Biography of Visiting Instructor Jeff Cross (Organic Chemistry)
I am happy to be teaching at Whitman College. I have lived in the Walla Walla area since 1981, with a few years spent elsewhere while in graduate school. My interest in chemistry began in high school, inspired by a chemistry set and the experiments I could do with it. At Walla Walla College, I became a chemistry major while taking organic chemistry—a class that had a huge influence on the ways in which I think. After finishing graduate study in synthetic organometallic chemistry at Colorado State University with Professor Louis Hegedus in 2006, I returned to Walla Walla and have held teaching positions at all three colleges in the Walla Walla Valley.
My academic interests include the scientific method and its integration into the college curriculum. I also enjoy studying the history of science and interpreting our current knowledge of chemistry in light of the experiments that led to the development of the principles of modern chemistry. An additional, recent and ongoing interest of mine is the convergence of science and the humanities.
Outside chemistry, I have always been interested in geology. I am especially interested in the geology of high-energy processes like volcanoes and geysers. I have worked on my own research project in Yellowstone National Park since 1998, and have built numerous models of geysers so that I can better understand how real geyser systems work. I am an editor of the Geyser Observation and Study Association Transactions, which publishes papers dealing with all aspects of geyser activity.
I like to spend time in the mountains, and I also play both tuba and euphonium.
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
Master of Science
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Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
December 2006
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| Bachelor of Science |
Walla Walla College, College Place, WA
Chemistry, June 1998
Summa cum Laude
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Employment/Experience
Adjunct Faculty, Walla Walla Community College, 2007
Research Assistant, Colorado State University, 1999-2005
- Synthesized nucleoside analogs via organometallic methodology.
Teaching Assistant, Colorado State University, 1998-1999
- Taught undergraduate general, organic and analytical chemistry laboratory sections.
Editor, The Geyser Observation and Study Association Transactions, volume X, 2008.
Instructor, The Princeton Review, 2002-2006
- Taught a review course in organic chemistry for students preparing to take the Medical College Achievement Test (MCAT).
Researcher, Yellowstone National Park, 1998-2008
- Monitored geysers in remote thermal areas.
Academic Interests
- Scientific Method
- History of Science
- Convergence of Science and the Humanities
Undergraduate Laboratory Experiments Developed
- Organometallics and the Scientific Method
- Analysis of Fragrances by GCMS
Research Skills
- Synthesis of chiral organic molecules
- Chiral catalysis
- Organometallic synthesis
- Flash column chromatography
- 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy
- IR spectroscopy
- Mass spectroscopy
- Handling of air-sensitive reagents
- Handling of light-sensitive reagents
Professional Memberships
- American Chemical Society
- Geological Society of America
Publications
- Hegedus, L. S. and Cross, J. “Synthesis of 4'-methyl and 4'-cyano Carbocyclic 2',3'-didehydro Nucleoside Analogues via 1,4-addition to Substituted Cyclopentenones.” Journal of Organic Chemistry 2004, v. 69, p. 8492.
- Cross, J. “Geyser Studies in Yellowstone National Park.” Abstract #51163, Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, 1996.
- Cross, J. “A Model of an Irregular Geyser.” The Geyser Gazer SPUT, 2005, v. 19(2), p. 5.
- Cross, J. “The Number of Geysers in Backcountry and Undeveloped Frontcountry Thermal Areas in Yellowstone National Park.” The Geyser Observation and Study Association Transactions, 2008, v. 10, p. 201-217.
- Cross, J. “Changes in the Minor Activity of Geysers Prior to a Major Eruption.” The Geyser Observation and Study Association Transactions, 2008, v. 10, p. 88-95.
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