Alec Brown
Alec Brown
- Associate Professor of Chemistry
Professor Alec Brown teaches courses in organic chemistry. While earning his B.S. at Juniata College, Prof. Brown studied under Professor David Reingold researching theoretically interesting small molecules. He received his Ph.D. from Boston College and studied under Professor Shih-Yuan Liu , focusing on the method development and synthesis of new molecules containing boron-nitrogen heterocycles at the interface of organic and inorganic chemistry.
Before joining the Carthage faculty in 2024, Prof. Brown served as a visiting professor of chemistry at Franklin and Marshall College and at Juniata College before he taught organic chemistry, general chemistry, and other advanced courses at St. Ambrose University for six years.
Prof. Brown’s current research interests give his students the opportunity to design, synthesize, and study unreported molecular ligands with applications in catalysis, optoelectronics, and molecular sensing. Students are able to make and characterize new molecules through modern synthetic techniques and analysis and explore their properties and potential applications using spectroscopy and other instrument-driven analysis. Students have presented aspects of their progress at local, regional, and national American Chemical Society conferences.
In the classroom, Prof. Brown teaches chemistry through evolving and engaging student-focused pedagogy, and works to include students in their learning and growth throughout their college journey.
Outside of the classroom, Prof. Brown enjoys reading, cycling, board (and any other kind of) games, and exploring and experiencing the world surrounding all of us.
Hear from Prof. Brown: Why Chemistry?
“Teaching organic chemistry allows me to share the art, beauty, and logical elegance of the field with students and see them make connections. I get to see students participate in exploration and trial and error until problem-solving becomes second nature to them, and I see them appreciate how chemistry and the world interacts.”
- Ph.D. — Chemistry, Boston College
- B.S. — Chemistry (ACS), Juniata College
- CHM 2070: Organic Chemistry
- CHM 2070L: Organic Chemistry Lab
Prof. Brown is currently exploring how to develop modular synthetic strategies towards the development of carbazole centered ligands for metal sensing and catalysis.