Chemistry professors receive American Chemical Society service award

Cincinnati — Jerry and Mickey Sarquis, a husband and wife team of Miami University chemistry professors, have been honored with the 2009 Outstanding Service Award from the Cincinnati Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS). This award is presented in recognition of the professors’ meritorious service to the Cincinnati Section and states that the two have established the benchmark for excellence as Chemistry Educators.

Mickey and Jerry began their careers at Miami University in the mid 1970s and have had a lasting impact on the way chemistry is taught and learned in college and K-12 classrooms across the country. Jerry teaches chemistry on Miami’s Oxford campus where he focuses on accessing and retaining underrepresented groups in the sciences, peer-led teaching and learning, and other student-oriented teaching methods. Mickey teaches at the Middletown Campus and is also director of Miami’s Center for Chemistry Education, which has reached more than 21,500 kindergarten through college educators within the U.S. In 2006, Mickey Sarquis was named Chemist of the Year by the Cincinnati Section. The two are co-authors of several textbooks and teacher resource books and are regularly featured speakers at national and international science teacher meetings.

The American Chemical Society is the world’s largest scientific society. The Cincinnati Section of the American Chemical Society promotes education, research and interest in chemical science and industry and the worldwide application of chemistry to the needs of humanity. The Section is composed of over 1,600 members in southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana engaged in manufacturing, university and high school education, government and private laboratories as well as other institutions.