Al Hazari
2000 Helen M. Free Award Winner
Al Hazari, Director of the Undergraduate Chemistry Labs and Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is the 2000 Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach recipient. His passion for chemistry is reflected in his personalized license plate, which reads "ALKMST." In keeping with his commitment to his field, he has dedicated much of his professional life to generating excitement in science among students and teachers.
Dr. Hazari's quest to enhance science appreciation has included a regular schedule of public outreach activities ranging from classroom visits and teacher training workshops to special programs for teenage girls, Scouts, underprivileged children and senior citizens. He lives by a simple motto that is also the basis of his educational philosophy, "Science is for students ages 2 to 102." His goal is to inspire students to become inquisitive about science instead of fearing or dreading it.
A native of Lebanon, Hazari received a B. S. degree in Chemistry from the American University in Cairo in 1968. He holds an M.S. degree in Chemistry (1972) from Youngstown State University and a Ph. D. in Science Education (1997) from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Hazari has taught science and chemistry for several years at the high school and the college levels in the U. S. and abroad. He has received grants from government agencies, industry, and various organizations to improve undergraduate chemistry lab instruction and also to support K-16 hands-on science and chemistry outreach activities. Dr. Hazari is a very active ACS member. He is the immediate past-chair of the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety, an ACS tour speaker, and the councilor for the ACS East Tennessee Section. He is an affiliate of the Institute for Chemical Education and a member of the National and the Tennessee Science Teachers Associations. He has made several presentations and given talks to local, regional, national and international chemical and science education conferences.
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