Background:

Dr. Gatechair is an Adjunct Instructor of chemistry with the Natural Science Department and the College of Education of St. Petersburg College. 

In the classroom or laboratory, Dr. G. tries to make students think beyond the topic of the day, to consider how chemistry impacts our lives, our homes and our environment.  He utilizes a variety of online tools to augment the class room topics.  Courses he has taught recently range from Introductory Chemistry, General Chemistry Lab, Organic Chemistry Laboratory, and Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry (BCH 3023).  The latter course is particularly interesting as the students have interests varying from premed, chemistry, biology, nursing and science education.  The topics bring together chemistry and biology at the molecular level.

Dr. Les has had an unusual career, having worked in the field of photopolymerization before, during and after his graduate work in chemistry at North Dakota State University.  Photopolymerization involves the use of light or ultraviolet radiation to start a polymerization process. Photopolymerization is useful for forming images for example in the production of printing plates, as well as in the curing of inks and varnishes on products ranging from beer cans to furniture and guitars. Photopolymer systems form environmentally friendly coatings as they generally have no solvent, and require little energy during the curing process.

During his 20 year industrial tenure at Ciba-Geigy Corp. Dr. Gatechair initially worked on the development of photoinitiators (photocatalysts) and on improving the light and heat stability of photopolymers. After many years spent initiatiating polymerizations, his research  turned to inhibition and retardation of polymerization resulting in a series of patents which formed the technology base for a new Ciba business: prevention of unwanted polymer formation during the commercial distillation of monomers such as acrylic acid and styrene. These studies allowed Les to publish over 100 publications including international patents. 

He received a BSc degree in chemistry and secondary education and a high school teaching certificate from Bradley University. During his undergraduate years at Bradley University,  Les helped initiate a program collecting and analyzing particulate air pollution for metal content and developed software to correlate particulate levels with prevailing wind conditions. 

Outside the classroom, Les enjoys tennis and Ham radio. He has over 5000 miles sailing along the Atlantic coast, the Gulf of Mexico and in the Bahamas Islands on his sailboat Yankee.  He also operates a consulting business which can be found at www.gatechair.com

Feel free to give me a call if you are considering one of my courses and want to learn more about them.  727-687-8671.

Regarding office hours:  It is always best to call first.  Because I teach at multiple campuses, I usually hold office hours in the lab or class room, during the half hour before and after the class, but I will try to work with your schedule.