Campus News

ROCKFORD, Ill. — Two Rockford University assistant professors of chemistry—Gidget Tay, Ph.D, and Matthew Bork, Ph.D.—have been honored with 2018 awards from the American Chemical Society.

Dr. Tay received the Local Section Outreach Volunteer of the Year Award for the Rock River Section of the ACS, nominated both for her chemistry demonstrations at after-school centers and public libraries as well as her series of “educational videos that combine dance and chemistry to explain concepts that students find difficult,” according to the ACS.

Dr. Tay, who was a dance minor as an undergraduate, collaborated with Rockford University Performing Arts faculty and students to produce the latest video on her DanceChemistry YouTube channel. Her videos have tackled topics including stereochemistry, reaction rates, distillation and solubility, with the hope that this free content will “inspire a younger generation of future scientists” and “be used to improve scientific understanding from a creative viewpoint.”

Dr. Bork earned a Salute to Excellence Award from the Affiliated Chemical Society for his work revitalizing an annual Chemistry Olympiad for the Rock River Section of the ACS. Dr. Bork has coordinated the event for five years, adding a banquet to the yearly meeting and working to build relationships with local high schools.