Kevin Johnson, PhD

Course Information

At Pacific University, all faculty teach a variety of different courses. Typically, we do not use graduate teaching assistants, which means that your classes will be taught by professors and that you will have plenty of opportunities to get to know the faculty in your discipline.

Below is a list of some of the courses that I teach. We are always developing and trying out new classes, so the list may change.

CHEM 220 | General Chemistry I

CHEM 355 | NT: Mentoring in Chemistry

CHEM 370 | Fundamentals of Physical Chemistry

CHEM 450 | ST: Computational Chemistry

CHEM 486 | Capstone Research

CHEM 489 | Capstone Project

CHEM 495 | Research

CHEM 499 | Capstone: Thesis

I teach lecture courses using small-group guided-inquiry methods, in which I lecture less, and student do more problem solving in the classroom. I have also received grant funding to implemented project-based laboratory experiments as part of all my laboratory courses.

Education

Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

B.S. Chemistry with Distinction and Departmental Honors, Stanford University, California

Research Opportunities in Physical Chemistry: Computational Modeling of Interface Chemistry

Students in Dr. Johnson's laboratory participate in research that investigates the molecular structure and interactions at the interface between two phases of matter. At an interface the atomic and molecular structure of solids and liquids differ from that in the bulk material, and therefore the chemical reactivity differs from the bulk. Student researchers will employ computational molecular dynamics modeling to create time-based simulations of interfacial dynamics at an atomic scale. These dynamics trajectories can be analyzed to delineate the chemically significant structural and energetic aspects of interface interactions. Current Projects: 1. Studying the Structure-Property relationship of anionic surfactants with carboxyl and sulfonate headgroups at immiscible water / organic interfaces 2. Computational investigation of single molecule trajectories and energetics for CO 2 transit and adsorption in metal-organic framework materials.

Website: https://sites.google.com/pacificu.edu/pacu-kejohnson