Chemistry Department

Tricia A. Ferrett

Professor of Chemistry

Director of Carleton's 5^thHHMI grant

Director of the Carleton Interdisciplinary Science & Math Initiative (CISMI)

Education:

B.A. Chemistry with honors, 1981
Grinnell College

Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, 1986
University of California, Berkeley

Postdoctoral Fellow, 1987-1988
NIST, Gaithersburg, MD

Contact Information:

Department of Chemistry
1 N. College Street
Northfield, MN 55057
Office: Mudd 189 (back)
Office: (507) 646-4408
FAX: (507) 646-4400
E-Mail: TFerrett at Carleton dot edu

Please follow these links for more information:

Physical Chemistry research with undergraduates at Carleton
NSF Systemic Change Initiative curricular reform work with Wiley/ChemConnections (Modules)
New project in development of interdisciplinary science curricula
Courses taught at Carleton College
Educational background, grants, invited talks/workshops, and selected publications
Environmental Sciences at Carleton (ESC):
- Lake Chemistry and the chemistry of acid rain
- Haze Project (with Tom Baraniak in Physics)
Heath Group Comps page Winter-Spring 2004
New scholarly project on integrative learning in science-rich courses.

Teaching Interests:

Introductory Chemistry (with ChemConnections topical modules and active/collaborative learning)
Physical Chemistry (Quantum Chemistry, Spectroscopy, Thermodynamics, Kinetics)
Environmental & Atmospheric Chemistry (ozone hole, global warming, acid rain)
Abrupt Climate Change (interdisciplinary first-year seminar, Fall 2005)
Advanced Lab (Spectroscopy, Kinetics, Indpendent Projects)
Lasers & Spectroscopy
Chemistry & Art (Sistine Chapel restoration)

Research Interests:

Starting in 1990, Trish and her research students designed and built a vacuum system with a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer and an electron detector to study the mechanisms of fragmentation in small gaseous molecules like CF₂Cl₂ and C₄F₈. These sophisticated multi-dimensional mass spectroscopy experiments use soft X-rays from synchrotron radiation at Brookhaven National Lab and Aladdin in Stoughton, WI to induce molecular fragmentation. Publication from this project is near completion.

New research on student learning in integrative science courses is now underway. Trish is a 2005-2006 Carnegie Scholar. She is currently working on a scholarship of teaching and learning research project that will paint a portrait of student "integrative moves and moments" in a first-year seminar on the transdisciplinary concept of abrupt change in climate and human networks (IDSC 100-01, Fall 2005, Paradigm Shifts: New Views on Abrupt Climate Change). Learn more here:

Overview of the IDSC seminar on abrupt change in climate and human networks
Trish's Carnegie final project snapshot titled "First Year Students Go Beyond with Integrative Inquiry into Abrupt Change"

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This page is created and maintained by Tricia A. Ferrett.
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