The Frank J. Welcher Lectureship series was established to honor and celebrate Dr. Welcher’s legacy and commitment to the IUPUI (now IU Indianapolis) Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology.
This year’s Frank J. Welcher distinguished speaker is Dr. Melanie Cooper, a renowned education scholar who has focused her career on improving teaching and learning in large-enrollment general and organic chemistry courses and is a leader in evidence-based curriculum reform. Cooper holds joint appointments in the MSU Departments of Chemistry and Teacher Education, and is a faculty member of the CREATE for STEM Institute.
Cooper received her B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Manchester, England. Before joining MSU in January 2013, she conducted postdoctoral work in organic chemistry at Clemson University in South Carolina.
Cooper’s dedication to the improvement of teaching chemistry in higher education is evidenced through her involvement in many professional organizations. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Royal Society of Chemistry, and is a member of the National Research Council Advisory Board on Science Education. Her many honors include the ACS Award for Achievement in Research on Teaching and Learning in Chemistry, the Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry and the Outstanding Undergraduate Science Teacher Award from the Society for College Science Teaching. In December 2106, Cooper was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science by the University of South Florida.