Brian Coppola

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Brian P. Coppola is a chemistry professor at the University of Michigan.

b. February 5, 1957 (Lawrence, MA)

Raised in Methuen, MA, and Derry, NH, Coppola is the eldest of four children of Frank and Shirley Coppola. He graduated from Pinkerton Academy in 1974. In 1978, he received a B.S. from the University of New Hampshire, then was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1984. In 1982, he joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He was hired at the University of Michigan in 1986 as a Visiting Assistant Professor, and then as a Lecturer (1987). In 1996-97, his tenure case established a new policy within the UM College of Literature, Science and the Arts: that faculty positions within the College might be based on discipline-centered teaching and learning, that is, the interdisciplinary combination of the discipline and the learning sciences. The details of his case, and that of three other individuals with comparable career paths, is the basis of the book "Balancing Acts" by Mary Taylor Huber. Coppola was appointed as Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in 2001, and became a Full Professor of Chemistry in 2001-2. At present he is the Associate Chair of the chemistry department at Michigan.

As of 2001 his research interests were listed as, "mechanism and synthetic applications of dipolar cycloaddition reactions and in chemistry curriculum design, implementation, assessment, and evaluation." He is on the editorial boards for The Chemical Educator, International Journal of Science Education, The Journal for Research in Science Teaching, and The Journal of College Science Teaching.

[edit] Awards and Honors

  • Golden Apple Award for outstanding teaching, University of Michigan, 1994.
  • Undergraduate Computational Science Education Award, United States Department of Energy, 1996.
  • Amoco Foundation Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 1999.
  • Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2002.
  • Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Chemistry, 2001.
  • NSTA Outstanding Undergraduate Science Teacher Award, 2003.
  • Society for College Science Teachers (SCST)/Kendall-Hunt Outstanding Undergraduate Science Teacher Award, 2004/5.
  • CASE/Carnegie State of Michigan Professor of the Year, 2004.
  • James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry, 2006.

[edit] Selected Publications

(1) Coppola, B. P. “The Most Beautiful Theories…” Journal of Chemical Education 2007, 84, 1902-1911.

(2) Coppola, B. P.; Banaszak Holl, M. M.; Karbstein, K. ACS Chemical Biology “Closing the Gap Between Interdisciplinary Research and Disciplinary Teaching” 2007, 2(8), 518-520.

(3) Coppola, B. P. "Laboratory Instruction: Ensuring an Active Learning Experience" In, McKeachie, W. J., and Svinicki, M., McKeachie’s Teaching Tips (12 Ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2006; pp 266-277.

(4) Hayward, L. M.; Coppola, B. P. “Teaching and Technology: Making the Invisible Explicit and Progressive through Reflection.” Journal of Physical Therapy Education 2005 19(3), 30-40.

(5) Coppola, B. P.; Roush, W. R. “Broadening the Existing Intergenerational Structure of Scholarly Development in Chemistry” Peer review 2004 6(3), 19-21.

(6) Coppola. B. P., Jacobs, D. "Is the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning New to Chemistry?" In Huber, M. T.; Morreale, S. (Eds.), Disciplinary Styles in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. A Conversation. Washington DC: American Association of Higher Education and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2002; pp. 197-216.

[edit] References