SOMNATH SARKAR, Ph.D.
Department of Biochemistry Chemistry& Physics
Education
Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1995 (emphasis: Organic Chemistry & Chemical Education)
M.S. Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, 1986
B.Sc. Chemistry (Honors) Calcutta University, 1983
Professional Experiences
2009 Promoted to Professor
2003-08 Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Central Missouri
1999-02 Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Central Missouri State University
1996-99 Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Graceland University, Lamoni, IA.
1994-96 Instructor of Chemistry, Graceland University, Lamoni, IA.
1999-03 Summer visiting Faculty, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.
Courses Taught at Central
Organic Chemistry I and II; General Chemistry for science and engineering majors; General Chemistry for non science majors; Modern Organic Analysis; Methods in Physical Sciences for Secondary Teachers
Key Courses Developed and taught at Central
I developed and taught several courses in science areas that are interdisciplinary and contextual. Two of these courses were targeted to public school science teachers. These courses were based on hands-on approach to science teaching including pedagogical models and methods of formative and summative assessments. The teachers I trained over the last eight years at have implemented many of these activities in their teaching to be effective science teachers.
Scaffolding Authentic Learning by Inquiry, Graduate Course: This course involved introducing field-based investigative studies that are relevant to middle school science students. Teachers learned content areas in middle school science as well as strategies to implement field-based investigations.
“Show-Me” Chemistry in the Marketplace, Graduate Course: This course involved hands-on chemistry activities relating the marketplace. This course was designed for high school science teachers to help teach science in a contextual and engaging format. The chemistry and choices behind many market place chemicals were discussed including cosmetics, cleaning products, hygiene products, paints, food items.
Honors Colloquium: Chemistry of Art and Archeology: I taught this Honors colloquium twice which included studying art and archeology from a chemist’s point of view. We discussed issues with chemical principles behind conservation and restoration of artists’ objects, and methods to determine forgery through case studies. A major component of the course provided an opportunity for students to spend a day at the Nelson Atkins Museum and learn from the curators, conservators and the art historians directly.
Honors Colloquium: Risk and Benefits of Environmentalism: This issue oriented course involved discussions of current environmental issue such clean air and water act, use of pesticide, land use, and how people make environmental decisions.
Undergraduate Research Students at Central
Honors Project (3 students); McCAP McNair Program (5 students)
Margaret Lange’s work was selected as the second best paper for the McCAP journal (Fall 2002). Her presentation received a 3rd place in the chemistry and geology section of Missouri Academy of Sciences.
Ellen Mattson’s presentations and work received an award of “Honorable Mention” among more than 50 oral papers presented at the Central Scholar Symposium (April 2005).
B.S. and B.A. in Chemistry Research (12 students)
Ahmed Adam received the 3rd place for his work at the Missouri Academy of Sciences meeting (2001) Vicki Boyd received a 3rd place in the Missouri Academy of Sciences (2006)
Refereed Publication
Sarkar S., Frazier R. (2008). Conservation of Mass and an Unsuspected Buoyancy Effect. Science Scope, NSTA, Summer issue, 2008
Lange, M. J., Oller, A. R. & Sarkar S. (2008). Antimicrobial Activity of mono- and di-methyl Substituted Benzhydrols and Benzophenones in vitro. Accepted for Transaction of Missouri Academy of Sciences, 41, 2008.
Sarkar, S. & Frazier R. (2008). Placed-Based Investigation and Authentic Inquiry. NSTA Science Teacher special issue “Natural History, Nature Science and Science Teaching”, 75(2), 29-33.
Sarkar S., Frazier R. (2008). The Inclusion of Environmental Education in Science Teacher Preparation. This book chapter has been accepted for an upcoming monograph “The Inclusion of Environmental Education in Science Teacher Education,” International Association of Science Teacher Education (ASTE). Publication date, February 2010.
Sarkar, S. (2001), Book Review, “The New Chemistry: A Showcase for Modern Chemistry and its Applications Journal of College Science Teaching, XXXI (3), 211.
Refereed Abstracts (* means undergraduate student)
Hicklin, R.* & Sarkar, S. (2007). Synthetic and Conformational Studies on α,α'-Bis(2-naphthyloxy)-Para-Xylene and Para-Bis(2-naphthylmethoxy)Benzene for Potential Molecular Assembly. 42nd American Chemical Society Midwest Regional Meeting, Kansas City, MO.
Fleharty, B.* & Sarkar S. (2005). Synthesis and Characterization of a Phenolic Precursor for a Novel Calix[4] arene. 40th American Chemical Society Midwest Regional Meeting. Program abstracts # 231.
Vicky, B.* Sarkar, S. (2005). Synthesis of mono and dimethyl Substituted Benzhydrols and Benzophenone and their Structure Activity Study as Antimicrobial Agents, 40th American Chemical Society Midwest Regional Meeting. Program abstracts # 17.
Sarkar, S. (2005). Enrichment of Middle School Curriculum through Field-Based Investigations, 40th American Chemical Society Midwest Regional Meeting. Program abstracts # 17.
Sarkar, S. (2004). Enhancing Student Engagement through Experimental Design in Organic Laboratory, Biennial Conference in Chemical Education (BCCE) Program abstracts # 354, available online at http://www.chem.iastate.edu/bcce.
Sarkar, S. (2004). Bringing the Frontiers of Organic Chemistry into Sophomore Level Instruction: Guided Inquiry with Chemical and Engineering News (C & E News). BCCE Program abstracts # 636, available online at http://www.chem.iastate.edu/bcce.
Sarkar, S. & Callison, P. (2004). Promoting inquiry in high school chemistry instruction: a professional development workshop for in-service Teachers. BCCE Program abstracts # 241, available online at http://www.chem.iastate.edu/bcce.
Matson, E.*, Fleharty, B.* & Sarkar, S. (2004). Progress toward the Synthesis of a Clip for the Binding of Hydroquinone. 39th Midwest Regional ACS Meeting. Program abstracts # 100.
Sarkar, S. (2002). Teaching Experimental Design through Project-Based Organic Chemistry Laboratory, 37th Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Program abstracts p. 143.
Sarkar, S., Belcher, C., Snyder, M. & Baldwin, N.* (2001). Chemistry in the Marketplace: Outcomes and Reflections form the Workshop for High School Teachers. ACS national meeting, abstracts # 23.
Sarkar, S., Belcher, C., Snyder, M. & Baldwin, N.* (2001). College of Education and Department of Chemistry Come Together: A Collaborative Effort in Professional Development for Teachers, ACS national meeting, Program abstracts # 416.
Sarkar, S. (2000). Putting context into general Chemistry for Science and Engineering Majors: Guided Discussion on the Web. 16th Biennial Conference in Chemical Education, Program abstracts # 400.
Sarkar, S. (2000). Delivering an Authentic and Integrated laboratory Experience for Sophomore Organic Chemistry. 16th Biennial Conference in Chemical Education, Program abstracts # 592.
Sarkar, S., Baldwin, N.* (2000). Connecting Organic Chemistry through a Student Designed Web Site. 35th Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Program abstracts # 98.
Sarkar, S.(2000). Synthesis and binding Studies of a Novel Crown Ether Containing a Benzophenone Unit. 35th Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Program abstracts # 164.
Sarkar, S., Glaser, R.(1999). Molecular Modeling Experiments in “ACIDITY” for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry. American Chemical Society National Meeting. Program abstracts # 791.
Non Refereed Articles and Reports
Lang, M.*, Sarkar, S., Oller, A. (2002). Synthesis and Investigation of Antibacterial Activity of Model Compounds Derived from Dapsone. McCAP Journal; Central Missouri State University, p. 9.
Sarkar, S. (2000-03, 2005-2007) Annual reports for Title II Improving Teacher Quality grants. These extensive reports describe our findings from the workshop and are available through Department of Higher Education, Jefferson City. Reports for cycle- 4 can be found http://www.dhe.mo.gov/cycle4awd.shtml. Archived reports for Cycle I & Cycle III can be found here. http://www.dhe.mo.gov/tqgarchives.shtml. External Evaluation website can be found at http://www.pdeval.missouri.edu/.
Publication Works in Progress
Hicklin R*. and Sarkar S. “Synthetic and Conformational Studies on α,α'-Bis(2-naphthyloxy)-Para-Xylene and Para-Bis(2-naphthylmethoxy)Benzene for Potential Molecular Assembly.” The work has been completed and my undergraduate student and I are working on a manuscript to be sent to Theoretical Chemistry.
Sarkar S., Frazier R. “How do Teachers Deal with Anomalous Data? Representative Case Studies.” This work has been completed and Dr. Frazier and I are working on a manuscript to be sent to Association of Science Teachers Education Journal.
Cole R., Sarkar S. “Molecular Modeling of Structure Activities Relationship in the General Chemistry Laboratory.” This work has been completed and Dr. Cole and I are working on a manuscript to be sent to Journal of Chemical Education.
Presentations
Place-Based Inquiry: Advancing Environmental Education in Science Curriculum (2008, October). 37th Annual Conference North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE) for the specific strand, “Environmental Education on the Prairie: Pioneering New Strategies”, Wichita, KS.
Ahmad, J*., Sarkar, S. (2008, April). Synthesis of Disubstituted Benzhydrols as Potential Antimicrobial Agents. Central Scholars Symposium. UCM, Warrensburg, MO. Honorable mention out of 160 student presentations.
Hicklin, R., Sarkar, S. (2008, April). Synthetic and conformational studies on α,α'-Bis(2-naphthyloxy)-para-Xylene and para-Bis(2-naphthylmethoxy) Benzene for Potential Molecular Assembly. American Chemical Society National Meeting. New Orleans, Louisiana.
Sarkar, S., Richard, F., Grotzinger, T. & Hegger, P. (2008, March). “They’re buggin’ me” - Real data, Real 6th Graders, and Real Insects in the Schoolyard. National Science Teachers Association Annual Meeting. Boston, MA.
Hicklin R,* Sarkar, S. (2007, April). A Computational Study on the Conformations of α,α'-bis (2-naphthyloxy)-para-xylene and para-bis(2-naphthylmethoxy)benzene. Missouri Academy of Science. Joplin, MO.
Hicklin R,* Sarkar, S. (2007, November). Synthetic and Conformational Studies on α,α'-Bis(2-naphthyloxy)-Para-Xylene and Para-Bis(2-naphthylmethoxy)Benzene for Potential Molecular Assembly. American Chemical Society Midwest Regional Meeting. Kansas City, MO.
Sarkar, S. (2006, April). Starting from the Middle: Improving Teacher Quality in the Sciences, MOKANOK (Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma) section of the American Chemical Society, April 12, 2006. Pittsburg, Kansas. Invited.
Sarkar, S. & Frazier, F. (2005, October). Effective Strategies for Field Investigations. Science Teacher of Missouri Conference. Columbia, MO.
Sarkar, S. (2005, October). Enrichment of Middle School Curriculum through Field-Based Investigations, American Chemical Society Midwest Regional Meeting, Joplin, MO.
Fleharty B.* & Sarkar, S. (2005, October). Synthesis and Characterization of a Phenolic Precursor for a Novel Calix[4] arene, American Chemical Society Midwest Regional meeting. Joplin, MO.
Boyd, V.* & Sarkar, S. (2005, October). Synthesis of mono and dimethyl Substituted Benzhydrols and Benzophenone and their Structure Activity Study as Antimicrobial Agents, ACS Midwest . Joplin, MO
Sarkar, S. (2004). Bringing the Frontiers of Organic Chemistry into Sophomore Level Instruction: Guided Inquiry with Chemical and Engineering News (C & E News). Biennial Conference in Chemical Education (BCCE). Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
Sarkar, S. (July, 2004). Enhancing Student Engagement through experimental Design in organic laboratory, BCCE, Ames, IA.
Matson, E.,* Fleharty B.* & Sarkar, S. (2004, October). Progress toward the Synthesis of a Clip for the Binding of Hydroquinone. 39th Midwest Regional ACS meeting. Manhattan, KS.
Sarkar, S., Callison P. (2004, July). Promoting Inquiry in High School Chemistry Instruction: a Professional Development Workshop for In-service Teachers. Biennial Conference in Chemical Education, July 2004, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
Sarkar, S. (2004, July). Enhancing Student Engagement through Experimental Design in Organic Chemistry Laboratory, Biennial Conference in Chemical Education. Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
Sarkar, S. (2002, October). Marketplace Chemistry: A Teacher-developed Web Resource in Chemistry, Science Teachers of Missouri (STOM) conference. Columbia, MO.
Sarkar S., (2002, October). Teaching Experimental Design through Project-based Organic Chemistry Laboratory. 37th ACS Midwest Regional Meeting. University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.
Lange M.,* Sarkar, S. & Oller, A. (2002, October). Synthesis and Investigation of Antibacterial Activity of Methyl-substituted Benzhydrols. 37th ACS Midwest Regional Meeting. University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.
Sarkar, S., & Cole, R. (2003, April) Science Teaching Methods at Central Missouri State University: Balancing the Needs of Alternative Certification and Pre-Service Teachers. Missouri Academy of Sciences. University of Central Missouri.
Lange M.,* Sarkar, S. & Oller, A. (2003, April). Synthesis and Investigation of Antibacterial Activity of mono and dimethyl Substituted Benzhydrols and Benzophenone. Missouri Academy of Sciences (MAS). University of Central Missouri.
Sarkar, S. (2001, October). Teaching physical science with a water-based module. Science Teachers of Missouri (STOM) conference. Columbia, MO.
Sarkar, S., Belcher, C. Snyder, M. & Baldwin N.* (2001, August). Chemistry in the Marketplace: Outcomes and Reflections from the Workshop for High School Teachers in Missouri. American Chemical Society National Meeting. Chicago, IL.
Sarkar, S., Belcher, C., Snyder, M. & Baldwin, N.* (2001, August). College of Education and Department of Chemistry Come Together: A Collaborative Effort in Professional Development for In-Service Teachers. American Chemical Society National Meeting. Chicago, IL.
Sarkar, S. (2001, April). Results and Reflections from the Eisenhower Workshop for High School Teachers, “Show-me” Chemistry in the Marketplace. MAS meeting, Joplin, MO.
Sarkar, S. (2000, October). Synthesis and Binding Studies of a Crown Ether Containing a Benzophenone Unit. 35th American Chemical Society Midwest Regional Meeting. St. Louis, MO.
Sarkar, S. & Baldwin, N. (2000, October). Connecting Organic Chemistry through a Student Designed Web Site. 35th American Chemical Society Midwest Regional Meeting. St. Louis, MO.
Sarkar, S. (2000, August). Putting Context into General Chemistry for Science and Engineering Majors: Guided Discussion on the Web, Biennial Conference in Chemical Education. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Sarkar, S. (2000, August). Delivering an Authentic and Integrated Laboratory Experience in Sophomore Organic Chemistry, Biennial Conference in Chemical Education. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Sarkar, S. & Baldwin, N. * (2000, April). Connecting Organic Chemistry through a Student-Designed Web Page. Missouri Academy of Sciences. Columbia, MO.
Somnath, S. (2000, January) Technology in the Chemistry Classroom: The Old and the New, Kansas City Professional Development Council Tech Expo. De-Vry Institute, Kansas City, MO.
Sarkar, S., Glaser Rainer (1999, November). Substituted Benzaldehydes: An ab Initio Study of “PUSH-PULL” and “PULL-PULL” Interactions, American Chemical Society 34th Midwest Regional meeting. Quincy, IL.
Sarkar, S., McKee, A., Glaser, R. (1998, March). Exploratory Molecular Modeling Experiments in IR and UV-VIS Spectroscopy for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Education. American Chemical Society’s National meeting, Anaheim, California.
Sarkar, S., Glaser, R. (1998, March). Molecular Modeling Experiments in “ACIDITY” for Undergraduate Organic Chemistry. American Chemical Society’s National meeting, Anaheim, California, March 1998.