Assistant Professor
Phone: 309-796-5237
FAX: 309-792-3230
E-Mail: lelandc@bhc.edu
Current Schedule and Office Hours
Black Hawk College
6600 34th Ave.
Moline, IL 61265
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Chuck Leland
Assistant Professor Phone: 309-796-5237
Black Hawk College
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After growing up in Michigan and Wisconsin, I attended college at Truman State University (then called Northeast Missouri State) in Kirksville, Missouri. While a student, I participated in several undergraduate research projects and served as a lab assistant. I graduated in 1992, and the research I did with Dr. K.R. Fountain on the molecular modeling of a class of antitumor drugs was published three years later (J. theor. Biol. (1995) 173, 329-337).
Next, I attended the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia as an Abraham Baldwin Fellow. I did two years of research at the Computational Center for Molecular Structure and Design (CCMSD) under the direction of Drs. Bowen and Allinger. My work involved the parameterization of MM3, a molecular mechanics software package. I was attempting to model portions of carbohydrate molecules as well as a class of drugs that was being studied for possible AIDS therapies. I was also a teaching assistant in the organic laboratories, and received departmental and university-wide teaching awards. But after two years of graduate school, I realized that I enjoyed the teaching but not the research. So I took a two year sabbatical, during which time I worked at a biochem company and a book store and managed a cafe and an Italian restaurant.
I managed the restaurant through the 1996 Olympic Games, then packed and moved to State College, Pensylvania to continue graduate study at Penn State. I worked in the labs of Dr. John Badding doing high-pressure solid-state studies using a diamond anvil cell (DAC) capable of achieving pressures equal to earth's core. My work focused on the attempt to make intermetallic compounds from potassium and transition metals - something that does not occur at normal pressures. Three years of research gave me no earth shattering results, but I did write a master's thesis entitled "High-pressure Studies of Potassium-Transition Metal Systems". But once again I found that more than anything, I enjoyed the teaching. I taught general chemistry recitations and physical chemistry labs. I also had the opportunity to be a lecturer at the main campus and at Penn State Dubois, a two-year branch campus, during my last year of study.
In 1999, I joined the faculty of Black Hawk College as Instructor of Chemistry. Since arriving, I have taught CHEM 101, 102, 110, 203, 204 and PS 101. I am interested in computational chemistry and natural product characterization, solid-state materials chemistry, and chemical education. When not working, my interests tend toward brewing beer, playing darts, pool, and shuffleboard, and golfing (poorly). I also watch or attend University of Michigan sporting events whenever possible.
Courses Currently Taught at Black Hawk College
Chemistry 101 - General Chemistry I
Chemistry 102 - General Chemistry II
Chemistry 110 - Introductory Chemistry
Chemistry 203 - Organic Chemistry I
Chemistry 204 - Organic Chemistry II
Physical Science 101 - Introduction to Physical Science
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