Renee Falconer

Dr. Falconer grew up in western Pennsylvania graduating with her BS in Chemistry from Grove City College.  She then attended the Univ of South Carolina for her PhD in Environmental Chemistry where her scientific research centered around the environmental chemistry of organic pollutants and their transport and fate in the environment. Her work looked at the movement, distribution and degradation of these compounds in the environment to determine their long-term effects. Her first professional position was as a faculty member at Youngstown State Univ in Ohio.  After receiving tenure, she moved on to the US Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, NC where she worked on numerous projects and included local college students in her research.  Next Dr. Falconer returned to academia as a faculty member at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA.  She taught many different classes and did environmental chemistry and chemical education research with undergrad and grad students during her time there.  In 2012, Dr. Falconer came to Mines where her teaching interests revolve around improving chemical education through the use of modern pedogogies that focus on student centered learning. In particular, she is working to improve general chemistry curricula through the creation of inquiry-based, active learning experiences in both the classroom and the lab. She uses research based best practices to show to all students, no matter their field of interest, that chemistry is central to the world of science.