Chelsea Gemeinhardt

Chelsea Gemeinhardt teaches general chemistry and oversees the general chemistry lab series. Prof. Gemeinhardt is a first generation BIPOC. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2019. Her research used Density Functional Theory to investigate the photoexcitation of small, organic molecules for applications in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) and MALDI Mass Spectrometry. Before joining the Carthage faculty, she spent three years as the chemistry instructor at Wabash Valley College, a rural community college in southeastern Illinois.

Prof. Gemeinhardt’s teaching philosophy centers around providing students with the tools to understand science’s role in society, connecting classroom lessons with real-life experiences, and mentoring students so they succeed.

“My goal as an educator is to utilize evidence-based instructional practices to build up my students’ conceptual understanding and foster connections to real-world experiences. I recognize that the students passing through my doors, regardless of their chosen field of study, represent the next generation of consumers that will greatly influence the future of information, technology, and goods. These same students could become public officials, policy makers, educators, or researchers, so I firmly believe that they should be cognizant of science’s role and methodology in the context of modern society. In addition to educational practices, I am acutely aware of the powerful role that mentorship plays in academic success, especially for first-generation, low-income, and/or traditionally underrepresented students.”

Outside of the classroom, Prof. Gemeinhardt’s hobbies include baking, crafting, cultivating carnivorous plants, and hanging out with her cats, friends, and family — well mostly her cats.

• A.S., Southeastern Illinois College (2012)
• B.S. in Chemistry, Southern Illinois University (2014)
• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Southern Illinois University (2019)

• CHM 1010 General Chemistry I and Laboratory
• CHM 1020 General Chemistry II and Laboratory