Brian P. Coppola ( born February 5, 1957 in Lawrence, Massachusetts) is a chemistry professor at the University of Michigan.
Raised in Methuen, Massachusetts, and Derry, New Hampshire, 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, having carried out research under the supervision of Barry M. Trost. 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 1996-1997, 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 2001-2002. At present he is the Associate Chair of the chemistry department at Michigan (2002-date).
In 2007, Coppola, along with Joseph Krajcik (Michigan State University, School of Education), co-founded the University of Michigan IDEA Institute (Instructional Development & Educational Assessment).
As of 2011 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 an Associate Editor for The Journal for Research in Science Teaching, and on the editorial boards for The Chemical Educator, International Journal of Science Education, and The Journal of College Science Teaching.
(1) Coppola, B. P. “Making Your Case: Ten Questions for Departments and Individuals Building an Argument for Work in Discipline-Centered Education” International Journal on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 2011, 5. http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl.
(2) Coppola, B. P. “Structure and Reactivity at the University of Michigan” In J. Ryan, T. Clark, & A. Collier (eds.). Assessment in the Disciplines (vol 5): Assessment in Chemistry. Tallahassee, FL: Association for Institutional Research, 2010; pp. 175-199.
(3) Coppola, B. P. “Advancing STEM teaching and learning with research teams” In Baldwin, R., Ed. “Improving the Climate for Undergraduate Teaching and Learning in STEM Fields” New Directions in Teaching and Learning (No. 117) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 2009; pp. 33-44.
(4) Coppola, B. P. “The Most Beautiful Theories…” Journal of Chemical Education 2007, 84, 1902-1911.