Microscale and Miniscale Organic Chemistry Laboratory Experiments, 2nd Edition

Barbara Gaddis is currently Director of the Science Learning Center at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. As an undergraduate, Dr. Gaddis attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, for two years and completed her B.S. degree in chemistry at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Dr. Gaddis holds an M.S. in organic chemistry under direction of Professor David Walba at the University of Colorado-Boulder. As a graduate student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Dr. Gaddis worked on the total synthesis of cladiellen, a soft coral from the Pacific. The synthesis involved an oxidative ring closure of a 1,5-diene system derived from geraniol. Concurrently, she earned a Masters of Arts in Teaching degree in secondary science education from The Colorado College. For her M.A.T. project, she developed physics laboratory experiments and wrote a physics laboratory book for middle school science teachers. In 2001, she earned a Ph.D in Education from the University of Colorado-Denver, where she investigated the effects of computer-based instruction and simulations on misconceptions of organic chemistry.

Ms. Gaddis became Director of the Science Learning Center in 1991, where she develops curriculum for chemistry and biology courses. She teaches general chemistry, introductory chemistry, and organic chemistry at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and has taught general chemistry and organic chemistry at Colorado College. She is the Coordinator of the Project Excel Centers.

Dr. Gaddis' love of chemistry was sparked while an undergraduate student.  Initially a biology major who planned to go to medical school, she enrolled in a required general chemistry. She switched to chemistry as a major and never looked back. As an undergraduate, she taught general chemistry and organic labs and found she also had a love of teaching. Her research interests focus on misconceptions, learning from the laboratory, and computer-based learning.

With her husband, Larry, who is an attorney, Dr. Gaddis enjoys traveling, biking and hiking as participatory sports, and ice hockey and football as spectator sports. When Dr. Gaddis is not working, she enjoys history, reading and cooking.