad Rege.
Principals from the Chemistry Department
Fr. Henry Slerp, Fr. John Misquitta, Fr. Joe Dias
Vice-Principals from the Chemistry Department
Fr. Bulchand, Dr. A.Y. Prabhudesai, Dr. Rajkumar Rao and Dr. Dionysia Coutinho, Dr. Gulshan Shaikh and at present Fr. Dr. Roy Pereira