Greg Wall: Salute to Excellence

Presented December 2011

The curiosity of chemistry and the world around him has been a part of Greg’s life from an early age. These early experiences evolved into a career in chemistry and sharing it with the community. At the University of Missouri–St Louis, he earned a BA in biology and chemistry in 1974 and his Missouri State Teaching Certificate in biology, chemistry, and general science in 1976. After teaching advanced chemistry at El Dorado High School in El Dorado, AR, in 1976 and developmental biology and chemistry at Holman Junior High and Pattonville High School, 1977-1980, he returned to the University of Missouri–St Louis, earning an MS in chemistry in 1981, and followed up with his PhD in 1985 from the State University of New York–Albany.

Upon returning to St Louis, he joined Technical Service at Sigma, now Sigma-Aldrich, sharing his love and knowledge of chemistry for 22 years before retiring in 2007. During that time, he became Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at St Louis Community College–Florissant Valley (2005), University of Missouri–St Louis (2008), and Maryville University (2009), where he has taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in chemistry. Greg has been teaching biology and chemistry at McKinley CLA, a gifted high school in the St Louis Public School District since 2009.

Greg is a 31-year member of the American Chemical Society, active in the St Louis Section since 1986. He has served on a variety of local and national committees including General Topics, Kids & Chemistry, Section Chair (1996), Committee on Community Activities, Community and Public Relations Committee, and Counselor for the Section. Greg has coordinated, developed, and presented over 50 public outreach presentations at public schools, museums, businesses, industries, and institutions. His Salute to Excellence is due to his extraordinary dedication to outreach; he has been the Section’s liaison to the St Louis Science Center, organizing National Chemistry Week activities and other events since 19xx.

Greg says, “We live in a chemical world, it’s all that matters, so to speak. Scientific literacy is the responsibility of chemists worldwide: to bring an appreciation, understanding, and knowledge of the effects that chemistry has on all of our lives.”