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Laura Van Dorn

Assistant Professor of Practice, Faculty

Degrees and Appointments

  • B.S. Bemidji State University, 1999
  • Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of Arizona, 2004
  • Post-Doctoral Researcher, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, University of Arizona 2004-2006
  • Post-Doctoral Researcher, Department of Radiology, University of Arizona, 2006-2008

Research:

I am interested in collaborative research investigating the connections between diverse student approaches to studying and the outcomes in learning and future success. I am also involved in research on the quantum-mechanical fundamentals of chemical bonding, communities of practice, the roles of VR in the classroom, and the efficacy of generative AI as a study tool.

Teaching

I teach general chemistry, including applications of organic chemistry and biochemistry. In my courses, I emphasize the application of chemistry to nutrition, drug interactions, and the environment. My approach to teaching includes helping students learn to look for patterns and make predictions based on fundamentals. I am interested in collaborative research investigating the connections between how diverse students approach studying and the outcome in learning, and how it affects their success. 

Specialties: Chemistry & Biochemistry Education, Inorganic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Education and Teacher Preparation 

Awards and Recognition

2023, Innovation in Teaching Award for the College of Science. The Innovation in Teaching Award recognizes outstanding educational innovation developed and applied to course delivery whether in the classroom or in a virtual setting. 

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Google Scholar profile: http://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=nfra6O4AAAAJ

Cotton, F. Albert; Gruhn, Nadine E.; Gu, Jiande; Huang, Penglin; Lichtenberger, Dennis L.; Murillo, Carlos A.; Van Dorn, Laura O.; Wilkinson, Chad C.  Closed-Shell Molecules that Ionize More Readily than Cesium. Science (2002), 298 (5600), 1971-1974.

Pascal, L.; Van den Eynde, J. J.; Van Haverbeke, Y.; Dubois, P.; Michel, A.; Rant, U.; Zojer, E.; Leising, G.; Van Dorn, L. O.; Gruhn, N. E.; Cornil, J.; Bredas, J. L.  Synthesis and Characterization of Novel para- and meta-Phenylenevinylene Derivatives: Fine Tuning of the Electronic and Optical Properties of Conjugated Materials. J. Phys. Chem. B (2002), 106(25), 6442-6450.

Cotton, F. Albert; Donahue, James P; Gruhn, Nadine E.; Lichtenberger, Dennis L.; Murillo, Carlos A.; Timmons, Daren J.; Van Dorn, Laura O.; Villagran, Dino; Wilkinson, Chad C. Facilitating Access to the Most Easily Ionized Molecule: an Improved Synthesis of the Key Intermediate, W2(hpp)4Cl2, and Related Compounds. Inorg. Chem. (2006), 45(1), 201-203.

Cotton, F. Albert; Durivage, Jason C.; Gruhn, Nadine E.; Lichtenberger, Dennis L.; Murillo, Carlos A.; Van Dorn, Laura O.; Wilkinson, Chad C. Photoelectron Spectroscopy and DFT Cal­cu­lations of Easily Ionized Quadruply Bonded Mo24+Compounds and their Bicyclic Guanidi­nate Precursors. J. Phys. Chem. B (2006), 110(40), 19793-19798.

Newlove, Tracey; Atkinson, Kelly R.; Van Dorn, Laura O.; Cordes, Matthew H. J. A Trade Between Similar but Nonequivalent Intrasubunit and Intersubunit Contacts in Cro Dimer Evolution. Biochem. (2006), 45(20), 6379-6391.

Van Dorn, Laura O; Newlove, Tracey; Chang, Saemin; Ingram, Wendy M; Cordes, Matthew H. J. Relationship Between Sequence Determinants of Stability for Two Natural Homologous Proteins with Different Folds Biochem (2006), 45(35), 10542-10553.

Anderson, William J; Van Dorn, Laura O; Ingram, Wendy M; Cordes, Matthew H. J. Evolutionary bridges to new protein folds: design of C-terminal Cro protein chameleon sequences Protein Engineering Design and Selection (2011), 24 (9), 765-771.

Van Dorn, Laura O; Borowski, Susan C; Lichtenberger, Dennis L. From gas-phase ionization energies to solution oxidation potentials: Dimolybdenum tetraformamidinate paddlewheel complexes Inorganica Chimica Acta, (2015), 424, 316-321.

   Van Dorn, L.; Sanov, A. A density-matrix adaptation of the Hückel method to weak covalent networks (2024) Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 26, 5879-5894 DOI: 10.1039/D3CP05697J.

   Van Dorn, L.; Sanov, A. Helium cluster ions: coherent charge sharing and the general trimeriza­tion trend (2024) Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 26, 27034–27045 DOI: 10.1039/D4CP03478C.

Scholarly presentations (recent)

The Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, July 26- July 30, 2026, L. Van Dorn and D. Pontigon, “The Toxin Identification Project: Connecting Allied Health to Public Policy” (contributed talk, presented by L. Van Dorn).

The Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, July 26- July 30, 2026, “Advancing Accessibility Through Shared Beliefs in the Allied Health Community” (contributed talk).

Haverland, A., Van Dorn, L., & Kanady, J. (2026, April 22). Small practices, big impact: Building belonging in teaching teams. UCATT Teaching Exchange Workshop Series, Virtual.

Enhancing Teaching Teams Faculty Learning Community, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, March 18, 2026. “High-Impact Practitioners” (invited speaker). Virtual.

CUES Inside U of A-Funded Scholarship, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, March 25, 2026.  “Reimagining teaching teams as communities of practice—a cross-disciplinary perspective” (invited panel member).

UCATT Teaching Exchange Symposium, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, April 22, 2026. “Small Practices, Big Impact: Building Belonging in Teaching Teams” (invited co-presenter).

Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research 2026 National Meeting, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, July 9 – July 12, 2026.  “Understanding the Dynamics of Teaching Teams through the lens of Communities of Practice” (coauthor)

Tullis, J. G., Burros, H. L., Heshmati, H. and Van Dorn, L.O. (2026). Using Generative AI to Support Retrieval Practice. In Proceedings of the 48th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, July 28- August 1, 2024, “Predicting Chemical Behavior Through Patterns in Bonding: Targeting Fundamentals Using an Online Learning Tool” (contributed talk).

The Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, July 28- August 1, 2024. L. Van Dorn and A. Sanov, “Chemistry: The Coupling Science” (contributed talk, presented by L. Van Dorn).