News Release

Purdue chemist wins national award for innovative education efforts

Grant and Award Announcement

American Chemical Society

George M. Bodner of West Lafayette, Ind., will be honored March 25 by the world's largest scientific society for his achievements, both in the classroom and laboratory, in shaping how educators can more effectively teach chemistry and other sciences. He will receive the 2003 George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education from the American Chemical Society at its national meeting in New Orleans.

"I have the best job in the world," declared Bodner, referring to his position as professor at Purdue University and head of its division of chemical education. "I am surrounded by people who won't let me get old, who are constantly teaching me new things."

But Bodner, now the Arthur E. Kelly Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Education, arrived at his career more by instinct than by design. He started college as a history major, intending to emphasize philosophy as well, and signed up for a chemistry elective more or less on a lark.

"I really think that what most impacted me was the perception that if I became a chemist I would never fully understand it. I'd never get bored," he said. "It's the challenge of constantly improving my understanding that I find intriguing."

That drive and its excitement is what he most tries to get across to his own chemistry students. "I go into the history of the evolution of ideas -- I bring history and philosophy back into the classroom. I don't teach just do X to get Y, but why X? Where did it come from?" he explained.

His fascination with ideas, and how best to convey them, eventually led to the formation of the first division of chemical education in the country. Since its formal start in 1981, Purdue has granted more than 40 doctorate degrees to graduates who become chemistry professors or train future teachers themselves.

Bodner received his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1969 and his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1972. He is a member of the ACS division of chemical education.

The George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education is sponsored by the Dow Chemical Co.

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