Brad P Bammel
Associate Professor
Email: bbammel@boisestate.edu
SN326
(208) 426-3476

Educational background

Postdoctoral Research Associate at Georgia State University 1983 - 1988
Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of New Orleans 1983
Analytical Chemist at Keil Chemical in Hammond Indiana 1976 - 1978
B.S. in Chemistry from Illinois State University 1976

About Me

My Wife and I train Bernese Mountain Dogs, down hill ski and are building a retirement home in the mountains of central Idaho.

To the left is a picture of Atom, our first Berner bringing home a Christmas tree in the Winter of 2004. Pictured below Atom is me making skiing look difficult, I am a kid from the flat lands. Pictured at the bottom is our cabin in the woods.

After growing up in the suburbs of Chicago I enjoy almost any outdoor activity in Idaho.

Pedagogical Philosophy

The goals for students in a college chemistry class must be to 1) know the body of knowledge presented in the class, 2) to understand some of the connections between this knowledge and the world they live in and the other classes they will take 3) to understand the basic principles that make the body of knowledge they have learned correct, and 4) to develop an interest in learning.

The 1st and 2nd goals will provide them with the information and understanding they need to move on in their studies. The 3rd and 4th goals will equip them to go beyond the body of knowledge presented in class and make their own contributions in whatever field they choice to work in.

My philosophy of teaching is I will do what I can to help students achieve these goals. The achievements are the students, I am the facilitator.

Goals 1 and 2 are efficiently accomplished by traditional lecture presentations. So 2/3 of my teaching is done in traditional lecture style. I try to organize and present material for students that do not already know the material. I make material, including lectures and documents on the internet, and myself available to help students learn the material.

I try to help students gain that deeper understanding of the principles of chemistry by the way I present chemistry. I 1st present non-mathematical descriptions of processes and phenomena and describe what our best explanations are. I hope to instill an intuitive understanding of what is happening at an atomic level. Then I present the equations (with examples) that people have developed to quantify chemical processes.

The 4th goal is addressed by encouraging students to apply what they learn to topics that they select. I use 1/3 of our class time for in-class work and presentations by students.

Research Interests

I am an analytical chemist with an interest in biochemistry. I enjoy interdisciplinary projects in these areas of research.

1. I am working with Dr. Ken Cornell in the Chemistry Department to isolate, identify and measure quorum sensing molecules from microbial systems.

2. I am working with Uwe Reischl in the Health Science Department to calibrate a sensor for indoor air quality.