The
opportunity to work with students of varying backgrounds and academic
interests is one thing that Associate Professor of Chemistry Ning
Gao says she appreciates about the friendly and supportive
working environment at St. Lawrence. “I have been given the
opportunity to develop and teach traditional courses, research-based
learning courses and First-Year Program courses. Through them,
I get to interact with and help a wide spectrum of students,” she
says.
This interaction has led to two recent publications, each co-authored
by current and former students. They deal with Gao’s research
into the development of computer models used in the investigation
of the emission sources, transport, deposition, transformation and
fate of mercury found in Lake Champlain and its basin. Her research
has been supported by grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), the Lake Champlain Research Consortium and
the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation.
Born in Guangzhou, China,
Gao came to St. Lawrence in January 2001; she is an active participant
in the Integrated Science Education Initiative (ISEI). She received
her B.S. in environmental science from Zhongshan University (China),
an M.S. in organic chemistry and an M.S. in physical geography from the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her Ph.D in analytical and environmental
chemistry from Clarkson University.
A true advocate for learning, Gao says, “I enjoy discovering every day
what new things my young son, Eugene, has just learned."
