Thomas L.
Isenhour is an analytical chemist with a PhD from Cornell University. He is a
teacher, researcher, administer, and consultant to industry and government. He
has taught more than 20,000 students in chemistry, environmental science,
mathematics and the history of science. Isenhour has published 182 peer-reviewed
articles and 14 books and editions and has directed 28 PhD dissertations and 10
MS theses. He is an award-winning actor and has authored four plays that have
been produced.
Isenhour
has served as Department Chair, Dean, Provost, and Acting President. On leave
he was an endowed Visiting Professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, a
Program Director at the National Science Foundation, and the Provost/Dean for
the establishment of the American University in Bulgaria.
First at
Duquesne University and more recently at Old Dominion University, Isenhour has
developed and taught The Evolution of Modern Science. He is an adjunct
professor of history at Old Dominion University and this book is an outgrowth
of his course.
Even
though he is officially retired, Isenhour continues to teach this course on
campus and on line at Old Dominion University.
His current project is a new book called: How
Now, Brown Cow: the Critical Need for
Science Literacy.
Isenhour’s honors include
membership in Phi Beta Kappa, an Alfred P. Sloan Research
Fellowship, the 1983 American Chemical Society Award in Analytical Chemistry,
and an Outstanding Performance Award at the National Science Foundation. He received the 2013-14 Distinguished
Teaching Award from the College of Sciences of Old Dominion University.
Isenhour
is married and has one daughter, one son, and one grandson. His hobbies include
flying (he is a certified flight instructor), classical music, jazz,
literature, writing, and acting. He has done volunteer work for the American
Cancer Society, the United Fund, the Civil Air Patrol, and National Public
Radio. His philosophy is: Through education, we can build a world where
enlightenment replaces prejudice, ethics replaces greed, and compassion
replaces violence.