About the Authors of Chemistry in Context

Lucy Pryde Eubanks

Lucy Pryde Eubanks recently retired from her position as Lecturer in Chemistry at Clemson University. She has used Chemistry in Context with her classes since the first edition (1994) and has been on the author team since the third edition (2000). She has been editor-in-chief for both the fifth (2006) and sixth (2009) editions. Eubanks has also contributed to other ACS Curriculum Projects, including Chemistry in the Community and Chemistry: A Project of the American Chemical Society.

Eubanks has been active with ACS at the volunteer level. She was chair of the ACS Division of Chemical Education, Inc. (DivCHED) in 1992. She has chaired both the Personnel and Nominations Committee and the Program Committee of DivCHED, and currently chairs the International Committee for the Division. She was the Associate Director of the ACS DivCHED Examinations Institute from 1991-2002. On the local level, she was elected Chair of the Western Carolinas Local Section of ACS in 2001, Alternate Councilor from 2002-2007, and Councilor starting in 2008.

Eubanks did her undergraduate studies at Mount Holyoke College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Her master's degree is from Seattle University. Prior to coming to Clemson in 1992, she taught for many years at Southwestern College (CA). She also taught at the high school level in Seattle, WA, Bryn Mawr, PA, and Frankfurt, Germany. Eubanks' honors and awards include Clemson University’s Board of Trustees Award for Faculty Excellence (2003) and she was co-recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the ACS Division of Chemical Education in 2002. The Western Connecticut Section of the ACS named her Visiting Scientist of the Year in 1993. She received the National CATALYST Award for Excellence in Community College Chemistry Teaching from the Chemical Manufacturers Association in 1984.

When not involved in professional activities, Eubanks may be found enjoying flying, sailing, diving, playing the violin or piano, or indulging in her love of travel.

Catherine Middlecamp

Cathy Middlecamp is the Director of the Chemistry Learning Center and a Distinguished Faculty Associate at University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has used Chemistry in Context in her general chemistry course for liberal arts students since the second edition (1997). She also teaches a course on nuclear issues in the Integrated Liberal Studies Program. Middlecamp has received teaching awards in her department, on her campus, and in the University of Wisconsin System.

Middlecamp has been a member of ACS for over 25 years and served as the Program Chair for the Division of Chemical Education (2005-2007). In 2003, she received a regional award from the ACS Women Chemists Committee for fostering diversity, and in 2006 she the 2006 ACS Award for Encouraging Women in Careers in the Chemical Sciences. She also is a member and a Fellow of the AAAS. She serves on the national executive board of AWIS (the Association for Women in Science) and was elected a Fellow in that organization as well. She serves as a Senior Associate for the SENCER project, Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities, and has done so since the project began in 2000.

Middlecamp did her undergraduate studies at Cornell University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and was awarded a Danforth Fellowship to earn her doctorate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1976.

Middlecamp has practiced the martial art of aikido for 20 years and enjoys hiking, biking, and generally anything in the out-of-doors.

Carl E. Heltzel

Carl Heltzel is the Director of Environmental Chemistry and Research at the Environmental Risk Management Consulting Company (ErMC2). This newly conceived section is dedicated to the management of environmental risks presented by commercial and industrial activity.

Heltzel is a recent past editor of the ACS magazine for high school chemistry, ChemMatters.

Prior to that ACS staff position, Heltzel was the Monroe Moosnick Professor of Chemistry at Transylvania University in Lexington, KY. While at Transylvania (1997-2005), Heltzel was awarded tenure one year early and was simultaneously awarded Transylvania’s top teaching and service awards. From 2002 to 2004 he served as the Chemistry Program Director. Heltzel has taught large and small-sized classes as an adjunct professor at the University of Hawaii, the University of Kentucky, and Chaminade University.

Heltzel has used Chemistry in Context since he began teaching in 1997 and has co-authored the 5th and 6th editions of this best-selling textbook. Heltzel was a writing team leader for the NSF-funded textbook project Active Chemistry, an innovative curriculum for high school chemistry, published in 2006.

Heltzel served the ACS on a national level by participating on the Committee for Environmental Improvement and the Exam Committee. Being active in his local ACS section in Lexington, he served as secretary treasurer (1995-’97), Chair-elect (1998), Chair (1999), and finally, Councilor (2000-2004).

Heltzel did his undergraduate research in organometallic synthesis and earned a BS from Radford University in Virginia. He took his PhD from Virginia Tech in 1995 where his dissertation focused on the isolation, structure elucidation, and synthesis of natural products with anticancer potential. After working with terrestrial plants at Virginia Tech, Heltzel worked on marine organisms in Hawaii for a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Hawaii. There he assisted in the early stages of the development of Cryptophycin, a natural product drug isolated from blue - green algae. Showing tremendous potential as an antitumor drug, the compound made its way up to Phase II human clinical trials.

Heltzel recently served the ACS again in 2007 when he was invited to teach The Essentials of Chemistry Webcast course.

When not working, Heltzel volunteers in his community by serving on advisory boards and boards of directors for a variety of arts organizations in Lexington. His past positions included President of the Lexington Ballet Company and President of the Advisory Board of the Lexicon Project.

Steven W. Keller

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Steve Keller received his bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University in 1986. His graduate work at the University of California at Berkeley focused on the synthesis and characterization of high temperature superconductors and novel cuprate magnets. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Texas at Austin and Pennsylvania State University before joining the faculty at the University of Missouri in 1995. Keller was promoted to associate professor of chemistry in 2000.

At Mizzou, he has taught the non-majors chemistry course, both semesters of general chemistry, sophomore- and senior-level inorganic chemistry, the department’s writing intensive, professional skills course, and several graduate Topics courses. He has also developed two first-year courses for the Honors College; one in the history of science and one exploring the interrelationship of science and politics.

The main research focus of Steve’s group is the design and construction of novel porous coordination polymers; extended solids synthesized by connecting coordination complexes together in one-, two- or three-dimensions. These materials possess some unique ion-exchange properties making them potentially useful for various environmental applications. Keller has received several awards, including a National Science Foundation Career Award (1998), the Provost's Outstanding Junior Faulty Teaching Award (1999), the Excellence in Education Award from the Division of Student Affairs (2002) and the William T. Kemper Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching (2003).

Keller’s spare time is spent learning what it means to be a homeowner, playing and watching soccer (he is the cousin of Kasey Keller, goalkeeper for the U.S. Men’s National team and Fulham football club in the English Premier League) and perfecting his latest homebrew.

Gail Steehler

Gail Steehler is Professor and Chair of Chemistry at Roanoke College. She edited the 5th and 6th editions of the Chemistry in Context Laboratory Manual and has taught both lecture and laboratory courses from every edition of the text.

Steehler did her undergraduate work at Ohio State University and received her Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to various writing projects, Steehler and her students study metal complexes and their fate in the environment. Along with her two children and chemist husband, Steehler lives in Salem, Virginia, where she enjoys activities in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

Dwaine Eubanks

Dwaine Eubanks is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Clemson University. He received a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of Texas in 1963 and spent four years as a research chemist for DuPont, 25 years on the chemistry faculty at Oklahoma State University, and 11 years on the chemistry faculty at Clemson University. Eubanks served as the Director of the ACS Division of Chemical Education Examinations Institute for fifteen years. He was one of the original authors for the ACS Chemistry in the Community project as well as Chemistry: A Project of the American Chemical Society. Eubanks produced most of the technical illustrations for the ACS Chemistry project and all of the technical illustrations for both the 5th and 6th editions of Chemistry in Context.

Eubanks is a past-chair of the ACS Division of Chemical Education and of the Western Carolinas ACS local section. He was elected to five successive terms on the ACS Council, representing the Oklahoma ACS local section. He chaired the Council Committee on Chemical Education, and was elected to two terms on the Council Policy Committee. Eubanks also served as a member of the ACS Society Committee on Chemical Education, the Committee on Science, and the ACS International Activities Committee. Other ACS service included directing ACS Project Bookshare and consulting under the auspices the College Chemistry Consultants Service.

Eubanks was a co-recipient of the 2002 Distinguished Service Award from the ACS Division of Chemical Education, and he received a Clemson University Board of Trustees Award for Faculty Excellence in 2003. He is an active software developer and is currently working on innovative software for chemistry education. His hobbies include flying, sailing, diving, and travel.