Dr. Steven Mayer, Professor of Chemistry at University of Portland, offers a session using an ancient contemplative practice to teach advanced physical chemistry in a manner that increases students’ understanding of topics and their retention of it beyond exam time.
Professor Steven G. Mayer earned his Ph.D. in 1997 at Oregon State University working in Joseph W. Nibler’s group and did his postdoctoral work at the University of Washington in Philip J. Reid’s group. He began his academic career in 1999 at Susquehanna University and joined the University of Portland in 2002. Professor Mayer is an experimental physical chemist and teaches courses in general and physical chemistry. His research involves using various spectroscopic techniques to understand atomic and molecular structure. Current projects employ novel improvements to traditional experiments for Physical Chemistry Laboratory. These experiments are essential to the development of knowledge and skill in physical chemistry students and the Mayer group uses cutting-edge technology and data analysis techniques to greatly enhance those skills. His work has been published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Chemical Physics Letters, Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, Journal of Chemical Education and Vibrational Spectroscopy among others. In addition to his laboratory work, Professor Mayer is working on a question at the confluence of science and religion; specifically, What did the ancients know? How did they view the cosmos? Can we learn from them new (old) ways of seeing the cosmos in which we are immersed?