Chemistry for Engineering Students

Lawrence S. Brown (Ph.D, Princeton University) is a Senior Lecturer and coordinator for the general chemistry for engineers course at Texas A&M University. He received his B.S. in 1981 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his M. A. in 1983 from Princeton University. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow from 1986-88 at the University of Chicago. His research activities include active learning and use of technology in education and integration of chemistry with other subjects in the engineering curriculum. His current efforts are in (i) continued development of the CHEM 107 curriculum, (ii) improving uses of technology in chemical education, and (iii) incorporation of active learning strategies into large classroom settings. These efforts are brought together with the Foundation Coalition, an NSF-supported effort to implement a new model for the education of engineering students. Larry also monitors the CHEM 107 course for Texas A&M's campus in Qatar in the Middle East and has traveled there numerous times. Tom Holme (Ph.D, Rice University) is a chemistry professor at Iowa State University and Director of the ACS Examinations Institute. He is active in both computational chemistry and chemical education research and has been involved with the general chemistry for engineers course at both Iowa State and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Some of his recent publications include: "Designing Chemistry Practice Exams for Enhanced Benefits: An Instrument for Comparing Performance and Mental Effort Measures," (Karen Knaus, Kristen Murphy and Thomas Holme), Journal of Chemical Education, 2009, in press; "Nanoscience Items for Standardized Exams in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum" (Thomas Holme), in Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education: Issues, Trends and Future Directions, ed., A.E. Sweeny & S. Seal, American Scientific Publishers, Stevenson Ranch, CA, 2008; and "Assessing Problem-solving Strategies in Chemistry Using the IMMEX System" in Proceedings of the National STEM Assessment Conference, eds. D. Deeds & B. Callen, National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, 2008.