About

Education:

BS Chemistry: University of California, Davis

PhD Organic Chemistry: University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

I am a native Californian (Oakland) and consider my hometown Truckee, CA even though I've lived in several northern CA locations. I got interested in Chemistry in high school inspired by a great teacher! To me Chemistry gave me an insight into what stuff was made of, how it could be changed and why, and the ability to make new stuff that didn't exist before. WOW that was impressive! It inspired me to study chemistry in college and to do research in the field. I worked for 26 years in chemical industry studying the environmental fate of pesticides before turning to teaching students about the science that I love. I've taught in the California Community College system now for 20 years starting a Solano CC in Fairfield, CA and continuing here at Columbia. I love living here in the Sierra foothills. My hobbies are hiking and camping during the summer, skiing during the winter, and swimming year round. Occasionally I head to the ocean or bay to sail.