The World of Chemistry

About the Host, Producers, and Advisors

The Host, Roald Hoffmann

One of the world's leading chemists, and also an educator of great skill and dedication. For devising a set of quantum chemical rules governing the course of all chemical reactions, Dr. Hoffmann shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kenichi Fukui. "Applied theoretical chemistry" is the way he likes to characterize the particular blend of frameworks for understanding - computations stimulated by experiment and the construction of generalized models - that are his contribution to chemistry. Dr. Hoffman is also fully committed to exploring the role of chemistry in world culture and to the communication of the beauty of the molecular world to the general public. He explores the way chemists strive for a detailed understanding of matter, and the philosophical and human perspectives of their work. He writes essays and poetry for magazines and literary journals. Two collections of his poetry have been published.

Series Demonstrator, Donald Showalter

Earned his Ph.D. in inorganic radiochemistry from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Showalter began his teaching career at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point in 1971. He joined the faculty of Iowa Western Community College as a professor of science and mathematics for three years before returning to Stevens Point, where he is currently a professor of chemistry. In 1980, Dr. Showalter received the UWSP Outstanding Teaching Award. He was selected in 1984 to be the first director of UWSP's Center for Faculty Development. Dr. Showalter has been very active in promoting the use of chemical demonstrations in all levels of science education. He is a frequent presenter at chemical education workshops throughout the United States

Executive Co-Directors:

Isidore Adler
Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and Geology
University of Maryland at College Park

Nava Ben-Zvi
Associate Professor in the Science Teaching Department
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Executive Producer:

Richard Thomas

Academic Team:

Cilbert Castellan
Professor of Chemistry
University of Maryland at College Park

Mary Beth Key
Head of Science Department
St. Alban's School, Washington, D.C.

Margot K. Schumm
Professor of Chemistry
Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland

Advisory Committee:

Gustaf Arrhenius
University of California, San Diego

Marjorie Gardner
University of California, Berkeley

Noal Hinners
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

J. Ivan Legg
Auburn University

Mitchell Lifton
University of Maryland at College Park

Paul Mazzocchi
University of Maryland at College Park

Eric Mendoza
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

William Mooney
El Camino College

David Samuel
The Weizmann Institute of Science

Adele Seeff
University of Maryland at College Park

Herman Skolnick
Hercules Inc.

Tamar Y. Susskind
Oakland Community College

James Zigerell
Instructional Television Consortium, American Association of Community and Junior Colleges

Back to The World of Chemistry