Marcy Towns Explained

Marcy Hamby Towns
Workplaces:	Purdue University Ball State University
Alma Mater:	Purdue University Linfield University

Marcy Hamby Towns is an American chemist who is Professor of Chemistry Education at Purdue University. Her research considers the development of innovative ways to teach undergraduate chemistry. She was awarded the IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry Award in 2021.

Early life and education

Towns is the daughter of a chemist.^[1] She was an undergraduate student at Linfield University^{[2] [3]} and moved to Purdue University for graduate studies. After completing college, she started teaching chemistry at Valley Catholic School,^[4] where she became interested in chemistry education.

Research and career

Towns joined the chemistry department at Ball State University in 1995. She taught chemistry in Indiana for twelve years, after which she returned to the faculty at Purdue University and developed a research program in chemistry education and evidence-based learning.^[5] She is particularly interested in undergraduate chemistry teaching and laboratory assessment.^[6]

Awards and honors

• 2009 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science^[7]
• 2013 Murphy Award^{[8] [9]}
• 2017 American Chemical Society James Flack Norris Award^[10]
• 2019 Royal Society of Chemistry Nyholm Prize for Education^[11]
• 2020 American Chemical Society Outstanding Service to the Division Award^[12]
• 2021 IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry^[13]
• 2021 Morrill Award

Selected publications

• • Gauthier . Stephen . 2017-12-07 . Characterizing Chiral Molecules Deposited onto a Silicon Surface . Inquiry@Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings . 10.24908/iqurcp.7950 . 2563-8912.
• Harle . Marissa . Towns . Marcy . 2010-11-29 . A Review of Spatial Ability Literature, Its Connection to Chemistry, and Implications for Instruction . Journal of Chemical Education . 88 . 3 . 351–360 . 10.1021/ed900003n . 0021-9584.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Drannan and Bev Hamby . 2022-08-19 . Linfield University . en-US.
2. Web site: Towns Group People . 2022-08-19 . www.chem.purdue.edu.
3. Web site: towns - Purdue University Department of Chemistry . 2022-08-19 . www.chem.purdue.edu.
4. Raker . Jeffrey R. . 2022-08-09 . Introducing the Virtual Issue: Marcy H. Towns Festschrift . Journal of Chemical Education . en . 99 . 8 . 2775–2776 . 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00704 . 2022JChEd..99.2775R . 251192356 . 0021-9584.
5. Web site: Today . Purdue . 2021 Morrill Award winner announced . 2022-08-19 . www.purdue.edu . en.
6. Web site: Seery . Michael . 2022-08-17 . A Festschrift in honour of Professor Marcy Hamby Towns . 2022-08-19 . Michael Seery . en-US.
7. Web site: AAAS Fellows .
8. Web site: Dedication to students brings Chem Prof. Marcy Towns a Murphy Award - College of Science - Purdue University . 2022-08-19 . www.purdue.edu.
9. Web site: Murphy Award winner: Marcy Towns - Purdue University . 2022-08-19 . www.purdue.edu.
10. Web site: James Flack Norris Award . 2022-08-19 . Northeastern Section American Chemical Society . en-US.
11. Web site: Nyholm Prize for Education Previous winners . 2022-08-19 . Royal Society of Chemistry . en-GB.
12. Web site: 2020 Outstanding Service to the Division Awardee, Marcy Towns ACS Division of Chemical Education . 2022-08-19 . www.divched.org.
13. Web site: IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering .