Department of Chemistry
CHEM 181: Chemical Principles CHEM 911: Research in Inorganic and Organmetallic
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in California. Actually I grew up on the Stanford campus. My dad was an electrical engineering professor there. I was an undergraduate there and my first time moving away from home, in a sense, was coming here.
I majored originally in chemistry and sociology and the classes in sociology were more fun because we would sit around and talk and discuss things and chemistry was just a lecture format. I ended up finishing the chemistry major but not sociology.
If you could live in any city in the world, which one would it be?
Well, for right now I would say that I love it here. I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. If I was in my young 20s I would go to a more high powered city, but for raising kids this is a perfect city.
What do you do in your spare time?
The last 14 years almost all my spare time is with my kids, doing one activity or another with them. So I play basketball, soccer, I coach soccer too. I have two kids -- a boy that's 12, and a girl that's 14. They're growing up way too fast so I'm trying to spend every spare second with them.
What was the last good movie you have seen?
"The Hurricane" with Denzel Washington. That's my favorite movie in the last few years. Of course, like a lot of people, I really liked "A Beautiful Mind."
What is your favorite restaurant in Charlottesville?
I guess the Ivy Inn. I like the food and I like that it's a quiet atmosphere. It's like an old fashioned farmhouse that is simply decorated -- just a real quiet atmosphere and good food and superb service.
Did you ever think you would grow up to be a professor?
Since I was 12 or 13 I knew I wanted to teach -- I had no idea that it would be in chemistry or even in the sciences -- but I knew I wanted to teach. It was really important to me growing up in California in the 60s to have a job that I liked -- that's what this job is. I could not be more excited to come in to work here.
What do you like about teaching first years?
For the most part I have taught only first or second years. I think it's really in that first year that most of the important concepts are set. A lot of your ideas on how molecules look and work are set and once they are set everything is adding to that existing framework. So it's exciting to me to help students set an accurate framework for everything else.
What is the story behind your middle name?
My middle name is Dean, which is what I go by. I was never called by my first name, Walter. Dean came from my grandfather and that's why my parents have always called me that.
What kind of music do you listen to?
Jazz. Or Jazz fusions: Chick Corea, Whether Report. I like some select rock and roll, I like Steely Dan a lot, Don Henley, Stevie Wonder.
Describe yourself in one word.
I would say compassionate. I think I've been very successful with certain things in my life and a lot of them can be traced back with how I treat and work with people. I treat all people with a tremendous amount of respect and find it remarkably easy to put myself in other people's shoes, and that helps me teach because I can put myself in the shoes of a first-year student.
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