Lab Experiments in Introductory Chemistry

Donald J. Wink is Professor and former Head in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to that he was an assistant professor at New York University engaged in research in theoretical, synthetic, and applied organometallic chemistry. His current projects are diverse but share a theme of crossing boundaries, often using student pathways as a source of inspiration and direction. This included much work in conjunction with community college faculty, something that continues today with his participation in an NSF Undergraduate Research Center project, the Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education. In the late 1990's, inspired in part by discussions at F21 meetings, he turned to working with teachers and K-12 classrooms in similar outreach and collaboration projects. This now includes work on the "Inquiry to Build Content" project in the Chicago Public Schools, a comprehensive curriculum and professional design effort in conjunction with Loyola University.