Alexander Grushow received his B.A. in Chemistry from Franklin & Marshall College and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Minnesota. After doing a postdoctoral research at the University of Nevada-Reno, Dr. Grushow began teaching at 小优视频 in 1996. Dr. Grushow achieved the rank of full Professor while serving as a department chair for two decades and is currently the Associate Dean for Science, Technology & Mathematics. Since his days as an undergraduate, intermolecular forces have fascinated Dr. Grushow. He has published papers on molecules held together by hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, dative bonding, ion-molecule interactions and solute-solvent interactions. In recent years, Dr. Grushow has mentored undergraduate research students in various research projects exploring small molecule interactions using both experimental and computational tools.
In addition to his work in chemical research Dr. Grushow has worked on projects related to various aspects of chemical education, including context-rich materials in physical chemistry, computational documents and templates for physical chemistry students, and guided-inquiry activities in general and physical chemistry. In 2002-2003, Dr. Grushow worked as a program director for the National Science Foundation in the Division of Undergraduate Education. Dr. Grushow has also worked in chemistry examination development for both ETS and the ACS Examinations Institute. In addition, Dr. Grushow has developed tools for student and program assessment in chemistry. In 2008, Dr. Grushow was name Chair of the Physical Chemistry Committee of the Examinations Institute and in 2012 he was named to the Board of Trustees of the Institute serving as chair of that group through 2024. Having been a long-standing reviewer for the Journal of Chemical Education and helping to curate a special issue in 2022, Dr. Grushow was appointed as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Chemical Education in 2026.
Recent Student Research Projects:
- Theoretical Exploration of Rotational Barriers in Thioamide C鈥揘 Bond
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- The effect of Solvent and Concentration on the Barrier to Internal Rotation of Dimethyl Nicotinamide
- Study of Amide Internal Rotation in Nicotinamides Observed by NMR Spectroscopy
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- The Study of CdSe Quantum Dots in Relation to Quantum Mechanics
- Computational Study of Hydrogen Bonded Lactam Dimers
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- A Computational Study of the pKa and Charge Distribution of Lactones and Lactams
Textbooks:
- 鈥淨uantum Chemistry & Spectroscopy: A Guided Inquiry鈥 2nd Ed. T. Shepherd and A. Grushow. Lancaster, PA: The POGIL Project; Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt, 2021.
ISBN: 978-1-792-49072-9 - 鈥淭hermodynamics, Statistical Mechanics & Kinetics: A Guided Inquiry鈥 T. Shepherd, S. Garrett-Roe, A. Grushow, R. Moog. Lancaster, PA: The POGIL Project; Dubuque, IA, Kendall Hunt, 2021.
ISBN: 978-1-792-49837-4
Recent Peer-reviewed Publications:
- 鈥淎n Evaluation of the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning for Physical Chemistry Laboratory (POGIL-PCL) Approach for Engaging Students in Scientific Practices鈥
K. Haas, D. Miller, J. Beck, S. Hunnicutt, A. Grushow, M. Reeves, T. Bixby
J. Chem. Educ. 2026 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c01377 - 鈥淎 Community's Vision of Instruction in the Chemistry Laboratory鈥
A. Grushow, S. S. Hunnicutt, M. N. Mu帽iz, B. A. Reisner, S. Schaertel, R. Whitnell,
J. Chem. Educ. 2022, 99(12), pp 3811-3813 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c01092 - 鈥淪tudents Thinking Like Physical Chemists Using an Inquiry-Based NMR Experiment鈥
A. Grushow
J. Chem. Educ., 2022, 99(12), pp 4149-4153 DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00589 - 鈥淯sing Computational Methods to Teach Chemical Principles: Overview鈥
A. Grushow and M. S. Reeves, in Using Computational Methods to Teach Chemical Principles鈥, Edited by A. Grushow & M. S. Reeves; ACS Symposium Series 1312; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2019, pp 1-10 DOI: 10.1021/bk-2019-1312.ch001 - 鈥淗ow Is the Freezing Point of a Binary Mixture of Liquids Related to the Composition? A Guided Inquiry Experiment鈥 S. S. Hunnicutt, A. Grushow, R. Whitnell, J. Chem. Educ., 2017, 94 (12), pp 1983鈥1988 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00409.
Courses Taught:
- CHE 110/L Survey of General Chemistry
One-semester survey course for Health and Exercise Science Majors - CHE-118/L Explorations in Chemistry
Inquiry Based Survey Course with Lab for Non-Science Majors - CHE-120 Principles of Chemistry
General Chemistry for Science Majors - CHE-121 Principles of Chemistry Lab
General Chemistry Lab for Science Majors - CHE-123 Quantitative Methods Lab
General Chemistry Lab for Science Majors - CHE-250/L Quantitative Methods and Statistical Analysis with Lab
Sophomore/Junior/Senior Course - CHE-305 Physical Chemistry I
Junior/Senior Course - CHE-306 Physical Chemistry II
Junior/Senior Course - CHE-325 Physical Chemistry Lab
Junior/Senior Course - CHE-375 Computational Chemistry Lab
Junior/Senior Course - CHE-400 Chemical Bonding
Senior Course