Bridget L. Gourley

Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Professor Gourley received her Bachelors degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics from the University of Puget Sound and her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Utah.  Immediately after defending her Ph.D. dissertation she joined the faculty in the Department of Chemistry at DePauw University.  Her Ph.D. is in the area of laser-molecule interactions.  

Since coming to DePauw, Professor Gourley has stayed active in the field of laser-molecule interactions.  A sabbatical during the 2004-05 academic year learning ultrafast laser spectroscopy on reverse micelles as lead her to add an wet laboratory component to her research. Currently her students are working with her the spectroscopy of reverse micelles, both steady-state and time resolved spectroscopies. The overarching research questions relate to a to better understanding of the behavior of water in confined systems. In the recent past she collaborated with one of her colleagues, Jeanette Pope, and several students looking at acid-mine drainage. The most recent theoretical modeling in her group focused on the vibrations of HCN and other small triatomic molecules coupled to an infrared picosecond pulse train.  Because of the connection of that work to other non-linear dynamical systems she, in collaboration with Academic Vice-president Neal Abraham, has worked with students investigating the chaotic dynamics of an electronic circuit.  Additionally, there have been brief projects in her group looking at the kinetics and thermodynamics of the Mitsunobi reaction and looking at electron hopping mechanisms.

Her strong commitment to research with undergraduates led her to become a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) where she is currently in her fourth three-year term as a chemistry councilor.  As a CUR councilor she has served in many capacities, on the Publications Committee, on the Meetings Committee as the CUR Quarterly Chemistry Editor, and most recently as the local site chair for the CUR 2006 National Conference held at DePauw University in June. She regularly offers a variety of workshops at their National Conference. 

Professor Gourley's teaching responsibilities within the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at DePauw include courses on thermodynamics, kinetics and quantum mechanics as they apply to chemical systems.  She also teaches a laboratory-based course on the interface between theory and experiment.  Like everyone in her Department she contributes to courses in the core curriculum including Introduction to Inorganic Compounds and Chemical Stoichiometry. Recently her topics course has been Computational Chemistry, however, she has also taught topics courses on Molecular Reaction Dynamics and Group Theory.  In addition to teaching within the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Professor Gourley has also taught Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning and the Science Research Fellows First-year and Capstone Seminar.  

Her interest in Women in Science led her to help develop and co-coordinate the Women in Science ( WIS ) Program, beginning in 1992.  This program was established to help provide a supportive and encouraging environment for both women science students and women science faculty.  For academic years '00-'01 and '01-'02 Professor Gourley had a term as the first official Coordinator of the WIS Program.  As part of her role in WIS , Professor Gourley taught a course on Women of Science that investigates the lives of women scientists and the issues they address.  This course has been team-taught as an upper-class seminar and Professor Gourley has also offered the course as a first-year seminar course.  

In addition to the course component of the WIS Program, Professor Gourley has been active in planning the monthly WIS lunches; has organized three Women in Science Alumnae Reunions; been core faculty for the DePauw Institute for Girls in Science (DIGS) Program; as well as other one time activities.  The lunch programs have included: student presentations of summer and/or winter term research, talks by and discussion with visiting women scientists, sessions on how to find summer research, and sessions highlighting an individual science discipline.  The Alumnae Reunions have brought current students together with science Alumnae to discuss their work and lives.  DIGS has been offered in a variety of formats but currently is a science camp for rising 9th grade girls.  

For her work in science education reform Professor Gourley was nominated and accepted as a member of Project Kaleidoscope's (PKAL) Faculty for the 21st Century .  As part of her work with this organization she helped organize a national workshop on “Women in Science: An Underutilized Resource” hosted here at DePauw in October 1998.   

She is grateful to have developed a synergy with many of her women science colleagues here but particularly Professor Mary Kertzman in Physics and former Professor of Biology, Kathleen Jagger.  As a trio they were instrumental in instigating most of the initial WIS activities at DePauw.

bgourley@depauw.edu