National award for unlocking mysteries of chemistry

The Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) has announced Associate Professor Roy Tasker from the University of Western Sydney as the new recipient of the Chemical Education Division Medal, the highest award in Australia for chemical education.

Prof. Tasker was presented the award for his contribution to chemical education in Australia at a recent RACI Chemical Education Conference in Melbourne.

Dean of Science, Technology and the Environment at UWS, Professor Mick Wilson, commended Professor Tasker for his success. "Only five of the highly esteemed medals have been awarded since the RACI Award's inception over twenty years ago," Professor Wilson said.

"Roy's vast contribution includes producing multimedia resources to help students better understand the molecular world through their imagination."

According to Prof. Tasker, using multimedia resources allows him to bring meaning to chemical equations for students. "My main approach is to use computer-assisted learning and animation to bring the molecular world to life and thus help students learn about chemistry by visualizing the chemical world.

"I have tried to change the emphasis in chemical education from memorisation of abstract symbolism, to visualisation of molecular structures and processes to better understand the behaviour of chemicals."

Prof. Tasker has also produced an integrated suite of computer animations that attempt to portray this molecular world. These animations are still acknowledged as the best of their kind in the world, and have been licensed by the international textbook publisher WH Freeman & Co. since 1996.

Item provided courtesy of The University of Western Sydney