Teaching at Vassar
- General Chemistry (Chem 108/109) - This two semester sequence covers fundamental aspects of general chemistry, including descriptive chemistry, chemical reactions, stoichiometry, atomic and molecular structure, states of matter, properties of solutions, thermodynamics, kinetics, equilibria, electrochemistry, and nuclear chemistry. You can expect weekly problem sets and to apply quantitative skills to relevant problems in chemistry. In addition to three 50-minute lectures, there is one 4-hour laboratory where you will learn fundamental skills in chemical analysis.
- Chemical Principles (Chem 125) - This course is designed to cover the important aspects of general chemistry in one semester. Selected topics are presented at an accelerated rate for students with a strong chemistry background. The material covered includes chemical reactions, stoichiometry, atomic and molecular structure, and general chemical physics, emphasizing the fundamental aspects of and connections between equilibria, electrochemistry, thermodynamics, and kinetics. In addition to three 50-minute lectures, there is one 4-hour laboratory where you will learn fundamental skills in chemical analysis. The expectations for students taking this course are higher than for students taking Chem 108/109. You will be need to be dedicated to learning material outside of class, working complex problems in group work, and developing your scientific and quantitative skills.
- Biochemistry (Chem/Biol 272) - This course covers protein structure and synthesis, enzyme action, bio-energetic principles, electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation, and selected metabolic pathways in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In addition to three 50-minute lectures, there is one 4-hour laboratory. The laboratory component helps students learn bioinformatics and protein modeling skills used routinely by biochemists, X-ray crystallography, protein and lipid mass spectrometry as well as a 7-week discovery driven module on protein purification and characterization of the E. coli CMP kinase.
- Protein Chemistry (Chem/Biol 323) - A detailed study of the structure and function of proteins. Structure determination, mechanisms of catalysis and regulation, and the interactions of enzymes in complex systems are discussed. Currently I teach this course using human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) as a model system. We study protein structure and function as well as the mechanism of drug inhibition using the well-studied proteins of HIV-1 as a conceptual framework. This course focuses on reading and critically analyzing the primary literature. In addition, you will develop your scientific writing skills through regular summaries of the primary literature and a semester long project on a protein that you choose.