Teaching Faculty
Chemistry Education, Laboratory and Course Curriculum Development, Academic Advising
B.S. Chemistry, University of North Carolina, (1987); University of North Carolina, Ph.D. (1995);Assistant Professor, USAF Academy (1997-1998); Visiting Lecturer, University of North Carolina (1996-1997); Johnston Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2011; Class of 1996 Excellence In Advising Award, Presented April 2010 - Academic Advising Program in the College of the Arts and Sciences and the General College of UNC-CH, 2010; National Academic Advising Association's Faculty Advisor Award, 2006; Johnston Undergraduate Teaching Award, 2004; Student Undergraduate Teaching Award, 2003; College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Advising Award, UNC-CH, 2002. Michel-Shaw Award for Undergraduate Advising, UNC-CH, 1999. Order of the Old Well, UNC-CH, 1993. Graduate Teaching Award, UNC-CH, 1990
The Undergraduate Chemistry Program at UNC-CH is among the largest and most productive in the nation. My role in this program is to provide an "intellectual spark" that might in some way enhance the environment for undergraduate education. This task is multifaceted and involves undergraduate instruction, curriculum development, academic advising, and the hiring/training/supervision of undergraduates as tutors and laboratory teaching assistants.
In the realm of curriculum development, I have previously been involved in the general chemistry laboratories and in the integration of computer assisted data collection into our lab curriculum. In the classroom I developed and taught a first-year seminar which introduces students to the various aspects of nuclear chemistry (2010-2012). Also in the classroom I'm continuing to use and experiment with various forms of multimedia instruction and assessment. Most prevalent among these methods are the use of online homework assignments, multimedia in lecture, internet research assignments, in-class response interfaces, as well as in-class "live" demonstrations. All these endeavors are focused on both making the classroom a more dynamic environment and on better engaging the students in the subject matter.
Through 2010-2013, I'm carrying out an assessment to study the impact the math skills of our first-year students have on their performances in our general chemistry curriculum. Hopefully, some valuable data will come from this assessment which might allow us to better assist our incoming students in the identification and correction, through review, of any math skill deficiencies they may have. The development of an online tool for assessment and review that can be accessed prior to matriculation is a long-term goal.
As an advisor for the majors, I'm intimately involved in providing both academic and career advice for our majors as well as in assisting them with course planning and registration. I also hold both private sessions and public presentations for students to assist them with the formulation of the effective study skills necessary to excel in the college science classroom.