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Professor Collard regularly teaches the introductory sequence in Organic Chemistry at Georgia Tech: CHEM 2311 and CHEM 2312. In addition to research programs in organic and polymer chemistry he directs a number of student-oriented educational programs and a national faculty enhancement program, and has authored a number of teaching resources. 

 


Center for Workshops in the Chemical Sciences (CWCS):
Faculty Development Workshops and Communities

The NSF-CCLI(Phase III)-sponsored Center for Workshops in the Chemical Sciences (CWCS website) provides a national program of faculty development workshops in a broad set of topical areas. A recent initiative of the Center is the development of online communities in which participants can explore pedagogies and materials suitable for their classroom. The center is co-directed by Jerry Smith (Georgia State University), Larry Kaplan (Williams College) and David Collard.
[Sponsored by NSF awards:
0618678; 0341138; 0089417]


Beckman Scholars at Georgia Tech

Professor Collard is the director of the interdisciplinary Georgia Tech Beckman Scholars program. The program provides fellowship opportunities for Tech undergraduates in the Schools of Biology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering to engage in long-term research projects.
[Sponsored by the Beckman Foundation]


Research Experience for Undergraduates

Together with Dr. Cam Tyson, Professor Collard co-directed the Georgia Tech NSF-sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. The program is designed primarily for visiting undergraduates from from colleges without research programs. It has a long record of success in recruiting a diverse cadre of visiting students who go on to graduate programs in high numbers.
[Sponsored by NSF awards:
9531330; 9531330; 0139123; 0552722]


Use of the Textbook in Large Lecture Courses

Georgia Tech students in my organic lecture classes have long suffered the use of HWebs - short homework assignments (just three multiple choice questions) due before every lecture; that is, BEFORE we cover the material in class.  Guess what? When students prepare for the lecture their of organic chemistry is demonstrably better....is anyone surprised?  (Collard, Girardot and Deutsch, J. Chem. Educ., 79, 520-523).


Polymers in Science Centers and Museums

For various reasons, the presentation of chemistry in science centers and museums is difficult. The best exhibits would be dynamic, interactive and engaging. Polymers could serve as a vehicle to teach concepts from across the physical sciences curriculum in a museum setting. Polymers are example of chemicals which play an important role in our lives, they are safe to handle, and their properties can be related to principles of chemical structure, bonding and reactivity. A review of polymers in museums, and future possibilities has been published (Collard and McKee, Journal of Chemical Education, 75, 1419) 


Molecular Mechanics for Introductory Organic Chemistry

Molecular mechanics can be used to illustrate concepts of structure, bonding and reactivity in introductory organic chemistry courses. Professor Collard and Dr. Deutsch have developed a set of problems with illustrations from across the organic curriculum using CambridgeSoft's ChemOffice Ltd software. The problems are collected in Molecular Modeling Using ChemOffice Ltd(TM) by D.M. Collard, H.M. Deutsch, available from Jones and Bartlett Inc.


Introducing Characterization Techniques in the Undergraduate Curriculum

The National Science Foundation's CCLI program (previously ILI) has provided generous support for purchase of instruments for undergraduate laboratories and development of new experiments and pedagogy. Dr. Collard has been involved in initiatives to incorporate: 
     - polymer characterization equipment
               [sponsored by NSF award
9350863]
     - nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry
               [sponsored by NSF award
9551664]
     - electron spin resonance spectrometry
               [sponsored by NSF award
9850991]

 

Professor David Collard
School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0400

Office: 2100J Molecular Science and Engineering
           Building
Phone: (404) 894-4026
Fax: (404) 894-7452
email

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