Ralph Z.
Private tutor in San Angelo, TX
Education
MS degree in chemistry from University of Siegen, Germany, in 1999. Thesis title: “Biomimetic Metabolic Reactions.” PhD degree in chemistry at the University of Siegen in Germany, 2003. Performed all doctoral research in international exchange program at University of Idaho in Moscow, ID, USA. Research mostly related to organometallic chemistry. Dissertation title: “Heterobinuclear and -trinuclear Complexes containing ansa-Chromocene and Ferrocene Units.” Postdoctoral research associate between 2003 and 2005, deepening chemistry knowledge and experience at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, NM, USA. Postdoctoral research projects related to advanced nuclear fuel reprocessing as well as long-term isolation and storage of nuclear waste materials.
Experience
I possess extensive experience in mentoring, guiding and coaching students within a variety of situations. During my studies at the University of Siegen I mentored chemistry undergraduate students as a teaching assistant in a physics laboratory class. At the University of Idaho, I was a teaching assistant for the general chemistry laboratory course. Simultaneously, I mentored an undergraduate chemistry student in a research setting. Between August of 2005 and December of 2012 I was a chemistry faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, LA, USA (ULM). My routine workload comprised teaching general chemistry I and II courses, including corresponding laboratory classes and the quantitative analytical chemistry laboratory course, the descriptive and advanced inorganic chemistry, etc. In spring 2008 I taught a chemistry honors dual-enrollment (with ULM) class at St. Frederick High School in Monroe, LA. During my tenure at ULM I continued and extended my research project. Over 20 college students joined my team throughout that time. It was very rewarding to mentor these undergraduates in my research laboratory. These students also joined me on many visits to area high schools, where we performed chemistry demonstrations in order to raise interest for the sciences in young students. In January 2013 I joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Angelo State University in San Angelo, TX, USA. About 6 undergraduate students have joined my research efforts in this short time period. I look forward to having the opportunity to tutor students and help them overcome any struggles they may have in learning chemistry. Like any other natural science, chemistry is a very challenging subject and requires outstanding thinking skills. This is where I set my focus as a tutor: raising the curiosity and interest of young students in science by forging and extending their thinking skills. Parents beware: I do not encourage just memorization, and I will not prepare students to pass (standardized) exams without the necessary comprehension of sophisticated scientific contexts. Of course, some memorization is necessary in the natural sciences, e.g. knowing the elements of the periodic table or knowing the names of various chemical compounds. But, as a tutor, I will greatly extend the student’s thinking/analysis skills, which will help build the basic foundation for the student’s success, not only in chemistry but in many courses. I ask for an initial meeting at which student and parents can discuss with me the student’s needs and my approaches to tutoring. Succeeding this meeting I will perform a one-hour tutoring session for no charge, giving the student and parents another opportunity to judge whether my approach will meet their expectations.
Availability
Weekends at any time, Tuesday after 5PM, Thursday after 5PM, Monday after 5PM
Can Meet
Up to 20 minutes away for no additional charge
Hobbies
Professional interests: As a faculty member in the ASU Department of Chemistry/Biochemistry, I enjoy having the opportunity to continue my research project relating to nuclear waste materials. In recent years I have extended this research to include the synthesis and design of lanthanide Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs). This is a highly interesting and fairly young research topic that is related to various potential applications, such as gas storage and separation systems, electronic devices, drug delivery systems, etc. In my spare time I enjoy running and biking. I also enjoy watching movies and listening to music.
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