Leader in Classroom Technology
Dr. Brian Berry has been a member of the Department of Chemistry for almost six years. Since joining, he has been involved with teaching a variety of undergraduate service courses such as Organic Chemistry I & II, undergraduate majors courses such as Qualitative Organic Analysis, and graduate courses such as Polymer Chemistry and Organic Reaction Mechanisms. His field of expertise is in the self-assembly of polymeric materials. As a result, the bulk of his teaching duties are in the area of organic chemistry. Organic chemistry is viewed by many students as one of the most difficult areas of chemistry. In fact, these courses are often referred to as “weed out” courses due to their high rates of withdraw and failure. Despite this, Dr. Berry has received glowing evaluations each and every year from his students. Dr. Berry’s average overall rating from nearly 300 students over the past five
years was 1.19, on a scale where 1 represents the best possible rating and 5 represents the worst possible rating. Such a high rating for an instructor is not typical in such difficult classes. In addition, students are encouraged to provide written comments. The comments for Dr. Berry always contain the same themes: 1) this course was very challenging; and 2) Dr. Berry is the best instructor I have ever had. That combination is not often observed in any of the chemistry classes, especially organic chemistry.
As further evidence of Dr. Berry’s accomplishments as an educator, he was awarded the ACS Central Arkansas Section Professor of the Year award in 2010. Students from all around central Arkansas are asked to send in nominations for Professors demonstrating excellence in teaching. Six other professors from the Central Arkansas region were also nominated, but Dr. Berry was chosen to receive the award.
Dr. Berry’s degrees include a Ph.D. in applied science/chemistry and a B.A. in chemistry from UA Little Rock.