Faculty Profile

Name:

Bret Johnson Ph.D.



Title:

Assoc. Professor



Department:

Chemistry



What is your field of expertise, and what makes you interested in this field?

I'm an inorganic chemist, which means I specialize in metals and non-carbon compounds. I have always been fascinated by the bonding and electronic structure of transition metal ions, from which the intense colors of these ions are derived. I currently study the formation of crystalline coordination polymers by self-assembly.

Can you briefly introduce the academic program (or department) you are in to our prospective students?

I teach in the Chemistry department, which offers three different degrees, two B.S. degrees:  Chemistry and Biochemistry, and a B.A. degree in Chemistry, which serve our students who move on to employment, graduate school or professional school. Our department has five full-time faculty members and teaches classes for those interested in the physical or biological sciences as well as the health sciences. We also place an emphasis on undergraduate research and we all have active research projects and supporting instrumentation.

What distinguishes St. Scholastica/your program from other good colleges and universities?

Our department uses a combination of quality teaching, strong research, and a good rapport with our students to make our programs excel.

What do you like best about St. Scholastica?

We care about our students and each other. We are definitely a student-centered campus.

What's your most interesting teaching or research experience at St. Scholastica?

I enjoy being able to teach a wide variety of classes, perform research, and meet so many students. In research I have had the opportunity to work one-on-one with students and produced results that I have presented at national conferences. We have synthesized numerous, very colorful, crystals.