Dr. MaryKay Orgill

MaryKay Orgill is a Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). While her research mainly focuses on examining and improving undergraduate chemistry teaching and learning, Dr. Orgill has also been involved in a number of projects that have provided professional development workshops and classes to over 500 K-12 teachers and university faculty in order to increase their knowledge of STEM content and of instructional strategies that are effective for teaching STEM subjects. She is the recipient of several teaching awards, including the UNLV GPSA Outstanding Mentor Award and the UNLV Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Orgill has served in several positions in the ACS Division of Chemical Education, including serving as a member of the Division’s Chair Succession from 2016-2018 and, currently, as a Chair of the Division’s Biennial Conference Committee. For her contributions to chemical education research, she was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2017 and of the American Chemical Society in 2020.

I went to high school in Reno, Nevada and completed my B.S. in chemistry at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. During my time there, I was lucky enough to do a study abroad summer in Jerusalem. After undergrad, I was a missionary for a year and a half and then worked as a phlebotomist in a hospital for about 8 months before I started grad school at Purdue University, where I earned my M.S. (Chemistry/Biochemistry) and PhD (Chemistry/Chemistry Education) degrees. My first job was at the University of MIssouri. I had an interesting joint appointment there between a Department of Teaching and Learning and a Department of Biochemistry. The same year, I was also asked to teach a high school chemistry class (for some public school teaching experience). That was a rough year for me, and I ended up leaving the University of Missouri for my current position at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I've been here since 2004 and feel like it has been a better fit for me.

Weird/interesting things? I'm the oldest of 11 kids, currently have 21 nieces and nephews, have spent a bit of time working in Australia (and traveling to lots of other places), love Broadway musicals, and almost always have multiple craft projects going on (currently, a lot of these involve quilting).