Richard MacPhail, Associate Professor Emeritus of Chemistry

Please note: Richard has left the "Cardea Fellows Program" group at Duke University; some info here might not be up to date.

Dr. MacPhail is a physical chemist whose research has focused on intermolecular interactions and molecular dynamics in disordered condensed phases, especially fluids, as studied through a combination of experiment, computer simulation, and theory. More recently his efforts have mainly been directed toward chemical education, and especially at enhancing the success of students through curricular revisions and through pedagogical innovations that leverage student-centered, collaborative engagement in the classroom.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	French Family Science Center, Room 1216, Durham, NC 27708
Office Phone:	(919) 660-1536
Email Address:
Web Page:	http://www.chem.duke.edu/~ram/group/

Education:

Ph.D.	University of California, Berkeley	1981
B.A.	Oberlin College	1977

Specialties:

Physical
Education

Research Interests: Physical Chemistry and Chemical Education

Dr. MacPhail is a physical chemist whose research has focused on intermolecular interactions and molecular dynamics in disordered condensed phases, especially fluids, as studied through a combination of experiment, computer simulation, and theory. More recently his efforts have mainly been directed toward chemical education, and especially at enhancing the success of students through curricular revisions and through pedagogical innovations that leverage student-centered, collaborative engagement in the classroom.

Areas of Interest:

Physical
Education

Current Ph.D. Students   (Former Students)

Postdocs Mentored

• Dr. Lisa C. Carswell (1986-1987)  

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. Siburt, CJP; Bissell, AN; MacPhail, RA, Developing metacognitive and problem-solving skills through problem manipulation, Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 88 no. 11 (2011), pp. 1489-1495, American Chemical Society (ACS), ISSN 0021-9584 [doi]  [abs]
2. Pan, X; McDonald, JC; MacPhail, RA, Solvent-solute interactions and the Raman CH stretching spectrum of cyclohexane-d11. II. Density dependence in supercritical carbon dioxide, Journal of Chemical Physics, vol. 110 no. 3 (January, 1999), pp. 1677-1686, AIP Publishing [doi]  [abs]
3. MacPhail, RA; Pan, X, Cyclopentane pseudorotation dynamics in supercritical carbon dioxide: Solvent friction and solvent clustering., ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, vol. 215 (April, Preprint, 1998), pp. U188-U188, AMER CHEMICAL SOC
4. Miller, RS; MacPhail, RA, Physical aging in supercooled glycerol: Evidence for heterogeneous dynamics?, Journal of Physical Chemistry B, vol. 101 no. 43 (October, 1997), pp. 8635-8641 [doi]  [abs]
5. MacPhail, RA; Porter, K; Woerner, TE, The fully integrated, computer based Physical Chemistry Laboratory, ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, vol. 214 (September, Preprint, 1997), pp. 226-CHED, AMER CHEMICAL SOC