I hold a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago (2024) and a BS in Chemistry from Francis Marion University (2020). My doctoral research was in computational and medicinal chemistry and produced seven peer-reviewed papers in prominent journals. That research is also where my math comes from: simulation and quantum chemistry are applied linear algebra and differential equations, and I used both daily for four years.
Alongside my research at UIC, I lectured and held...
I hold a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago (2024) and a BS in Chemistry from Francis Marion University (2020). My doctoral research was in computational and medicinal chemistry and produced seven peer-reviewed papers in prominent journals. That research is also where my math comes from: simulation and quantum chemistry are applied linear algebra and differential equations, and I used both daily for four years.
Alongside my research at UIC, I lectured and held office hours for general chemistry and physical chemistry and ran general chemistry lab sections, working with undergraduates from 2020 to 2023 in groups of about 5-7. Before that, I tutored one-on-one at Francis Marion University for a year, mostly first- and second-year students in general chemistry, organic chemistry, linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and differential equations.
My method starts with diagnosis. Anyone can learn this material, but in my experience the trouble is almost always a shaky foundation rather than the topic in front of us. A student who can't recall reaction mechanisms usually isn't aware of how important electrons are. So I have students work problems out loud while I listen for the exact step where the reasoning breaks. Once we find the gap and fill it, the rest tends to follow quickly and it stays fixed, because the student isn't just rote memorizing.
