Teaching
SOCS
Research
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
The College of New Jersey
PO Box 7718
Ewing, NJ 08628-0718
Phone: 609-771-2463
Fax: 609-637-5157
e-mail: hirsh@tcnj.edu
My training is in biophysical chemistry, primarily the application of spectroscopy to biological membranes and macromolecules. My academic training focused on the application of magnetic resonance, ESR (electron spin resonance) and solid-state NMR, to membrane-bound proteins. My research in industry provided me with training in Raman spectroscopy.
I received my B.S. in Chemistry from Stanford University in 1984. Prior to starting my graduate studies I served for two and half years in the Peace Corps in Swaziland, teaching high school mathematics and chemistry. I received my Ph.D. in Chemistry from Yale University in 1993 under Prof. Gary W. Brudvig. I continued my academic studies with Prof. Jacob Schaefer at Washington University as an NIH post-doctoral fellow. After my academic training, I worked for six years in the pharmaceutical industry. I started teaching at TCNJ in January of 2003. My primary teaching responsibilities are Quantum Chemistry, Chemical Thermodynamics and Kinetics, and General Chemistry.
In 2005, Professor John Allison and I organized a Chemistry/Physics Summer Research Program for TCNJ undergrads. Our summer research program is now part of a college-wide summer experience, Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE). Over the past 3 years, corporate support from National Starch & Chemical Company, the Merck/AAAS Research Awards, and Bristol Myers Squibb has supported many of our undergraduate summer research students. Additional support has come from faculty grants and The College of New Jersey.
I have students doing research in my laboratory during the summer and the academic year. During the academic year, students generally enroll in independent research (CHE 393 or 493). If you would like to learn more about our group's current research, please contact me or drop by my office, C-103, in the Chemistry wing of the Science Complex.